Thread: E-VERIFY VICTORY

Thanks for the list, I didn't think Byrd would be able to vote. "Franken (D-MN), Nay"; didn't take Franken long to line up with the Pro-ILLEGAL anti-U.S. Citizen gang!

The Democrats are throwing you a bone for Amnesty. They want something in return.

Dixie

Let's hope not Dixie. We need to have a steady stream of positive news

CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE
July 8, 2009 – 1:54 p.m.

Senate Adds Immigration Provisions to Homeland Spending Bill

The Senate voted Wednesday to require federal contractors to use an electronic employee eligibility verification system and to set construction standards for the fence now going up along the border with Mexico.

Both provisions were amendments to the fiscal 2010 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

The amendment requiring government contractors to use the E-Verify system was adopted by voice vote after a motion to kill it failed, 44-53. Sen. Jeff Sessions , R-Ala., offered the amendment, reflecting GOP frustration over the Obama administration’s delayed implementation of an executive order by President George W. Bush setting out the same requirement. The Obama administration has pushed back the Jan. 15 deadline for that order several times, most recently to September.

Critics of the electronic records-check program complain about its error rate and say it could not handle an expansion to cover employees of all federal contractors.

Sessions’ amendment goes beyond the current rule to require federal contractors to check all employees using E-Verify, not just new hires.*

Another immigration-related amendment added to the $44.3 billion appropriations bill would prohibit the Homeland Security Department from counting anything but double-layered pedestrian-blocking barriers in its border fencing figures, and would mandate the completion of fencing by December 2010.

The amendment, by Jim DeMint , R-S.C., was adopted 54-44.

DeMint said that when Congress in 2006 required installation of 700 miles of border fencing it wanted double-layer pedestrian fencing. But the 661 miles of fencing that DHS has completed includes vehicle barriers and 330 miles of single-layer fence. DeMint said only 34 miles of double-layer pedestrian fence exist.

George V. Voinovich of Ohio, the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee, disagreed with DeMint’s interpretation of the law. “We did not detail the location and type of fencing,â€

Senate Adopts Critical Security and E-Verify Amendments

Help FAIR Ensure these Amendments Survive Conference!

Earlier today, the Senate adopted two critical immigration amendments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Bill for the coming fiscal year (FY 2010). These amendments were:

(1) Senator Sessions' Amendment (#1371) on E-Verify, and
(2) Senator DeMint's Amendment (#1399) on the border fence

The Sessions Amendment. The first amendment the Senate adopted was Amendment No. 1371 offered by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) which permanently reauthorizes E-Verify and requires federal contractors to use the program.

The Sessions Amendment ensures that good-faith employers will always have access to this successful, accurate tool - a tool that has been proven as an effective deterrent to illegal immigration. And, by making E-Verify permanent, the Sessions Amendment will prevent supporters of mass amnesty from using any further extension of E-Verify as leverage to try to pass an amnesty bill for at least 12 million illegal aliens.

The Sessions Amendment also contains common sense provisions to require federal contractors to use E-Verify to prevent taxpayer money from going to employers who hire illegal aliens. A similar federal regulation has been delayed four times, but the Sessions' Amendment, represents a huge leap towards finally ensuring that the federal government only does business with contractors who hire a legal workforce!

The adoption of the Sessions Amendment didn't come without a fight! Well-known amnesty advocate Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) led the failed attempt to kill the Sessions Amendment with floor speeches yesterday and today. While he often claims that he is opposed to illegal immigration, Schumer argued that Senator Sessions' amendment was "moot" because the Obama Administration had announced earlier in the day that DHS would be issuing a "new rule" requiring federal contractors to use E-Verify. (In truth, the Sessions Amendment is a better approach because the Administration's "new rule" can be changed by DHS at any time in the future, whereas the Sessions Amendment would prevent DHS from watering down the rule in the future.)

Fortunately, Schumer's efforts were thwarted on a 53-44 vote, and the amendment was ultimately adopted by a voice vote. (Please note, the 53-44 vote was a "motion to table," which means a "yes" vote was a vote to kill the amendment and a "no" vote was a vote in support of the amendment.)

The DeMint Amendment. Next, the Senate approved Amendment No. 1399 sponsored by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC). This amendment requires DHS to complete all 700 miles of the southwest border fence by 2010 so that the "fencing" can stop pedestrian traffic. Incredibly, in some places, the current "fence" is only designed to stop some vehicle traffic but does nothing to even slow down pedestrian traffic; illegal aliens are able to continue to enter the U.S. on foot.

Once again, the adoption of this common sense amendment didn't come easily. Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) spoke in opposition to the DeMint Amendment. Fortunately, the Senate rejected Voinovich's position and adopted the amendment by a 54-44 vote.

What's Next. While the adoption of these amendments was a strong step towards real security and true immigration reform, the battle to ensure that these measures become law isn't over yet. After the Senate passes the Homeland Security spending bill, the bill will go to a House-Senate conference to resolve any differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation. The House version does NOT contain either of these two amendments! This means that members of the House-Senate Conference Committee could strip the amendments from the bill and prevent them from being signed into law!

WE NEED YOUR HELP!! You can help FAIR ensure that the Sessions Amendment and the DeMint Amendment survive the conference process:

Call your home-state Senators today and urge them to tell Senate Leadership to:
Keep the Sessions E-Verify amendment in conference.
Keep the DeMint border fence amendment in conference.
If your Senator voted "yes" on the motion to table the Sessions Amendment, don't let your Senator try to convince you that he or she supported E-Verify today! The votes don't lie!
You can find your Senators' phone numbers here.

Call Senator Schumer and Senator Voinovich and tell them to stop putting the interests of illegal aliens and special interest groups before the interests of American citizens and legal immigrants!

Senator Schumer: (202-224-6542)
Senator Voinovich: (202-224-3353)

Call Senator Sessions and Senator DeMint to thank them for standing up for the American Worker!

Senator Sessions: (202-224-4124)
Senator DeMint: (202-224-6121)

Rec'd. by email from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
Subject: Senate Adopts Critical Security and E-Verify Amendments
Date: 7/8/2009 7:01:59 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time

Senator Schumer's recent statements about the correct name--(illegal immigration), and other illegal immigration issues is a smoke screen. They are trying to lull people like me into believeing that they have seen the light and , now, suddenly, want to fix the immigration issue the way that American's want--(no jobs, no free educations, free health care,etc.-- just go home. ) It is a ruse to get the issue into a bill before the Congress and just as they did with all the other bills, they start adding and changing and, voila, a bill that is nothing less than amnesty.

I have long since given up hope that I will die peacefully in my bed and I am 76 years old. I will fight illegal immigration in any way that this old body and limited funds can do. I will not surrender the country that I fought for to a bunch of liberals to drag it down into a third world country with the corruption that is inherent in most of those who come here illegally.

Our Congress is a nest of traitors. I never though that in my lifetime I would see such treasonous actions by fellow Americans. I understand these actions by the childish bleeding hearts of many folks. They are naive and believe they are doing a kind and merciful thing. They never once understand the unintended consequences of their actions, but to those who we have elected to office, there is nothing but self-serving greed that they are pandering to.

I still believe there will be MOD EDIT before this issue is resolved. It wil be all the more tragic because it can be avoided by having the Congress listen to the majority will of the people, supporting their country and living up to the oath they took to serve our country and our Constitution.

Serve America first or retire!

Originally Posted by Dixie

The Democrats are throwing you a bone for Amnesty. They want something in return.

Dixie

I agree Dixie....it's not gonna matter when they legalize all of them.....

Well you are doing a great job misterbill!
You do have a point. Many of our government officials should be brought up on charges of treason. They are in office to protect our Constitution! They do nothing but mislead us (there are exceptions though) MOD EDIT!

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-4369--0-0.html

Dixie wrote:

The Democrats are throwing you a bone for Amnesty. They want something in return.

Of course you could be right, but I'm hopeful that constituency pressure due to a weak economy is starting to change some liberal attitudes. Job preservation is a very strong motivator.