Thread: Graham, Bayh push immigrant smuggling crackdown

Graham, Bayh push immigrant smuggling crackdown
Thursday, December 13, 2007
By Dan Hoover
STAFF WRITER
dchoover@greenvillenews.com

South Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has joined with Indiana Democrat Evan Bayh to push legislation imposing sharply higher penalties on those who smuggle illegal immigrants across U.S. borders.

The bill would give prosecutors new tools that would up the ante for smugglers, known as "coyotes," and would expand the Coast Guard�s ability to stop and search vessels suspected of harboring illegal immigrants, Graham and Bayh said today in a conference call with South Carolina and Indiana reporters.

Both said that if enacted the legislation would be a dagger in the heart of immigrant smuggling, an illicit business that generates huge sums for the operators and, too often, death under a desert sun or abandonment in sealed containers for prospective immigrants.

Entitled the Alien Smuggling and Terrorism Prevention Act, the legislation would provide graduated penalties of five years to 20 years imprisonment for those convicted of immigrant smuggling for financial gain, transporting aliens while knowing they are engaging in terror-related acts, and those involving kidnapping or rape, they said.

Graham said the current law is a misdemeanor, a legal "slap on the wrist" for offenders that discourages prosecutors from pursuing cases. The proposed law would make smuggling illegal aliens a felony.

"This will create a downside (for smugglers) that hasn�t existed before," Graham said. "The economics of bringing these people into the country under terribly inhumane conditions because of low penalties is, right now, worth it."

The existing law�s lack of teeth should be a point of reference for those who say that nothing remains to be done except enforcing what�s already on the books "because the current law is obviously not working. You can�t have 12 million people here illegally and say with a straight face there�s a deterrent in the current law." Graham said the bill has national security implications because of the possibility that terrorists could be sneaked into the country.

The bill was approved May 22 by the House on a 412-0 roll call vote.

"That suggests, rather strongly, that there�s a great deal of common sense here," Bayh said.

Graham, who will be up for re-election to a second term in 2008, has been under fire from some conservatives within his party�s base for his leadership role last summer on behalf of a failed bipartisan immigration reform bill that opponents branded as amnesty for millions of illegals.

While Graham has said the bill was misrepresented by opponents and misunderstood by many in the party�s rank-and-file, he has in the intervening months sought to make it clear that "we�ve gotten the message," that the public wants security first and reform second.

The current bill, he said Thursday, is a step in that direction.

Asked if the bill was an effort to calm restive GOP voters, Graham said, "this is a good idea that I�m glad Evan (Bayh) brought to me."

Jumping in, Bayh pointed to the unanimous House vote, saying that shows this "is not a political deal."

South Carolina�s junior senator, Jim DeMint on Greenville, was vocal opponent of the first and more comprehensive bill.

But DeMint is on board with this one, says his spokesman, Wesley Denton.

"Sen. DeMint strongly supports tougher penalties for the disgusting crime of human trafficking across our borders. He believes we must protect and enforce our borders to stop illegal immigration and reduce the threat of terrorists sneaking into our country," Denton said.

The bill has been in the Senate Judiciary Committee since May 23 with no action taken.

Bayh said that with the holiday recess only days away, there is an effort to pass the bill by attaching to it the pending omnibus budget bill or seek a unanimous consent vote to allow immediate debate. "We�re trying to work out the procedural niceties," he said.
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What's the penalty for the Border Patrol agent who tries to enforce the law?

While Graham has said the bill was misrepresented by opponents and misunderstood by many in the party�s rank-and-file, he has in the intervening months sought to make it clear that "we�ve gotten the message," that the public wants security first and reform second.

No, no, no, no! The "public" doesn't want comprehensive immigration reform (amnesty), period! Geez, Sen. McCain is running around saying basically the same thing. These guys have to be deaf, dumb, and blind - what other excuse could there possibly be?

Some more 'patriots' whose stripes will disappear after the election.

Actually, that is what concerns me about the 'border security' guys, they don't seem to want anything else.