Thread: A GOP Split on Immigration Vexes a Senator

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/polit ... nted=print

March 26, 2006
A G.O.P. Split on Immigration Vexes a Senator
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
HOUSTON — The telephone lines in the unassuming offices of Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, have been sizzling here in recent weeks as anxious Republican voters call to find out precisely where their tough-minded senator stands on illegal immigration.

Mr. Cornyn is a former state attorney general and a fiscal conservative, a Texan who wears cowboy boots with his pinstripes and prides himself on his 100 percent approval rating from the American Conservative Union.

But as the Senate prepares to wrestle the week of March 27 with the question of legalizing much of the illegal immigrant population, Mr. Cornyn, like many Republicans, finds himself squeezed by warring factions in his own party.

[President Bush kept up the pressure in his weekly radio speech on Saturday, a day after protests in three cities by immigrant rights advocates.]

Mr. Cornyn has been criticized on conservative talk radio and labeled a "sellout" on some Weblogs for promoting legislation that would allow millions of illegal immigrants to remain here for five more years. The proposal would also create a temporary worker program that would allow those immigrants and hundreds of thousands of foreigners abroad to work here legally for up to six years.

At the same time, business groups have been pressing him to go further by supporting legislation that would put their illegal workers on the road to citizenship.

[On Friday, supporters of immigrant rights took to the streets in Phoenix, Los Angeles and Atlanta to urge such action. At least 25,000 also rallied in Los Angeles on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.]

The legislative battle has pitted Republican against Republican, with conservatives deriding guest worker programs as an amnesty for lawbreakers and calling for a wall to be built along the border with Mexico, and with business leaders pushing for legalization of the illegal workforce and the admission of thousands of foreign workers.

With the Senate expected to start voting on legislation as early as March 28 and Congressional staffers negotiating furiously over the fine print, some lawmakers are struggling to find middle ground.

[In his radio talk, Mr. Bush acknowledged the difficulty that lawmakers faced. "This is an emotional debate," he said. "America does not have to choose between being a welcoming society and being a lawful society. We can be both at the same time."]

But finding that balance has been enormously difficult. When asked how he felt on a recent day when he had shuttled from a telephone interview on Fox News Radio to a luncheon with business executives, Mr. Cornyn said, "In between."

"I have people come to see me who say, 'The wall is the answer,' " Mr. Cornyn said as he settled into a leather couch in his office here. "I hear others say we ought to be sympathetic, we ought to just let them stay and call them legal and declare an amnesty. And I don't think either of those alternatives are possible or viable.

"Sometimes they end up yelling at me," he said of his conservative constituents. "But my job, and our job in Congress, is to see the whole picture and to come up with a realistic consensus."

Mr. Cornyn acknowledged, however, that it would be difficult to reach given the deep divide within his party. "It's the hardest thing," he said. "I honestly don't think we'll know the outcome until we get there."

The rift emerged in 2004 when Mr. Bush first urged Congress to create a program that would legalize illegal workers and allow for foreign workers to come here in the future. Both groups would be required to return home after a period of time.

The proposal was hailed by the United States Chamber of Commerce, typically a staunch Republican ally and a formidable political force. But it fueled a revolt among some conservatives in the party who demanded tighter border controls to stop the waves of illegal immigration that they view as a threat to American culture, jobs and security.

In December, the Republican-controlled House defied Mr. Bush's call for a temporary worker program. Instead, the House passed a tough border security bill that would, among other things, make it a federal crime to live in this country illegally, turning the millions of illegal immigrants here into felons, ineligible to win any legal status. (Currently, living in this country without authorization is a violation of civil immigration law, not criminal law.)

Meanwhile, many business leaders have thrown their weight behind legislation sponsored by Senators John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, that would grant permanent residency — and ultimately citizenship — to the 11 million illegal immigrants believed to be living in the United States. To qualify, immigrants would have to pay a fine and back taxes, learn English and work here for six more years.

Mr. Cornyn has tried to build a middle path: sponsoring legislation that would deal with illegal immigrants and the needs of businesses for foreign workers while trying to avoid being tarred with the amnesty label by requiring both groups to return home after a certain time. Under his plan, people could only apply for permanent residency from their home countries.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Mr. Cornyn is a member, is trying to cobble together elements of both pieces of legislation to produce a bill for the vote. Any legislation that passes the Senate will have to be reconciled with the House bill.

"Amnesty is off the table," Mr. Cornyn has said repeatedly.

But Republican hard-liners here and on the Judiciary Committee scoff at efforts to distinguish temporary worker plans from Mr. McCain's more liberal proposal. Many fear participants in such a program will simply vanish when it is time for them to go home.

"You say it's not amnesty, but it is," Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa said of temporary worker proposals. "If it looks, acts and smells like amnesty, then in my eyes, it is amnesty."

The issue is so politically explosive, particularly with Congressional elections looming, that some Republicans on the Judiciary Committee avoid discussing it. Senators Mike DeWine of Ohio and Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, who have favored immigrant rights in the past, both declined interviews to discuss their positions publicly. Both are up for re-election this year.

And Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who supports legalizing illegal immigrants, warned fellow Republicans that they could expect little more than criticism for their labors.

"A lot of people, particularly on our side, don't want to have a debate about this," Mr. Graham said. "Even if you debate it, you're wrong. Even if you're open-minded about compromise, you're wrong."

Mr. Cornyn, however, has thrown himself into the fray with enthusiasm.

He recently entered into negotiations with Mr. Kennedy in an effort to build some consensus on a temporary worker program. He appears regularly on conservative talk radio and meets with a host of competing constituencies like conservative leaders, business executives and Hispanic lawyers. Members of his staff have also been in regular contact with the White House.

"Coming from a red state, one that has a large Hispanic population and one that's a border state, makes it easier to bridge those divisions among Republicans and find common ground with some Democrats," said Mr. Cornyn, who has close ties to Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's senior adviser.

His efforts were welcomed at a luncheon at the InterContinental Hotel here, where business leaders gave him a standing ovation. But even some of those executives said they were optimistic that his position might shift a bit.

That was not the view of a group of about 25 conservative voters protesting recently outside of Mr. Cornyn's office.

Leslie Wetzel, who organized the protest, dismissed Mr. Cornyn's balancing act as more "mixed messages." "He professes to be a conservative, but like so many other Republicans he's not a true conservative," Mrs. Wetzel said. "They say, 'Oh, it's not amnesty; it's guest worker.' Well, I don't care what kind of spin you put on it. It's rewarding people for breaking the law."

With conservatives turning up the heat, Mr. Cornyn issued a flurry of press releases, emphasizing again that he opposed amnesty. Some Congressional staffers in Washington said they feared he was backing away from a compromise with Mr. Kennedy.

But business leaders said they were still hopeful. "There's a lot of pressure on him," said Laura Reiff, a co-chairwoman of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, which represents hotels, restaurants, construction companies and other service industries. "He's put in a position now of really having to soul search and figure out where he's going to be."

Cornyn is a sellout 100% if he doesn't do what the people want which is to pass HB 4437.

There is no "middle ground".

The United States is not up for "negotiation" with foreign nationals over foreign nationals or illegal aliens or undocumented immigrants or citizens of any other nation.

The United States is here for one reason to serve and support American Citizens.

American Citizens are here for one reason to serve and preserve the United States.

Representatives of American Citizens are paid to do two things, serve and support American Citizens and preserve the United States.

This isn't a "tough deal" requiring a United States Senator to "search his soul".

It's simple as good ole American Pie.

Either you are an American supporting Americans and preserving the United States or you aren't.

If you aren't, then you need to pack your bags and hit the trail to another nation you like better.

WE are not going to allow you the power or authority to betray the American People or commit treason against the United States....for reasons of money or any other.

This is Show Time.

Show US your colors and if we see Spots instead of Stars and Stripes, then the next color you'll see is orange as in a prison jumpsuit for the rest of your life.

How revolting that a man like Cornyn would be undecided about whether or not to commit treason against the people of the United States.

How many more Undecided Traitors are Searching Their Souls to decide whether or not they are going to betray the people they have sworn oaths to serve are in the US Congress?

I guess we'll know in a couple of weeks and then appropriate action will be required to THROW THE POND SCUM O U T!

I don't see what is so important about Cornyn's vote anyway. Without him the Judiciary's openborders/amnesty block has a 12 to 6 advantage, and with him it has a 13 to 5 advantage. The Judiciary is going to pass Kennedy or some version of it with or without Mr. Cornyn. As far as Cornyn getting the numbers down on the Kennedy bill, what difference does it make? If we get an amnesty/shamnesty, there will be worse control of the situation than we have now, IF THAT IS POSSIBLE!

The trick is whether the bill will be ready for the floor tomorrow, and whether Frist has something up his sleeve to get HIS bill on the floor.
I read an article in the Denver News Rag that if the Senate Floor debate over immigration goes on too long, Frist will STOP the vote and we wont have any action until AFTER the November election.

That's an outcome that several on Alipac have been predicting all along - They will DELAY all of this until after the November elections.

Call a SPADE A SPADE...these Senators are willing to create a guest worker program, which is AMNESTY dressed up as Little Red Ridiing Hood because of BIG BUSINESS, plain and simple.

TIME TO TURN UP THE HEAT ON BIG BUSINESS:

1. HAMMER your local Chamber of Commerce, and contact the national Chamber of Commerce.

Contact Us
Please make sure to check our Frequently Asked Questions page. More than likely you'll find the answer to your question there!

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Some interesting NEWS on the Chamber of Commerce...they have some interesting sections of their national sight that average citizens cannot see. For instance, they OPPOSE living wages, but when you try to access their opinions on this, it's locked except for members. They have a section on how to avoid VISA issue's, again LOCKED. Let's HAMMER these folks NOW.

DAY AND NIGHT, we cannot give them a chance to catch their breath...if we flood their business lines with complaints, then those businesses they represent cannot get through to them.

Pinto Bean

I guess we'll know in a couple of weeks and then appropriate action will be required to THROW THE POND SCUM O U T!

Yes, the new Alipac plan for focusing on the elections NOW is going to be a perfect way for us to consolidate our information and know JUST WHO NEEDS TO GO and WHO to vote for in each state.

I also have a surprise coming up, which I will let everyone in on once it is ready.

It's very clear that at least 65% of the American people (some polls show 80%) do NOT want amnest and do not want guest worker.

If they think things will go better after the elections they are in for a surprise...!!

If they don't handle this properly I fear a civil war. I truly do.

RR

RR--"If they do not handle this properly, I fear a civil war, I really do."

And so do I. It's what some of us have feared for some time now.

It's why I want our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan here with US.

It's why we need to IMPEACH BUSH AND CHENEY so we know our troops with be with US and not protecting THEM.

Originally Posted by LegalUSCitizen

But business leaders said they were still hopeful. "There's a lot of pressure on him," said Laura Reiff, a co-chairwoman of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, which represents hotels, restaurants, construction companies and other service industries.

These people are nothing more than slave traders.

You are right Pinto Bean, let's give the US Chamber hell. When you call, mention that we are going to crash the US economy on April 17th!

When you call, mention that we are going to crash the US economy on April 17th!

We are?? Tell me MORE!!

RR

Originally Posted by DcSA

I don't see what is so important about Cornyn's vote anyway. Without him the Judiciary's openborders/amnesty block has a 12 to 6 advantage, and with him it has a 13 to 5 advantage. The Judiciary is going to pass Kennedy or some version of it with or without Mr. Cornyn.

Within the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, The Immigration, Border Control, and Security Subcommittee has 13 members. Six were for guest worker/amnesty, and six were against it, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). The Immigration Subcommittee Chairman, Sen. Cornyn (R-TX), was the pivotal "undecided" vote.

The other 5 members of Judiciary were not voting within the subcommittee hearing.