I found this on another forum so I thought I would help spread the word.



KC rally to feature a different viewpoint on immigration
BY DION LEFLER
The Wichita Eagle
Rally information
Special section: The Immigration Debate
In response to the pro-immigrant marches that have drawn hundreds of
thousands of people across the country, Kansas and Missouri
proponents of cracking down on illegal immigrants are organizing a
rally in Kansas City on Monday.

Among the speakers at the rally will be Kris Kobach, a law professor
from Overland Park and former congressional candidate.

An invitation to the rally from Kobach is making the rounds of
conservative e-mail lists throughout Kansas.

A statewide survey conducted earlier this week by The Wichita Eagle
and KWCH-12 Eyewitness News found that nearly 3 out of 4 Kansans
think that the government should attempt to find and deport illegal
immigrants.

Kobach said he's planning to address at the rally both the strict
immigration bill that passed the House in December and a more lenient
measure that stalled in the Senate last week.

The House bill calls for a mammoth fence covering hundreds of miles
along the Mexican border and would make illegal presence in the
United States a felony.

It touched off a series of street protests across the country --
including a rally that drew 4,000 immigrants and supporters to
Wichita City Hall on Monday.

That national backlash prompted House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.,
and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to issue a joint
statement this week backing away from the provision to make illegal
immigration a felony.

But Kobach, a former prosecutor and law professor at the University
of Missouri, Kansas City, said he plans to point out in his speech at
Monday's rally that the felony provision would not really change the
law much.

"Most illegal aliens in the country are already guilty of committing
one or more federal crimes," he said.

For example, he said, it's a misdemeanor on first offense and a
felony on subsequent offenses to enter the country without going
through an inspection.

Likewise, it's a felony to use a fake Social Security number or
someone else's card, which many illegal immigrants do to obtain
employment, he said.

Kobach said he also plans to highlight what he sees as a major
loophole "buried 300 pages deep" in the bill approved by the Senate
Judiciary Committee.

He said that language would remove current immigration judges and
replace them with lawyers more sympathetic to illegal immigrants.

The Senate bill would force immigration judges -- who are now
appointed by the attorney general and serve for life -- to step down
after seven years. They would have to be replaced by attorneys with
at least five years of experience in immigration law.

On Thursday, President Bush blamed Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-
Nev., for the gridlock on the Senate bill, which would strengthen
border security, create a guest worker program and offer eventual
citizenship to many of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in
the country.

The compromise measure negotiated by Reid and key Republicans has
stalled amid wrangling over how to proceed with proposed amendments
to the bill.

Bush said Reid "refused to allow senators to move forward and vote
for amendments."

Reid almost immediately shot back.

"If the president is serious about moving forward, then he should
join me in calling on Sen. Frist to bring immigration reform back to
the Senate floor when we return" from a two-week recess.

Frist has said he intends to bring the issue back to the floor this
year, but has stopped short of a firm commitment.