Thread: Issa Embraces Path to Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants

By Lauren Fox
February 6, 2013
usnews.com

California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa is the latest GOP lawmaker to refine his stance on immigration.

The House Oversight Committee chairman told reporters Wednesday he can support a pathway to citizenship for some of the 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and that he actually prefers it to a plan that would create a second-class of citizens through alternative programs.

"I support the framework that the bipartisan group of senators are working on," Issa said. "We have to remember the 11 million people who are here are people."

He hinted that in the Republican Party, he is not alone.

"It's what Abraham Lincoln would have said, it is what the Republican Party stands for," Issa said. "It is the reason we have to get it right on who stays and who goes."

Republicans have mounted an aggressive campaign on Capitol Hill to showcase their new, more moderate tone on immigration reform and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House is working behind closed doors to outline their own immigration plan, although it is unclear whether it will include a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

In the past, Issa has taken a harsher tone on immigration issues, voting for a plan in 2006 to build a wall along the Mexican border and against the DREAM Act in 2010.

But Issa's in a unique position as a Republican in California, a state with one of the largest immigrant populations. Issa says he understands the impact immigrants make on California's economy, including the state's thriving agricultural sector.

Not everyone in the Republican caucus, however, is embracing a path to citizenship. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte expressed reluctance to the idea during the House's first immigration hearing of the 113th Congress Tuesday.

And Alabama Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus dismissed the plan as "toxic," and as undermining of the nation's laws during the hearing.

But there is no denying that there is sea change happening among Republicans whose leadership members one by one are adapting their postilions.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced Tuesday he could get behind a plan to help so-called DREAMers, individuals who came to the Untied States illegally as children.

"One of the great founding principles of our country was that children would not be punished for the mistakes of their parents," Cantor said during a presentation at the American Enterprise Institute. "It is time to provide an opportunity for legal residence and citizenship for those who were brought to this country as children and who know no other home."

Issa Embraces Path to Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants - US News and World Report

Such a sad shame to find out that Rep. Darrell Issa is one of the sellouts willing to go with the Globalists on amnesty.

I guess we know now why the Fast and Furious scandal investigations never really went anywhere. Super rich Darrell Issa is one of the traitors. If he support amnesty, it means those hearings were all for show.

W

Looks like that is the second ALIPAC endorsement we will have to drop! First two in our history. Issa is about to join Ted Poe on the removal list.

W

This is beyond sad......the betrayal just keeps on coming.....

"In the past, Issa has taken a harsher tone on immigration issues, voting for a plan in 2006 to build a wall along the Mexican border and against the DREAM Act in 2010."

Voting to build a border fence is a "harsher tone"?

Patriots must make a max effort to get Universal E-Verify into law. Expect opposition from 'Bama on down.

"I support the framework that the bipartisan group of senators are working on," Issa said. "We have to remember the 11 million people who are here are people."

Criminals are people also. Does that mean that you don't think they should be punished for the crimes they committed either? Deportation is the punishment for illegally entering the US. I think we need to adopt mexican immigration policy. They have mandatory prison time for breaking immigration laws.

First article added to the Homepage
http://www.alipac.us/content/issa-em...migrants-1352/

I have no words for how let down I am with this. I have supported Issa for years, but no more.
The hits and let downs by these a-holes just keep coming. Makes me wonder if he was paid off.

I noticed on NumbersUSA that there have been no faxes available to him.

Issa Introduces Three Immigration Reform Bills

February 4, 2013
WASHINGTON. D.C. – Representative Darrell Issa (CA-49), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, today announced the reintroduction of three immigration reform bills to improve American competitiveness, encourage those who enter our country legally to stay, and impose criminal sentencing for those who enter our country after having been removed.
“We must take a balanced and practical approach to immigration,” said Rep. Issa on the introduction of the three bills. “This includes making our country more accessible to those who can fill critical needs and also stiffening penalties for those who continue to violate our laws. From high-tech entrepreneurs to those who fight in our armed services, these reforms offer new benefits and securities that must go hand in hand with tougher enforcement.”
Summary of bills reintroduced by Rep. Issa:

• STEM Jobs Act (H.R. 459): Allocates 55,000 visas per year for foreign students receiving advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The STEM Jobs Act builds off visa reform legislation Issa first introduced in 2007 and reintroduced in January 2011. Similar legislation passed the House of Representatives in November 2012.
• Fallen Heroes Family Act (H.R. 45: Grants temporary nonimmigrant status to a surviving, foreign national parent or permanent guardian of a U.S. citizen child born outside of the United States when the deceased parent was an active-duty service member of the U.S. military. Issa introduced the Fallen Heroes Family Act in 2009 with bipartisan support.
• Criminal Alien Accountability Act (H.R. 457): Imposes mandatory sentencing for aliens who reenter the United States after having been deported for previous crimes committed in the United States.

Tomorrow at 10:15 AM, the House Judiciary Committee will hold the first congressional hearing on immigration reform, “America’s Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement of Laws Against Illegal Immigration.”

Issa Introduces Three Immigration Reform Bills « Congressman Darrell Issa