Congressional Hispanic Caucus wants to bring back amnesty this year

Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 3/19/2008 12:30:00 PM

A California-based immigration reform group says even though it's unlikely that Congress is going to pass any significant legislation dealing with immigration until after the 2008 elections, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is apparently going to try anyway.

Californians for Population Stabilization (CAP) says Caucus chairman Representative Joe Baca (D-California) has been leading the effort to revive legislation that would grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S. CAP spokesman Rick Oltman suggests that after successive defeats of similar legislation in years past, there is only one reason why amnesty proponents want to craft such a bill at this time: they want to encourage more illegal immigration.

"There isn't a snowball's chance that there's going to be an amnesty passed this year -- and everybody knows that," Oltman exclaims. "And so one has to ask the question: who benefits from this discussion? And the fact is, those who want to see the continued influx of illegal immigration, they're the ones that benefit."

The continued debate on the matter plays well with lawmakers' Latino constituents, says the immigration reform advocate. "If you're sitting in some country where there's no opportunity, and you know somebody who has already made it to America ... and then you start to hear the president of the United States or a congressman, or in this case the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, all chatting up some sort of legalization that could induce you to finally get moving and get to America -- that's what it is all about," argues Oltman. "It is very transparent."

Oltman says the effect of any future amnesty bill would be devastating on the U.S. because some estimates point to an illegal population ranging from 20 to 40 million people.

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