Jindal Opposes Immigration Reform Compromise

Tuesday, 09 Jul 2013 07:16 PM
By Greg Richter
newsmax.com

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal doesn't like the Senate's immigration reform bill, saying it is laden with pork and doesn't give proper control over when border security goals are met.

In a National Review Online op-ed, the Republican governor ticks off a list of goodies for lawmakers in the bill, which he describes as "full of pork, regulations, and new powers for bureaucrats to manage the economy."

The bill includes "bacon" for Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., with taxpayer-funded travel promotion for Las Vegas, and also declares Nevada to be a border state, Jindal writes. There is "sausage" for Hollywood with free visa applications for aliens with "extraordinary ability in the arts," he adds, and "ribs" for socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in a $1.5 billion "'jobs for youth' scheme," which Jindal calls "another Obama-style stimulus program."

Jindal, the son of immigrants himself and a possible GOP contender for president in 2016, says that although the bill says the border with Mexico must be secured, it gives federal officials authority to determine when that has been accomplished. Instead, he says, Congress and governors of border states should have that power.

Immigration reform should be done in three phases, he argues, rather than all at once, as the Gang of Eight bill does: Secure the border, allow those here illegally to gain status "rather quickly," and increase legal immigration "by a lot."

The House is now taking up its own version, which Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has said will be similar to the Senate's, but will repair some things Republicans don't like.

"Similar, but we’re going to make sure we do it right," Ryan said, explaining the House bill will make sure the border is secured, E-Verify is running and fix legal immigration," The Hill reported.

http://www.newsmax.com/politics/jind...7/09/id/514197