Thread: Tancredo-led group claims immigration bill falls short

http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/local/ ... 15,00.html

Tancredo's border fight going to House
Lawmakers to weigh enforcement plan

By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News
December 9, 2005

WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Tancredo is about to get his big border showdown.

For years, Tancredo has had to bat down charges that he's a bigot or a crackpot, all while thumping his seal-the-borders mantra.

On Thursday, conservative colleagues were calling him their leader as they gird for what could be a big fight in the House of Representatives next week over a proposed immigration enforcement measure.

"For a long, long time, you were the voice crying out in the wilderness, and God bless you for it," Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Colo., told Tancredo during a Thursday afternoon news conference.

"You're not in the woods any longer," added Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo.

The bill being considered next week falls far short of what Tancredo and his 92-member House Immigration Reform Caucus want.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say it's about a 3," Tancredo said Thursday. "There are lots of much-needed reforms that are conspicuously missing from this bill."

As it stands, the legislation by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R- Wis., would toughen penalties for both illegal immigrants and their employers. It would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally, rather than a misdemeanor as under existing law.

The Sensenbrenner bill also would increase fines for companies that hire illegal immigrants and would make it mandatory for employers to use an immigration verification system established on a voluntary basis in 1996.

Those provisions, and the fact that the bill does not include any versions of President Bush's proposed guest worker plan, are fine with Tancredo and members of his caucus.

However, they are preparing to fight if the Republican-led House Rules Committee will not allow up- or-down votes on adding some even tougher provisions on their wish list.

Among them: Approval and funding for a two-layer fence along the U.S.-Mexico border; an end to automatic "birthright citizenship" for children of illegal immigrants born in the United States; and measures giving state and local governments more authority and resources to detain illegal immigrants.

The Sensenbrenner bill is considered an enforcement-only measure. It does not address the White House guest worker plan that Tancredo equates to amnesty for illegal immigrants. The Senate will take up that plan sometime early in 2006.

That could set up an even bigger showdown, with Tancredo right in the middle of the fight, once Senate and House negotiators hash out a final bill.

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3292383

Article Launched: 12/09/2005 01:00:00 AM

Tancredo-led group claims immigration bill falls short
By Anne C. Mulkern
Denver Post Staff Writer

Washington - As an immigration bill moved forward in the U.S. House on Thursday, a group of representatives led by Colorado's Tom Tancredo said it falls far short of what's needed and urged additions.

The group of about 15 House members, which also includes Colorado's Bob Beauprez and Marilyn Musgrave, listed many of the provisions they want included in the pending bill at a news conference Thursday.

They called for adding a dozen 30-mile fences between the United States and Mexico at key border crossings, barring financial institutions from accepting ID cards issued by the Mexican consulate to open accounts, and denying automatic citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants.

"Something instituted after the Civil War has been perverted now," said Musgrave, R-Fort Morgan, referring to the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which has been interpreted as granting citizenship to immigrants' U.S.- born children.

Beauprez, R-Arvada, also attended the news conference.

"We should use this opportunity to expand and broaden this debate and legislation to do all that we can to curb illegal immigration and secure our borders," Beauprez, a candidate for Colorado governor, said in a statement.

The immigration bill was authored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which approved the measure Thursday.

As now written, the legislation forces employers to verify the legal status
of all employees within six years, provides money to law enforcement in border towns, turns illegal entry into the U.S. from a misdemeanor into a felony, increases penalties for immigration violations and makes more offenses deportable.

"We're going to spend a whole lot of time talking about how wonderful this bill is," Tancredo said. "(But) I don't want people to get the wrong impression, because it's not that great of a bill."

The group is preparing a package of amendments to give to the committee, which will decide how many can be debated when the immigration bill comes up for a vote by the full House.

At Thursday's Judiciary Committee meeting, a California lawmaker tried to amend the bill to add a guest-worker program that would let illegal immigrants stay legally in the country, at least temporarily. The committee voted down the amendment and passed the bill 23-15.

Staff writer Anne C. Mulkern can be reached at 202-662-8907 or amulkern@denverpost.com.

http://tancredo.house.gov/press/presser ... erBill.htm

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CONTACT: Will Adams

December 8, 2005


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Tancredo Leads Coalition To Strengthen Border Bill

More than 20 House Members Join Tancredo’s Push for Border Security and Immigration Provisions


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) today joined more than 20 Members of the House of Representatives to push for provisions that would expand and strengthen Chairman Sensenbrenner’s immigration reform bill. Tancredo, Chairman of the 92-member House Immigration Reform Caucus, sent a letter to Leader Blunt and Rules Chairman Dreier on Monday asking that a series of border security provisions be given an up-or-down vote on the House floor.



“Conservatives in the House have worked for years to move immigration reform and to secure our borders. Our proposals represent some of the most innovative policy solutions that Congress has to offer,� said Tancredo. “We know that not all of our ideas will become law; we merely ask that our proposals be given an up-or-down vote. Our message today is clear: border security is too important and the chance for real reform is too rare to take any idea off the table.�



Sensenbrenner’s bill, H.R. 4437, calls for mandatory verification of employees’ legal status, increases penalties for alien smuggling, authorizes limited immigration cooperation between local and federal law enforcement, and prevents frivolous lawsuits by illegal aliens.



“We must push forward with securing our border, building a fence and deploying military technology. We must reinvest meaning in citizenship, getting rid of the incentive to birth so-called anchor babies on U.S. soil. We must end illegal alien sanctuary policies which pit officer against officer, and one level of government against another,â€? said Tancredo. “Chairman Sensenbrenner’s bill is a first step towards gaining control of our border and enforcing the law. But, it is just thatâ€â€