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Two in Colorado delegation rule out amnesty
Friday, September 02, 2005

By GARY HARMON

The Daily Sentinel


Amnesty is off the table as Congress moves to a debate on how to deal with illegal immigrants already in the United States, say a Colorado senator and a Front Range congressman.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Littleton, said Thursday he will press his own immigration bill, but he has no illusions about the uphill legislative battle he faces.

Tancredo’s measure, HB 3333, rules out an amnesty, and he said that any measure containing one would be the “worst kind of public policy and horrible politics for Republicans.�

A fellow Republican, Sen. Wayne Allard, has taken no position except to say he also opposes an amnesty because it would constitute a reward for breaking the law, according to his Washington, D.C., office.

The issue is moving to a head because President Bush has said he wants Congress to tackle the issue this session and will offer a plan before the end of September.

U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa, whose 3rd Congressional District includes most of the Western Slope, had no immediate position on various legislative proposals.

Immigration reform needs to be tough, fair and in the best interests of national and economic security, while also making it possible for farmers and ranchers to get the work they need, Salazar said through a spokeswoman.

Tancredo, who last month was campaigning for tightening border control, has split publicly with the head of his party, President Bush, on amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Two competing immigration-reform measures, one sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and another by Republican Sens. Jon Kyl of Arizona and John Cornyn of Texas, both fall short because they offer amnesties, Tancredo said.

Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., is a co-sponsor of the McCain-Kennedy measure, and a spokesman for Salazar’s office disputed Tancredo’s notion that it represents an amnesty.

The bill requires that immigrants hold job, pay fees for visas and have no criminal background in order to qualify for the “pathway to legitimacy,� Salazar’s spokesman said.

Tancredo praised the Cornyn-Kyl measure, however, because it contains sanctions against employers who hire illegal workers, Tancredo said.

“Employers are the demand side of the equation,� he said. “If we can stop the employment of people illegally, a huge part of this problem goes away.�

Tancredo’s measure, dubbed “Rewarding Employers that Abide by the Law and Guaranteeing Uniform Enforcement to Stop Terrorism (REAL GUEST) Act of 2005,� would eliminate the current system of several kinds of work visas with a single nonimmigrant visa for all needed workers, skilled and unskilled.

It also would boost significantly the fines to which employers are subject for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and make violators ineligible to petition for nonimmigrant workers.

The measure also would:

Allow the use of the Army or the Air Force at or near the border to prevent illegal entry into the United States;

Amend law to clarify that a child born in the United States to a nonimmigrant parent is not a U.S. citizen at birth, unless the child’s other parent is a citizen or a lawful permanent resident.

Prohibit states from granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrants unless they offer the same rate to all U.S. citizens.