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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


CONTACT: Will Adams

December 5, 2005


202.226.6997

Tancredo Outlines Immigration Reforms Ahead of Markup

In Letter to Leader Blunt, Chairman Dreier, Tancredo Calls for ‘Robust Debate’, ‘Up-or-Down’ Vote


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) sent a letter to House Majority Leader Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-CO) calling for a “robust debate� on immigration in the next two weeks and an “up-or-down� vote on the many proposals that members of the House Immigration Reform Caucus (IRC) may offer. Tancredo, Chairman of the 92-member IRC, sent his letter in anticipation of Judiciary Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner’s immigration reform bill being introduced this week.



The letter is reprinted below:



December 5, 2005



The Honorable Roy Blunt The Honorable David Dreier

Majority Leader Chairman

U.S. House of Representatives House Committee on Rules

H-107, The Capitol H-312, The Capitol

Washington, DC Washington, DC



Dear Leader Blunt and Chairman Dreier,



I am encouraged by House leadership and the Administration’s renewed emphasis on immigration reform and border security. As I have traveled to our nation’s borders and around the country, I have seen firsthand the toll that lax enforcement takes on our nation’s security, economy and identity. The American people have long called for us to fix our broken system, and now this Congress might answer.



Members of Congress rarely have an opportunity to rewrite federal immigration law. This instance will be the first significant debate of its kind in nearly a decade, and it could not have come at a more critical time for the country. As such, I hope to work with you to ensure a robust debate that will permit all members an opportunity to put forth their ideas as part of this discussion. This opportunity is too important and too rare to take ideas off the table.



Our border crisis is multi-facetedâ€â€