From: Roy Beck, President, NumbersUSA
Date: Friday 18MAY07 2:30 p.m. EDT


Pro-amnesty Senators on the defensive ... So much more that you can do

KEEP POURING IT ON. YOU ARE CAUSING A LOT OF POLITICAL PAIN ALREADY!

Your reports back to us from your communications with Senators and their staffs are most encouraging. Now that the amnesty is out of the secret closet and into the open, the pro-amnesty Senators are finding it harder to defend their positions.

You can never tell how your protests in their myriad forms might influence a lot of other things. It is the cumulation of what you do with all others that can cause even miraculous political things to happen.

Even wide-focused protest of any kind is helpful at this moment. But we will continue to try to provide you with focused targets and messages as well.

TALKS SHOWS ARE EXPLODING
IN OUTRAGE

Several of us on your NumbersUSA staff have been doing a radio appearance almost every hour. So are staff of several other immigration-reduction organizations.

We are depending on all of you who listen to Talk Radio to keep calling and emailing them to make sure stopping the amnesty and punishing those who vote for it are the top priorities of as many hosts as possible this next week.

125,000 FAXES in 3 DAYS

We have successfully delivered more than 125,000 of your ordered faxes into congressional offices over the last three days.

Many of you are complaining that we are relying more on phone calls than faxes the last couple of days. That is because of two reasons:

1. We already had a strong flow of faxes coming through the system and wanted to make sure that the power of those faxes was amplified by lots of phone calls into the same offices to prove to the staff that those faxes aren't just generated by computers somewhere. Also, a single phone call tends to have the influence of perhaps 20 faxes in an office. But neither can replace the other. We need both. Faxes tend to have an effect on staff over a weeklong period, whereas phone calls tend to have an immediate effect. When we get into crises, we really push the phone calls even though we know they are quite a bit more difficult for many people to do.

CALL YOUR SENATORS
202-224-3121

2. Our staffing has suffered some inadvertent shortfall the last two days. We're doing the best we can and should have new faxes up for most of you to send later today.

KEY THINGS TO REMEMBER ON YOUR PHONE CALLS

Your reports back to us suggest that these are the main arguments that staffers are using to defend their boss's support of -- or favorable disposition toward -- the Kennedy/Bush Amnesty:

THEY SAY: This bill was put together because of the pressure of voters to "do something about illegal immigration."

This has to be the most egregious slap in the face of all. These pro-amnesty Senators are using all of your pressure as their excuse for this bill. They are saying that if you had remained quiet, they might have allowed the status quo and not signed on to rewarding 12-20 million illegal aliens with permanent residence. But it was your complaints about illegal immigration that pushed them to this radical act!

When you call, tell them you weren't asking for just "anything" to be done. No, you were asking that the laws on the books be enforced to cause illegal aliens to return home. Granting them permanent access to our jobs is the opposite of what you wanted.

You were asking that overall immigration reduced. Increasing immigration dramatically -- as this bill does -- is the opposite of what you wanted.

THEY SAY: This is not an amnesty and not instant citizenship.

They are correct that this is not instant citizenship (which might not come for 18 years). But it IS "instant legalization" that allows legal residence and work in the U.S.

Immediately after the amnesty bill is signed into law, all 12-20 million illegal aliens can sign up, give their fingerprints and -- if the fingerprints don't kick up a criminal record in the first 24 hours -- get instant legalization papers. One they get those papers, they can stay in the United States the rest of their lives, whether or not they ever decide to apply for a Z-visa or green card or eventually citizenship (unless they are found later to be terrorists or fail to meet a few obscure criteria that may or may not ever be enforced).

Illegal aliens are rewarded with the thing they came to steal: a U.S. job.

And even if the Senators want to prove how deceptive they are by still claiming that isn't an amnesty, decry them for REWARDING illegal behavior with permanent U.S. residence.


SOME PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ALREADY OPPOSING KENNEDY/BUSH AMNESTY

This can be very helpful in the larger public discourse.

Rep. Tancredo (R-CO) immediately blasted it for the amnesty and sell-out it is.

Sen. Obama (D-IL) indicated he might vote NO if the guestworker provisions stay in the bill (although he extolled the amnesty part).

Sen. Clinton (D-NY) is weighing her options and not sure she wants to support the guestworker part.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has been decrying the sell-out bill on TV and radio.

Former Sen. Fred Thompason (R-TN) is opposing the amnesty agreement.

And former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) provided an exceptionally clear NO to the amnesty that is especially helpful coming from one of the three best-funded GOP candidates. He clearly is trying to contrast himself with the pro-amnesty Sen. McCain (R-AZ) and former Mayor Guiliani (R-NY) on this.

He said this on his campaign website:

"Any legislation that allows illegal immigrants to stay in the country indefinitely, as the new 'Z-Visa' does, is a form of amnesty.

"[The> Senate agreement falls short of the actions needed to both solve our country's illegal immigration problem and also strengthen our legal immigration system. Border security and a reliable employment verification system must be our first priority . . . I strongly oppose today's bill . . . It is the wrong approach."

STATE & LOCAL LEADERS STARTING TO POUND SENATORS OF THEIR OWN PARTY

Any of you who have relationships with elected state and local officials can do what activists in Georgia and Arizona have done -- Help those officials take an immediate public stand against the Kennedy/Bush Amnesty.

These kinds of attacks on U.S. Senators' softness on amnesty can cause major heartburn in their offices.

GEORGIA

Two of the most public and accomplished opponents of illegal immigration in Georgia -- who succeeded in having enacted some of the strongest anti-illegal-alien laws in the country -- have publicly condemned the amnesty bill that is being supported by their fellow Republicans, U.S. Senators Chambliss and Isakson.

The statement was signed by Sen. Chip Rogers, chairman of the Georgia Senate Immigration Reform Caucus, and Rep. John Lunsford, chairman of a similar caucus in the House.

The current debate in Washington D.C. over so-called “Immigration Reformâ€