LAMAR ALEXANDER REFUSES TO SUPPORT MARSHA BLACKBURN ANTI-DACA BILL

LAMAR ALEXANDER REFUSES TO SUPPORT MARSHA BLACKBURN ANTI-DACA BILL

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by CHARLIE SPIERING 4 Aug 2014, 8:27 AM PDT 4POST A COMMENT

In an editorial board meeting with reporters and editors of theTennesseean, Sen. Lamar Alexander dodged when he was asked about whether or not he supported Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s bill to block President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

During the meeting, one employee of the newspaper asked if Alexander supported Blackburn’s proposal.

In response, Alexander dodged, citing his vote for Senate immigration bill which he voted for in 2013.

“The solution for that is the bill I voted for last year, which doubles border security, which ends perpetual amnesty not just for DREAM act children, but for everybody who’s illegal here, and then creates a legal immigration system, so that’s my preferred solution,” he said.

Immigration hawks cite the Alexander-backed bill as helping create a perception in Central America that people who cross the border won't be deported.

In separate remarks at a campaign stop over the weekend, Alexander actually accused opponents of the Gang of Eight bill of backing amnesty.

"In 2013, I voted to end amnesty for 11 million Americans who are illegally here...I voted to double border security and I voted to create a legal immigration system. If you are opposed to that, then you're for amnesty," Alexander said, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

State Sen. Joe Carr's campaign pounced on the remarks, noting that several members of Tennessee's congressional delegation, including Blackburn, opposed the Gang of Eight bill, making Alexander's remarks an attack on them.
"Reps. Blackburn, Black, Duncan, Roe, DesJarlais and Fleischmann have all called S. 744 'amnesty' - is Lamar Alexander really accusing the Tennessee Congressional delegation of being 'for amnesty'?" said Carr.

In remarks to the Tennessean, Alexander criticized Obama for instituting unilateral amnesty.

“He should not do it administratively he should do it through Congress,” Alexander said, pointing out that since Obama was a Constitutional law professor he should not be acting against Article I of the Constitution. “He should not be by edict passing a DREAM act - that has to come through the Congress.”

Alexander said that the comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the Senate in 2013 would have fixed “the whole immigration system” including the problem of unaccompanied children crossing the border.

Blackburn’s bill passed the House on Friday night with a vote of 216 to 192.

Alexander called for expedited immigration hearings for the children crossing the border illegally, pointing out that the Obama administration said that most of the unaccompanied minors would not qualify for refugee status.

In response to the border crisis, Alexander proposed that President Obama meet with the leaders of Central American countries and work with the Red Cross to set up a facility in their countries, send the children home as “quickly and humanely as possible” and use the National Guard to secure the border.

Alexander also supported the idea of a streamlined visa system for foreigners who were farm workers and college students which would allow them to come and go in the state, without overstaying their visas.

“We would welcome there because they would make our country stronger,” he said, citing support for the system from the Tennessee Farm Bureau. “So surely if we did a better job of controlling illegal immigration, legal immigration should work much more smoothly.”

“The immigration mess is an urgent crisis, and only the president and congress can fix it,” he said.

Alexander explained that critics who didn’t like his vote, should come up with their own solutions.

“There may be other good ideas for how to fix it, but I think anyone who wants to be a United States Senator needs to do more than make a speech,” he said.

​http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/08/04/Lamar-Alexander-Refuses-To-Support-Marsha-Blackburn-Anti-DACA-Bill