Thread: US Senate to make new try at immigration law

US Senate to make new try at immigration law after huge protests
May 02 7:15 PM US/Eastern
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/05/0 ... e8ew2.html

The US Senate will make a new attempt this month to agree on immigration reforms, a top Republican said after more than one million people demonstrated for immigrant rights.

Senator Bill Frist said the upper chamber could consider the issue again in two weeks, after having failed in April to bridge broad differences over proposals to give 11.5 million illegal immigrants legal status.

But Frist, leader of the Republican majority in the chamber, said he wanted the new legislation to concentrate on tightening border security against illegal entrants and not offer an amnesty to them.

Huge protests in recent weeks by mainly Hispanic groups hit a new peak Monday with a one-day economic boycott and street protests across the United States, to back legislation offering illegal immigrants legal status.

At least 600,000 people took part in two major rallies in Los Angeles -- organizers claimed there were 1.5 million -- and more than 400,000 others in Chicago.

Hispanic groups also called a one day strike, for children to be withdrawn from school and a boycott of stores to show the economic weight of the immigrant community.

"Today we march, tomorrow we vote and if they deport us we will jump over the border fence," chanted marchers in Los Angeles waving US and Mexican flags.

Frist partly acknowledged the point of the boycott: "We know that many of our states and economies are very dependent on legal immigrants for work."

But he said he will back reform "that starts by tightening our borders" and includes "a strong interior enforcement programme", as well as a temporary worker program.

As for the army of illegal immigrants, Frist said: "We don't know who they are. They're in the shadows and we need to devise a plan to bring them out of the shadows, short of amnesty, but treats them in a fair and compassionate way."

But Harry Reid, leader of the opposition Democrats in the Senate, who mostly favor an amnesty program, showed the body remains divided.

"Every day we wait to fix our immigration system, the situation gets worse," Reid said.

President George W. Bush has sought for more than two years to pass an immigration reform bill that would regularize the inflow of illegal workers with a temporary worker program.

Last week Bush met with senators seeking to squeeze out a compromise, but he met with strong resistance from members of his own Republican party who are facing elections in November and voters angered by the large number of illegal immigrants and the demonstrations on their behalf.

Republican congressman Tom Tancredo told Fox television that the average American does not accept it when they see on the streets "people demanding that they have rights, that they should be entitled to things that other people who have done it the right way ... even though they snuck into the country."

Even if the Senate comes to a compromise over the immigration issue, it will still have to square any measure with a hardline draft law already passed by the House of Representatives that would make illegal entry, and helping illegal immigrants, a crime.

People in the United States "are concerned that we need to strengthen our border and enforce our laws," said House Republican leader John Boehner.

"They expressed frustration with the idea of granting those that are here illegally amnesty," Boehner said.

Boehner....hold firm to the House position of HB 4437. Americans want no less and no more than deportation of all illegal aliens and absolute security of our borders.

Nothing could be easier than to comply with 230 years of US Immigration Law.

Nothing could be more reasonable than to tighten the loopholes of those laws to ensure their enforcement and compliance.

To negotiate with the U S Senate is to "sit and conspire" with the enemy of the people of the United States.

Either the US Senate wants to be an "upper chamber" of the American People or continue its self-adopted Slop Jar Traitor Service for foreign nationals and make this their last term in office.

That is the simple choice of the United States Senate in the "coming month".