Florida Governor Rick Scott vetoed a bill on Tuesday that would have codified existing state policy allowing illegal aliens with federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status to receive a driver's license.
On Tuesday, four Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jeff Sessions, Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, and Chuck Grassley, sent a letter to their Senate colleagues urging them to oppose S.744, the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill. They say that the Gang of Eight's bill repeats the mistakes of the 1986 amnesty and instead the country needs legislation that will secure the borders, enforce the laws on the books, and improve the legal immigration system.
A group of Black Leaders sent a letter to Congress on Monday warning them about the negative impacts the Gang of Eight's immigration bill will have on Black Americans. The group sent their letter to Members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Senators from states with the highest levels of Black unemployment.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, former President George W. Bush questioned pursuing immigration reform based on political motives. During his presidency, Bush had actively pushed for amnesty-based immigration reform but did not primarily sell it as a political imperative.
In at least one critical aspect, the Gang of Eight's immigration bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee the same way it went in: there is no enforcement required before before 11 million illegal aliens start to receive their legal status and work permits. The question of whether to put amnesty before enforcement or enforcement before amnesty is central to the debate. Yet some reporters still struggle to explain this fundamental aspect of the bill.
In 2007, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) voted against amnesty for illegal aliens. Last Friday, in an interivew with the Washington Post, he expressed major concern with the Gang of Eight's bill after it was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Here's the 30-second video raising deep moral questions about what kind of national community we are going to be.
The Senate Gang of Eight immigration bill would offer a minimum of 33 million lifetime work permits in the first decade alone (11 million to current illegal immigrants, 11 million to new legal immigrants in a continuation of the current system, another 5 million chain migration relatives of immigrants who have applied but are waiting for their slot in other countries and 6 million new immigrants through new categories and expanded existing categories of immigration). The 33 million in a single decade is almost half of all immigrants who have ever entered the U.S. in its history.
The Washington Post is confounded by its own poll. Only 18 percent of Americans support the Gang of Eight's legalization-first approach to illegal immigration, according to a Washington Post / ABC News poll. Yet the Post began its story on the poll with, "Comprehensive immigration reform moves to the Senate floor next week with solid overall support from the public."
Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) has introduced the Keeping the Promise of IRCA Act. The bill would fulfill the border security promises, workplace verification promises, and interior enforcement promises that were never fulfilled by the 1986 amnesty bill. The bill serves as an alternative to the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, S.744, and is a response to public opinion that's been evident in poll after poll that the border needs to be secured before dealing with other aspects of immigration reform.
The Keeping the Promise of IRCA Act would:
A new Fox Poll surveying 1,000 registered voters over the last several days has found that 73% of Americans favor securing the border before making changes to immigration policy. This percentage is up from polls in April and February showing 68% and 69%, respectively, support for enforcement before amnesty. The Gang of Eight's bill, S.744, puts the amnesty before the enforcement provisions kick in.
This past Tuesday, grassroots groups around the country took part in a national day to remember 1986. At least 50 separate organizations banded together under the banner "Remember 1986 Coalition." With a unified voice they asked Senators, the press, and fellow Americans to remember the broken promises of the 1986 amnesty bill and warned to not let it happen again.
The Senate Judiciary Committee completed its markup of the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, S.744, this evening, approving the bill 13-to-5. Three Republicans, including Gang of Eight members Senators Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham along with Sen. Orrin Hatch voted with the Democratic majority. While the Committee did approve several bipartisan amendments, all amendments to increase the enforcement provisions or reduce the future flow of legal immigration were rejected.
A large group of conservative leaders, radio talk show hosts, and tea party groups have sent a letter to Congress announcing their opposition to the Gang of Eight's bill. It was once thought that Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-Fla.) participation with the Gang of Eight would help bring the support from many of the individuals and groups, but they all argued that there are too many flaws in the bill to support the entire package.
Ever since the Senate Judiciary Committee began its consideration of the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill nearly two weeks ago, one topic has been a recurring theme -- a biometric exit/entry system. After defeating a number of strong amendments to include biometrics in the Gang's bill, the Committee passed an amendment on Monday that was offered by Sen. Orrin Hatch. But Sen. Hatch's amendment actually weakens current law and does nothing to make S.744 any better.
Last week, the union that represents the nation's 7,600 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sent a letter to Congress warning it that the Gang of Eight's amensty bill, S.744, would endanger the public safety. Dozens of local law enforcement officers had signed on to the letter, and more have added their names since. This week, the union that represents the federal employees at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services also signed on to the letter.
Last week, Sen. Marco Rubio sprinted to the airwaves to defend the Gang of Eight's legislation after it had been attacked during the first round of committee markup, but his description of the bill wasn't exactly accurate. Continuing that trend, A Gang of Eight member who also sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Jeff Flake, wasn't exactly accurate himself in his description of the bill's "triggers" when they came under attack from Senators John Cornyn and Jeff Sessions on Thursday.
After two weeks of "markup," Senators have done little more than prove to the public that we critics have been right all along about what this immigration legislation would turn out to be. As amended, this bill virtually assures that Congress will be considering demands for the next amnesty in just a few years.
The Senate Judiciary Committee enters its third day of marking up the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, S.744. The Committee is continuing with Title IV, which includes the guest-worker program. Today's focus is on the W visa program - a new guest-worker program that would bring in up to 200,000 new foreign guest-workers each year. They then move to the E-Verify portion of Title III.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) was joined by five other House Members on Tuesday denouncing the Senate Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, S.744. Rep. King was joined on the steps of the Capitol by Reps. Mo Brooks of Alabama, John Fleming of Louisiana, Paul Gosar of Arizona, and Steve Stockman and Louie Gohmert of Texas. The six Congressmen said they were concerned about the huge negative impact an amnesty for 11 million illegal aliens would have on the national debt, and they said they stood by the rule of law.
After dealing with most of Title I ("triggers" and border security) last Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee continues its markup of the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, S.744, today. Today's markup will mostly focus on Title IV of the Gang's bill, dealing with the guest-worker provisions. Several of the issues to watch for today include changes to the existing H-1B high-skilled worker visas and worker protections outlined in the Gang's bill.
On the first day of the Senate Judiciary Committee's markup of the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, one thing was crystal clear -- the Democrat-leaning Committee and its two GOP Gang of Eight Members are set on legalizing 11 million illegal aliens before any enforcement takes place. The Committee voted down 5 amendments that would have required measurable enforcement efforts occur before illegal aliens are legalized and given work permits.
The Judiciary Committee markup of S. 744 exposed the Gang of Eight legislation as an amnesty-first bill. Given multiple opportunities to vote on amendments that would require concrete enforcement before illegal aliens could apply for legal status and work permits, the bill's sponsors voted "no". At the same time, they sent their chief spokesman, Sen. Rubio to Fox News to deceive the public.
The Senate Judiciary Committee's markup of the Gang of Eight's comprehensive amnesty bill, S.744. Over the next several weeks, the Committee will consider 300 amendments. Follow this blog for all the details. . .
Angela Kelly of the Center for American Progress (a backer of the Senate "Gang of Eight" amnesty) pulled a fast one on the National Journal this week when she spoke to the media outlet for "Immigration Law May Be Tough on the Poor." The "poor" in the headline refers not to U.S. citizens who are among the working poor or unemployed, but unauthorized aliens who may be unable to support themselves without government benefits even after they receive legal status and work permits under the bill.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will begin marking up the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill (S.744) on Thursday, have filed 300 amendments that propose changes to the 867-page legislation. The lion's share of amendments were offered by Republicans on the committee; in fact, the committee's Ranking Member, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), offered almost as many amendments (77) as the committee's entire Democratic delegation (93).
Earlier today, the Heritage Foundation released its analysis on the fiscal costs to U.S. taxpayers should the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill pass in Congress. The study found that an amnesty for the nation's 11 million illegal aliens would cost taxpayers $6.3 trillion over the lifetime of the illegal aliens. The study compared dozens of ways that the government would collect taxes and fees from amnestied illegal aliens against the benefits they would receive from the federal government.
Now that the tech industry has secured provisions in the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill that provides massive increases in both green cards and guest-worker visas for high-skilled workers, their lobbying arm is putting a full-court press on Congress to pass the bill. Most recently, television ads paid for by the tech industry have been launched in states where moderate Democrats and Republicans live to provide cover for a potentially damaging vote in support of the Gang's bill.
Roy and Chris compare green card categories under current immigration law with what it would look like under the Gang of Eight's "comprehensive immigration reform" bill, S.744.
Now that we know that the Gang of Eight's immigration overhaul would issue more than 33 million green cards in the first decade, if passed, the question is: where are all the new green cards coming from? Here's a breakdown of where the other 22 million come from in the first decade.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will mark up S. 744 (aka: "The Gang of Eight" immigration bill) on May 9th despite less than half of American knowing even basic details about the legislation. According to Pew Research, only 37 percent of Americans know that the bill was introduced by a bipartisan group of Senators, and only 47 percent are aware that the legislation would allow illegal aliens to stay in the country and apply for citizenship. The media hasn't had a lot of time to give the American public many details about the bill, so here is a partial list of under-reported details that have been discovered by people sifting through S. 744's 844 pages . . .
The Gang of Eight filed an amended version of its "comprehensive immigration reform" amnesty bill on Tuesday that, most notably, continues the current E-Verify program. There was some debate over whether the original bill scrapped the existing E-Verify program to create a brand new system, but the updated bill adds some clarity to the contested point.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill on Monday that will allow illegal aliens that graduated from a Colorado high school to be eligible for in-state tuition rates at the state's public colleges and universities. Colorado becomes the 14th state in country to have a law that defies a 1996 federal law that prohibits states from granting illegal aliens benefits without offering the same benefit to all U.S. citizens.
Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) uncovered a loop hole in the Gang of Eight immigration bill that would allow illegal aliens to access state and local welfare benefits immediately, according to a press release issued by his office.
On January 29, 2013, shortly after the Gang of Eight announced their bipartisan blueprint for "comprehensive immigration reform", Sen. Marco Rubio went to the Senate floor and said illegal aliens that receive an amnesty through the Gang's proposal would have to "pay back taxes." Now that the bill is public, it's become apparent that most illegal aliens will not be required to pay back taxes.
Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), has officially scheduled the markup of S.744, the Gang of Eight's "comprehensive immigration reform" bill that includes an amnesty for most of the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens, for Thursday, May 9. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) continued his vocal opposition of both the bill and the speed at which Chairman Leahy wants to proceed with the bill by reading a page of it during today's Committee meeting.
A Texas federal judge has ruled that the Obama Administration is most likely violating the law by ordering Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to release illegal aliens that the administration has deemed as low-priority. Judge Reed O'Conner wrote in a court order on Tuesday that Congress sets the priorities for arresting illegal aliens not the Administration.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has already held two hearings this week. The first was a nearly 8-hour long marathon with a parade of witnesses from Big Business to Big Labor to Special Interest groups. And there were a few that testified about the need for more interior enforcement, better border security, and the huge fiscal drain that an amnesty would have on the nation's future. Yesterday, the Committee brought in DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano who was first scheduled to appear before the Committee last week. Here's what we learned from the past few days . . .
A new poll conducted by Fox News has found that a majority of Americans support reducing legal immigration. The United States currently grants more than 1 million green cards each year; the Gang of Eight's "comprehensive immigration reform" bill would likely double legal numbers, and in the first ten years after enactment, it would triple current legal immigration levels.
ICE Union President Chris Crane has been critical of the Gang of Eight's intentional decision to ignore law enforcement while drafting its "comprehensive immigration reform" bill that would grant amnesty to most of the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens. He's sent a letter to the Gang requesting a meeting, he's asked for a meeting while talking with the press, and he's even got himself thrown out of the Gang's public unveiling last week when he tried to ask a question during the Q&A portion. Yesterday, he told the Senate Judiciary Committee about the Gang's refusal to talk with immigration enforcement agents.
ICE Union President Chris Crane testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 22, 2013. Crane testified that as the representative of 7,600 immigration agents, he was not consulted by the Gang of Eight in their drafting of a "comprehensive immigration reform" bill. Crane said that numerous special interest groups were all invited to the negotiations, but the law enforcement agency tasked with enforcing immigration laws was not.
Indiana Senator Dan Coats urged caution this weekend as the Senate prepares to take on the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill. Sen. Coats appeared on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" and said the country learned some things after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and that there may be similar revelations after the Boston bombings.
The Gang of Eight officially unveiled its amnesty bill to the public today, but one of the press conference's attendees wasn't welcome. ICE Union President Chris Crane was removed from the event when he tried to ask a question during the Q&A portion of the press conference.
If the Senate is going to pass the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill in the 113th Congress, they're going to need Marco Rubio to sell it to his Republican colleagues. After the bill's introduction yesterday morning, Rubio began his sales pitch last night by appearing on Mark Levin's radio program. But the big sell came today when he tried to convince Rush Limbaugh. Unfortunately for Rubio, Limbaugh didn't bite even with his distorted details.
The Gang of Eight's immigration reform bill prohibits illegal aliens that receive amnesty from accesing public benefits until they receive green cards, but that's just an accounting trick. Every bill in Congress is scored by the Congressional Budget Office to determine its impact on the federal budget, but the CBO only examines the first 10 years, which is why the Gang has delayed green cards for most illegal aliens for 10 years. But the Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee is urging the CBO to score the bill beyond the 10 years.
Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-Fla.) support for a "comprehensive immigration reform" bill that offers amnesty to most of the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens has him at odds with an unlikely foe - the Tea Party. Tea Party activists held protests at all of his Florida offices earlier this week, and Sen. Rubio and the Tea Party Patriots have gotten into a war of words over the last few days.
The Gang of Eight released a 17-page summary today of their "comprehensive immigration reform" bill, detailing a path to citizenship for most of the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens and massive increases in legal immigration. The bill could result in an additional 15 million green cards being issued in the first 10 years above and beyond the 1.1 million green cards that are currently issued each year. That would result in more than a 150% increase in legal immigration over the first decade after the bill's passage.
What happens to the few immigration lawbreakers who won't be offered work permits and legalization by the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill? The Associated Press and others are reporting that foreign citizens who unlawfully entered or overstayed a visa after Dec. 31, 2011, will not get the Gang's legalization. Others will also be excluded because of various behaviors past and present.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) appeared on most of the Sunday morning talk shows to begin building his case to grant an amnesty to the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens. Rubio's said individuals that are in the country illegally will be allowed to apply for legal status and work permits if they meet certain requirements, and they'll be allowed to apply for citizenship once a few enforcement provisions kick in.
