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2006.06.15-17 "No Illegal Left Behind" Roundup
(Updated and bumped, twice. Original timestamp 2007.06.15.11:04.)
See previous: 2006.06.14 "No Illegal Left Behind" Roundup Immigration bill is a fraud
Mark Steyn (Hat tip: Tom Blumer )
I forget where I was when I first heard the phrase ''undocumented worker.'' Possibly it was after swimming the Rio Grande and emerging dripping on the northern shore to be handed a fake Social Security number and a driver's license. But I assumed, reasonably enough, that this linguistic sleight of hand was simply too ridiculous to fly even with the American media. I underestimated my colleagues, alas.
The ''undocumented'' are, as it happens, brimming with sufficient documents to open bank accounts or, on the other hand, rent a Ryder truck, as Mohammad Salameh did in 1993 when he and his pals bombed the World Trade Center first time round. Being ''undocumented'' means being documented up to the hilt as far as everyone else is concerned but ''undocumented'' only to the U.S. government. Which, when you think about it, is a very advantageous status to have. ...
Below the fold:
- Memo to Washington: Clear the damn backlogs first
- Conservative bloggers in full revolt over immigration
- Immigration bill offers a military path to US dream
- Immigration Bill Resurrected
- Kill the Bill, Part Deux: Redouble your efforts ...
See also:
Memo to Washington: Clear the damn backlogs first
Michelle Malkin
Over the last several years, I've noted the following immigration backlogs that continue to plague our homeland security system:
*The backlog of 600,000-plus fugitive deportee cases.
*The backlog of 4 million immigration applications of all kinds.
*The backlog of an estimated 100,000 FBI background checks for legal immigrant applicants.
*The disappearance of 111,000 citizenship applications.
The Washington Post reports today that those mounds of unprocessed paperwork continue to grow. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came here legally are waiting for FBI background checks that must be obtained before they can become naturalized: Since 2005, the backlog of legal U.S. immigrants whose applications for naturalization and other benefits are stuck on hold awaiting FBI name checks has doubled to 329,160...
That's right. The FBI name check backlog stands at nearly 330,000 cases. ...
Conservative bloggers in full revolt over immigration
By Peter Hamby, CNN Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Different conservative blogs have different pet issues -- government transparency, federal judges, Fred Thompson, to name a few.
But no issue in recent memory has united conservative bloggers like the debate over immigration. Their frustration has culminated in a full-scale revolt against the Bush administration and a Senate bill that activists say does little to solve the country's border security problems.
President Bush's pledge to support $4.4 billion in additional border security funds has breathed new life into the bill, but the drumbeat against the legislation shows no signs of quieting.
It's increasingly clear from Web postings and interviews with top conservative bloggers that the immigration bill has done serious damage to the president's credibility among the conservative netroots, the grassroots bloggers on the Web.
Erick Erickson, managing editor of the popular conservative blog RedState.com, says he receives between 800 and 900 e-mails a day from readers, most of whom are "enraged" by the White House's immigration efforts.
"Of all the issues the president has picked to make his hill to die on, he has picked the one that has divided his base," said Erickson, who lives in Macon, Georgia. "I am shocked by the anger and outrage out there ... You've got war against the president within the Republican party." ...
Read the whole thing. Pretty amazing for CNN, actually. Other than using the word "immigration" a few places where it should say "illegal immigration" they've pretty much described the situation accurately.
Ed Morrissey comments here.
Immigration bill offers a military path to US dream
By Bryan Bender (Hat tip: Jay Tea)
WASHINGTON -- A little-noticed provision in the proposed immigration bill would grant instant legal status and ultimately full citizenship to illegal immigrants if they enlist in the US military, an idea the Pentagon and military analysts say would boost the Pentagon's flagging efforts to find and recruit qualified soldiers.
The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, is part of the stalled package of proposals that many in Congress are seeking to resurrect. The proposal, applicable to an estimated 750,000 undocumented residents of military age, stipulates that those who arrived in the United States before age 16, graduated from high school, and meet other qualifications could immediately enter the path to citizenship in exchange for at least two years' service in the armed forces.
Though the overall immigration bill was sidetracked earlier this month amid bitter infighting, the prospect of using military service as one pathway to citizenship appeals both to lawmakers who side with immigration rights advocates and those who want tougher immigration laws and tighter borders. ...
Not exactly a new idea -- see Russ Vaughn's post here and my response here -- but if it's a good idea why does it need to be tied to a general amnesty? Why not just introduce the idea as a separate bill?
Immigration Bill Resurrected
Ed Morrissey
It's baaaa-aaaaack. The immigration bill will return to the Senate floor next week after a a flurry of deals between Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell, and the White House reinvigorated the compromise. Each party will get eleven amendments, and the White House has agreed to spend over $4 billion immediately to secure the border: Senate leaders agreed Thursday to a list of amendments to be considered, clearing the way for debate to resume. The decision followed President Bush's announcement that he supports a move to immediately set aside more than $4 billion to beef up enforcement of immigration laws.
The two actions significantly improve the chances that the Senate will pass the comprehensive bill, which would provide a path to citizenship for many of the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. "We believe that there are enough votes," White House spokesman Tony Snow said Thursday. ...
Snow suggested that the president and other backers of the bill wanted the funding to be a part of the immigration package, not a separate measure. "All the pieces have to work together," he said. "If you disaggregate, things fall apart."
Excuse me, but that's simply not true. Border security should have already been addressed, as well as significant improvements in the visa management system. In fact, Congress has already passed mandates on both subjects. Last year, legislation authorized 854 miles of double-fence barriers on the southern border, and Congress had earlier demanded that the visa system get replaced or fixed by 2005 so that visa holders could be tracked and found if they overstayed.
Why should anyone trust this bill to address those issues when neither Congress nor the executive branch has complied with the earlier legislation?
Kill the Bill, Part Deux: Redouble your efforts
Lott blames "talk radio," threatens GOP dissenters
Bush speaks at National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast
Kennedy and Mel Martinez laugh it up
Michelle Malkin
Military-smearing Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell released this statement about the shamnesty last night: Thursday, June 14, 2007
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement today:
“We met this evening with several of the Senators involved in the immigration bill negotiations. Based on that discussion, the immigration bill will return to the Senate floor after completion of the energy bill.”
Here's more on the agreement reached yesterday--and Sen. Trent Lott whining like a nutroots-er about "talk radio:" ...
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