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2007.06.19 "No Illegal Left Behind" Roundup
See previous: 2006.06.18 "No Illegal Left Behind" Roundup House Republicans introduce immigration bill
The measure, a rebuke to Bush, would bar amnesty for illegal immigrants and require legal-status checks for all workers.
WASHINGTON -- In a sharp rebuke to President Bush, House Republicans today introduced their own immigration reform and border security bill, a tough measure that would bar illegal immigrants from gaining legal status, require employers to check the legal status of all workers and make English the nation's official language.
The Secure Borders First Act stresses operational control over the border as one of its core principles. The bill would reject "amnesty" and insist that the administration do more to enforce existing laws.
The lawmakers behind the bill also introduced a seven-page resolution detailing the myriad ways in which they believe the Bush administration and its predecessors have not only failed to implement immigration laws, but made it easier for illegal immigrants to live and work in the U.S.
"The federal government has lost credibility with the American people on immigration," said Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who contributed sections of the bill.
The bill's authors, Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Peter King (R-N.Y.), cast their bill as a challenge to the immigration legislation the Senate is expected to take up again this week. ...
Below the fold:
- Democrats mull dividing House immigration bill
- Republican candidates begin snubbing Bush
See also:
Republican candidates begin snubbing Bush
By: David Paul Kuhn and Jonathan Martin
A president with dismal approval ratings and a bitter intraparty rupture over immigration are obvious problems for Republican politicians.
In recent days, however, the combination is emerging as something less obvious: an opportunity.
Recent polls have shown Bush's popularity -- which has long been in the tank with independents -- suffering significant erosion even among GOP base voters, largely due to a backlash over the president's stance on immigration.
The decline, according to some Republican strategists, has flashed a green light for lawmakers on Capitol Hill and presidential candidates to put distance between themselves and an unpopular president -- a politically essential maneuver for the 2008 general election that remained risky as long as Bush retained the sympathies of Republican stalwarts.
Now that those sympathies have somewhat cooled, the effects are visible: Republican House members upset about immigration policy have spoken of Bush in disparaging terms. And presidential contenders like Rudy Giuliani are striking change-the-course themes in their rhetoric, even while continuing to back Bush over the Iraq war. ...
Democrats mull dividing House immigration bill
By Brian DeBose and Stephen Dinan
House Democrats say they may break the immigration issue up into a series of smaller bills that would put off the tougher parts and allow others to pass, such as border security, and high-tech and agriculture worker programs that have clear support.
That could buy Democrats more time to work out the tougher aspects of immigration, such as what to do about the estimated 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens now here, but it would go against the Senate's massive catchall approach and contradicts President Bush's call for a broad bill to pass. ...
Both Democrats and Republicans in the House say no decisions have been made and both sides are waiting to see what happens in the Senate's off-again-on-again immigration debate.
In the Senate, Democrats took the first step to revive the debate yesterday, introducing a new bill that compiles all of the Senate's action over the past few weeks. The move is designed to overcome some of the procedural hurdles opponents are expected to erect.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, says he is committed to getting a "comprehensive" bill done before releasing the Senate for its Fourth of July vacation, and he has the support of top Republican leaders.
In the House, though, Republicans are more uniformly opposed, and many vulnerable freshman Democrats could be hurt by a bill labeled "amnesty." That leaves Democratic leaders trying to see what they can pass. ...
Ed Morrissey asks "If the House can figure out a way to effectively tackle immigration one step at a time, why can't the Senate?" after providing the answer earlier in his post: Every House member is up for reelection next fall while only about a third of the Senate is. Maybe there's hope here yet.
Allahpundit has more.
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