Senate set to approve amnesty
May 25, 2006 | By Nathaniel Ward
The Senate this afternoon is on the verge of approving a new immigration bill that would grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants and pave the way for 60 million new immigrants to enter the country over the next decade. The Senate is expected to vote in favor of the legislation later Thursday.
As Heritage’s Robert Rector reported last week, the Senate’s proposal would allow 66 million new immigrants over the next 20 years. (His original estimate of 103 million was revised down after the Senate amended its legislation.) Further, as Heritage fellow and former Attorney General Edwin Meese explained in yesterday’s New York Times, the Senate bill would be an amnesty bill, no matter what its defenders call it.
A loophole for terrorists
“A previously unnoticed provision in [the Senate] legislation would disarm America’s state and local police in the war against terrorism,” writes former counsel to the Attorney General Kris Kobach in a new Heritage paper.
Several of the hijackers involved in the September 11th terrorist attacks were in violation of immigration law by overstaying tourist visas. Even when they were briefly detained for violations like speeding, police did not probe their status and did not discover that they were in breach. Had they been arrested, the murders in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania may have been avoided.
After the terrorist attacks, it became clear that if future attacks are to be stopped, law enforcement must do more to arrest and deport those who are in breach of their visas. State and local police stepped up their efforts, doubling the number of arrested illegal aliens by 2005.
But the Senate bill would undo all of this, Kobach reports. If the bill becomes law, state and local police would not be able to arrest anyone for civil violations, which includes visa overstays. “Afraid of arresting the wrong type of illegal alien—and getting sued as a result—many police departments will stop helping the federal government altogether,” they explain.
Congress must remember that immigration and border security reform is fundamentally about national security.
Do you disapprove of amnesty?
So does Heritage. The Heritage Foundation is your voice in Washington, fighting for what is right—not just for what is politically expedient. Here’s how you can help Heritage explain to Congress why amnesty is a bad move for America.
- Forward this e-mail to five of your co-workers, family members and neighbors
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- Get active! Tell your local media and your elected officials what you think about amnesty
Heritage makes an impact
One of Heritage’s primary missions is to get the facts into the hands of our elected leaders. Our efforts seem to be paying off: in the past 30 days, The Heritage Foundation has been mentioned 87 times on the House and Senate floors in 53 speeches.
Not only that, but CNN’s Lou Dobb’s has mentioned Heritage’s immigration research on his television program for eight days running.
‘Corporate accountability’
After six days of deliberation, a jury found former Enron chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling guilty of conspiracy, securities fraud and insider trading.
The result of this trial convincingly demonstrates that the government is fully capable of obtaining convictions for corporate malfeasance—without any help from the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. Lay and Skilling were charged with insider trading, fraud, and conspiracy charges, all of which were crimes before the law was passed.
The Sarbanes-Oxley law has been touted as a strong measure against Enron-style corruption. Instead, it has imposed tremendous new costs on consumers as companies struggle to deal with new regulations. All of this raises serious questions about whether Sarbanes-Oxley is necessary at all.
In other news
- New economic data show the economy grew at a 5.3 percent rate in the first quarter, the fastest rate in more than two years.
- Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has announced a hearing into the abuse of Congressional spending rules, particularly the use of supplemental spending bills that go around spending caps. In related news, his office uncovered a whole host of heretofore unknown waste, including a website at the National Institutes of Health devoted to the lyrics of children’s songs.
- Tuesday’s article on Rep. Mike Pence’s speech on immigration reform at The Heritage foundation neglected to mention that the Indiana Republican was wearing a fashionable Heritage necktie. Get yours today!
- Yesterday, ABC News reported that House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) was under investigation by the Justice Department, a claim DOJ immediately refuted. Yet even after this categorical denial, ABC News continued to repeat it as fact. Rep. Hastert’s office has issued a formal complaint to the network, calling it an “intentional falsehood.”
- The Treasury Department has said it will stop collecting a three-percent excise tax on long-distance telephone calls and that it will issue refunds covering the past three years. Originally imposed on wealthy telephone users as a temporary measure during the Spanish-American War of 1898, the tax has become a symbol of enduring but pointless government programs.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other Heritage Foundation events, RSVP at Heritage’s events website. Or you can watch these events live online at Heritage.org. All times are Eastern.
- On Friday, May 26 at noon, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and The Wall Street Journal’s John Fund discuss the racist and unconstitutional Native Hawaiian Sovereignty Act, which would exempt those of native Hawaiian descent from American laws.
- On Monday, June 5 at noon, Heritage hosts a panel discussion about integrating the latest robot technology into America’s national security programs.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
