Emanuel and Sensenbrenner Working Together?
Hold on to your innards, this one is going to make you ask Gerry Birnberg for your money back from the Johnson-Rayburn-Richards Dinner!
It almost seems like Rahm Emanuel is getting set to allow Democrats to roll over and take it from the right-wing on immigration. Check out this quote of his on immigration (as quoted by right-wing website, Numbers USA):
"For the American people, and therefore all of us, it's emerged as the third rail of American politics,"…"[a]nd anyone who doesn't realize that isn't with the American people."
Cryptic, yes, but he needs to be called up on this.
And now, Sensenbrenner is bringing back an altered HR4437-like bill, which is sure to keep the country divided. According to a Sensenbrenner statement:
The Border Enforcement, Employment Verification, and Illegal Immigration Control Act requires DHS to gain operational control over U.S. borders through the deployment of physical infrastructure, additional surveillance coverage and more effective deployment of personnel. This bill will help restore the integrity of our Nation’s borders and re-establish respect for our laws by holding violators accountable, including human traffickers, employers who hire illegal immigrants, and alien gang members who terrorize communities throughout the country.
I believe that the new legislation contains improvements over H.R. 4437. For example, it does not make illegal presence a felony. It authorizes $300 million annually in grants to states and localities for procurement of necessary items to facilitate their assistance in enforcing the immigration laws. It changes the census count to only include U.S. citizens, not those with work visas or “green cards” and those who entered the U.S. illegally, and it doubles the number of H1-B visas for skilled workers from 65,000 to 130,000.
With the felony provision gone, weak Democrats will attempt to bite at this bill; however, it seems that the money he wants to throw at states will be paid by the cut-off of funding that states get based on the census. In other words, Republicans want to give us a whole new brand of taxation without representation, as the census would only include U.S. citizens--even LPRs (Legal Permanent Residents) would not be included.
The bill would increase prosecutions, and it does absolutely nothing to cure the backlog that currently keeps those wanting to enter legally in a never-moving line. It makes an outright lie that Republican mantra that they "aren't against legal immigration."
There will be more analysis of this new enforcement-only bill in the coming days. But it just seems weird that Rahm Emanuel seems to already be rolling over for the right-wing of the Republican Party.
Still, as some of my colleagues in the cause have noted, it may be difficult for this bill to get out of the judiciary committee, but it provides the Republican Party some added ammo against Latinos to build upon their base for 2008. (In the process, they'll take those fringe anti-immigrant Dems who we don't want anyway!)
How the Democrats respond will be of interest. Will they do anything for a vote? Or will they take the Latino electorate seriously and fight?
Meanwhile, keep an eye on Emanuel and the "leadership."
It almost seems like Rahm Emanuel is getting set to allow Democrats to roll over and take it from the right-wing on immigration. Check out this quote of his on immigration (as quoted by right-wing website, Numbers USA):
"For the American people, and therefore all of us, it's emerged as the third rail of American politics,"…"[a]nd anyone who doesn't realize that isn't with the American people."
Cryptic, yes, but he needs to be called up on this.
And now, Sensenbrenner is bringing back an altered HR4437-like bill, which is sure to keep the country divided. According to a Sensenbrenner statement:
The Border Enforcement, Employment Verification, and Illegal Immigration Control Act requires DHS to gain operational control over U.S. borders through the deployment of physical infrastructure, additional surveillance coverage and more effective deployment of personnel. This bill will help restore the integrity of our Nation’s borders and re-establish respect for our laws by holding violators accountable, including human traffickers, employers who hire illegal immigrants, and alien gang members who terrorize communities throughout the country.
I believe that the new legislation contains improvements over H.R. 4437. For example, it does not make illegal presence a felony. It authorizes $300 million annually in grants to states and localities for procurement of necessary items to facilitate their assistance in enforcing the immigration laws. It changes the census count to only include U.S. citizens, not those with work visas or “green cards” and those who entered the U.S. illegally, and it doubles the number of H1-B visas for skilled workers from 65,000 to 130,000.
With the felony provision gone, weak Democrats will attempt to bite at this bill; however, it seems that the money he wants to throw at states will be paid by the cut-off of funding that states get based on the census. In other words, Republicans want to give us a whole new brand of taxation without representation, as the census would only include U.S. citizens--even LPRs (Legal Permanent Residents) would not be included.
The bill would increase prosecutions, and it does absolutely nothing to cure the backlog that currently keeps those wanting to enter legally in a never-moving line. It makes an outright lie that Republican mantra that they "aren't against legal immigration."
There will be more analysis of this new enforcement-only bill in the coming days. But it just seems weird that Rahm Emanuel seems to already be rolling over for the right-wing of the Republican Party.
Still, as some of my colleagues in the cause have noted, it may be difficult for this bill to get out of the judiciary committee, but it provides the Republican Party some added ammo against Latinos to build upon their base for 2008. (In the process, they'll take those fringe anti-immigrant Dems who we don't want anyway!)
How the Democrats respond will be of interest. Will they do anything for a vote? Or will they take the Latino electorate seriously and fight?
Meanwhile, keep an eye on Emanuel and the "leadership."
posted by Dos Centavos at 6:11 AM
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