Why the Senate Immigration Bill Failed

[gilliam]

RASMUSSEN ON WHY THE IMMIGRATION BILL FAILED:
The reality is much simpler and has nothing to do with legislative tactics. The immigration bill failed because a broad cross-section of the American people are opposed to it. Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated voters are opposed. Men are opposed. So are women. The young don’t like it; neither do the no-longer-young. White Americans are opposed. Americans of color are opposed.
The last Rasmussen Reports national telephone poll found that just 23% of Americans supported the legislation.

Bill Quick adds: “I have to say that the right blogosphere as a whole did an excellent job of revealing and mobilizing this sentiment. . . . Ten years ago, this bill would have been passed and signed by the president before most Americans were even aware that it existed. Those days are over.”

STANLEY KURTZ ECHOES BILL QUICK: “Without the conservative web, the immigration bill would likely have passed–probably in a rushed vote before Memorial Day.”

 

[mary_bobo]

It is, indeed, getting harder and harder for the pols to push things thru without our knowing. But then there are those pesky earmarks.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

The problem with a bill that has something for everyone. It also has something for everyone to oppose. Everyone found more bitter than sweet in it.

 

[Bob_Byrnes]

RASMUSSEN ON WHY THE IMMIGRATION BILL FAILED:
The reality is much simpler and has nothing to do with legislative tactics. The immigration bill failed because a broad cross-section of the American people are opposed to it. Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated voters are opposed. Men are opposed. So are women. The young don’t like it; neither do the no-longer-young. White Americans are opposed. Americans of color are opposed.
The last Rasmussen Reports national telephone poll found that just 23% of Americans supported the legislation.

Bill Quick adds: “I have to say that the right blogosphere as a whole did an excellent job of revealing and mobilizing this sentiment. . . . Ten years ago, this bill would have been passed and signed by the president before most Americans were even aware that it existed. Those days are over.”

STANLEY KURTZ ECHOES BILL QUICK: “Without the conservative web, the immigration bill would likely have passed–probably in a rushed vote before Memorial Day.”

I celebrate the fact that I am part of the 23% who supported the bill. Why is “Amnesty” such a dirty word ? I guess I’m out of touch with mainstream America (Thank God ! )

 

[estesbob]

It faailed becuase if was offering amnesty for those who entered the country illegally and gave them a leg up over those who have patiently waited in line for citizenship. I know that those supportring the bill vehemently deny this but anyone who actually reads the bill knows its true

And befoe anyone accuses me of being anti-immigrant please note i am married to a legal immigrant who waited 23 years to gain her citizenship. I proudly stood at her side as she took the oath of citizenship.

 

[Bob_Byrnes]

It faailed becuase if was offering amnesty for those who entered the country illegally and gave them a leg up over those who have patiently waited in line for citizenship. I know that those supportring the bill vehemently deny this but anyone who actually reads the bill knows its true

And befoe anyone accuses me of being anti-immigrant please note i am married to a legal immigrant who waited 23 years to gain her citizenship. I proudly stood at her side as she took the oath of citizenship.

I do not deny that the bill provided amnesty for those who entered the country illegally. My question is “What is wrong with amnesty ?” I think the fact that your wife had to wait for 23 years to gain citizenship was ridiculous. Assuming she wanted to be a citizen all those years makes the wait all the more absurd.

 

[rlg94086]

btw…it hasn’t failed yet…it’s only taking a rest.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=160811

 

[CCM08]

Rewarding people for breaking the law is NEVER EVER the right thing to do. Pardoning these offenders will merely encourge many more.

 

[Erich]

Why is “Amnesty” such a dirty word ?

From Why Amnesty Isn’t the Solution

The amnesty permanently added millions of poor to our society.

The cost of amnesties to the American taxpayer is staggering.

Amnesty disguises the extent of illegal immigration.

An amnesty sends the message that it is okay to break the law.

The amnesty of illegal aliens skews the average educational and skill level of legal immigrants downward.

Amnesty has set a dangerous precedent.

Amnesty threatens homeland security.

 

[Gardening_Mommy]

My grandparents were legal immigrants, thank you very much. Their parents sold pretty well everything but the clothes on their backs to get them here as a family. Once you made that decision, you were committed; there really wasn’t any going back. They didn’t have a nice house in Slovakia to go home to for holidays (unlike Mexico, which seems to base its economy on money sent home from the U.S.). My grandfather worked in the coal mines until a cave in killed his brother and several other close relatives. They learned English (without whining), and my grandparents were very proud of the fact that three of their four children went to college (including the PhD who worked for NASA)!

On the other hand, I went to college (U.S. Naval Academy) with a guy from Florida who was very proud of the fact that his mother spoke no English. He later found a non-English-speaking bride from Mexico (married and pregnant well before graduation- should’ve gotten him expelled under Academy rules). Our guess in the company was that it helped his machismo to have her well caged by her lack of English. And his “rules are optional for me” attitude meant he was not respected; well, that and he was one of the like 2% of midshipmen who voted for Clinton…

 

[Bob_Byrnes]

From Why Amnesty Isn’t the Solution

The amnesty permanently added millions of poor to our society.

The cost of amnesties to the American taxpayer is staggering.

Amnesty disguises the extent of illegal immigration.

An amnesty sends the message that it is okay to break the law.

The amnesty of illegal aliens skews the average educational and skill level of legal immigrants downward.

Amnesty has set a dangerous precedent.

Amnesty threatens homeland security.

I for one disagree with “Why Amnesty Isn’t the Solution.”

 

[Bob_Byrnes]

My grandparents were legal immigrants, thank you very much. Their parents sold pretty well everything but the clothes on their backs to get them here as a family. Once you made that decision, you were committed; there really wasn’t any going back. They didn’t have a nice house in Slovakia to go home to for holidays (unlike Mexico, which seems to base its economy on money sent home from the U.S.). My grandfather worked in the coal mines until a cave in killed his brother and several other close relatives. They learned English (without whining), and my grandparents were very proud of the fact that three of their four children went to college (including the PhD who worked for NASA)!

On the other hand, I went to college (U.S. Naval Academy) with a guy from Florida who was very proud of the fact that his mother spoke no English. He later found a non-English-speaking bride from Mexico (married and pregnant well before graduation- should’ve gotten him expelled under Academy rules). Our guess in the company was that it helped his machismo to have her well caged by her lack of English. And his “rules are optional for me” attitude meant he was not respected; well, that and he was one of the like 2% of midshipmen who voted for Clinton…

Things must be pretty bad at the Academy when people are criticized for exercising their right to vote for the candidate of their choice.

 

[mary_bobo]

Things must be pretty bad at the Academy when people are criticized for exercising their right to vote for the candidate of their choice.

We are not an academy and we do the same criticism here.

 

[mary_bobo]

I do not deny that the bill provided amnesty for those who entered the country illegally. My question is “What is wrong with amnesty ?” I think the fact that your wife had to wait for 23 years to gain citizenship was ridiculous. Assuming she wanted to be a citizen all those years makes the wait all the more absurd.

JMO, amnesty is rewarding people for breaking the law. Some of us old folks grew up learning that breaking the law was wrong.

 

[EMAC]

My grandparents were legal immigrants, thank you very much. Their parents sold pretty well everything but the clothes on their backs to get them here as a family. Once you made that decision, you were committed; there really wasn’t any going back. They didn’t have a nice house in Slovakia to go home to for holidays (unlike Mexico, which seems to base its economy on money sent home from the U.S.). My grandfather worked in the coal mines until a cave in killed his brother and several other close relatives. They learned English (without whining), and my grandparents were very proud of the fact that three of their four children went to college (including the PhD who worked for NASA)!

On the other hand, I went to college (U.S. Naval Academy) with a guy from Florida who was very proud of the fact that his mother spoke no English. He later found a non-English-speaking bride from Mexico (married and pregnant well before graduation- should’ve gotten him expelled under Academy rules). Our guess in the company was that it helped his machismo to have her well caged by her lack of English. And his “rules are optional for me” attitude meant he was not respected; well, that and he was one of the like 2% of midshipmen who voted for Clinton…

My grandparents were **illegal immigrants **to this country. However, that was when you could just walk across the Mexico/Us boarder. And that is exactly what my paternal grandfather did. He came walking alone at the age of 14. He worked in the meat packing plants in the Fort Worth Stockyards which helped place the city of the map. He and my grandmother raised a family of 11 with no help from the government. Everyone spoke English and even though my grandparents understood it, they chose to speak their native language at home. Nothing wrong with that. It didn’t keep any of their children from assimilating. I have numerous uncles and cousins with advanced degrees and many in the education field. Imagine that… children of illegal immigrants teaching your children and grandchildren.
My grandparents on my mother’s side worked in the mines. Hard work…they also raised a family of 11 with no help from the government. All spoke English and many of them have advanced degress…including myself. No one ever worked in order to send money back to Mexico. Many of us even married outside our race and have assimiliated fine to this wonderful country. No matter what negative, single situation you relay, it will never undermine the fact that I know how hard many illegal and legal immigrants worked to have the same advantages in this country as those who were born here. We can all be successful people. So, don’t throw out how wonderful your “legal” immigrant family was and try to compare to “one” person you know. For every one negative situation you convey, there are twice as many postives ones.

 

[valenzuelaf]

My grandparents were **illegal immigrants **to this country. However, that was when you could just walk across the Mexico/Us boarder. And that is exactly what my paternal grandfather did. He came walking alone at the age of 14. He worked in the meat packing plants in the Fort Worth Stockyards which helped place the city of the map. He and my grandmother raised a family of 11 with no help from the government. Everyone spoke English and even though my grandparents understood it, they chose to speak their native language at home. Nothing wrong with that. It didn’t keep any of their children from assimilating. I have numerous uncles and cousins with advanced degrees and many in the education field. Imagine that… children of illegal immigrants teaching your children and grandchildren.
My grandparents on my mother’s side worked in the mines. Hard work…they also raised a family of 11 with no help from the government. All spoke English and many of them have advanced degress…including myself. No one ever worked in order to send money back to Mexico. Many of us even married outside our race and have assimiliated fine to this wonderful country. No matter what negative, single situation you relay, it will never undermine the fact that I know how hard many illegal and legal immigrants worked to have the same advantages in this country as those who were born here. We can all be successful people. So, don’t throw out how wonderful your “legal” immigrant family was and try to compare to “one” person you know. For every one negative situation you convey, there are twice as many postives ones.

Your Family sounds exactly like my family except it was my Great Grandparents that came over and I’m not sure if they were legal or illegal. The problem is I don’t think you can compare those days with these days. The difference is, imigrants of yester-year came over here cause the wanted to be Amercan and wanted to assimilate. My Great Grandfather was extemely proud to be American and was a Flag waving Patriot even though he could barely speak english. He was so Patriotic he didn’t even want my mother to learn spanish. He would only let her speak English. So yeah my whole family are assimilated Americans now. Imigrants now do not want to learn English and do not want to assmilate. I went to a US / Mexico soccer game a few months back and most mexican americans there, were rooting for Mexico. That is just wrong. Don’t Say you want to be an American and then wave a Mexican Flag. Sure I’m proud of my heritage but I’m prouder to be American.

 

[Erich]

I for one disagree with “Why Amnesty Isn’t the Solution.”

Just curious… what, specifically, do you disagree with?

• The INS study that found that after ten years in the United States, the average amnestied illegal alien had only a seventh grade education and an annual salary of less than $9,000 a year?
• The Center for Immigration Studies determination that the total net cost of the 1986 amnesty (the direct and indirect costs of services and benefits to the ex-illegal aliens, minus their tax contributions) after ten years came to over $78 billion?
• That without the amnesties, there would be closer to 12 or 14 million illegal aliens in the country (instead of 8.7 to 11 million)?
• That amnesty doesn’t say that eventually you will be forgiven, even rewarded, for breaking the law? That amnesty doesn’t make a mockery of the legal immigration process?
• That the profile and characteristics of the relatives will not be similar to their sponsoring immigrant (i.e. seventh grade education and an annual salary of less than $9,000)?
• That the 1986 so-called “first and last amnesty for illegal aliens” did not instead create an atmosphere for illegal aliens’ home governments to push our government toward another amnesty or other forms of legal “forgiveness”?
• That the millions of illegal aliens in the U.S. have not evaded screening by U.S. consular officials to weed out any criminals or likely terrorists?

 

[Erich]

CCC 2199 teaches:

The fourth commandment is addressed expressly to children in their relationship to their father and mother, because this relationship is the most universal. It likewise concerns the ties of kinship between members of the extended family. It requires honor, affection, and gratitude toward elders and ancestors. Finally, it extends to the duties of pupils to teachers, employees to employers, subordinates to leaders, citizens to their country, and to those who administer or govern it.

This commandment includes and presupposes the duties of parents, instructors, teachers, leaders, magistrates, those who govern, all who exercise authority over others or over a community of persons.

I am certainly not anti-immigration (after all, both sets of grandparents, plus my father, immigrated legally and became naturalized citizens), I am just anti-illegal-immigration. The fact remains that, by definition, illegal immigrants to this country are not citizens of this country – and the very fact of their presence here is a blatant violation of the Fourth Commandment.

 

[mary_bobo]

Your Family sounds exactly like my family except it was my Great Grandparents that came over and I’m not sure if they were legal or illegal. The problem is I don’t think you can compare those days with these days. The difference is, imigrants of yester-year came over here cause the wanted to be Amercan and wanted to assimilate. My Great Grandfather was extemely proud to be American and was a Flag waving Patriot even though he could barely speak english. He was so Patriotic he didn’t even want my mother to learn spanish. He would only let her speak English. So yeah my whole family are assimilated Americans now. Imigrants now do not want to learn English and do not want to assmilate. I went to a US / Mexico soccer game a few months back and most mexican americans there, were rooting for Mexico. That is just wrong. Don’t Say you want to be an American and then wave a Mexican Flag. Sure I’m proud of my heritage but I’m prouder to be American.

Bravo! My immigrant grandparents and my father were also proud to be Americans. They spoke both English and Dutch. Somehow or other, this has got to be fixed so that those immigrants who want to come to the US, want to assimilate into our culture and learn our language will always be welcome here.

 

[Seagirt]

Bravo! My immigrant grandparents and my father were also proud to be Americans. They spoke both English and Dutch. Somehow or other, this has got to be fixed so that those immigrants who want to come to the US, want to assimilate into our culture and learn our language will always be welcome here.

I heartily agree with you Mary Bobo. This whole undocumented alien thing really points up the corruption of our own U.S. Govt. The trans-national corporations give billions to politicians to get what they want-- which is basically cheap labor – so they can compete with the slave labor/ child labor in China and the Far East.
Neither party really cares for the poor immigrant. The world is a business and business wants cheap labor. The sad part is that the millions on undocumented immigrants pose a terrible threat to our traditional way of life and law. Drugs, disease, overwhelmed communities, schools and health care problems are increasing and destroying once attractive areas. NOTICE the politicians, INCLUDING our own CARDINAL MAHONEY never live in the area where the most problems are ?