Tancredo Slams Senate's Compromise on Amnesty

Tancredo Slams Senate's Compromise on Amnesty

Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Chairman of the 97-member House Immigration Reform Caucus, slammed the Senate's compromise amnesty deal that was announced today. The amnesty compromise, brokered by Senators Harry Reid and Bill Frist, brings the Senate one step closer to passing an illegal alien amnesty next week.

"By caving in to the Democrats this morning, Bill Frist pushed the Senate towards the biggest illegal alien amnesty in American history. It is a sad day for legal immigrants who embrace this country by following our laws, and it is a sad day for all Americans who are concerned about our national and economic security," said Tancredo. "Frist has put the Senate on a collision course with the House. I again ask Speaker Hastert to abide by his word and to resist bringing up any bill that doesn't have a majority of the Republican Conference behind it."

The amnesty compromise would bring the failed Hagel-Martinez bill back to the Senate floor this Monday as the cornerstone of the Senate's approach. Hagel-Martinez creates a three-tiered system: illegal aliens who have been here longer than 5 years would be granted blanket amnesty; those here between 2 and 5 years would be given foreign worker privileges with a right to citizenship; those who arrived within the last two years - since 2004 - would be told to leave. Critically, Hagel-Martinez allows illegal aliens to "prove" how long they've been in the U.S. with almost any document imaginable including pay stubs, time sheets, and union or day labor center records.

Tancredo continued, "No illegal alien with half a brain would admit that they came here after 2004. And how could law enforcement tell? The Senate deal asks people who have broken the law for years - often using fraudulent documents - to provide proof that they've lived here. And it permits unscrupulous employers who have illegally hired and concealed them to vouch for their new legal status. I can guarantee that many of those fraudulent documents - which law enforcement hasn't been able to detect yet - will be used to obtain legal status."

The amnesty compromise allows Frist and Reid to appoint 7 conferees each, while 12 more conferees will come from the Senate Judiciary Committee (7 Republicans and 5 Democrats). This conference set up virtually guarantees that a majority of Senate conferees favor amnesty because only 6 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted against the Specter amnesty plan in committee. (Under the best case scenario, if all 6 of those Senate Judiciary Committee members were appointed to Conference and Frist's 7 appointees were all solidly against amnesty, the Conferees would be split 13-13 on amnesty. Harry Reid previously blocked consideration of bills that didn't include amnesty, so it's highly unlikely that any of his 7 appointees would favor enforcement-first).

"The Senate amnesty deal continues the running joke that is our immigration system by treating the same crimes differently. In a perverse rendition of hide-and-seek, it grants a reward to those who evaded law enforcement for the longest time. And, as we did in 1986, it will encourage more illegal aliens to come into this country in the hope of yet another amnesty," said Tancredo.

http://tancredo.house.gov/press/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1192