Congress
OKs Amnesty for Illegal Aliens
Jeff Johnson,
CNSNews.com
Wednesday, March 13, 2002
The House of Representatives voted 275-138 Tuesday
night to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens living in the
U.S.
A Republican congressman forced the House to take a recorded
vote.
In an exclusive interview earlier with CNSNews.com, Rep. Tom
Tancredo, R-Colo., warned that he would block a plan that would
allow the House to extend the "245i" provision of U.S. immigration
law without members publicly stating their position on the issue.
"It's going to be a recorded vote, absolutely, because I'm going
to call for a recorded vote," he said.
The amnesty extension was brought up as part of the House's
"suspension calendar," a legislative device normally reserved for
non-controversial items such as naming federal buildings. Most items
on that calendar are passed by voice vote, with no written record of
how individual members voted.
Tancredo rallied members on the House floor to oppose the issue
and, when the voice vote was called for, his allies interrupted and
demanded a recorded vote in accordance with House rules.
"Now, whether we'll win this, I don't know, but at least we're
going to get people on record," he concluded.
Lawbreakers Rewarded
In 1996, Congress passed the Legal Immigrant Family Equity Act
amending U.S. immigration laws. Under section 245i of the LIFE Act,
illegal aliens could apply for an "adjustment of status" from the
Immigration and Naturalization Service. Those eligible included
aliens who:
Entered the United States illegally;
Worked in the United States illegally;
Failed to maintain continuously lawful status;
Entered under the Visa Waiver Pilot Program;
Entered as foreign crewmen; and
Entered as foreign travelers in transit without a visa.
That provision expired, however, and under current law, illegal
aliens who wish to remain in the United States legally must return
to their home country and apply for a visa at the U.S. Embassy or
Consulate there.
The Democrat-led Senate passed the measure in early September,
but before the House could vote, terrorists struck the World Trade
Center and Pentagon, Fox News Channel reported.
"President Bush, who wants to present Mexican President Vicente
Fox with an immigration agreement when he visits him this month, is
squarely behind the bill," Fox said.
While the measure was under consideration, several Republicans
complained that the manner in which it was introduced was an attempt
by Democrats to mislead their colleagues and constituents.
The amnesty extension was included as the sole Senate amendment
to H.R. 3525, The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of
2001, which had already been passed by the House.
"The parliamentary shenanigans we are witnessing today to try to
get this legislation through to extend amnesty through to these
illegal aliens is unworthy of this body, this representative body,
and is bound to confuse our constituents," said Rep. Dana
Rohrabacher, R-Calif.
"There are a lot of people here who would rather just have a
voice vote and not have to be recorded, but we're going to put them
on the record," Tancredo said. "And, in doing that, we may even get
to the 'magic 140,' because all we need is about 140 members joining
us."
Copyright CNSNews.com
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Bush
Administration
Immigration/Borders
A product that might interest you:
Have an
Opinion About This? Send an URGENT PriorityGram Today
Back
Pop
Has-Been's Anti-U.S. Flop
.gif){kind=spacer}
