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Email from Sen Inhofe on his Opposition to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
Sen James Inhofe, United States Senate ^ | July 21, 2007 | Sen James Inhofe
Posted on 06/21/2007 5:19:08 PM EDT by PhiKapMom
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1854219/posts
Dear Mrs. xxxxxxxx:
Thank you for writing to state your opposition to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. I agree that this bill (previously S. 1348 , reintroduced on June 18, 2007 as S. 1639) contains a number of major flaws , and I strongly oppose it . I was relieved when the Democratic Majority Leader, Harry Reid, failed to get enough votes to end debate on S. 1348 and pulled it from consideration on June 7 th . Even though Senator Reid has decided to readdress this legislation as S. 1639 , I will continue to stand in the way of its passage.
The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 was riddled with problems from the beginning. The first warning sign was the way the bill was written - in secret meetings. The bill's negotiators decided to forego the Senate Committee process, where bills usually receive the most scrutiny, and instead work with an exclusive group of Senators in a series of closed-door negotiations.
Despite the fact that the bill never went through the committee process and was only made available to the full Senate and the public two days before debate on the Senate floor began , the negotiators and Majority Leader wanted to rush the bill through the Senate with a limited number of amendments and with a few short days of debate. In the end, I joined a small group of senators to stall the debate and require votes on amendments that could potentially improve the legislation.
The immediate path to amnesty for the anywhere from 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants in our country , I believe, is the most glaring problem with this bill . It creates a new "Z-visa " that would give illegal immigrants a chance to come forward and receive legal status. After meeting a number of requirements, these formerly illegal immigrants would eventually have an opportunity to apply to become citizens of the United States . I have always said that I will not support amnesty or reward illegal behavior. The "Z-visa" would do just that. I cosponsored an amendment to remove the "Z-visa" provision ( S.A. 1157) from the bill , but it ultimately failed to pass by a vote of 29 - 66.
In addition to the "Z-visa" amnesty, this bill contains other problematic provisions. M any amendments , such as one to ensure that criminals are not given legal status in the United States , an amendment to improve enforcement measures, and an amendment to prevent illegal immigrants from collecting social and welfare benefits in the United States , either failed to pass or were not even allowed a vote.
I was pleased with some of the amendments that, much to the chagrin of the bill's "negotiators," received enough votes to be attached to the bill. For instance, I voted for amendments to control the number of temporary workers admitted to the U.S. and to ultimately sunset the temporary worker program to provide for appropriate and necessary congressional review. Both amendments passed. Most notably, my amendment to make English the national language passed with a bipartisan majority of 64 - 33. The passage of the English amendment, which is extremely important for assimilating legal immigrants and new citizens, was a victory. It also eliminates the entitlement for someone to request government materials and services in any language they wish, something that the U.S. Office of Management and Budget estimates costs the American taxpayers $1 to $2 billion per year. Unfortunately, like last year, Senator Salazar from Colorado introduced and passed - with a lesser number of votes - an amendment to make English the "common language" of the United States and cement in law the burdensome mandate to translate federal documents into endless languages. Senator Salazar's effort to compromise the positive effect of my amendment was just another example of the problems with S. 1348.
Majority Leader Reid tried three times to end debate and force a vote on the immigration bill and was unsuccessful each time. Each of these "cloture" motion s to end debate on the bill was rejected by a majority of senators. He eventually decided to pull the immigration bill from consideration on the Senate Floor and move on to other issues. Although the bill is " suspended " for now, it is expected to come before the Senate (as S. 1639) for another vote.
Please rest assured that I will only support enforcement-focused immigration reform that will not reward lawbreakers, and I will not be swayed by anyone to change my principles. I have always said that any immigration reform must 1) improve border security and enforcement, 2) not reward illegal behavior in the form of amnesty, and 3) improve the naturalization process for those who legally enter our country. The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 does not meet these criteria.
I will continue to fight for legislation that secures our borders and improves enforcement of our immigration laws. I have introduced an immigration bill, the ENFORCE Act (S. 1269), that I think is a step in the right direction. You can view the text of the bill and other important information about my views on immigration at my website: http://inhofe.senate.gov .
Thank you again for sharing your opinion. Please continue to contact me about issues that are important to you.
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