Feb. 27, 2006: Tancredo Calls Specter's Bill Unmitigated Disaster
Tancredo Calls Specters Bill Unmitigated Disaster
WASHINGTON, D.C. Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) assailed Sen. Arlen Specters 13 million person amnesty that the Judiciary Committee chairman introduced today. Specters bill, which is expected to be used as the basis of immigration discussions in the Senate Judiciary Committee next month, would grant a blanket amnesty to illegal aliens currently in the U.S., adds almost no personnel or equipment to secure the border, fails to significantly increase penalties for illegal employers, and overwhelms Americas immigration system with countless new legal immigrants.
Words almost fail to describe the threat this bill poses to our national and economic security, said Tancredo. By legalizing the millions upon millions of illegal aliens in the U.S., Specter makes a mockery of our laws and crushes our already strained legal immigration system. The American people will not stand by idly as this unmitigated disaster makes its way through the Senate.
In addition to its massive amnesty, Specters bill does almost nothing to secure our porous borders from illegal immigrantswhether they come for work or for more nefarious purposes. For example, Congress has already authorized at least 10,000 new Customs and Border Protection officers; Specter wants to hire a paltry 250. Since 1996, Congress funded a functional entry-exit system for immigration screening (known as US-VISIT)the Administration still has not implemented the program, and Specters bill merely calls for a timeline for implementation. The House reform bill authorized more than 700 miles of border fencing; Specters bill calls for yet another study into a fence.
Specter substitutes studies for security and wide-open employment for enforcement. Waving the white flag and retreating from the border is no solution to our immigration woes, said Tancredo. Apparently Specter thinks that if we make illegal behavior legal, our border security problems will go away. Appeasing lawbreakers does nothing to block terrorists from sneaking into the U.S. or root out terrorists who might already have gotten in.
On top of processing the 13 million or more illegal aliens, Specters bill crushes the already strained legal immigration system with a new class of guest workers with no numerical limit and a loophole for student green cards.
Millions more legal immigrants on top of a mass amnesty will overwhelm our agencies, said Tancredo.
