The Discerning Texan

All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke
Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Cornyn's Masterstroke

Texas' own John Cornyn has offered up an Amendment that closes some (but not all) of the loopholes in the Amnesty Bill. But the beauty of Cornyn's bill is that it might be political suicide to vote against it (via Captain Ed).

John Cornyn has proposed an even more critical amendment, one that appears to have Democrats a bit flummoxed:

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship subcommittee, on Wednesday introduced an amendment to the immigration bill to close a gaping loophole in the bill that will ensure the following individuals are either permanently barred from the United States or prohibited from getting any immigration benefit: members of terrorist-related organizations, known gang members, sex offenders, alien smugglers who use firearms and felony drunk drivers.

“The question I put to my colleagues is this: Should Congress permanently bar from the U.S. and from receiving any immigration benefit: suspected terrorists, gang members, sex offenders, felony drunk drivers, and other individuals who are a danger to society?,” Sen. Cornyn said. “I hope that every Senator would answer this question with a positive response.

Sen. Cornyn’s amendment also closes the loophole in the pending bill that allows legalization of those illegal immigrants who have violated court ordered deportations, or absconders.

This will address two key points on the Heritage Foundation's list of issues about the immigration proposal. It also creates an almost unbearable political situation. Who will go on record as endorsing the entry/normalization of gang members, coyotes, sex offenders, and other undesirables? Whoever votes against the Cornyn amendment will have to deal with election advertisements that say, "Senator X voted to allow known sex offenders and drunk drivers in your community."

Good luck rebutting those.

It also addresses the issue of absconders. These are people who have deportation orders that they have ignored until now. Heritage estimates that over 600,000 absconders would receive de facto pardons under this plan.

Cornyn wants to restore the rule of law and the authority of the criminal-justice system by denying them profit from their refusal to obey a court order. It's another tough point for critics to rebut. If Cornyn can get his amendment to the floor, expect it to pass by an overwhelming margin.

Cornyn's Amendment is undoubtedly one that would need to be in any package that were to become law. But it is only a step in the right direction; there is a lot more that requires correction in this piece of s*** bill ...

One wonders if the biggest loophole of all can be closed; namely that of the fact that there is not process nor funding to properly screen those already here before they are granted de facto amnesty. In light of Todd Bensman's frightening 5-part series on the trafficking of illegals from "countries of interest"--i.e. Islamic countries, a lot more needs to be done.

In case you have missed it, Bensman--a reporter with the San Antonio Express-News--has become an instant celebrity with his hard-hitting series, one part of which I linked to yesterday. Hugh Hewitt has links to all 5 parts an interview with Bensman, and a graphical representation of the findings. Anyone weighing in on this issue will want to review Bensman's work.

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DiscerningTexan, 5/23/2007 07:56:00 PM |