Illegal Immigration Watch: George Will – Between a Rock and ‘Reform’

U.S. Rep. Steve King ( news , bio , voting record ), R-Iowa, speaks during a rally to build a fence along the U.S./Mexican border near Palominas, Ariz. on Saturday, May 27, 2006. Scores of volunteers gathered at a remote ranch Saturday to help a civilian border-patrol group start building a short security fence in hopes of reducing illegal immigration from Mexico.

Real Clear Politics: George Will – Between a Rock and ‘Reform’

As members of the House and Senate head for a conference to try to reconcile the stark and probably irreconcilable differences incorporated in their two immigration bills, Republicans are between a rock and a hard place. And another rock. And another.

First, if the conferees agree to anything like the Senate bill, the House will reject it — if it comes to a vote. Speaker Dennis Hastert has a “majority of the majority” rule: Nothing comes to the floor that does not have the support of a majority of Republicans. Probably 75 percent of House Republicans — including Sensenbrenner, who will probably be the lead House negotiator — oppose the two pillars of the Senate bill, a guest worker program and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already here. Actually, there are three paths — one for those who have been here five or more years, one for those who have been here between two and five years, and a path away from citizenship and the country for those who have been here less than two years. This plan, which is a huge incentive for the sort of traffic in fraudulent documents that is already pandemic, is to be enforced by a government that will not or cannot enforce existing immigration laws.

Second, if the conference agrees to anything like the House “enforcement first and, for now, only” bill, it will be rejected or filibustered to death in the Senate. All but six Democrats voted for the Senate bill, which a majority of Republicans opposed, so it has no momentum for respect among House Republican conferees.

Third, if any legislation is passed that contains any provision that can be stigmatized as “amnesty,” come November some of the Republican base, which is already boiling, will emigrate from the political process by not voting.

Fourth, if no immigration legislation is enacted, voters of various stripes may say, as voters said of congressional Democrats who were in disarray over a crime bill in the summer of 1994, these people cannot govern and should be given, like unruly 8-year-olds, a time out. The time out is now in its 12th year.

But if Congress fails to pass immigration reform, that will not really deserve to be called a failure, for two reasons. First, the moment may not be ripe for reform because the country is of two minds — actually, more than two — about the issue. Second, the system the Framers created, with two legislative bodies having different dynamics because their constituencies have different characteristics, is in this instance performing approximately as the Framers intended.

Will has it partially RIGHT.

If the Congress were to pass legislation granting illegal alien amnesty, the GOP would lose majority control of the House and possibly the Senate.

The President has already committed the National Guard to secure the USA-Mexico border. There is no reason to believe that funds will be not appropriated for this mission and additional border security measures will be added incrementally without passage of “comprehensive” or AMNESTY legislation.

Flap handicaps a less than a 50 per cent chance that House-Senate conferees will be able to agree on ANY immigration bill. If the House Republican majority holds firm, and resists the Senate AMNESTY Path to Citizenship the GOP will benefit – or at least not lose their conservative base.

There is no advantage to the GOP to pass ILLEGAL ALIEN AMNESTY.
Will President Bush show increased resolve to secure the borders without a comprehensive plan/bill?

You betcha unless he plans to veto appropriation bills.

KEEP THE PRESSURE ON YOUR CONGRESSMAN.

Send a Brick to YOUR Congressman.

But, most importantly tell your Congressman if they do NOT vote to Secure OUR Borders First that you will NOT VOTE for their ELECTION OR RE-ELECTION.

Tell them NOT ONE DIME NOR ONE VOTE.

BORDER SECURITY FIRSTâ€¦â€¦.