>> House Republicans Blast Senate Immigration Reform Bill

14 June 2010

HOUSE REPUBLICANS BLAST SENATE IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL

June and July Should Prove to Be a Very Interesting Month on This Issue.

According to the Washington Post, Several of the extreme anti-immigration reform republicans in the House yesturday blasted the Senate’s immigration reform proposal, saying that it grants broad amnesty to illegal aliens and is even worse than previously thought. 

House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Wisconsin Republican, said of the bill, “The more people see of this Senate bill, the less they like it,” For example he said that allowing illegals to collect Social Security benefits based on past illegal work, for instance, is “outrageous”. 

One of the provisions, a last-minute amendment that requires the U.S. to consult with Mexican officials before commencement of any fence construction along the border, seems to have perplexed the republicans. “I don’t know what they were thinking on that one,” Mr. Sensenbrenner said. 

Mr. Sensenbrenner sited what he called “far more serious problems” with the Senate bill than the fence consent provision. 

For instance, the bill allows for the discounted in-state tuition rates at state colleges and universities for illegal aliens who reside in those states. Meanwhile, legal immigrants and citizens who reside outside that state must still pay the full price. 

And while aliens will be fined $2,000 before obtaining lawful permanent residence, opponents say it’s hardly comparable punishment for the array of crimes the illegals have committed while working here. In addition to sneaking across the border, many have counterfeited documentation, committed Social Security fraud and cheated on taxes. 

”An American who commits Social Security fraud ends up going to jail. An American who fails to pay taxes for two years ends up in the federal penitentiary,” Mr. Sensenbrenner said. “An illegal alien who does this gets citizenship.”