Conservative Advocates Claim Immigration Reform Bill is Not a Plan for Amnesty

Dr. Bill Smith, Editor: I often share articles by Bethany Monk because I agree with most of the positions in CitizensLink articles. This time I am not in agreement with presuming that "some" conservatives pushing the referenced bill are not pushing amnesty. While there may be a few  "conservative advocates," there are even more non-conservatives and liberals involved. I do agree with her added link titled "Read The Bill." I am also concerned about the enacting regulations that will be written by the present administration. Failure of DHS and DOJ to enforce all immigration laws and the travesty of "Fast and Furious"gun running by the DOJ has created doubt and an unwillingness to trust the present administration.

Seems to me that any bill claiming to be "comprehensive reform" for any topic deserves to be tabled for review for minimum of 30 days after it is introduced before it is voted on. Consider the mess that the comprehensive health care reform pushed through by democrats after Speaker Pelois told her colleagues, "We will have to vote on the bill before we can know what is in it." Insanity is repeating this same process. The image to the right is shared by me and is not from the original article.

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by Bethany Monk, CitizensLink: The immigration bill introduced by Senators Wednesday is a far cry from amnesty, which some have erroneously claimed.

Tom Minnery, executive director of CitizenLink, called it “The strongest and potentially the toughest immigration reform bill we have ever seen.”

“It is not amnesty,” he added. “Amnesty is generally a forgiveness for wrongs usually in a political context. This bill would require those who want to have status in this country to pay fines, taxes and admit they’re wrong.”

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced the 844-page bill. Schumer is a member of the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” — four Democrats and four Republicans who drafted the legislation.

The bill creates a 13-year path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants, but applicants must pay fines and meet other criteria. The bill is called the Border Security, Economic Opportunity & Immigration Modernization Act. It has six basic provisions:

• Border Security Plan: DHS must create, fund and initiate a border security plan (within 6 months).
• Border Fence Plan: DHS must create, fund and initiate a border fence plan (within 6 months).
• Border Security Metrics: DHS must achieve 100-percent border awareness and at least 90-percent apprehension rates in high-risk sectors of the border (within 5 years).
• Border Commission: If DHS fails to achieve the previous provision, a commission of border state officials and stakeholders is required to create a plan to achieve 100-percent border awareness and at least 90-percent apprehension rates in high-risk sectors (within 10 years).
• Employment Verification: Universal E-verify must be implemented within 10 years. 
• Stop Visa Overstays: Visa exit system must be implemented at all international airports and seaports (within 10 years).

Sen. Marco Rubio, a member of the Gang of Eight, also refutes claims that it amounts to amnesty.

“Our immigration system is broken,” the Florida Republican said. “This bill … will fix our broken system by securing our borders, improving interior enforcement, modernizing our legal immigration to help create jobs and protect American workers, and dealing with our undocumented population in a tough but humane way that is fair to those trying to come here the right way and linked to achieving several security triggers.”

Minnery wants to ensure that families stay together.  “We want very much to see family cohesion, in other words, the smallest amount of separation for parents whose children may be left behind — for a husband whose wife maybe left behind,” Minnery said. “We want to see families united quickly.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Read the bill.
• Read a one-page summary of the bill.
• Read Frequently Asked Questions about the legislation.

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