Immigration Bill: Too Close to Call

Sen. Mitch McConnell was on Face "Is that still on?" the Nation yesterday. He addressed the immigration bill.

(CBS/AP) -- The Senate's top Republican said Sunday he could not predict whether the stalled immigration reform bill will pass, citing questions among conservatives as to whether it guarantees amnesty to illegal immigrants.

"It's a mixed picture," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appearing on CBS' Face the Nation. "There are good things in the bill, and not-so-good things in the bill."

What McConnell refers to as the "not-so-good things" are actually HORRENDOUS things.

Read the some of the bill's loopholes.

This is a bad bill. It's not a solution to the ILLEGAL immigration problem. It's just the opposite. It invites the problems that already exist to grow.

Give me your criminals, your sex offenders,

Your huddled masses yearning to get U.S. taxpayers to support them.

McConnell and Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada last week said they planned to revive the legislation after critics of the measure initially succeeded in sidetracking it. The decision came after President Bush made a rare visit to the Capitol for a meeting with Republican senators, where he urged them to give the bill a second chance.

The legislation has generated intense controversy, particularly for provisions that could lead to eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 12 million immigrants now in the country unlawfully.

On Sunday, McConnell said several Republicans (including himself) were disappointed with provisions involving the so-called Z-visa, which provides a means for illegal immigrants to gain interim legal status.

On the other hand, support for bill provisions that would boost money for border security is strong, he said.

Sorry. The so-called good provisions do not out weigh the bad.

The bill is not a solution to ILLEGAL immigration.

Libs and the Leftist media and the WHITE HOUSE are having a field day calling opponents of the bill racist and compassionless.

That's unfair.

We need a REAL solution to deal with the people entering the country ILLEGALLY.

Charles Krauthammer argues for a good first step.

BUILD THE FENCE.

Why not start by passing what everyone says they want? After all, proponents of this comprehensive reform insist that the current situation is intolerable and must be resolved. It follows, therefore, that however much they differ in the details of how the current mess should be resolved, they are united in the belief that such a mess should not be allowed to happen again. And the only way to make sure of that is border control.

So why not pass it, with the understanding that the other contentious provisions would be taken up subsequently? Because for all the protestations, many of those who say they are deeply devoted to enforcement are being deeply disingenuous. They profess to care about immigration control because they have to. But they care so little about the issue that they are willing to make it hostage to the other controversial provisions, most notably legalization.

Why am I so suspicious about the fealty of the reformers to real border control? In part because of the ridiculous debate over the building of a fence. Despite the success of the border barrier in the San Diego area, it appears to be very important that this success not be repeated. The current Senate bill provides for the fencing of no more than one-fifth of the border and the placing of vehicle barriers in no more than one-ninth.

...A fence announces to the world that America is closed to ... illegal immigrants. What’s wrong with that? Is not every country in the world the same? The only reason others don’t need such a barrier is because they are not half as attractive as America, not because we are more oppressive or less welcoming.

Fences are ugly, I grant you that. But not as ugly as 12 million people living in the shadows in a country that has forfeited control of its borders.

...We all agree on enforcement, don’t we? So let’s do it. Make it simple. And do it now.

I've said this over and over again.

The U.S. should have started construction on a fence on the afternoon of September 11, 2001.

Yes, I know that the 9/11 hijackers originally came into the country legally, blah, blah, blah.

That's a lame excuse for not plugging our porous borders.

There's a gaping hole in Bush's plan to solidify his legacy as the president that dealt with the terrorist threat.

WE NEED A FENCE.

I propose that the White House and the pro-amnesty Republicans quit playing games, quit pretending they're tough on terror.

Why not just remove all immigration laws from the books?

Let everybody and anybody in the country.

What could show more compassion than that?

What could be less racist?

No restrictions. Everyone's welcome. Let them all in.

Why not?

They've had over five years after the 9/11 attacks to take concrete action to secure our borders.

How many ILLEGALS have slipped into the country during that time?

How many terrorists?

Who knows?

NO ONE DOES.

The passage of this particular immigration bill may be too close to call.

What's not too close to call is the fact that our government has failed us by failing to secure the borders.

That mistake may prove to be fatal for thousands of Americans.

That's not fear-mongering. That's not racist.

That's certain.