To my Lou Dobbs Democrat friends

In last election cycle one of things we kept hearing about was the rise of a new demographic, the "Lou Dobbs Democrat." Dems, who for one reason or the other found Lou's mix of protectionism and reactionary populism appealing. Taking up the anti-"illegal" immigrant mantra of the right, our Lou Dobbs Democratic friends like to wrap their enforcement-only positions in the trappings of labor politics. ….they just want to protect American jobs and workers.

Most, if not all, opposed any attempt at forging a comprehensive plan for reforming our failing immigration system, and many in fact favored the strict and punitive legislation introduced by the Nativist Right. Just yesterday they were joining in the chorus of those claiming that the DREAM Act, a bill that would have provided thousands of undocumented kids the chance to earn a legal place in society, was nothing more that another "amnesty" from the far left.

But now today, they must come face to face with reality. Their longtime allies on the right who have opposed any meaningful reform, and instead call for harsher penalties and stricter enforcement, are planning on stabbing them in the back.

The very architect of the most punitive of any immigration legislation passed so far is about to give it one more try.

James Sensenbrenner plans on reintroducing the House bill that started the whole immigration debate almost two years ago. When originally passed, HR4437 caused such controversy that millions took to the streets to oppose it.

Of course at the time, Lou Dobbs and his new Lou Dobbs Democratic allies cheered the bill. It would, they said, restore the rule of law, and secure our borders …and of course protect the jobs of US workers and the middle class.

But now our wayward Democratic friends are about to learn a harsh lesson in reality. Sennsenbrenner has slightly modified the bill in two very import ways:

The first is to readjust the census so that only citizens are counted. This of course will cause redistricting and the loss of Democratic congressional seats in the areas that have heavy legal immigrant populations (legal permanent residents)…and where will those seats be lost for the most part? Blue states of course, the Northeast, California, Illinois, and most important of all, the emerging blue areas of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada.

And what else does Mr Sensenbrenner add to his new bill?....oh yeah, he doubles the number of H1b guestworkers allowed into the country to work in high-skilled jobs.

That's correct…those who have argued all along against guestworkes, and particularly H1B, high-skilled guestworkers, now think that we really do need them ….you know ..to do those jobs US computer programmers and electrical engineers won't do.

Become an Original Cosponsor of the Border Enforcement, Employment Verification, and Illegal Immigration Control Act

Dear Colleague:



In 2005, I introduced H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act. This bill put immigration reform on the national agenda. Although the bill passed the House by a vote of 239-182, the Senate failed to act on it.

My constituents have made clear to me that immigration is a pressing issue. In fact, they recently rated it as the biggest threat to our national security. Although some in the House may have given up on immigration reform, we cannot afford to sweep this problem under the rug. It is in this vein that I again attempt to raise awareness of the serious problem that Americans face.

Next week I will introduce new immigration legislation. My new bill offers real solutions to end illegal immigration by securing our nation’s borders and cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants. Many of the provisions in the new bill received bipartisan support in the 109th Congress.

The Border Enforcement, Employment Verification, and Illegal Immigration Control Act requires DHS to gain operational control over U.S. borders through the deployment of physical infrastructure, additional surveillance coverage and more effective deployment of personnel. This bill will help restore the integrity of our Nation’s borders and re-establish respect for our laws by holding violators accountable, including human traffickers, employers who hire illegal immigrants, and alien gang members who terrorize communities throughout the country.

I believe that the new legislation contains improvements over H.R. 4437. For example, it does not make illegal presence a felony. It authorizes $300 million annually in grants to states and localities for procurement of necessary items to facilitate their assistance in enforcing the immigration laws. It changes the census count to only include U.S. citizens, not those with work visas or “green cards” and those who entered the U.S. illegally, and it doubles the number of H1-B visas for skilled workers from 65,000 to 130,000.

I hope you will join me in sponsoring the Border Enforcement, Employment Verification, and Illegal Immigration Control Act to ensure that we secure our borders and turn off the job magnet that attracts illegal immigrants across the border. Please contact Michael Lenn at michael.lenn@mail.house.gov if you have questions regarding this legislation or wish to add your name as an original cosponsor.



Sincerely,
F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Member of Congress

So to my friends in the Programmer Guild and the IEEE who fought tooth and nail to kill meaningful immigration reform I say …good job there folks.

To our New-Democrat Netroots champions who sided every time with the right on immigration issues claiming they were protecting US workers I say ….way to go.

To our centrist DLC Democratic leadership who see immigration as "the third rail of politics" and don't want to touch it, I say …hope that redistricting works out OK for you

And to all my Lou Dobbs Democrat friends I say …job well done. Perhaps this time when millions of "illegal aliens" pour into the streets to oppose Sensnebrenner's new bill, maybe you'll be there right with them chanting si se puede.

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Sensenbrenner testy over accusations of bigotry

While in San Diego to preside over the House Republican traveling immigration road show last week, Judiciary Chairmen James Sensenbrenner sat down with the San Diego Union-Tribune editorial board for an interview. The architect of the House's strict enforcement only immigration bill that bears his name, and a chief spokesman for the anti-immigration wing of the Republican Party, had an oft times contentious interview as he tried to justify his positions on immigration reform.

As Ruben Navarrette Jr. reported today in his op-ed piece, "Is this an anti-Mexican debate?" the Wisconsin Republican was "likable but not very impressive."

Having been one of the chief forces in trying to move the "immigration crisis" to the front burner of national political discourse, Sensenbrenner now claims that it is "just one of many issues,” and Republicans were unlikely to suffer a backlash from voters if they fail to get anything done on immigration this year. He further backpedaled stating that the best way to attack the issue now might be to scrap all the current legislation and “start with a clean piece of paper and put together a clean bill that is neither the House bill nor the Senate bill - and then make sure it passes.”

Yet, it was Sensenbrenner's exchange with Navarrette about charges of bigotry that prompted the most animated exchange of the interview:

tags: immigration, Sensenbrenner, immigration reform , immigration hearing, HR4437, Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005

He was awfully thin-skinned when he talked – repeatedly – about “the name-calling . . . by a lot of the pro-immigrant advocates,” including officials of the Mexican government and protesters in Mexico City who, according to Sensenbrenner, have carried signs depicting him as a Nazi.

And he was evasive when I asked him about what he insisted was the major problem with the compromise plan offered by Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. The plan rejects amnesty but provides guest workers for employers.

What concerns Sensenbrenner is that the plan “provides unlimited immigration from Mexico and Central America.” I asked him if that meant he'd like to see a return to the pre-1965 system when we had immigration quotas based on country of origin.

No, he insisted, he didn't support quotas, but he and some of his GOP colleagues did have concerns about an “immigration system heavily weighted toward Mexicans and Central Americans rather than people from other parts of the world.” Then, he tried to change the subject.

I pressed him on whether rhetoric like that fed the perception that Republicans are flirting with nativism or racism. If you say the problem is that there are too many Mexicans, I asked, then why isn't the conversation anti-Mexican?

He tried to change the subject again. “A lot of the conversation is anti-Mexican,” he said, “because the Mexican government is committing, at the very least, a sin of omission. It's to their advantage for people to go north so they don't have to educate them and provide. . . .”

“I'm not talking about the Mexican government,” I interrupted. “I'm talking about the tenor of the debate in this country . . . and when you say that what worries you about the Pence plan is that we could have unlimited migration from Mexico, if you're Mexican and you hear that, the response is: 'Well then, this is an anti-Mexican discussion. . . . ' ''

By now Sensenbrenner was agitated, but still not eager to answer the question. “Well, I can say that the Mexican government has been absolutely disingenuous in attacking me right from the very beginning. . . . ”

“If you don't want to answer the question, that's fine,” I said.

Then he went from agitated to angry. “Well,” he said, “the Mexican government, I'm sorry Ruben, has been responsible for that.”

He was talking about the ugliness of the debate. He's not the bad guy, he insisted.

“I have tried my darnedest to keep the debate on the issue and not get involved in race-baiting by anybody,” he said. “I'm trying to get a responsible immigration bill passed that treats with fairness Hispanics who wish to immigrate into the United States. . . . ”

Yet Sensenbrenner thinks it's fair to object to a proposed solution on the grounds that it would allow in too many Latinos, and then insists that he's not appealing to bigotry.

You could have fooled me.

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