Gang of Eight Prevails In Senate Judiciary Committee

Moments after the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the immigration reform bill by a vote of 13-5, spectators in the packed committee room erupted in shouts of “Yes, we can! Si, se puede!”

It was just like old times, reminiscent of an Obama campaign rally in 2008. Democrats on the committee were gleeful. They basked in the crowd’s adulation, shaking hands and posing for pictures.

The celebration came after five days of deliberation that...

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They’re not listening to the people closest to the problem

The greatest irony of the immigration reform debate has been the exclusion of the law enforcement officers most responsible for border security and the detention of illegal immigrants.

When the Gang of Eight in the Senate unveiled its reform bill last month in a major Capitol Hill news conference, no law enforcement officials or officers were invited to speak. Instead, the event featured speakers from a wide array of special intere...

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Proponents of the Senate immigration reform bill repeat their talking points so often that by now they are almost as familiar as popular advertising slogans.

But like all slogans, the talking points used to advance immigration reform don’t stand up to scrutiny. Jon Feere of the Center for Immigration Studies throws cold water on all of them.

“On close inspection, however, the hoops illegal immigrants are required to jump through do not amount to much,” Feere writes in a critique of the tal...

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Senator Gail Griffin

(Phoenix, State Capitol) —-Senator Gail Griffin of Hereford has been appointed Co-Chair of the Joint Border Security Advisory Committee, Senate President Andy Biggs announced. Senator Griffin has been a member of the committee since March 2011.

Senator Griffin has a long history of working toward securing our borders and getting our message to the federal government that our borders are not safe. She knows firsthand the danger: her home sits just 15 minutes from the U....

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As the Gang of Eight and their cohorts on the Senate Judiciary Committee railroad the immigration reform bill through the Senate panel, one senator stands out as the guardian of the rule of law and the sovereignty of the United States: Jeff Sessions of Alabama.

Other Republicans on the committee have stood firm, including Senators Grassley, Hatch, Cornyn, Lee, and Cruz. But Sessions has been the strongest advocate of measures to make the bill tougher.

Sessions and his like-minded colleagues fail...

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From Heritage:

Jeff Flake Votes with Democratic Majority

It was only the first day of consideration of the Gang of Eight’s immigration reform bill, but it was clear from the outset that the fix was in.

The Senate Judiciary Committee convened Thursday to consider amendments to the 867-page reform bill. Most were approved by voice vote. Seven amendments aimed at enforcement were defeated.

Shortly after the Committee session, ranking member Chuck Grassley said he was disappointed that “alliances” seem to ha...

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Another Massive Program Without Public Support

Congress is about to make the same mistake with immigration reform that it did with Obamacare: Pass a massive program that lacks support among the voters.

Politicians live and die by the polls. They obsess over polls at election time, but they also follow polls closely as they consider crucial votes.

Not so with Obamacare. Democrats ignored public opinion throughout the healthcare debate in 2009 and passed the law on party line votes in early 2010. ...

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Heritage Foundation Puts the Tab at $6.3 Trillion

Just in time for Senate consideration of the immigration reform bill, the Heritage Foundation added fuel to the debate with an astonishing estimate of the cost of amnesty: $6.3 trillion.

The cost estimate was released as the Senate Judiciary Committee prepared for consideration of the bill in a session set for Thursday. Tuesday marked the deadline for committee members to submit amendments.

Robert Rector, the lead author of the Heritage estimate,...

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The Hot Spot is Western Free Press’s forum for letters to the editor and opinion pieces submitted by readers. If you would like to submit a piece for consideration, email us at hotspot@westernfreepress.com. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of Western Free Press.

by Glenn Hamer

And so it begins. After six years since the last substantive debates over immigration reform, the Senate Judiciary Committee last week began hearings on the Border Security, Econo...

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Arrest data manipulated. Laws ignored. Dangerous criminals released into communities.

Law enforcement warnings and concerns entirely unheeded.

America’s immigration policy is off the rails, and the Gang of Eight doesn’t look likely to get it back on track.

Measure Fails to Live Up to Promises

After a full week of consideration in the Senate Judiciary Committee, the so-called comprehensive immigration reform bill is in trouble.

It is not living up to its billing; it is wilting under scrutiny.

Proponents of the bill conducted a full-scale media blitz to promote the measure; opponents countered with questions about the full impact of the bill.

While the sparring in the Committee was only the opening round, proponents of the bill are determined to mov...

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Since the 2012 re-election of Democrats to the Senate and White House, comprehensive immigration reform (or any other governmental “reform” acceptable to conservatives) is probably an impossible dream. But that doesn’t mean Republicans shouldn’t support any and all legislation that is not “comprehensive” and craved by the Schumers of the world:

RUSH (Limbaugh): …I must tell you: I just don’t understand this, Senator (Rubio).  I don’t underst...

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Group Calls for “Day of Action” Early in May

The Obama administration is mobilizing millions of supporters in a national effort to pass the immigration reform bill drafted by the Gang of Eight in the Senate.

The vehicle for the campaign-style effort is Organizing for Action (OFA), the group formed after the 2012 campaign to support the president’s second-term legislative agenda.

In an email to OAF members last weekend, Emmy Ruiz, OFA’s immigration campaign manager, said supporters “acr...

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I’ve been holding off writing anything about the horrific events at the Boston Marathon until the suspect or suspects had been arrested because until then, I couldn’t see any point in discussing it.  Then it occurred to me that what I was overlooking was the way that every other media outlet has covered the story.

That first night, even Fox devoted every single second to repeating the few facts anyone knew and showing the same ten seconds of video.  I’m not suggesting that the catastroph...

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The bombings in Boston already have spilled over into the Senate debate on immigration reform, with the line drawn between those who think reform will help and those who think it will impede the ongoing war on terror. The conflict could delay or even derail the push for immigration reform.

The battle line was drawn as early as last Friday morning when the Senate Judiciary Committee convened the first hearing on the Gang of Eight’s immigration reform bill.

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the ra...

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Whenever we see the word comprehensive attached to a huge piece of legislation designed to tackle a major issue, we should take cover and hold onto our wallets.

The so-called comprehensive approach to solving vexing national problems is now standard operating procedure in the United States Congress. It is a misguided and deeply flawed approach that leads to bureaucratic bloat, runaway costs, and a host of unintended consequences.

The Congressional debate on so-called comprehensive immigration re...

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YUMA, ARIZONA –– U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04), joined by Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, received a border briefing at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona to better understand the new technology available for border security and safety. The Yuma border sector has shown dramatic success in stopping illegal immigration starting in 2005. The Yuma sector utilizes state of the art radar and thermal imaging and uses close coordination among the border patrol, the Mari...

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Can Schumer’s legalization first, border security later approach actually fly?

As the Gang of Eight unveiled the long-awaited immigration reform bill, the contentious issue of legal status for illegal immigrants vs. verifiable border security remains the crux of the issue.

Presentation of the reform bill Thursday was a major Senate production. The Gang of Eight appeared en masse to hail the wisdom of their work and congratulate each other for the bipartisan effort that started in January.

New...

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Legislation Is Rushed to Judgment Behind Closed Doors

The United States Senate once moved at a slow and deliberative pace, careful to conduct its work in contrast to the fast-moving schedule in the House of Representatives.

Those days are long gone. Today the Senate is a legislative freight train moving down the track at a breakneck pace with little regard for the details of sound legislating.

Totally abandoned is the legislative process known as “regular order.” In plain English, regular or...

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