
UNDER THE DOME National Legislation
Immigration Reform (S.1348)
The United States Senate has been debating the so-
called "Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and
Immigration Reform Act of 2007" all this week, and
they will continue their debate and vote on final
passage after the Memorial Day recess.
Concerned Women for America (CWA) is
apprehensive about the lack of border security to
protect our country from terrorists and all illegal aliens.
We firmly believe that our government's priority is to
develop and maintain strong border controls to protect
us from foreign terrorists and the flow of illegal
immigration.
This so-called comprehensive reform legislation
simply does not do this, no matter how loudly
proponents of this bill say otherwise. S. 1348 is
nothing more than a shell game that does not protect
our borders!
Proponents of this bill are touting the so-
called "triggers" that must pass before granting
amnesty, such as border control agents and adequate
facilities to detain illegal immigrants. However, the bill
only authorizes these provisions without actually
providing the funds, so it is not clear if these "triggers"
will actually ever be met. This is not the first time the
Congress has done this. During last session the
Senate passed a bill that would authorize the building
of a fence to secure our border but didn't actually
appropriate any money for construction. Proponents of
this new bill actually used the building of the fence as
a "trigger" but are only insisting that half of the fence
be built before the amnesty provisions kick in. With the
government's lackluster 25-year track record on this
issue, can we truly believe this fence will ever be fully
constructed?
Worse yet, under this new bill, before the "triggers" are
met, illegal immigrants can receive "probationary
visas." And it's not clear in the bill's language what
happens to all these people with probationary visas if
these "triggers" are never met.
S. 1348 also lacks provisions that will require cultural
assimilation such as English First provisions.
Requirements for new visa holders to learn English
will only become mandatory after they live in the U.S.
for eight years.
If we are serious about protecting and securing our
borders, we must do more than simply engage in
emotional rhetoric. Our legislators must consider an
immigration bill that actually controls our borders and
strengthens our national security!
Contact Sen. Brownback and Sen. Roberts. Ask them
to oppose all efforts that do not adequately remedy the
problem of illegal immigration. Following are some
talking points:
"Concerned Women for America is concerned with the
lack of border security to protect America from
terrorists and all illegal immigration."
Our goal is that our nation develop and maintain
strong border controls to protect us from foreign
terrorists and the flow of illegal immigration. We
welcome legal immigrants, especially those fleeing
government persecution because of their religious
beliefs or other basic human rights.
S. 1348 is a shell game that doesn't protect our
borders.
- So-called triggers (components of the bill that
must be passed before amnesty is given) like more
border control agents and adequate facilities to detain
illegal aliens are authorized in the bill but not funded.
Additionally, the measures on which the triggers rest
are already authorized and underway in previously
passed legislation.
- The fence authorized (not entirely funded) in the
last Congress is actually cut in half, in that only half of
the fence will need to be built. Proponents will tell you
that this provision is actually one of the triggers meant
as a down payment - amnesty won't be given to
illegal aliens until half of the fence is built. Given the
track record of the United States Government on this
issue over the last 25 years, who believes that fence
will ever actually be built?
- Even before the triggers are met, illegal
immigrants will be given "probationary visas"
regardless of whether they have been deported before
and reentered the country again illegally. Illegal
aliens could be barred, but if they aren't identified as a
security or terror risk within 24 hours of applying for
the provisional document via a "background check,"
they get the documentation necessary to make their
stay in the country legal and "temporary."
- If the triggers are not met, this government-created
underclass of temporary "citizens" will be able to stay
in the United States and enjoy many of the privileges
and benefits of American citizenship. This includes a
social security number.
- The bill's "triggers" are basically meaningless
since amnesty occurs regardless of whether the
triggers are met, and most of these requirements are
either already in place or authorized by current law.
For instance, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
already has 27,500 detention beds, DHS is on
schedule to have 18,000 Border Patrol agents in the
next two years (they currently have almost 15,000
agents) and DHS is already required by law to build
over 700 miles of fencing along the border (the 370
miles required by this "trigger" may effectively be a
cut). The trigger does not require true border
security.
S. 1348 lacks provisions that will require cultural
assimilation such as English First
provisions.
- Proponents will rightly tell you that there are certain
provisions for English First in the pages of this bill,
however, they often fail to tell you that in later parts or
provisions these very same provisions are essentially
gutted.
- The Senate Amnesty Bill does require these new
visa holders learn English, but only after eight years in
the United States.
- Prior to those eight years, the bill only requires
that, upon application for the first "extension," the new
visa holder "attempt" to gain an understanding of the
English language. That attempt is shown
by "taking" - not passing - the naturalization
test and being placed on a waiting list for
English classes, yet not actually attending
classes.
S. 1348 shows disrespect for the family and for
the unique contribution of fathers. It encourages
heads of households - "predominately" males - to
leave their families to come to the United States and
work. Many of these "fathers" never
return.
- The so-called Guest Worker program provision,
which will allow 200,000 people to come into our
country to work per year, will encourage families to
initially be apart for a two year period.
- Because there is no adequate mechanism to
ensure that these new so-called guest workers return
home, many families will ultimately be destroyed or
they will stay here.
- The Guest Worker program is unworkable. It
either invites family separation and encourages
deadbeat fathers or allows the full family (if the worker
is paid at least 150% of federal poverty level and has
health insurance) to accompany them while virtually
ensuring the birth of anchor babies whose US.
Citizenship will ensure there is no "guest" to
the "temporary" worker program.
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of
2007
H.R.2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of
2007 (ENDA), was introduced by Rep. Barney Frank
(D-Massachusetts.) This legislation would apply to
businesses of 15 or more employees and would
prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of
actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender
identity.
Expressing CWA's opposition to ENDA, Shari Rendall,
CWA's Director of Legislation and Public Policy,
said, "This bill would unfairly extend special privileges
based upon an individual's changeable sexual
behaviors, rather than focusing on immutable, non-
behavior characteristics such as skin color or gender.
Its passage would both overtly discriminate against
and muzzle people of faith. Former Secretary of State
Colin Powell put it well when he said, 'Skin color is a
benign, non-behavioral characteristic. Sexual
orientation is perhaps the most profound of human
behavioral characteristics. Comparison of the two is a
convenient but invalid argument.'"
Hate Crimes
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention
Act (H.R.1592) passed the House, 237-180. Two
Kansas Representatives voted "Yes": Rep. Nancy
Boyda (D-2nd District) and Rep. Dennis Moore (D-3rd
District); and two voted "No": Rep. Jerry Moran (R-1st
District) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-4th District.)
This bill is now in the Senate Judiciary committee.
President Bush has promised to veto this legislation,
and CWA will work to secure enough votes against it
so that the veto will not be overridden.
Equal Rights Amendment (H.J.Res.40 and
S.J.Res.10)
Introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) and
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), the new
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a rehash of the
one that failed to get the required number of states to
ratify it in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then women's
rights have indeed improved, and, in fact, many of
those rights would be stripped away under a new
ERA. The Violence Against Women Act would be
considered discriminatory against men. The Food
and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Women's
Health, which seeks to "ensure that FDA functions,
both regulatory and oversight, remain gender
sensitive and responsive," could be found
unconstitutional under this new amendment.
Not only would gains such as those be negated, it
would pave the way for dangerous new laws, such
as "same-sex" marriage, federally funded abortion on
demand, the inclusion of women in the draft and co-
ed prisons. Because of the progress already made, it
appears that there is an agenda to re-introducing this
amendment at this time: the promotion of a gender-
neutral agenda through the suppression of natural
differences between men and women.
Contact your Senators and your Representative, and
ask them to oppose this amendment.
Grassroots Lobbying
The U.S. House of Representatives passed their
version of lobbying reform without the controversial
amendment (H.R.2093) proposed by Rep. Marty
Meehan (D-Massachusetts.) Organizations such as
CWA, who inform their membership about issues
before the legislature and ask them to contact their
legislators on specific legislation, would have been
redefined as lobbyists under H.R.2093, and as such
would have to abide by strict reporting requirements
and face stiff penalties for failure to do so. That would
have undermined the basic premise of our system of
government. The House Judiciary Committee
defeated the Meehan amendment in a committee
working session earlier this month. Early in the year,
the Senate also stripped the grassroots provision
from their version of lobbying reform. Senators and
Representatives credit grassroots activism for saving
grassroots activism. Thank you to all of you
who took the time to make your voice heard on this
important potential threat to our First Amendment
rights!
Other legislation that we are tracking:
Parents Tax Relief Act
The Parents Tax Relief Act (PTRA) (S. 816 and
H.R. 1421) would provide tax breaks to
parents, make the Child Tax Credit permanent,
eliminate the Marriage Tax Penalty, extend Social
Security benefits to stay-at-home parents and
encourage more family-friendly employment
opportunities. CWA supports this
legislation.
Military Readiness Enhancement Act
Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Massachusetts) has
introduced
legislation that would repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
policy in the U.S. military which was put in place by the
Clinton administration. CWA opposes this
legislation.
Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act
H.R. 1063 would prohibit taking minors
across state
lines in circumvention of laws requiring the
involvement of
parents in abortion decisions. CWA supports
this
legislation.
Banning Federal Funding of Mandating the HPV
Vaccine
This bill would prohibit federal funds from being used
to
implement a mandatory vaccine program for the
human
papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease
and a
cause of cervical cancer.
RU-486 Suspension and Review Act of
2007
H.R. 63 asks for a complete review of the
process by
which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approved the
chemical abortion pill known as RU-486. CWA
supports
this legislation.
Pledge Protection Act of 2007
Rep. Todd Akin (R-Missouri) introduced H.R.
699,
which would deny jurisdiction to any federal court to
hear or
decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of
the
Pledge of Allegiance or its validity under the
Constitution.
CWA supports this legislation.
CEDAW
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed the U.N.
Convention
on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination
Against
Women (CEDAW), but the U.S. Senate must ratify it by
a two-
thirds majority for it to be adopted in the United
States.
It has
been buried in the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee for 27
years, and CWA is concerned that pressure by
feminist activists
may cause Senators to bring the treaty up for a
committee
vote, followed by a vote on the Senate floor. CWA
opposes this treaty.
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act
CWA strongly supports the Unborn Child Pain
Awareness Act (S. 356) which would require
abortion
providers to inform women past the 20th week after
fertilization
that their unborn children will undergo severe pain
during an
abortion, and that anesthesia is available upon
request for the
child they are about to abort.
Public Expressions of Religion Act (PERA)
The Public Expressions of Religion Act (S.
415) would
prevent activist groups from using a 1970s-era civil
rights law to
recover attorney's fees when they sue local cities and
towns in
cases related to public displays of religion and faith.
CWA
supports this legislation.
Grassroots Lobbying (S. 1)
Passed by the Senate, and Passed by the House.
See above.
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Funding (H.R. 3)
After the House of Representatives passed this bill, it
was sent
to the Senate. The Senate passed its own version of
federal funding of embryonic stem cell research (S.5)
by a vote of 63-34, a margin that is not enough
to override the President's promised veto.
"Hate Crimes" (H.R. 254)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) introduced the
David Ray
Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007, (H.R.
254), which
is now awaiting a hearing in the House Judiciary
Committee.
CWA is following this legislation very closely. Expect a
similar
bill to be introduced in the Senate.
Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121, or toll free: 888-
534-6226 or 877-762-8762.
Sen. Sam
Brownback
303 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-6521
Fax: (202) 228-1265
Sen. Pat
Roberts
109 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-1605
Phone: (202) 224-4774
Fax: (202) 224-3514
Rep.
Jerry Moran
2202 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2715
Fax: (202) 225-5124
Rep. Nancy
Boyda
1711 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-6601
Fax: (202) 225-7986
Rep. Dennis
Moore
1727 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2865
Fax: (202) 225-2807
Rep. Todd
Tiahrt
2441 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202.225.6216
Fax: 202.225.3489
CWA�s Web Site
Get up-to-date information on the national issues
that CWA is following. Check CWA's web site
regularly!
You can also find excellent background information
and talking points on many of the issues on CWA�s Legislative Action
Committee web site.
Thank You!
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Concerned Women for America of Kansas P. O. Box 11233 Shawnee Mission, KS 66207 Phone/Fax: 913-491-1380 Email: director@kansas.cwfa.org Web site: kansas.cwfa.org
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