McCain Faces Backlash At Home for Amnesty Support
“Fuming Arizona constituents fired criticism at Sen. John McCain over illegal immigration at town halls Tuesday. ‘You said ‘build the dang fence’ – where’s the fence?’ one constituent named Keith Smith demanded of McCain. ‘He doesn’t want the American people to stand up and ask him the tough questions and hold his feet to the fire,’ Smith told NBC affiliate KPNX,” NBC News reports.
“McCain told the crowd that Americans would not support a move to arrest all illegal immigrants in the United States and deport them. He also said he wouldn’t support an effort to make people who had been in the United States illegally for decades to become guest workers because ‘we’re a Judeo-Christian principled nation,’ drawing an angry response from some in the crowd.”
Poll Shows Majority Favor Deportation
“More than half of U.S. citizens believe that most or all of the country’s 11 million illegal immigrants should be deported, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday that highlights the difficulties facing lawmakers trying to reform the U.S. immigration system. The online survey shows resistance to easing immigration laws despite the biggest push for reform in Congress since 2007,” Reuters reports.
“These results are in line with other polls in recent years, suggesting that people’s views on immigration have not changed dramatically since the immigration debate reignited in Congress last month, according to Ipsos pollster Julia Clark.”
Federal ID May Be Part of Amnesty Plan
“Key senators are exploring an immigration bill that would force every U.S. worker–citizen or not–to carry a high-tech identity card that could use fingerprints or other personal markers to prove a person’s legal eligibility to work,” the Wall Street Journal writes.
“The idea, signaled only in vaguely worded language from senators crafting a bipartisan immigration bill, has privacy advocates and others concerned that the law would create a national identity card that, in time, could track Americans at airports, hospitals and through other facets of their lives.”
Turnover Means Many In Congress Has Not Debated Immigration
“More than half of Congress has turned over since the last time the House and Senate tried to move legislation to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws. The high turnover rate bolsters the argument of Republican leaders, who say Congress must move methodically on immigration. President Obama, meanwhile, has pushed for swift passage of a bill, saying lawmakers have long debated the issue,” The Hill reports. “Only 54 current senators were in the Senate in June of 2007, when the upper chamber last voted on comprehensive immigration and border-security legislation.”