Continuing the plan to fast-track the yet-to-be-released Gang of Eight legislation, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a “Hearing on Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation” next Wednesday, April 17 at 2:30 p.m. Thus far, the only scheduled witness is Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
Claiming that this would be the fourth hearing to cover the issue of immigration this year, Leahy indicated that this could be the only hearing on the legislation. Senate Judiciary Committee members, Mike Lee (R-UT) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL), responded by calling for greater scrutiny on the unreleased bill that is expected to be up to 1,500 pages.
Senator Lee questioned whether the April 17 hearing gives the American people enough time to examine the legislation:
A single hearing scheduled so quickly to discuss legislative language that is not yet even available is completely inadequate for senators or the American people to get answers to the many questions a bill of this magnitude will inevitably raise. We could not possibly have a meaningful hearing with a substantive discussion of what will surely be over 1,000 pages of provisions we haven’t even yet seen.
Sessions echoed these concerns and called out the political motivations to rush an amnesty bill through the Senate:
As with 2007, the drive to enact amnesty supersedes all else – including the open government principles of our democratic Republic. The American people are being shut out, the law enforcement community is being shut out, and the people’s representatives are being shut out. We need a committee hearing on every component of reform, including the extraordinary potential costs to taxpayers, the impact on wages and job prospects for the unemployed, and the Administration’s continued refusal to enforce the laws previously enacted by Congress.
We need a committee hearing on every component of reform, including the extraordinary potential costs to taxpayers, the impact on wages and job prospects for the unemployed, and the Administration’s continued refusal to enforce the laws previously enacted by Congress.
Despite the announcement from Chairman Leahy, next Wednesday’s hearing is still not definite. Senate Judiciary Committee rules require hearings to be announced one week in advance, but the Gang of Eight has yet to introduce legislation. With the Senate going into recess from April 29 – May 3, Leahy is under pressure to move the expected amnesty bill as quickly as possible and indicated he wants to ““markup” the legislation the week of May 6. The inside the beltway publication Congressional Quarterly reported yesterday:
According to Democratic aides familiar with the interview, Leahy then intends to schedule a markup the following week on the immigration reform legislation being drafted by a bipartisan group of eight senators.
The markup will likely be delayed a week, since under committee rules any member can ask for a one-week delay and Republicans often do.
The markup is likely to last “days, if not weeks,” according to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of the members of the immigration group.
If passed by the committee, Senate floor debate on the bill could begin before the Memorial Day recess but likely wouldn’t wrap up until after then, one Democratic aide said.
The Senate Judiciary Hearing will be streamed through FAIR’s website. Check the Upcoming Events calendar for details as they are released.
17 Comments
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Take away all the free benefits that these lawbreaking parisites receive form our now strapped programs(social security, medicare, medicaid, food stamps)…… no admitance to hospitals and doctors without proper proof of citizenship. No drivers licences,no employment, ……………let police have the authority for random checks of suspicious people, big fines for employers who hire illegals. No automatic citizenship for babies born to illegals on American soil. No chain migration………….. No incentives to come here illegally most of them will self deport to their country of origin………..Does this sound harsh? Maybe, but this is the way it should be after all charity begins at home. Let’s take care of our own legal citizens, God knows we need it.
Not only it is harsh it would be un-American………the reason we have this issue is because we failed as the people and the gov let it slide. So now it is time to fix this with all of its complexities…………
The days of revolt is upon us. For those of us who are opposed to amnesty or pathway to citizenship, desperate means calls for desperate measures.After all, look at these illegals, their deed of lawlessness was ignored, so shall ours be, and be pardoned. Fight fire with fire. Starting point: Taxes.
Something to consider, but even if millions of us can put forth a veiled threat, it may be effective. We need a major strategy NOW .
Congress needs to wake up! They are seeing dollar signs in their sleep! Their dream is our NIGHTMARE!
Impeach. Judicial hearings, the whole nine yards. Congress Reform asap!
patrick lehay is one bought and paid for CROOK…..this Bill serves NO AMERICAN Citizen…only the Unions
and the American Trucking Association and various Slave Drivers want these Low Wage illegals here in OUR
country…Our prisons are filled with these “good neighbors”…they Rape and Kill and Rob and nobody even
knows their real name when ARRESTED….no birth certificate is on record…they are 3rd worlders….
This rediculous bill beeds to be squashed PRONTO.
We have a working force of 52% out of 315 million people………our welfare is 2.1 million out of which 39% are whites 37% are blacks and 17% are Hispanics as per the e 2010 numbers………..now think…….U only going to get this of you are a citizen and legally………..mu point being is that I don’t really see the 10 million illegals being part of the welfare as per tees numbers……….since welfare is recorded as having whites leading the demographics of this program,,,,,,,
Interesting demographics! The vitriolic comments and the backlash to immigration bill is primarily due to the fear of the Majority loosing control 30 or 40 years from now. Capitalism is not decoupled with labor, it either needs cheaper labor or more automation to sustain it. If it’s neither of these two key factors, then we might as well say adieu to capitalism. Immigration of the “3rd world’ers” (which btw is a disparaging remark in itself that the Majority use for their arguments) seem to be one of the ways businesses here want desperately to make profits. But make no mistake about it – Not all 3rd world’ers are unskilled, many are bright and highly educated that want to come here and make a contribution to the economy. This country needs to look beyond race when it comes to its make up of its “Citizenry” in the future.
Agreed , it is actually quite interesting people’s perception as to what is an illegal immigrant, i.e., basically brown and Mexican when indeed there are Asian, white red head Mexicans AND part of the illegal immigrants are white Anglo Saxon and or eastern Europeans or Europeans with higher degrees and the professionals whose papers expired………yes I am aware also that there are criminals and murderers that crossed the borders……
No differently what everybody Bemis Omaba thefirst African American president when he is not……
Most illegals are Mexican. You can try to wish it away, but that is the truth.
No, timb2, it’s because we’re afraid of losing our country to people who have trashed their own countries and now seek to do the same here. Who believe that they and their relatives have the right to ignore the laws of this country that don’t suit them–and to be rewarded for it.
And capitalism does NOT need cheaper labor. It needs labor that is productive RELATIVE TO THE WAGES IT RECEIVES. Even cheap labors aren’t worth their hire if they do poor quality work or drive away customers.
The “gang of eight” should go down in history as the “gang who welcomes lawbreakers to our country.”
This is another Bill..that they have to APPROVE..and then they are welcome to READ it???? We PAY MONEY for THIS??? Our tax dollars at work??? The Senators Hide in Secrecy…then spring 1500 pages out the dayof the HEARINGS??? Something VERY FISHY going on here……anybody supporting this NEEDS to be voted OUT of office in the interest of National Security!!!!!!
Its Ironic That This “Budget Buster” Immigration Amnesty Bill is Fast Tracked in the Senate on April 17th
Just a day before federal income tax, to make payments on our overpopulation deficits, is due.
We are 16 Trillion in DEBT….dealing with Border TIGHTENING and processing 11Million illiterate immigrunts is
GOING to cost a FORTUNE!!!! How about some appropriations for all that???? Maybe take MORE money from
Social Security??????? For starters we can NOT afford ANY of this crazy Amnesty. We have already wasted too much time on this bill.
I can assure you many are even higher educated than u and myself………
Illegals are highly educated? Wrong, the vast majority are not.
If illegal aliens are “highly educated”, then it’s apparently not in fields that make employers inclined to sponsor them for work visas. Being highly educated can mean having a degree in classics that’s not marketable.