Amnesty Opponents Need to Be Vocal This August
“Both pro- and anti-legalization forces in the immigration fight will be trying to make their cases to House members-especially Republican members-during the August recess. But here’s the fundamental asymmetry in this debate-the pro-legalization forces don’t really need to show up. The anti-legalizers do. Pro-side Democrats can be distracted (by the need to defend Obamacare, for example) or they can just be lazy and unmotivated. As long as the antis are also unmotivated, legalization will win. Tie goes to the border-jumper,” says Mickey Kaus at the Daily Caller.
“I doubt even these GOP leaders themselves know what they’re going to do in the coming months, or maybe even what they want to end up with. But it’s clear they face pressure to pass a legalization bill-and that the pressure is internal, not external.”
Amnesty Supporters Arrested Outside Capitol
“Roughly 40 leaders and activists from immigration, union, and other advocacy groups were arrested in a sit-in protest that snarled traffic near the Capitol Thursday in a show of pressure on the GOP-led House to act on comprehensive immigration reform.
Among the activists arrested during the midday protest just outside the Cannon House Office Building were top officials from the AFL-CIO, the Campaign for Community Change, the Service Employees International Union, Communications Workers of America and the United Farm Workers. Those arrested have been charged with blocking passage of the street Capitol Police Lt. Kimberly Schneider said in an email,” Politico reports.
Former Bush Official Says Amnesty Needed
“Republican leaders, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio, are pressing the party to embrace a comprehensive immigration plan. But many House Republicans want to increase border security first and are wary of any policy that could create a path to citizenship for the millions of immigrants who are currently in the country without proper authorization. Now, a new group is hoping to tip the balance. It’s called Republicans for Immigration Reform,” NPR reports.
“That group has collected the signatures of more than 100 GOP donors – including Karl Rove and former Vice President Dan Quayle – on a letter urging conservative lawmakers to, quote, fix our broken immigration system, unquote. The effort is spearheaded by Carlos Gutierrez, who served as Secretary of Commerce under President George W. Bush.”