Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is threatening to hold a vote-a-thon this weekend to push the “comprehensive immigration reform bill” through by July 4. Today, the Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) that would have put the security of the border ahead of any legalization of illegal aliens. Democrats were joined by Republican members of the so-called Gang of Eight in scuttling the measure.
As the bill stands now, legalization would be granted in return for a hollow promise of security later. Democrat leader Sen. Chuck Schumer ranted that there is no good reason to hold up legalization for security.
“It says that the 11 million people living in the shadows cannot even get the provisional status to work and travel until the secretary of Homeland Security says the border is completely secure and we know that will take years,” Schumer said. “The problem is very simple, what do we do for five or six years until the border is fully secure?”
The majority of American citizens want security before legalization. How about our elected leaders listen to them instead of catering to people who have broken the law?
The Democrats’ interest in keeping the border unsecured while legalizing millions of illegals and putting them on a path to citizenship is obvious. They want the votes. Republicans’ interest is less obvious but no less real: Business interests that donate heavily to the party want the cheap labor.
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