Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Luzerne) rose to national prominence based in large part on his reputation as a loud voice against illegal immigration while he was Mayor.
The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Hazleton’s strictest-in-the-nation ordinances, which would have punished landlords renting to illegal immigrants.
(The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Court to reconsider the case in 2011).
And so it’s little surprise that he categorically rejected Monday’s overtures by Republicans in favor of an immigration bill that includes amnesty for the more than 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States.
“A path to citizenship is giving a green light to anyone who wants to come here illegally,” he said.
“This is an amnesty bill America won’t be able to afford,” he said of the proposal by 8 Senators – 4 Democrats and 4 Republicans. “Making illegal aliens legal will cost American taxpayers $2.6 trillion over 10 years.”
He cited a 2007 report by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank that put the cost of amnesty – including the tax revenue from now-legal residents – would be $2.6 trillion over ten years.
“So many illegal aliens are unskilled. 60 percent have no high school degree, so many would ultimately be dependent on social programs, welfare.”
Yet, today’s proposal has been called a bipartisan breakthrough. It involves border enforcement, employer enforcement, a reformed legal immigration system, and a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants already living within the United States.
It appears the legislative proposal may have been devised to guide President Obama on immigration reform. The policy blueprint is meant to represent the interests of both Democrats and Republicans and will serve as the basis for legislation that the Senators hope to formally introduce in March.
And for an issue as complex as immigration, compromise may be the key. Democratic Senator Bob Casey supports immigration reform.
“While he has just begun to review this latest proposal, he believes that any time you have Republicans and Democrats working across the aisle to come to a bipartisan consensus on a tough problem that is a positive development,” said Casey spokesman John Rizzi.
Senator Pat Toomey (R) is reserving judgment pending further details of the plan.
Republicans faced a stark reality in the aftermath of the 2012 election: they were losing latino voters big time. It’s the fast-growing segment of the population. As soon as the day after Barack Obama was re-elected, several prominent conservatives gave up the fight on the issue.
(Obama will unveil his own immigration proposal today, reportedly very similar to the Senators’.)
Barletta said his party was making a mistake.
“They’re wrong. I believe there’s a lot of support because this is an issue they want to go away. But it’s not that simple,” he said. “I don’t know how fiscal conservatives could support something that would add $2.6 trillion to the deficit.”
He argued that the solution to immigration begins with a way to track current undocumented residents, followed by border security and then mandatory e-verify.
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Department of Homeland Security, combined with ICE has proven they are incompetent at monitoring the arrival visa visitors, by facing the fact that an estimated 46 percent of illegal aliens overstay their visas. Will this be the same ineptness in handling Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, abbreviated as DACA? Are the 1.8 million children of illegal aliens going to cause as many immigration problems as the first blanket amnesty, played on the American people in 1986.
If it’s anything like the unenforced Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) exhibited after the 1986 Amnesty, I will be amazed? Those young kid who have been intentionally smuggled into America to claim citizenship by their illegal alien mother; now called “DREAMER’S” will be able to get a driver’s license, an employment permit and a temporary Social Security Number. Once having these in their possession how many will even be bothered to even renew their so-called deferred action. Giving Drivers Licenses to DREAMERS is asking for trouble, as if you read the statistics from sites as “The Dark side of Illegal Immigration”, you will be able to view drunken driver data, from nationwide surveys. WHY EVEN CARE AS THEY LIKE THEIR PARENTS KNOW FULL WELL THAT IMMIGRATION LAWS ARE JUST LAX POLICIES, WITH HARDLY ANY REAL ENFORCEMENT AS OTHER STRICT COUNTRIES? THEY ARE FULLY AWARE THAT ARE LAWS ARE IGNORED BY CORPORATIONS AND BUSINESSES AND THAT ICE AGENTS HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES. LATELY WE HAVE SEEN FOR OURSELVES THE OUTRAGE OF ILLEGAL ALIENS, BRANDISHING FOREIGN FLAGS AND YELLING ABUSE IN OUR STREETS, ACCUMULATING CROWDS AT POLITICAL GATHERINGS, TRYING TO AGITATE AMERICANS BY PROCLAIMING THAT THEY ARE UNDOCUMENTED, AND EVEN TRYING TO INTIMIDATE THE POLICE. THEN EVEN DARING ICE AGENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT TO ARREST THEM?
The government is not even listening to the U.S public; otherwise they would have drafted a law making entry without inspection a felony? Just go to show you how careless they are, or was this premeditated conspiracy by the elites to really do nothing? It’s the same with the 2006 President Bush Secure fence Act. It like a sad game politicians play with people’s lives, since an underestimated number of criminal elements that have easily slipped through the border fence. Then there are investigative reporters, who have visited the border fence, usually are not shown or never leave the fenced areas to hundreds of miles of open sections? Further afield there is no fence—nothing but occasional geological boundary marker instructing the onlooker that is the boundary between the US and South America countries. Instead of spending infinite taxpayer’s money on foreign nationals, use it to build the REAL George Bush double layer fence with one equipped with chain link concertina razor wire and the internal one, as exists on the exterior within the perimeters of Israel? It works for Israel it would be as successful for us; all we need is the plans.
The DREAM ACT will likely be another dismal failure, as it will be Home Security poor oversight, probably taking years to recognize that this young person’s “temporary” status has been terminated. Just as visitors or otherwise tourists to our sovereign country, you would expect with state-of-the-art innovations as a biometric entry and exiting tracking system could be used? It seems that the ICE administration of Homeland Security is still behind the times, when only 3 percent of resources according to GOA, only 8000 overstay have been placed in custody since 2006.
I am afraid that American citizens and legal residents have been overlooked in the name of greed and commerce. We must face the fact, one way or another that a good majority of politicians have their grimy hands in the cookie jar. The cookie jar is full of wealthy special interest cash and all the special favors. What we really need is the reenactment of the 1924 QUOTA SYSTEM, so every country got a fair share of the immigration pie? Instead what we now have is abject poverty, uneducated, uncontrollable FAMILY CHAIN MIGRATION that is causing hundreds of billions of dollars taken by the IRS to pay for the children’s, children of the great Reagan amnesty disaster. And if Obama get his way, we will be facing the same possibility and consequences? If the American people of any political membership think that for one bloody minute people will not be clamoring to arrive here for any comprehensive immigration deadline, you really have been drinking Cool Aid laced with a sleeping draft of Ambian? Ever thought of how much money is sent as remittances out of the country, that should be going into state coffers?
ALLOWING MORE DESTITUTE PEOPLE INTO OUR NATION IS A GREAT PASSIONATE IDEA, BUT IT JUST LEADS TO MORE POVERTY FOR THE GENERATIONS OF OUR OWN. JUST LOOK AT THE POOR ON THE STREETS OF EVERYTOWN, IF YOU DARE AND READ THEIR HUNGRY, EXHAUSTED & HAUNTED FEATURES?
These morons in Washington refuse to take the pressure off, by voting in the “Legal Workforce Act” to aid in closing a loophole of illegal workers, stealing some of the 23 million American jobs. Likewise the Birthright Citizenship bill that if passed would stop the growing billions of dollars taking from American taxpayers payroll checks. This financial support for the new citizenship of illegal alien children that taxpayers cover because the stupid court system has fabricated that not only the descendants of slaves, but infants of illegal migrants and immigrants have a right to citizenship status? The cost is growing in medical care, school education and other benefits, destroying our own children’s future, because the majorities of these kids come from non English speaking families and are retarding nationwide school education performance. Go to California where the children enrolled there have greater proportions of foreign nationals than citizen offspring.
hungry
Call or otherwise contact the Senate office or the Congressional House of Representatives by going to United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Government pages should also be in your telephone book and switchboard operator will connect you directly with your desired party.
WE DON’T NEED ANY KIND OF IMMIGRATION REFORM, JUST AMENDMENTS. THE SYSTEM IS NOT BROKEN; IT JUST NEEDS TWEAKING.
President and “Bi-Partisan” Group Want to Reward Criminals With path to Citizenship
by Stephen Frank on 01/30/2013 of California Political News & Views
Who says crime does not pay. All you have to do issue stolen or false ID, steal jobs, health care and education from honest people. Lie on job applications—all of which would put us in jail. Do these criminals acts long enough and the President and self proclaimed Republican and Democrat “leaders” want to reward illegal aliens for a lifetime of crime with a path to U.S. citizenship.
If you murder enough people maybe the same folks would give you a job in law enforcement. Honest immigrants are demeaned by this effort. Why apply for citizenship—violate the law and you can do it anyway. Oh, this group says a requirement of “citizenship” is to learn English. Does that mean they will stop publishing ballots and other government forms in dozens of languages?
NO COPYRIGHT! DISTRIBUTE TO ALL.
Lou’s comments yesterday were patently stupid. I thought he was a smarter politician than that. Apparently, I was wrong. As the Gump man says, stupid is as stupid does.
DMiller is correct when he points out that the Hispanic culture is not what one would consider liberal. However, they are also a very proud culture and do not take kindly to the insults that have been tossed in their direction for many years by right wing GOP politicians. It will take many years of fence mending before they will trust Republican candidates and every time an idiot like Barletta opens his mouth, it sets their cause back years.
Obviously with a name like Barletta, he is a Native American and thereby opposed to other immigrants.
I wish immigration reform was tighter when Mr.Barletta’s parents or grandparents immigrated here.
‘So many illegal aliens are unskilled. 60 percent have no high school degree, so many would ultimately be dependent on social programs, welfare.’
I’m pretty certain they said the same sorts of things about Italian-American immigrants, and they’ve done pretty well, there are even some in Congress!
This is certainly not a surprise considering Lou made his name on being anti-immigrant just like Rush.
Lou is 100% right! America for AMERICANS!
Could we swap illegals for Barletta? I would take that trade any day! Kick his butt back to wherever he learned to hate hardworking immigrants!
Most of them work and are productive, if you ask me we should keep the illegals and swap out those amusing our welfare system. It will take time but Hispanics will vote republican- on 90 percent of their beliefs they are conservative saving immigration. Hispanics largely believe in God and democrats are anti-god. Hispanics have strong family values and democrats glamorize single motherhood and homosexuality. They will be republicans once the fog clears on immigration and the GOP gets its act together
Oh Lou…
What issues will you sit on your hands for next?