Congress OKs Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

Congress OKs Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

Jeff Johnson, CNSNews.com
Wednesday, March 13, 2002

The House of Representatives voted 275-138 Tuesday night to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens living in the U.S.

A Republican congressman forced the House to take a recorded vote.

In an exclusive interview earlier with CNSNews.com, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., warned that he would block a plan that would allow the House to extend the "245i" provision of U.S. immigration law without members publicly stating their position on the issue.

"It's going to be a recorded vote, absolutely, because I'm going to call for a recorded vote," he said.

The amnesty extension was brought up as part of the House's "suspension calendar," a legislative device normally reserved for non-controversial items such as naming federal buildings. Most items on that calendar are passed by voice vote, with no written record of how individual members voted.

Tancredo rallied members on the House floor to oppose the issue and, when the voice vote was called for, his allies interrupted and demanded a recorded vote in accordance with House rules.

"Now, whether we'll win this, I don't know, but at least we're going to get people on record," he concluded.

Lawbreakers Rewarded

In 1996, Congress passed the Legal Immigrant Family Equity Act amending U.S. immigration laws. Under section 245i of the LIFE Act, illegal aliens could apply for an "adjustment of status" from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Those eligible included aliens who:

Entered the United States illegally;

Worked in the United States illegally;

Failed to maintain continuously lawful status;

Entered under the Visa Waiver Pilot Program;

Entered as foreign crewmen; and

Entered as foreign travelers in transit without a visa.

That provision expired, however, and under current law, illegal aliens who wish to remain in the United States legally must return to their home country and apply for a visa at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate there.

The Democrat-led Senate passed the measure in early September, but before the House could vote, terrorists struck the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Fox News Channel reported.

"President Bush, who wants to present Mexican President Vicente Fox with an immigration agreement when he visits him this month, is squarely behind the bill," Fox said.

While the measure was under consideration, several Republicans complained that the manner in which it was introduced was an attempt by Democrats to mislead their colleagues and constituents.

The amnesty extension was included as the sole Senate amendment to H.R. 3525, The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2001, which had already been passed by the House.

"The parliamentary shenanigans we are witnessing today to try to get this legislation through to extend amnesty through to these illegal aliens is unworthy of this body, this representative body, and is bound to confuse our constituents," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.

"There are a lot of people here who would rather just have a voice vote and not have to be recorded, but we're going to put them on the record," Tancredo said. "And, in doing that, we may even get to the 'magic 140,' because all we need is about 140 members joining us."

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

Bush Administration

Immigration/Borders

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