Republicans Launch a Massive Campaign to Promote Its Restrictive Immigration Agenda Republicans have started a massive campaign to promote their restrictive immigration agenda. It appears that the campaign includes the following: Label the Senate Comprehensive Immigration Reform as though it is the Democrats Reid-Kennedy agenda; Focus the Republican immigration reform agenda on the border security targeting at the November election. So far these double sword agenda appear to be promoted by the two means, among others: As we reported earlier, the House Republicans are scheduling 19 hearings at the 12 states mostly in August and some in early September with these two specific topics; Republicans launched a new website to publicize these two agenda and through webcast of the hearings and other discussion on its new Border Security website. http://www.gop.gov/bordersecuritynow.aspx The Speaker of the House has announced that after the hearings, he would push the border security bill in the House in September. It thus appears that conference process for the Senate passed Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill is not likely happen before the election. There is some possibility that the Republicans may attempt to incorporate the recently announced Hutchinson-Pence plan on the extremely restrictive Guest Worker Program and 17-year required immigration opportunity for some of the former illegal aliens to accomodate and save the face of Bush White House and to mitigate the Democrats' assault on the Republicans as anti-Hispanics and anti-immigration forces. Another unknown factor is the place of legal immigration reform plan such as those which are incorporated in almost all of the Immigration Reform proposals including Frist Bill, Specter Bill, and S. 2611 Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. The legal immigration reform has been introduced either in the House and the Senate in similar context with different names and some modifications by the House or Senate sponsors of the bills. For instance, PACE Act, Senate version of SKIL Act, and House version of SKIL Act. These bills were accomodated by the Senate sponsors of the comprehensive immigration reform bills including Frist and Specter, but these bills can also be absolved into the ongoing Republican immigration reform process, even though there is no clue or sign that it will definitely happen. There was a report that the Republicans had been under the tremendous pressure from the business community including Microsoft and other business giants to act on the legal immigration reform. Depending on the outcome of the ongoing Republican restrictive immigration campaign and the direction of the public opinion, such comprehensive reform process can be worked out or pushed aside until after the election. The critical momentum should develop in September before the legislators go back to their hometowns in October for the final November election campaign. This site will closely monitor the development in September. Please stay tuned.
