Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, said Monday that he would try to amend the immigration reform legislation now pending in the Senate with a requirement that somebody other than the federal bureaucracy decide when the government has met the border security benchmarks necessary to trigger implementation of the "path to citizenship" provisions within the legislation for the 12 million illegal immigrants already here.
"I believe that it ought to to be somebody other than just Washington officials who decide whether the border security is functional," Alexander said during a 25-minute phone interview with BillHobbs.com which focused mostly on immigration. Alexander's proposal: amend the legislation so that a group of southern border-state governors plus one or two from states that border Canada would have to verify with Homeland Security that the benchmarks had been met, before the section of the legislation offering a "path to citizenship" to the 12 million illegal immigrants already in the United States became effective.
You can listen to a 15-minute excerpt of the interview, dealing with the Iraq war and with immigration reform, by clicking here
The proposed immigration reform legislation has two basic parts, Alexander said.
The first part focuses on border security - the fence, more border patrol agents, more use of technology to watch the border, etc. - and on addressing the employer side of the equation, by implementing employer verification, etc. The second part addresses what to do about the 12 million illegals now in the country - it includes the fines and the "path to citizenship" requirements that so many critics call "amnesty" for illegal immigrants.
The legislation, Alexander says, requires that the first part - the border security and employer verification aspects - be fully funded and operational before the second part - dealing with the 12 million - even begins.
I asked Sen. Alexander if the second part of the legislation was necessary - couldn't Congress just do the border security and employer verification stuff first, and deal with the 12 million later. This "fence first!" approach would go a long way toward rebuilding Washington's credibility on illegal immigration, I believe.
The Senator said he believes the legislation needs both sections in order to pass.
Memo to media: You may use the audio for your own reports - must credit ElephantBiz.com.
» http://instapundit.com/archives2/005967.php from Instapundit.com (v.2)
BILL HOBBS INTERVIEWS SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER on immigration and Iraq, and Alexander's planned amendment to the immigration bill.... [Read More]
Tracked on: June 5, 2007 8:45 AM | Permalink to Trackback