A majority of Americans say they would rather see existing laws upheld. Conservatives have fought back with the ad you can see at the above link. Even the illegal immigrants themselves are not happy with this bill. It might be more correct to ask, "Who DOES like this bill?"
So it has become bogged down in the Senate, an albatross that can never become law even if it does squeak by the upper chamber. Let me be the first to declare the current immigration bill dead.
The reason is simple; this bill does not deal with the border in a meaningful and immediate way. And for those of us who live in the states on the border, this is about more than letting Pedro pick lettuce.
If you want proof of that, just add www.azcentral.com to your favorites and check the news every day. What you will find is that more than Pedro crosses the border. A lot more. I challenge you to visit the site for a month and keep track of how many days will go by without a hard news immigration story.
In the last week, we have had two illegal safehouses busted after the coyotes running them turned violent and shot someone, a man arrested with meth and explosives, the bodies of 6 illegal immigrants found over the last 6 days, a bust including cash and pot near the border, another bust finding stolen checks and fake id’s, and another coyote sentenced for prison for the death of a woman he was smuggling.
And that’s just he tip of the iceberg…this goes on and on here, ad infinitum every day. It’s so bad, there is a border section at the above site dedicated just to immigration. This isn’t a small issue if you live here close to the border like I do. It’s overwhelming.
Local voters and governments have done what they can; ID laws for voters, laws that prevent illegal aliens from receiving in-state tuition at public colleges, english-only schools. Some people have even gone so far as to set up citizen patrols of the border. In Maricopa County, Sheriff’s officers actively work with ICE and hold illegals when they are found.
And what have we gotten in return? An administration dragging it’s feet at building the wall Congress has already approved, immigration officers in prison for doing their jobs, Universities that complain and drag their feet at complying with the wishes of the taxpayers that pay their bills and put food in their bellies, and immigration officials that seem clueless concerning what their jobs are. As I write this, these stories are all easily found at azcentral.com right now.
That is why there is so much anger being focused at the bill now dying in the Senate. Voters here are tired of the promises. They want people to do the job they are supposed to be doing now. Instead, we get articles like the following, which I just pulled from azcentral.com:
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Yet Teddy Boy Kennedy and conservative traitor John McCain promise they wil fix everything if we will just support their bill. Sorry, but I don’t believe it, and neither does anyone else living here. A promise broken is not fixed with another promise, and at least in Arizona, no one wants any more promises.
And by the way, where’s the fence?