Does Your Senator Respect the Rule of Law?

Originally posted by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

h/t to Church and State

Our Senate, last week, discussed whether or not the "rule of law" is pertinent in the United States of America. The conclusion was, NO, the rule of law does not mean that "law" is "law." Here's a few examples:

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) entered an amendment to uphold the enforcement of EXISTING immigration laws. The amendment was defeated with the help of 19 Republican Senators, including 3 who did not vote. The text of Senator Coburn's amendment is as follows:

To require the enforcement of existing border security and immigration laws and Congressional approval before amnesty can be granted.

If the defeat of this simple, clear-cut and straight-forward amendment doesn't say everything about where the loyalty of our country's leaders lie, then nothing ever will.

JOHN MCCAIN, Senator from Arizona and 2008 Presidential Candidate, did not vote. The question: How important is the illegal alien vote in Arizona, and how important to McCain, is the legal immigrant's influence to ignore existing law?

GOP Senators voting AGAINST the "rule of law" are:
Bennet - UT, Brownback - KS, Collins - ME, Craig - ID, Domenici - NM, Graham - SC, Hagel - NE, Hutchison - TX, Kyle - AZ, Lugar - IN, Martinez - FL, Murkowski - AK, Specter - PA, Stevens - AK, Voinovich - OH, Warner - VA

Michelle Malkin has the text of EXISTING LAW, which the above Senators feel no need to enforce.

Also last week, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) entered an amendment to:

"...permanently bar from the U.S. and from receiving any immigration benefit: suspected terrorists, gang members, sex offenders, felony drunk drivers, and other individuals who are a danger to society?,”

This also from Senator Cornyn's website:

Sen. Cornyn’s amendment also closes the loophole in the pending bill that allows legalization of those illegal immigrants who have violated court ordered deportations, or absconders.

Senator Cornyn's amendment was defeated with 10 Republicans voting against enforcing the rule of law, and voting to "preserve the path to citizenship for absconders."

More from Cornyn's website:

“Unlike the first half of my amendment, this is not a technical correction. In other words, the decision to legalize this population of illegal immigrants was not an oversight by those who drafted this ‘compromise’ legislation,” Sen. Cornyn said. “Their decision was that Congress should allow exceptions for individuals who are illegally in the United States in defiance of a court order, as well as those individuals who have previously been deported from the United States pursuant to a court order and have again reentered illegally. I could not agree with this decision and I believe every member of the Senate should make clear where they stand on this matter. Congress has determined that each of these crimes is a felony. The laws are on the books, and we must make sure they are enforced.”

More from Cornyn and why his amendment was needed:

* Current law prohibits U.S. citizens convicted of sex crimes against minors from bringing a relative into this country. But, the bill does not specifically prohibit illegal immigrants – who could be removed from the country because they are sex offenders and failed to register as such – from entering the U.S. or getting legal status such as lawful permanent resident status.

* The bill retains a “loophole” in current law that would allow an alien who has been repeatedly convicted of driving while intoxicated to remain in the U.S. and get legal status such as “Z” visa status or a green card.

* The bill retains a “loophole” in current law that allows an alien who has committed terrorist acts or belongs to a terrorist organization and has not yet been removed from the U.S. to get legal status. Here is a real-world example of this loophole:

--Last year, Mohammed El Shorbagi pleaded guilty to providing material support to Hamas. His actions, however, would not specifically bar him from becoming a U.S. citizen or getting other immigration benefits — because it is not one of the grounds excluded from the definition of good moral character.

Sen. Cornyn noted that Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said during recent immigration negotiations that illegal immigrants who have defied the U.S. court system do not deserve to be rewarded with legalization. “Unfortunately, the drafters of this bill—in an effort to accommodate certain far left advocacy groups—ignored Secretary Chertoff’s common sense observation. What is the message we send about the rule of law in America when Congress won’t even categorically prohibit rewarding those illegal immigrants who have ignored court orders?”

Sen. Cornyn added: “These are common sense fixes that I hope my colleagues will support. We must ensure that those illegal immigrants who have been convicted of crimes like failure to register as a sex offender or alien smuggling while using a firearm, are permanently barred and ineligible for benefits. And we must ensure that those illegal immigrants who have committed acts or engaged in conduct that constitutes terrorism, are permanently ineligible for any legal status and barred from our country. I strongly urge my colleagues to reject the policy in this bill that would reward felony conduct with legal status.”

Through the Magnifying Glass broke-down Cornyn's amendment into 7 understandable alien categories that would have been banned from the U.S. had the Senate had the backbone to approve it.

Again, Michelle Malkin tips us to some insider insight posted by Fran Coombs of The Washington Times. Ted Kennedy sees no need for illegals receiving amnesty to be required to pay for a "minimum level of health insurance." Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham checked-in with Kennedy before casting their vote - presumable to make certain their vote would agree with Kennedy's. Senator Jon Kyl had evidently voted FOR requiring health insurance, but quickly changed his vote AGAINST the requirement.

Fox News: ICE's (Homeland Security) "Operation Predator" reports 85% of the arrests made are non-citizen offenders.

Technorati Tags: Senator Tom Coburn, Senator John Cornyn, Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Jon Kyle, Immigration Bill, Illegal Immigration