Here we go again! Illegal aliens get free pass

March 12, 2002

ATLANTA: The Southeastern Legal Foundation, which challenged the Bush administration proposal to grant amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens in the U.S. days before September 11, 2001, today slams the unannounced, last-minute vote scheduled for tonight on the Section 245(i) Extension of the Immigration & Nationality Act -- which grants the very same amnesty for illegals promised last fall!

"We have pointed out in a national newspaper advertisement, in op-eds across the nation, and in concert with House Immigration Reform Caucus Chairman, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, that two past amnesties were abject failures, and that September 11 changed the landscape from 'open door' to 'enforce the immigration law,'" said Phil Kent, SLF President. "With one vote, and one bill, Congress will undo the security and immigration-tightening measures it has undertaken since the September 11 attacks. It's an absolute outrage -- and the American people agree!"

Kent points out that amnesty for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens poses additional problems:

o Under the 245(i) Extension, there will be no criminal background checks as the illegals await green cards -- so law enforcement has no idea who these people are.

o In four states, illegal aliens receive driver's licenses. At least three of the September 11 terrorists possessed driver's licenses from one of the those states.

o The federal Motor Voter law does nothing to stop illegals who obtain driver's licenses from registering to vote.

o Widespread reports from Mexican and Canadian authorities indicate that it's not just Hispanics crossing our borders illegally -- perhaps hundreds of Arabs and those of Middle Eastern descent have crossed our borders, many through illegal smuggling rings uncovered by Mexican authorities across the border from Texas.

"The Bush administration has miscalculated badly if it believes that amnesty for thousands of illegal aliens is a positive political gesture to the Latino community," said Kent. "Legal immigrants, and second-generation citizens, do not support wholesale amnesty, which insults the very process that legal immigrants undertook."

"The political folly aside, this proposal will weaken our national security and will cost billions in taxpayer-funded public services to support the illegals, just as it did in the 1980s and 90s," Kent added.

For More Information Contact:
Media Relations
media@southeasternlegal.org
(404) 365-8500