Rand Paul Says He Won’t Support Senate Immigration Reform Bill
Senator Rand Paul said today that he will not support the Senate Immigration Reform Bill when it comes up for a vote this week:
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Sunday that the Senate’s bipartisan immigration bill does not do enough to address border security, and he does not plan to support it in its current form.
“Without some congressional authority and without border security first, I can’t support the final bill,” Paul said on CNN’s “State of The Union.”
Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) struck a deal over a border security amendment last week that is expected to assuage the concerns of some Republicans, and help the bill win passage in the Senate by a comfortable margin. But the measure was not enough to win over Paul, whose own amendment to allow Congress to review and vote on border security status annually was rejected.
“It should certainly put to rest any issue regarding border security,” Corker said of his amendment on CBS’s “Face The Nation.” The House will begin voting on the amendment on Monday.
But not all Republicans are sold. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), an opponent of the bill, said that even with the amendment, the bill is not acceptable. “This bill grants amnesty first and a near promise of enforcement in the future, even with Corker-Hoeven Amendment,” Sessions said on “Face The Nation.”
Paul, of course, had proposed his own immigration reform plan that included provisions that would delay any real immigration reform until both Houses of Congress had certified that the border was “secure,” a solution that comes across to me at least as being completely impractical. Paul’s decision here, though, may not influence many other votes. The two Senators most likely to follow his moves in an area like this, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, are already on record as opposing the bill.
Border security is BS. The only way to really ban illegal immigration is to issue ID Cards to every citizen and force everyone to use them – yes, that includes having to show it to the cops.
At least Rand Paul is not just doing the bidding of the cheap labor establishment Republicans. Without border security that any administration cannot wiggle out of, comprehensive immigration reform is demographic suicide for Republicans.
Rand Paul: a libertarian until it means opposing the views of his wingnut constituency.
Yes, another profile in non-reality based courage.
Border security is vastly improved over what it was a decade ago, more deportations of illegals than at any time in the past 3 decades, illegal immigration at 30 year lows. Frankly, border security is virtually a non-issue …… except to people like Rand Paul who want anything a compromise or general consensus immigration bill.
Sessions and Paul are toxic.
@al-Ameda:
The question is whether the government will resisit an uptick in immigration if there is ever another economic boom. It is easy to control immigration in a down economy. But what happens if the economy improves or housing construction takes off again.
in addition, Comprehensive immigration reform plans to double the number of legal immigrants every year and increase the number of H1B visas. Both of those provisions will drive down wages and living standards for current Americans. Even the CBO admits that comprehensive immigration reform will drive wages down.
“Impractical?” You are being kind sir. Inane is closer to the truth.
Paul and his acolytes know that even a Berlin Wall with machine gun towers will not keep the Mexicans out.
But if they thought they had half a chance they would try it anyway.
@superdestroyer:
I known several people that immigrated to other countries(I have a aunt that´s living in Japan). Immigration to the US was attractive because most countries in Latin America had a weak currency and low cost of living, so, in the past you could buy a lunch for the same price in dollars that people would pay for a single latte in the US. You could work in the US doing menial jobs, then save dollars and use the saved money to buy a house or open a business.
The currencies in Latin America are stronger, the cost of living is higher. Even if the US economy grows in Chinese rates(What´s almost impossible) that´s not going to attract large numbers of people to the US.
What’s new? GOP and TP supporters see immigrants (legal and illegal) as a threat to White America. However, all reputable research shows that our country which is a nation of immigrants will be better off by reforming the immigration laws and granting those already here a path to citizenship. These folks want to be Americans. Rand Paul and others like him such as Sen Rubio take stands which they believe will help them to run for POTUS. Never in a million years will men like them be President. Go Hilary, go Hilary!
Rand Paul and the others must be living in another country!! President Obama has put more boots on the ground and deported more illegal immigrants than anyone! As far as Rand Paul and others are concerned there will NEVER be enough done on immigration. The truth is they just don’t want it done. If the problem was solved whatever would they have to complain about?
The Republican Party is for old white people, who have been so used to white domination over the years. That’s ‘their’ country! The one they want to take back. They are scared to death of the demographics changing and the country no longer being majority white. That is something they can do nothing about as that is a fact. Their vilification of Latino’s as they tend to put them all in the same box will not help them as a party one bit.