"Gang of 8" Immigration Bill Passes Senate

 

On Thursday, June 27, the United States Senate voted on the 1,200 page immigration bill written by the so-called "Gang of 8", which was made up of Democrats Bob Menendez, Dick Durbin, Chuck Schumer, and Michael Bennett, as well as Republicans Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and Jeff Flake.

The immigration bill had many flaws, including the following:

• Does not effectively secure the border as the DHS secretary has final discretion
• Gives citizenship, as opposed to work visas, and in turn voting rights and welfare benefits to millions of illegals
• May lead to the creation of a biometric national ID card
• Puts caps on agricultural workers leading to possible labor shortages resulting in more illegal immigration
• Effectively puts countless lower-wage Americans out of work, as all illegals will be subsidized for jobs because they are exempt from ObamaCare

Here is the list of the YEAS and NAYS for the bill:

YEAs ---68
Alexander (R-TN) Ayotte (R-NH) Baldwin (D-WI) Baucus (D-MT) Begich (D-AK) Bennet (D-CO) Blumenthal (D-CT) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Chiesa (R-NJ) Collins (R-ME) Coons (D-DE) Corker (R-TN) Cowan (D-MA) Donnelly (D-IN) Durbin (D-IL) Feinstein (D-CA) Flake (R-AZ) Franken (D-MN)	Gillibrand (D-NY) Graham (R-SC) Hagan (D-NC) Harkin (D-IA) Hatch (R-UT) Heinrich (D-NM) Heitkamp (D-ND) Heller (R-NV) Hirono (D-HI) Hoeven (R-ND) Johnson (D-SD) Kaine (D-VA) King (I-ME) Kirk (R-IL) Klobuchar (D-MN) Landrieu (D-LA) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Manchin (D-WV) McCain (R-AZ) McCaskill (D-MO) Menendez (D-NJ) Merkley (D-OR)	Mikulski (D-MD) Murkowski (R-AK) Murphy (D-CT) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Rubio (R-FL) Sanders (I-VT) Schatz (D-HI) Schumer (D-NY) Shaheen (D-NH) Stabenow (D-MI) Tester (D-MT) Udall (D-CO) Udall (D-NM) Warner (D-VA) Warren (D-MA) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs ---32
Barrasso (R-WY) Blunt (R-MO) Boozman (R-AR) Burr (R-NC) Chambliss (R-GA) Coats (R-IN) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID) Cruz (R-TX)	Enzi (R-WY) Fischer (R-NE) Grassley (R-IA) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Johnson (R-WI) Lee (R-UT) McConnell (R-KY) Moran (R-KS) Paul (R-KY)	Portman (R-OH) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Scott (R-SC) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Thune (R-SD) Toomey (R-PA) Vitter (R-LA) Wicker (R-MS)

Sen. Paul to Introduce ‘Trust but Verify’ and Additional Amendments to Immigration Reform Bill

Senator Rand Paul is attempting to correct many problems in the “Gang Of 8″ immigration bill by offering up four amendments to be voted on.

Below you can click on the links to view the full scope of what the amendments cover:

Senator Rand Paul’s “Trust but Verify” Border Security Amendment

Senator Rand Paul’s “Secure the Treasury” Taxpayer Protection Amendment 

Senator Rand Paul’s “Secure the Vote” Amendment

Senator Rand Paul’s “No New Pathway to Citizenship” Amendment

In my judgement, there are two other lingering issues with the immigration bill: arbitrary restrictions on agricultural workers, and provisions leading to a National ID Card.