Senate Okays Legal Status
for
Some Criminal Aliens
he U.S.
Senate voted last month against prohibiting certain types
of criminal illegal aliens from entering the U.S. and obtaining
legal residence. The Senate rejected an amendment by Sen.
John Cornyn, R-TX, that would have amended the pending Bush-Kennedy
amnesty legislation to bar from legalization any illegal
alien who was a member of a terrorist organization or street
gang, or who was convicted of any sex offense, use of a
firearm in people smuggling, or drunk driving.
Under the Bush-Kennedy immigration overhaul legislation,
illegal aliens convicted of sex offenses are not prohibited
from applying for amnesty, neither are illegal aliens convicted
of felony drunk driving. It also permits illegals currently
under a deportation order to apply for and receive amnesty.
"The question I put to my colleagues is this: Should
Congress 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?" Cornyn asked. "I
hope that every senator would answer this question with
a positive response.
But they didn't. Cornyn's amendment was defeated 51 to 46.
Here is the roll call vote. A "yea" vote was to
adopt Cornyn's amendment to bar criminal illegal aliens.
A "nay" vote was to defeat the amendment.
YEAs
-46
Alexander (R-TN); Allard (R-CO); Baucus (D-MT); Bennett
(R-UT); Bond (R-MO); Brownback (R-KS); Bunning (R-KY); Burr
(R-NC); Byrd (D-WV); Chambliss (R-GA); Cochran (R-MS); Coleman
(R-MN); Collins (R-ME);Conrad (D-ND); Corker (R-TN); Cornyn
(R-TX); Crapo (R-ID)DeMint (R-SC); Dole (R-NC); Dorgan (D-ND);
Ensign (R-NV); Enzi (R-WY); Grassley (R-IA); Gregg (R-NH);
Hatch (R-UT); Hutchison (R-TX); Inhofe (R-OK); Isakson (R-GA);
Landrieu (D-LA); Lott (R-MS); McConnell (R-KY); Murkowski
(R-AK); Nelson (D-FL); Nelson (D-NE); Roberts (R-KS); Rockefeller
(D-WV); Sessions (R-AL); Shelby (R-AL); Smith (R-OR); Snowe
(R-ME)Stevens (R-AK); Sununu (R-NH)Tester (D-MT); Thune
(R-SD); Vitter (R-LA); Warner (R-VA).
NAYs
-51
Akaka (D-HI); Bayh (D-IN)Biden (D-DE); Bingaman (D-NM);
Boxer (D-CA); Brown (D-OH); Cantwell (D-WA); Cardin (D-MD);
Carper (D-DE); Casey (D-PA); Clinton (D-NY); Craig (R-ID);
Dodd (D-CT); Domenici (R-NM); Durbin (D-IL); Feingold (D-WI);
Feinstein (D-CA); Graham (R-SC); Hagel (R-NE); Harkin (D-IA);
Inouye (D-HI); Kennedy (D-MA); Kerry (D-MA); Klobuchar (D-MN);
Kohl (D-WI); Kyl (R-AZ); Lautenberg (D-NJ); Leahy (D-VT);
Levin (D-MI); Lieberman (ID-CT); Lincoln (D-AR); Lugar (R-IN);
Martinez (R-FL); McCain (R-AZ); McCaskill (D-MO); Menendez
(D-NJ); Mikulski (D-MD); Murray (D-WA); Obama (D-IL); Pryor
(D-AR); Reed (D-RI); Reid (D-NV); Salazar (D-CO); Sanders
(I-VT); Schumer (D-NY); Specter (R-PA); Stabenow (D-MI);
Voinovich (R-OH); Webb (D-VA); Whitehouse (D-RI); Wyden
(D-OR).
Not
Voting - 2
Coburn
(R-OK); Johnson (D-SD)
