Leftwing House Dem Proposes
New Amnesty for Illegals

he bidding war between Republicans and Democrats for Hispanic votes heated up dramatically last month when a left-winger in the House said he ill propose legislation to establish an amnesty program for millions of illegal aliens.
Minority Leader Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-MO, told a gathering of Hispanic racial advocates meeting in Miami that a bill to be introduced this month would allow illegal aliens with a U.S. work history who have successfully evaded capture by authorities for five years to qualify for permanent residency status.

Gephardt claimed that this latest green-cards-for-votes scheme will help fight terrorism.

"Our proposal will bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows and into the light of accountability and greater cooperation in our fight against terrorism," he told the 3,000 cheering delegates of the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza. Why illegal aliens would want to help the government fight terrorism was not clear.

It is the second major amnesty proposal floated by American political elites since the election of pro-immigration President George Bush. He proposed a more limited amnesty last year that ran into stiff public opposition and was killed in the Senate.

Immigrant advocacy groups have been lobbying for various amnesties for years, despite a blanket amnesty that was granted to illegals in 1986. That legislation legalized about 3 million foreign lawbreakers, and was passed by Congress with the assurance to the public that it was a "one-time-only" amnesty.

"We are angry," said Hispanic chauvinist Paul Yzaguirre, president of La Raza. He believes people who sneaked into the country illegally deserve a reward. "We are outraged. Eight million people work without their papers. Our economy depends on them. That issue got moved to the back burner."

Political elites suspended talk of amnesty in the midst of public concern about America's open borders in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The Gephardt proposal indicates that elites believe the public is no longer worried about border issues.

Under Gephardt's plan, illegal aliens who have lived in the U.S. for five years or more would qualify for permanent residency status if they held jobs for at least two years. No one knows how many of the estimated 8 million to11 million illegals in the U.S. might be eligible.

Left-wingers are calling the plan "earned legalization," even though an illegal doesn't have to do anything to "earn" the free amnesty. The New York Times reported that the bill's authors "are also considering a provision that would allow some current workers who have lived less than five years in the country to qualify later."

Illegals would be given three years to apply for the amnesty.

Gephardt said the legislation would also include a new program to import even more foreign workers on a "temporary" basis. "These proposals reward hard work with fair play and help us in our fight against terrorism," he said.

He told Times reporter Ronald Brownstein that the amnesty will "give us more a sense of who is here and who is willing to play by the rules and who isn't," even though authorities already know without an amnesty that illegal aliens are not willing to play by the rules.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus on Capitol Hill, said the amnesty was purely a "political ploy" to sew up Hispanic support for Democrats.

Although the bill is unlikely to get a vote this year, Democrat strategists admit it provides their candidates with a powerful lure for Hispanic voters in the fall congressional elections.

"President Bush talked about immigration reform, but there has not been enough action to match the rhetoric, in my opinion," Gephardt said.

The Gephardt plan "is putting down a marker that we are getting back to the legalization debate in a serious way," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy of the La Raza group.

La Raza claims to be the largest Hispanic advocacy group in the U.S., with affiliate organization in 37 states.