What does the Immigration Vote Really Mean and What Next?

 

Below you will find excerpts from different newspapers and organizations announcing the victory vote on the immigration bill that will give you some idea of  what the vote means and what we might expect in the future.. The first one shows just what an accomplishment this victory is especially considering that

"Wealthy philanthropic foundations are helping bankroll the pro-immigration movement." (See part of that article at end of this email.).  http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070605-041857-1302r

 

From NumbersUSA victory email:

 

 (You sent more than 750,000 faxes through NumbersUSA)

 

"When this new Congress was sworn in back in January, we were told the amnesty bill would be introduced in February and would be quickly passed by the Senate just as an amnesty passed last year," said Rosemary Jenks (leader of our Capitol Hill Team).

Nearly every opponent of amnesty on the Hill has assumed that after a hard-fought fight, the Senate would pass an amnesty again this year and then we would hope to stop it in the House of Representatives. Stopping it in the Senate has to be seen as something of a political miracle -- although Rosemary has insisted all year that we could do it.

"The American people broke through the elitist mentality of the Senate," Rosemary said tonight. "This is democracy at work."

 

Immigration Bill Fails to Win Crucial Vote in Senate

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/washington/07cnd-immig.html?_r=2&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1181316093-QSElVrtdIlz2RAUw9hvFKw

WASHINGTON, June 7 — A bill that would overhaul immigration law suffered a crippling defeat this evening in the Senate, casting grave doubt on the prospects for changing the system any time soon. The defeat was in the form of a motion to shut off debate and move the bill toward a yes-or-no vote. The vote was 50 to 45 against the motion. Thus, it fell 15 short of carrying, since 60 votes were required under Senate rules.

 

After the cloture motion failed to win Senate approval, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, held out the hope this evening that the bill could be acted upon again within “several weeks.” “I have every desire to complete this legislation,” he said.

 

Otherwise, Mr. Reid may shelve the bill for the year. He said beforehand that the lawmakers had to turn their attention to other issues.

 

Republican Presidential Candidate Tom Tancredo

America wins.....Amnesty defeated!

Friday, June 8, 2007

We did it! Last night, “we the people” won the first key battle over the Kennedy-McCain-Bush amnesty bill!

In a stunning defeat for President Bush, the Hispanic lobby, and the corporate special interests, the Senate defeated a move to close debate and move to a vote on the amnesty bill. Only SEVEN Republican Senators, including John McCain, voted to close debate. And TWELVE Democrats bucked Harry Reid and Ted Kennedy, and voted to keep debate open!

My friend, thank you for all you did to make this first critical victory possible. The rejection of this arrogant powerhouse attempt by the elites to shove an amnesty bill through the Senate is due entirely to the mighty voice of the American people!

Of course, the war over the amnesty bill is not over, even in the Senate. Harry Reid said he wants to bring the bill back later this summer.

That means we have to keep the pressure on, and keep building the grassroots momentum against amnesty!

 

In his last email Tancredo had said:
Last night, I put the cards on the table during the Republican presidential debate here in New Hampshire.

I stood firm against illegal immigration, and against the McCain-Kennedy-Bush amnesty bill. I stood firm by my pledge, made earlier in the day yesterday, to oppose the re-election of any Republican Senator who votes for the amnesty bill.

 

Grassfire.org Alliance
Bush-Kennedy Amnesty Bill Update

http://www.firesociety.com/forum/thread/14217

           Cloture Fails-- This Round Of Amnesty Defeated!
        
The Senate just failed to "invoke cloture" on the Bush-Kennedy amnesty bill for the second time today. The final vote was 45-50.

What does this mean? We did it! We defeated this round of amnesty!

Since the announcement of this bill a few weeks ago, Grassfire team members sent over 700,000 petitions and faxes to the Senate. When we
add in the estimated phone calls, contacts by our team members alone to the Senate far exceeded 1 million!

We have never seen a grassroots response like this -- it was truly unprecedented .Without grassroots pressure, the Senate
would have passed this bill weeks ago.

On behalf of our entire team, and on behalf of the entire nation, thank you for taking a stand!

With much appreciation,

Steve Elliott, President
Grassfire.org

P.S. (from Grassfire.org) If you listened to the floor speeches after the vote on C-Span, then you know that the battle is not over. The will
bring amnesty back -- sooner rather than later. But for tonight, I want to thank you for everything you did to take a stand against this amnesty bill.
 

Wealthy donors fund immigration movement
 
By Sean Lengell
Published June 5, 2007
 http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070605-041857-1302r

    Wealthy philanthropic foundations are helping bankroll the pro-immigration movement, while groups advocating for tighter control of U.S. borders say they take a more grassroots approach to raising money. 

    The Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation and Democratic activist George Soros, among other liberal funders, have donated millions of dollars to pro-immigration groups, as the Senate continues its debate on a contentious bill that would overhaul the nation's immigration policy.

    Three of the nation's biggest and most influential pro-immigration groups -- the National Immigration Forum, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, and the National Council of La Raza, or NCLR -- collectively received more than $3.25 million from Ford Foundation since 2005.

    The three advocacy groups generally support the proposed Senate bill -- with some modifications -- that would give the estimated 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens in the U.S. a path to citizenship. The bill also would allow aliens here to be bring close family members into the county.
    But groups supporting stronger immigration policy and tighter border control say they rely more on small donations from individuals than large foundations.

    Numbers USA, which says it has 366,000 members, saw its membership grow 50 percent since Jan. 1, and 18 percent in May, spokeswoman Caroline Espinosa said. Two-thirds of the group's financial support comes from private individuals, with the average donation being $40.