CIRC Speaks

The Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus (CIRC) is making some buzz about putting guards on the boarder.

link.

Immigration to be an issue in AZ govenors race.

Link.

Kolbe - The Nail that Sticks Out

There is a saying that the nail that sticks out will get hammered down, or something like that.

Jim Kolbe is certainly not afraid of being the nail that sticks out. He is standing shoulder to shoulder with McCain and Kennedy on the Ammnesty bill. He apparently doesn't think his constituents are very concerned about mass illegal immigration.

With only 5000 votes of margin, that is a pretty arrogant stance.

See this.

Article on Hold Your Feet to the Fire

Great job Mike Sizer.

Link.

Utah for Immigration Reform

This group could be very helpful in the campaign to unseat Chris Cannon.

Lets keep our eyes on them.

Real ID smear campaign

The misinformation being spread on the Real ID Act the last minute is stunning.

For example, see the ACLU statement,

The rise in identity theft has put many people’s personal information at risk. Now, legislation passed by Congress will create a ripe target for identity thieves by allowing the government to compile your most personal information -- such as your name, address, photo, birth certificate, social security number and perhaps even your DNA -- into a national database. Thousands of government employees will have access to this giant network, dramatically increasing the risk of your personal information being stolen.

Faced with the outcry from concerned activists like you, supporters of this legislation -- the REAL ID Act -- were only able to pass it by attaching it to an unrelated emergency appropriations bill. This bill will soon be signed into law by President Bush. We need to reach out to our Members of Congress today to express our profound disappointment that they did not remove the REAL ID bill from the unrelated appropriations bill.

This is a complete red herring.

State employee's already have this informtion as part of the normal licensing process. The Real ID act just ensures that this information is accurate. That in no ways increases your exposure to identity theft.

And if the law succeeds in keeping criminals out of the US then many cases of identity theft may be prevented.

Immigration Key Issue in 2006

This article is just more evidence that 2006 is going to be the year of immigration in politics.

Key Quote:

"It is clear that immigration issues, once considered in this country more a regional 'problem' than a national concern, are about to take center stage in American politics," said Rick Kidder, public policy director for the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce and former advisor to ex-governor Fife Symington.

Timely support to key candidates will make a huge difference.

States may Fight Real ID

Looks like every step in the immigration battle will be contested.

House Republicans against Real ID

Republican Reps. Howard Coble of North Carolina, John Duncan of Tennessee, and Ron Paul of Texas voted against the Real ID Act.

I know that Ron Paul voted against it for non immigration reasons - he is a strong libertarian. I am not sure about the motives of the other two.

Amnesty Ho!

Horrible amnesty plan from Kennedy and McCain will be announed soon.

Senators to Remember on Real ID

The Real ID Act was a tremendous win for advocates of sane immigration controls.

However, it is worth reviewing some provision introduced into this bill by certain members of the Senate.

The first modification comes as no surprise:

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., added a measure to waive for two years the 66,000-a-year cap on H-2B visas for low-skill seasonal workers.

Can't do much about that.

Next, from one of the leading Republican presidential candidates for 2008, comes:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., inserted a line to give 10,500 visas to Australian guest workers in high-skill jobs.

This is an odd provision. Who was pushing for that reform? Why just Australians?

Next, Kay Baily open the doors to more legal immigration by adding this provision to the bill.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, added a provision to provide permanent residence for 50,000 foreign nurses and physical therapists. Drafting errors have left that provision in doubt.

Could be worse. I also note that Kay Baily has voted well on illegal immigration issues in the past.

And finally, from one of the worst Senators on all aspects of the immigration issue:

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., added a measure to allow unlimited immigration from China. Current law limits asylum claims from China's one-child policy to 1,000.

Sure, we can absorb half the population of China. Makes sense to me.

We will just have to grit our teeth on that one as Brownback was just (re)elected in 2004, so he is virtually immune to grass roots pressure for the next four years.

Randy Graf Announces His Candidacy for District-8 in 2006

An article on the announcement of Graf's 2004 candidacy can be found here.

Graf looks good on issues of immigration. Here are some excerpts:

He praised the Minuteman Project volunteers, who came to Cochise County this month, positioned themselves along the border and reported potential illegal activities to authorities as a way to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.

Also,

Strain [Kolbe campaign manager during 2004] said there has been increased interest about what is happening along the U.S.-Mexico border, especially since the Minuteman Project volunteers have come to the county this month.

Agreeing with Graf that more money is needed than he had in 2004, [Strain] said, "Randy needs to get out there and raise more."

Graf's 2006 campaign website is located at www.votegraf.com.

Chris Cannon attacks Tancredo

We will talk more about Chis Cannon (R-Utah) later, however, this type of personal attack on Tom Tancredo illustrates the fervor with which he pursues his open-boarders policies.

See this.

Quotes from Cannon:

"I think he [Tancredo] ought to consider his views and decide whether they're consistent with the Republican Party,"

And:

"I don't think there's a place in the Republican Party for racism, for xenophobia, for ideas that are fundamentally un-American[.]"

So, enforcing boarders is not Republican? Worse yet, enforcing the boarders is xenophobic and un-American?!?

I don't think we need that type of hateful rhetoric.

Randall "Randy" Graf - 5000 Votes Needed

Randall "Randy" Graf is running against Jim Kolbe in the Republican Primary for District 8 in Arizona. District 8 covers the Tuscon area.

The result of the 2004 primary between Koble and Graf was very close. The incumbant Koble won 57.5% to 42.5%, but more interestingly the total difference in votes was less than 10,000 votes (36,039 to 26,686)!

Can we change a total of 5000 votes from Koble to Graf in the next primary? Certainly possible!

Randy Graf raised about $100K during the 2004 election, almost all from individual contributors.

Thanks to the Minutemen (and others) the immigration issue will be front and center for the 2006 elections. That, combined with an additional $25,000 to $50,000 in contributions, could tip the balance to Randy Graf in '06.

Bullseye Target #1 - Jim Kolbe

Jim Kolbe is the Republican House member from district 8 in Arizona. His report card on immigration is a career C- with a more recent score of D.

It is unclear where his strong support for immigration (both legal and illegal) comes from as his top industries and top contributors do not have large agriculture or cheap labor interests.

However, his record is poor and his district does not support this stance, so he is a reasonable target.