While you were watching the Obama Scandals and the NSA leaks, Harry Reid was moving the Gang of 8 immigration bill to a vote.

The Gang of 8 got a big boost when Sen. Kelly Ayote endorsed the bill this weekend.

But hope is not lost. From Byron York, On immigration, an opposition strategy emerges: Hold Gang to its own words:

Opponents of the Gang of Eight comprehensive immigration reform bill have focused on a multitude of weaknesses in the legislation. Its border security triggers are ineffective, they say. Same for its internal enforcement provisions. It would allegedly lower wages for low-skill American workers. It would reward immigrants for the act of coming to the United States illegally. And so on. But with the Senate scheduled to take up debate on the Gang bill Tuesday, a new opposition strategy is emerging: to expose the weaknesses of the bill by holding Gang members to account for their own words. In countless public statements, Gang members have touted the “tough” measures in the bill. But it’s common knowledge among opponents that several of the purportedly tough provisions are weakened by waivers and exceptions. What if opponents came up with amendments that hewed closely to the Gang members’ statements of purpose — but took out the waivers and exceptions and replaced them with tight requirements? What would happen then?

Sen. Mike Lee called the Gang of 8 Bill “big government dysfunction“:

We are being presented with a choice between the Gang bill, or nothing. Common sense, recent history, and the ongoing legislative process of the House of Representatives confirms that is a false choice. There is another way, a more sensible and successful way. We can do better than another thousand-page mistake. Haven’t we learned our lesson? Isn’t it time we tried? Rather than fix our current immigration problems, the Gang of Eight bill will make many of them worse. It is not immigration reform. It is big government dysfunction. All advocates of true immigration reform – on the left and the right – should oppose it.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, who has been stellar on opposing the Gang of 8 bill, writes in an Op-Ed today, Sen. Sessions on immigration bill’s broken promises:

The so-called Gang of Eight immigration plan now being considered by the Senate fails to live up to every major promise made by its sponsors. Far from improving the immigration system, their 1,000-page proposal would exacerbate many of its flaws. It would dangerously undermine future enforcement while imposing substantial burdens on taxpayers and taking jobs and pay from U.S. workers. Indeed, the two unions representing our nation’s immigration and customs officers and those who process immigration applications have strongly urged opposition. The sponsors’ promise of enforcement first was broken when lead sponsor Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared: “First, people will be legalized…. Then we’ll make sure the border is secure.” About 11 million immigrants who are here illegally — which includes 4 million who have overstayed their visas — would receive work permits, Social Security numbers and access to state and local benefits within six months of passage. The Department of Homeland Security merely has to submit a border plan, not accomplish that plan. Those legalized will then be free to compete for jobs at a time of low wages and high unemployment. It’s amnesty first, not enforcement first.

Update: Rubio: Legalization Will Come Before Border Security



