Congress Ignores Obama, Takes Up 'Amnesty'

On Wednesday, President Obama appeared to close the door on addressing immigration reform this year, saying, "We've gone through a very tough year, and I've been working Congress pretty hard. I know there may not be an appetite to dive into another controversial issue."

But yesterday, Democrat leaders in Washington announced a new effort just days after Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill that enables her state to enforce illegal immigration.

The reaction to the Arizona law has ranged from condemnation by Obama to the sometimes violent protests by illegals who don't want to face police questioning about their status and the Mexican government's new warning about travel by Mexicans in Arizona.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced the new Democrat effort, noting its requirement that illegal aliens learn English and pay taxes."

I say to my Republican colleagues, work with us to fix this broken system, and secure our borders," Reid said.

But Rep. John Boehner, the House minority leader, said Republican support wasn't likely after the president's massive health-care reform plan was "shoved down our throats."

Nevertheless, some opponents of illegal immigration worried that the federal plan was being assembled as a deliberate attack on Arizona's new efforts to protect its citizens.

Obama's statement yesterday seemed to lend credence to their concerns.

"It is the federal government's responsibility to enforce the law and secure our borders, as well as to set clear rules and priorities for future immigration," Obama's prepared statement released by the White House said.

Obama said it is "unacceptable to have 11 million people in the United States who are living here illegally and outside the system."

Critics such as Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, agree, but they argue that simply enforcing the nation's existing immigration laws would make a great deal of difference.

The group, which obtained an advance copy of the legislation outline, said Americans need to call their representatives in Washington.

"Tell them you want enforcement, not amnesty," FAIR said.

"The [new] proposal offers all kinds of promises regarding the future enforcement of our immigration laws. But we know through years of experience and hard lessons that the federal government has broken virtually every enforcement promise it has made to the American people. Now, Senators Reid, Schumer and Menendez go so far as to say: 'there will be zero tolerance for illegal entry and reentry into the U.S.' Who can believe this?" the organization said.

The group warned that the new plan would pre-empt state and locals laws encouraging immigration enforcement and would grant amnesty.

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