03/27/2006

U.S. Senate Faces Moment of Truth

(PHOENIX, AZ) March 27, 2006 – Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, issued the following statement regarding deliberations today by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on guest worker amnesty—and the upcoming debate before the full Senate:

“The United States Senate today is facing an historic moment of truth. The American people have made clear with resounding voice their demand to immediately secure this nation’s borders—and their firm opposition to guest worker amnesty. The House of Representatives passed HR-4437 to put in place the process and mechanisms necessary to secure our borders. This legislation is unencumbered by guest worker amnesty—a feckless promise that is currently causing an unprecedented wave of illegal border crossings by those willing to ‘jump the queue’—and literally invade America.

“The disastrously lawless situation at our borders has been compounded by the current actions of self-serving Senators. America has been virtually overrun at the southern border by millions of illegal aliens in the first months of this year alone, who are racing to take advantage of the Senate’s anticipated guest worker amnesty. If the border security measures passed by the House were magically signed into law today, it would still take years before the necessary levels of personnel and materiel are in place to adequately control our border crisis. As America remains in this vulnerable state, for the Senate to willfully encourage even more illegal border crossings by passing guest worker amnesty—and failing to first secure this nation’s borders, they irresponsibly invite another catastrophic terrorist attack of 9/11 proportions. This is why the Minutemen have and will continue to demand the deployment of National Guard troops along our country’s chaotic frontier.

“The Senate is obligated to act to protect the American people at a time when the federal government has made clear it does not have operational control of our borders. Ambitious GOP Senators like John McCain, a presidential candidate in search of a constituency, seek to establish a permanent underclass of low-wage guest workers for their corporate contributors to exploit, subsidized by the American taxpayer. Democrat Senators like Ted Kennedy are pandering to the demands for guest worker amnesty ‘with a path to citizenship’ from their own special interest group campaign contributors, and from their union overlords—seeking increased union memberships, dues, and political money coffers to bolster their political power through political contributions. In the midst of this relentless self-promotion and vulgar partisan maneuvering, the American people are held hostage to the current failed policies—policies that have left our population, our economy and our country itself vulnerable to terrorist attack though our wide-open borders.

“The Senate will either choose to protect America’s sovereignty and security by placing border security first, or they will further place America at risk by ensuring that no border security legislation will pass Congress this year. These self-serving Senators are holding their demands for amnesty as ransom for border security. This shameful strategy is in direct conflict with the stated will of the American people. The overwhelming majority of Americans who are outraged by this obscene betrayal will be watching. Lest we forget, we are at war, and our terrorist enemies will be watching, as well.”