RUSH: Okay, folks, they still don’t have their 60 votes in the Senate for the Gang of Eight immigration bill. I don’t care what you’re hearing in the media. I don’t care how close you’re hearing it is. They don’t have 60 votes. If they had their 60 votes, Dingy Harry would be lassoing these guys in for the vote. They don’t have their 70 votes, and they don’t have their 60. I’m given to understand, by the way, that after Senator Cruz’s appearance on this program, you can’t get into Washington telephonically.
Well, you couldn’t that day and into the next. It has probably lightened up by now. But here is the latest from Senator Corker. He’s one half of the Hoeven-Corker team. They offered an amendment, and he was on Fox this morning on Happening Now with Jenna Lee, who said, “It’s interesting. You mentioned the benefits of what happens with some of the people that are already here illegally.
“And it comes to the issue of accountability, Senator Corker, and that’s something that a lot of people have questions about in your amendment. We’re talking about securing the border. But what’s the measure of success in your amendment? What tells us that the border is now secure, and all these other efforts at immigration reform can happen? What is the measure?”
CORKER: Immigrants cannot get a green card until all 20,000 Border Patrol agents are in place. They cannot get a green card until all $3.2 billion of the technology that the border control has asked for is in place. They cannot get a green card until the exit visa program — that … that, candidly, is very important — is in place. They cannot get a green card until eVerify is in place. So this has the most tangible — not subjective, tangible — triggers that you can possibly put in place. Anyone who criticizes this bill because of border security, in my opinion, is just looking a reason to criticize a bill.
RUSH: Straw man. Therefore anybody who criticizes this just isn’t criticizing it on substance, see? They just don’t want that bill. Well, let’s go back to the Cornyn amendment. The Cornyn amendment answered Jenna Lee’s question: “What is the measure of border security success?” The Cornyn amendment was voted down, by the way. The Cornyn sentiment simply said that you have to be able to demonstrate that you’re apprehending 90% of all attempts illegally to get into the country.
The Senate voted that down.
They said, “Well, if you do that as a goal, we’ll support it. If you do that as an objective, we’ll support it.” But Cornyn said, “Nope. The 90,000 is hard. You have to prove that you are capturing, apprehending 90% of those who try to get in.” The Senate voted it down. So with that in mind, let’s go back to what Corker says here. “Immigrants can’t get a green card until all 20,000 border agents are in place.”
Uh, border agents being “in place” doesn’t mean anything.
Okay, so we’re gonna hire an additional 20,000 border agents, and I assume we’re gonna deploy ’em. Big whoop! What are their instructions? So, “immigrants can’t get a green card until all 20,000 border agents are in place. They cannot get a green card until all 3.2 billion of the technology,” he’s talking about dollars here, “that the border control has asked for is in place.” There’s nothing about any of it being used. That’s an assumption.
I don’t know if you’re willing to make that.
There’s nothing about it being used successfully. “They cannot get a green card until the exit visa program is in place,” and he said “that’s very important.” The exit visa program, this is the program designed to find out who’s overstaying their visas. “They can’t get a green card until eVerify is in place.” Okay, “in place” doesn’t mean anything. New border agents “hired and in place” doesn’t mean anything. All $3.2 billion “in technology the border control’s asked for is in place”? What good does that do?
Okay, now let’s move on to something else that’s related to this. You know and I know that this 13-year waiting period where they grant illegals the “pathway,” but they are not granting them citizenship for 13 years… They can’t vote for 13 years. They can’t get benefits for 13 years. We’ve often theorized here on the program, that that 13 years isn’t gonna last because a few hours after the bill is signed, Democrats are gonna find the nearest camera and talk about how unfair that is.
“Why, we — we just put ’em on the pathway to citizenship! We just told ’em that they’re legal, for all intents and purposes, and then they can’t vote for 13 years? They can’t get Obamacare for 13 years? How fair is that?” and then they make a move. It’s already happened. There’s an op-ed in The Politico today by a senator from Hawaii: “Imagine that you buy homeowner’s insurance, but the policy won’t cover your house if it catches fire until 13 years after you start paying premiums.
“That would obviously not be fair. But that is exactly the situation in which people on the pathway to citizenship will find themselves because of restrictions in the Senate immigration bill, S.744.” So the Democrats are already starting to build the case for federal benefits for illegal immigrants long before the 13-year waiting period is concluded. They’re already doing it. They’re not even waiting. They’re already laying the groundwork for it.
“What are wrong are the policies in the bill that prohibit most immigrant taxpayers from being able to use federal safety net programs for at least 13 years, the minimum length of time on the pathway. Their taxes pay for these programs but they can’t use them. That is profoundly unfair.” So we already have the table being set to overturn or dump the 13-year requirement. Now, the bill will be voted on, if it is, and it will pass with this 13 years in there. But this piece by the Democrat senator from Hawaii…
And I would pronounce her name but it’s printed out so small I don’t want to make a stab at this. I’m not sure of her name, so I don’t want to be accused of making fun or purposely mispronouncing it, but she’s new. I think she replaced Senator Akaka. If she didn’t replace Senator Akaka, then she replaced Senator Inouye. Mazie, I think, is her first name. It’s M-a-z-i-e. Anyway… So you see, folks, they’re already starting now to work on this 13 years.
I’m telling you, that that 13-year pathway to citizenship isn’t gonna matter a hill of beans. It isn’t gonna hold up. It isn’t gonna last. Here you have a Democrat who’s gonna vote for the bill. This Democrat is gonna vote for the bill, and she’s already jerking tears from people about how unfair it is. (paraphrased) “We put ’em on the pathway, and we deny them the safety net while their taxes are pay for it? That isn’t fair!” I thought, by the way — and I know I’m right about this — that illegals already get welfare benefits.
I know Obama’s Aunt Zeituni is getting them. She’s been live in public housing for decades. Aunt Zeituni, Obama’s Aunt Zeituni. She wrote about it. She got welfare, free hip replacements while she was an illegal alien. Mazie Hirono is the name of the senator from Hawaii who has written this piece. She says, “We should all want immigrants to be successful, start businesses and continue contributing to the economy.
“However, few people would use their life savings to start a business if they think their children will go hungry or go without healthcare if the business fails. The safety net programs exist so people can take risks to improve their economic circumstances.” What in the world…? Get this, folks. “We should all want immigrants to be successful, start businesses and continue contributing to the economy.
“However, few people would use their life savings to start a business if they think their children will go hungry or go without healthcare if the business fails,” and that’s why we need welfare? How many of you who have started small businesses planned on using welfare if it failed? You know, Kathryn and I started a little small business, Two If By Tea. By the way, this is the last day of the big Jeep Patriot sweepstakes. I mean, I’ve got all the details coming up, but this is it.
You’re automatically registered to win if you shop at TwoIfByTea.com. You’ve gotta do that by 11:59 p.m. Pacific. Oh, one other thing. We have restocked the Tervis tumblers with revered Rush on one side and Rush Revere on the other side. These are awesome, and they’re back in stock. We ran out. We sold out of these things lickety-split. We were trying to get ’em back in for Father’s Day but we didn’t make it. They’re there now. But when we started this business, we didn’t plan on using welfare if it failed.
Who in the world is she talking about? How many of you who have thought about or have started small businesses planned on using welfare if it didn’t work to feed your families? So we want the illegals to come here, get on the pathway, and we want ’em to start businesses, but if it doesn’t work they’ve gotta be able to go on welfare. This is ignorant. Well, no. It’s probably what they think life should be or is like.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: I want to clarify something or add to something with Senator Corker and his sound bite. If you recall, he said — and I know you were shouting at me out there — that immigrants can’t get a green card until all 20,000 Border Patrol agents are “in place.” We’re not even talking about green cards. They’re gonna get legal status before they get green cards. Senator Corker…
I have to be very careful here, ’cause he’s the senator and I’m the media guy and therefore he’s supposed to know more about this than I do. But what we are talking about in the Gang of Eight bill is giving these people legal status. The first step of which will happen within six months of Obama signing this thing is that these 11 million people get provisional legal status, and you and I know that that is never gonna be revoked.
It doesn’t matter what you do with the new Border Patrol agents or what you do with the new technology or the exit visa program. Immigrants can’t get a green card ’til all 20,000 Border Patrol agents are in place. They’re gonna get legal before they get a green card. They’re gonna get provisional legal status but they’re never gonna lose it. Once that happens, they’re here. Nobody’s talking about deportation anyway even without this bill. So this really is muddling the issue.
The green card would come after the provisional legal status, but the provisional legal status is never gonna be revoked. “Green card” means “permanent.” That’s the simplest way to remember it. “Green card” means “permanent.” But once they get the provisional legal status six months after the bill’s signed into law, that’s not gonna be taken away. So they “can’t get the green card ’til all 20,000 border agents are in place”? The point still holds. The border agents could be “in place,” but what are they doing?
What measure of success are the new agents having in securing the border? That’s not part of the Hoeven-Corker amendment. That’s why the Cornyn amendment is so relevant here. He was demanding a 90% apprehension rate, provable. Not a “goal,” not an “objective,” but a demonstrable 90%. And all these guys are saying is that we’re gonna have these new procedures “in place.” But we’re not gonna have any measure of success or failure of the new procedures. And this is supposed to tide us over, those of us who think the border has to be nailed down.