ICE's Crane: Execs Lobbying for Amnesty 'Stand to Make a Fortune' Off Legislation on Tue, 29 Oct 2013

ICE's Crane: Execs Lobbying for Amnesty 'Stand to Make a Fortune' Off Legislation

on Tue, 29 Oct 2013

In response to high-pressure lobbying from special interests like left-wing billionaire George Soros and a group of corporate executives pushing House GOP members for amnesty, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) National Council president Chris Crane warned members of the House that those lobbying for immigration reform just want to make money off the legislation.

“Numerous news reports have announced that a large group of CEO’s, special interests and groups opposing immigration enforcement plan to increase lobbying efforts on House members starting this week,” Crane, who represents 7,000 immigration agents and support staff, wrote in a letter to House members on Monday. “This lobbyist pressure campaign is designed to get House members to either support legislation similar to the Schumer-Rubio bill [the "Gang of Eight" bill] or to pass individual bills that will be combined with Gang of Eight legislation into a comprehensive bill in a conference committee." 

"Many of the groups stand to make a fortune from the immigration provisions they are seeking," he explained. "Indeed, the 1,200 page Senate plan lined the pockets of many of the same groups now lobbying House members.”

Even though the Senate bill’s principal Republican sponsor, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), has since abandoned it and effectively un-endorsed the legislation by saying he is opposed to efforts to save the bill in a conference committee, several special interests are pushing for the House to pass a group of piecemeal bills to get to a conference committee. 

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate bill’s principal Democratic sponsor, has endorsed the House GOP leadership’s piecemeal immigration approach as part of an effort to get to a conference committee, thereby sneaking amnesty past the weary House GOP conference. House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is on record having stated that he believes it is acceptable to go to a conference committee, at which he hopes to “fix” the Senate bill. Other House leaders like Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) have continually refused to state where they stand on conference, effectively leaving the door open to what Rubio’s office called a “ruse” to try to save the Senate bill.

Meanwhile, across Capitol Hill, special interests are aggressively lobbying members of the House GOP conference to try to save their expensive push for amnesty after Rubio abandoned the effort. Crane notes these groups are not interested in actually enforcing the laws of the United States and are working to damage American law enforcement.

“You should be aware that these groups have not worked with or consulted with ICE officers,” Crane wrote in his Monday letter to members of Congress. “In fact, their actions have undermined the safety of the country and law enforcement personnel. They do not represent the interests of your constituents, the law enforcement community, or the nation itself. They have demonstrated no evident concern for the constitutional rule of law." 

"They are interested in power and money," he continued. "ICE officers are pleading with you to resist their well-financed pressure campaign and stand with American citizens and the immigration officers who put their own personal safety at risk each day to provide for public safety. The American public is fed up with rich individuals, corporations and special interests using money to control the legislative process.”

Crane added that these special interest organizations are clearly not interested in public safety because they have not joined him and other ICE agents in calling for an investigation of President Barack Obama’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its non-enforcement directives ordering law enforcement to ignore specific laws. “If these groups were concerned about public safety, national security and the rule of law they would be joining our call for an investigation of the Department of Homeland Security,” Crane wrote. 

“In fact, we are urging all lawmakers to demand an investigation of DHS before moving immigration bills. ICE officers are being ordered by DHS political appointees to ignore the law," he explained. "Violent criminal aliens are released every day from jails back into American communities. ICE Officers face disciplinary action for engaging in routine law enforcement actions." 

"We are barred from enforcing large sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act, even when public safety is at risk. Officer morale is devastated," Crane warned. "Our agency‘s managers answer to special interests and not to Congress. No reform can succeed as long as this or any other administration can choose to ignore Congress and violate the law with impunity.”