(Hat Tip to Hot Air)
From Tancredo's site:
Tancredo Amendment to Cut Funding for Sanctuary Cities Passes with Strong Bipartisan Support.
“The times, they are a changing.” – Rep. Tancredo
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo’s (R-CO) amendment to cut funding from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Bill (H.R. 2638) for cities that employ a sanctuary policy passed the House with strong bipartisan support today; 234 to 189.
“The times, they are a changing,” said an exuberant Tancredo, who had introduced the same amendment several times in the past with far less support. “This should also serve as a warning sign to the White House and supporters of re-introducing an amnesty bill from the Senate. If that legislation makes it to the House, it is in serious trouble.”
The Amendment would prevent cities like Denver and San Francisco who employ a sanctuary policy for illegal aliens from receiving first responder funds, including law enforcement and terrorism prevention grants, among other programs.
Tancredo concluded, “The days that local officials could pander to the open borders special interests are over.”
(Emphasis Mine)
The Rocky Mountain News headlines with "Tancredo wins surprise immigration vote".
The last lines say it all:
Tancredo said he thinks his amendment is an indicator that the House would crush the reform plan if it passes in the Senate.
"If I were (Speaker of the House) Nancy Pelosi, I'd be asking if she could pass a vote on amnesty on the House side," Tancredo said. "If she lost 50 Democrats on this one, and she says she needs 70 Republicans to pass the immigration plan, this is an interesting indicator of things coming down the pike, and that the times, they are a-changing."
From Hot Air:
He’s offered similar proposals at least seven times in the past three years and they’ve always failed by big margins. Today? 234-189, with no fewer than 49 Democrats voting in favor. The Rocky Mountain News says all sides are “stunned”; his own press release describes him as “exuberant.” Not necessarily because he thinks the Senate’s going to pass this but because of a certain Larger Truth that might just have materialized.
Let me point out again, this may go nowhere but it is good news because 49+ Democrats crossed the aisle for this vote and it may, indeed, be a sign that 'we the people" are being heard.
Now is not the time to kick back and pat yourselves on the back because the Senate is planning on bringing the bill back up, so we need to continue the offensive, throw everything we have at it and make it clear that anyone that votes for this severely flawed immigration bill which will allow immigrants that broke our laws by coming into our country ILLEGALLY, to obtain Amnesty.
Call it any other name you want, but allowing those criminals, and that is what they are when they break the law, criminals, to obtain citizenship as a reward for their criminal behavior, is AMNESTY.
Keep calling. Keep emailing. Keep faxing.
Continue to make our voices heard until this immigration bill ends up in the trash once and for all and our government starts to enforce the laws we already have on the books.
(Disclaimer: Although I applaud Tancredo on this measure and his efforts, I believe (correct me if I am wrong) that he is also against any immigration, legal and illegal and I cannot support THAT particular stand. We are a nation that has always offered immigrants a chance at a better life and I cannot back any proposal that would, in effect, throw the baby out with the bathwater.
MY position is we punish those that come illegally, breaking our laws to do so, and we continue to allow legal immigration and welcome those that follow the procedure set out for them, with open arms.)
[Update] Hot Air shows us "Shamnesty: Reid to block bill opponents with unprecedented procedure?"
Go. Scoot. READ IT.
Tracked back by:
Tom Tancredo scores big against sanctuary cities from Tel-Chai Nation...
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