Tancredo Ecstatic Over Votes on Key Immigration Provisions in House Intel Bill
Office of Congressman Tom Tancredo, Oct. 8
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO-Littleton) joined a core group of House members today in beating back efforts to gut the bill by Democrats Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey), and Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois), as well as Republicans Chris Shays (R-Conn.) and Chris Smith (R- New Jersey). “These border security provisions were really the cornerstone of the bill,” said Tancredo. “Beating back efforts by various members of the 9/11 Commission, the Democratic leadership, and the liberal wing of the Republican Party to eviscerate this bill were no easy task.”
A core group of House Republicans narrowly defeated a number of efforts to strip key security components of the bill. Opponents attempted to strike sections of the bill calling for additional border patrol agents, new authority for the Homeland Security Department to apprehend and remove illegal aliens and the authority to immediately expel suspected terrorist. Other provisions targeted by opponents will set minimum standards for Driver’s Licenses and state identification cards to prevent terrorists from obtaining fraudulent documentation, require foreign travelers to present secure identification when entering the United States.
“I have never been prouder to be a member of the Republican Majority in the House of Representatives than I am today,” concluded Tancredo. “We resisted the pressure of special interests and the temptation of election year politics to do something that will actually make America safer.”
