House GOP Slow Walks Coffman’s Immigration Bill
As reported on Complete Colorado
House Republicans are so wary of overhauling the nation’s immigration laws this year that only five are cosponsoring Rep. Mike Coffman’s bill to provide a path to citizenship for illegal aliens who serve in the U.S. military.
“I think the GOP is still very cautious of doing anything on the issue,” said one Republican official.
Coffman echoed a similar assessment in a recent interview with The Colorado Observer after the House Republicans’ legislative retreat on Maryland’s eastern shore. Coffman said the caucus was divided on immigration reform [amnesty for illegal aliens] and that its meeting on the topic did not go well.
“I would like to see some type of reform, so I’m not very optimistic,” Coffman said.
The Republican from Aurora who served in both the Gulf and Iraq Wars could just as easily have been referring to the shaky status of his own legislation, H.R. 435, the Military Enlistment Opportunity Act...
There are 11 Democratic supporters of the bill, but none of the Democrats or Republicans in the Colorado delegation has signed on as a cosponsor.
The slow walking of Coffman’s legislation comes despite the best efforts of the lawmaker and support from the House Republican leadership...
CAIRCO Notes
Legalizing illegal alien mercenaries who serve in our American armed forces is a dog of a bill, and that dog won't bark.
Mike Coffman's 6th District covers most of Aurora, Colorado - a hotbed of legal and illegal immigration. It wasn't always that way; prior to redistricting, Coffman's district covered a largely conservative voter base.
As a result of the change, Coffman wantonly abandoned his conservative and patriotic position on immigration law enforcement. He must figure that if he throws a bone to the illegal alien community, Hispanics will rush over to vote for him.
There are three problems with that approach:
1. Hispanics do not vote as a bloc. Hispanic Americans vote like all other Americans on the basis of issues and concerns.
2. The GOP leadership is patently misguided in thinking that offering pseudo-Democratic legislation will induce Hispanics to vote en masse for a Republican instead of a dyed-in-the-wool Democratic candidate.
Indeed, a confidential third-party voter analysis was presented to Coffman by CAIRCO's Fred Elbel. Coffman clearly understands the dismal numbers, but he appears to be counting on campaign funding from rich GOP donors, who want an unending supply of cheap foreign job-seekers to displace American workers.
3. Coffman is alienating his former support base, who have no interest in supporting a "Democrat light" candidate.
Articles:
A Dissection of Mike Coffman's Misguided Amnesty Missive
Coffman: "First, we must secure our borders and enforce our laws."
Now that actually makes sense. Do that. Full stop. No need to bring in 57 million immigrants via amnesty. Simply enforce existing laws.
Changing Colorado 6th could be 2014's tightest race
With the trifecta of big money, deep investment from both parties and a split electorate with a sizable swing vote, the race between Republican Rep. Mike Coffman and Democrat Andrew Romanoff in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District stands to be the state’s — and potentially the nation’s — toughest House battle of 2014...
For Coffman, immigration is a particularly tricky issue. The congressman spoke out strongly against the DREAM Act in 2010, calling it a “nightmare for the American people,” and the following year introduced legislation mandating English-only ballots. However, he is now calling for comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants [illegal aliens]...
Mike Coffman [R-CO, 6th] does a 180 on immigration
Coffman underlines support for citizenship through military service
Rep Mike Coffman (R) tells Aurora crowd he favors legal status for immigrants
Bill would give illegals citizenship through service
Opponents say that by offering a “military-only” route to citizenship, the bill would exploit those who feel they have limited options for economic security.
“This legislation would mean that the military would become a potential way for 400,000 people to quickly gain the secure status that would otherwise not be available to them ... watch as a new class of disadvantaged youths is exploited to maintain our global military reach,” wrote Rick Jahnkow, program coordinator for the Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities, in the online publication Draft Notices...