Congress

WASHINGTON — The congresswoman and former presidential candidate could not be more clear, nor the situation she sees more urgent.

“The Republic is at stake” if “amnesty” is included in any immigration bill that becomes law, Rep. Michele Bachmann told WND last month.

Now, she says, the situation has actually gotten worse.

Bachmann and her House colleagues, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, and Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, have a new warning: Their own congressional leaders have joined the opposition and the only one who can stop amnesty now is you, the voter.

Amnesty is the term conservatives use to describe a path to legalization for illegal immigrants in legislation such as the bill passed in the Senate last month.

Bachmann says that bill is essentially the same as the one introduced by senators John McCain, R-Ariz., and the late Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and defeated in 2007 after a huge backlash by the conservative grassroots.

She says the 2007 bill caused her phone lines “to melt,” provoking more outrage than even Obamacare.

This time? The phones are silent.

Bachmann thinks that’s because people simply aren’t aware that the same thing is happening again.

Bachmann, Gohmert and King rallied their colleagues to put enough pressure on House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to force him to agree to apply the “Hastert rule” to legislation coming out of a conference committee to reconcile House and Senate versions of any bill.

Sticking to the Hastert rule is a way of preventing the House from approving legislation without the approval of the majority of the Republicans.

Last month, Bachmann told WND she feared an amnesty bill coming out of such a conference would be a “Trojan Horse” because “it won’t be (most) Republicans that pass it.”

“It’ll be Nancy Pelosi leading all the House Democrats to vote for it, and just enough Republicans will vote for the bill and you’ll have amnesty.”

Now, she sees GOP party leaders unreservedly throwing their support behind amnesty.

Bachmann also warns that amnesty supporters include members of “the House of Representatives you would never think in a million years could possibly support this foolish decision, but they do.”

“Don’t assume, just because your member of the House of representatives is a Republican or a conservative, they’re going to vote against a bill that has legalization,” Bachmann warns.

She is pleading with all conservative voters to call their members of Congress in the House to demand they do not vote for amnesty.

She urges readers to call the House of Representatives switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Speaker of the House John Boehner can be reached at (202) 225-6205 or (800) 582-1001.

He is also on Twitter and can be reached by email. Boehner’s fax number is (202) 225-5117.

WND spoke with Bachmann, Gohmert and King to find out why they believe amnesty could mean more than the end of the Republican party, but could actually mean the end of the Republic itself.

GOP LEADERSHIP SOLD ON AMNESTY

WND asked Bachmann whether she was encouraged or discouraged by last week’s meeting of GOP House members on immigration.

“It was very mixed, it was very divided, but it was very clear the leadership is completely sold on passing an amnesty bill. So, I’m very nervous about where we’re going because the 900-pound gorilla in the room is legalization,” she reflected.

She then gravely warned, “That is the only thing the president wants.”

Bachmann says they discussed four or five separate bills as opposed to one comprehensive immigration reform package, but some incorporated legalization within them.

LEGALIZATION IS EVERYTHING

“The only game in town is legalization, for President Obama and for Senate Democrats. They want that legalization status,” Bachmann declared.

She thinks the Democrats would actually accept all five Republican bills and say “Hey, great! Have any bill you want” because they could care less about what else is in the bill, all they want is legalization.

Bachmann says the reason for this is very clear: It’s all about gaining more political power. Complete power, in fact.

“Once President Obama gets legalization, then he’s got literally tens of millions of individuals he could potentially put on his voting roles to cement in place his policies for progressivism,” the congresswoman warned.

“I think people really need to be aware, the president will go for amnesty, the Senate will give us amnesty, the only brake we have is in the House of Representatives,” adding WND readers should be “very, very concerned” because resistance in the House is not very strong right now.

“And legalization is everything, it is the game changer. It changes our nation structurally forever, if this goes through.”

As Bachmann detailed to WND last month, “This is President Obama’s number one political agenda item because he knows we will never again have a Republican president, ever, if amnesty goes into effect. We will perpetually have a progressive, liberal president, probably a Democrat, and we will probably see the House of Representatives go into Democrat hands and the Senate will stay in Democrat hands.”

The lawmaker said that would create a permanent progressive class, and the country would never return to its constitutional foundations.

“That’s what’s at risk right now. It may sound melodramatic, I don’t mean it that way, but this is that big and that important.”

King is also worried the GOP is digging its own grave.

He says conservatives are on a “suicide watch over the Republican party.”

King disagrees with Republicans such as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who believe the GOP needs to support amnesty in order to win Hispanic votes.

He agress with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who says he earned 40 percent of the Hispanic vote by sticking to conservative principles rather than pandering.

“It’s unbelieveable to me that people would take that kind of bait and let the hook get set as deep as it’s been set,” said King.

He warned fellow conservatives, “Those folks who have always advocated for amnesty and open borders, and I am talking especially about people on the Republican side of the aisle, they’re reeling this in.”

“They were reeling in the four members of the Gang of Eight on that idea, ‘Well we have to grant amnesty, otherwise, we’re never going to win a presidential election again.’”

ADVICE FROM THE ENEMY

King says it’s one thing for Republican to disagree, but it’s another to take advice from the enemy.

“Barack Obama came to our conference this year in February to make the pitch that we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform, including amnesty (of course, he doesn’t use that word), and if we don’t do that, he said, ‘You’ll never win another national election,’” said King in disbelief.

“And, he said, ‘I’m trying to help you.’ Now, what Republican would hire community-organizer Barack Obama to be their political consultant?” added the congressman, incredulously.

Yet, says King, it looks to him as though much of the establishment class within the Republican party is actually accepting the political consulting advice of President Obama.

“Why would he say to us, ‘Do this’ if he believed it would be good for Republicans? That’s the last thing we’d hear out of him.”

WND asked Gohmert if Republicans will pay for it at the polls if they don’t pass immigration reform.

He said the GOP could pay a price, “If we don’t make our message clear, if we don’t express our hearts and why we are doing what we are doing to preserve a country that Hispanics will want to come to,” as well as Asians and Africans.

“We could possibly pay at the polls in the short term. But, just as you’ve had more and more African-Americans realizing, ‘Wow, we have one party that’s pandered to us, doled out government benefits, kept us from reaching our God-given potential … and you have another, this Republican Party, in the case of Hispanics, that says we want you to learn English because we don’t want you to be a ditch-digger just because you can’t communicate — we know you are smart enough to be president of your company and to be president of this country, if you’re born here.’”

Gohmert painted a vision of an America with equal opportunity for all, telling newcomers, “We want you to reach your God-given potential. We want to educate you and bring out the best. We don’t want to keep you in schools that are failing you and failing America. We want the schools to be better and we want you to reach your potential.”

He continued, “If we don’t communicate that message we could pay for it in the short term. But, in the long term, I think you will see people start waking up and going, ‘Wow, these Republicans really like me and we share so much, generally speaking.’”

WE SHARE A FAITH

Gohmert sees many Hispanics as natural conservatives, observing, “We share a faith in God, a devotion to family and a hard-work ethic. Things that made America great.”

“We have more and more Hispanics starting to realize that, and some of them I’ve served with. Just incredibly wonderful people. And I expect in the future you will see more and more of that.

GOP WILL GET THE BLAME

Bachmann doesn’t mince words.

“Contrary to popular opinion, Republicans won’t get patted on the back or get new votes because of passing amnesty — they’re going to get blamed.”

She predicts Republicans would lose the House in 2014, and things would just get worse once amnesty is in place.

“Because, I think the president, even by executive order, could again wave his magic wand before 2014 and he’d say, ‘Now, all of the new legal Americans are going to have voting rights.’”

“Why do I say that? He did in 2012. Do you remember? Anyone who was here as a Latino under age 30, he said, ‘You get to vote.’

“What?!? He decides you get to vote? If he did it in 2012, take it to the bank, he’ll do it in 2014.”

ONE PARTY RULE

Bachmann says after that, the Democrats will control the White House, the Senate and the House, ushering in one-party rule.

“At that point, they will change election law. And it will be almost impossible to ever see a Republican majority again.

“Do we get how important this is? I’m not crying wolf here. This is the most important vote that we’re going to take in the next two years.”

That’s why she says it is so important to call the House switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to tell Congress not to pass amnesty.

“WND readers need to understand there are conservative Republicans, self-styled conservative Republicans, that are for amnesty,” she said. “People in the House of Representatives you would never think in a million years could possibly support this foolish decision, but they do.”

She says not to assume members of Congress will vote against legalization just because they are conservative. Bachmann was too diplomatic to mention it, but even such high-profile conservatives as Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., are supporting legalization.

And once the president gets an inch, she says, he will take a mile.

“Even if it’s a guest worker bill, even if it’s a germ of a bill that gives legalization status, that’s what President Obama will take, and he’ll run a mile and we’ll have full-on perpetual amnesty with no hope of deportation, ever. We will have lost control of the border,” Bachmann predicted.

AMNESTY IS NOT DEAD

King shares Bachmann’s concern that whatever immigration bill the House approves will become a vehicle for amnesty.

“I’m still worried that if we send something over to the Senate, it might be an E-verify bill, guest-worker bill, it could be a Dream Act bill … They could attach something on the Senate side, send it back, build the political pressure, and then, if our Speaker says ‘Well, the political pressure is so great, that we have to take this up or we’re going to lose seats in the upcoming election,’ that’s how we could get to a scenario where we end up with amnesty sent to the president,” he explained.

King says, “Really, there’s no reason for the House to pass anything.”

“Why are we going through this exercise if amnesty is not going to get to the president’s desk? Because, he’s not going to sign anything that doesn’t have it.”

King warns, “The exercise just leaves us vulnerable. We’re dancing with the wrong side of the aisle here and no good can come from it.”

IMPENDING CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS

“We should tell our constituents our president is violating his own oath of office. This is an impending constitutional crisis,” predicts King.

“No amount of legislation is going to make the president do what he doesn’t want to do, which is enforce laws he doesn’t like.

“So, passing more laws that he doesn’t like is only going to exacerbate the problem. Plus, he’s not going to sign it and Harry Reid’s not going to take it up.

“No good can come from this. We should tell our constituents, ‘This is the president’s problem, he has created it and we are not going to conform with the president’s unconstitutional whims.’”

SPANK THE PRESIDENT

WND asked Bachmann if she is similarly concerned the president will do what he wants no matter what Congress does on immigration.

“Well, of course he’s going to, unless we pinch his ears back,” she observed.

She noted his penchant to rule by executive order is working for him but not the American people.

“He has a perpetual magic wand and nobody’s given him a spanking yet and taken it out of his hand,” she added maternally.

Bachmann says Congress has the power to discipline a misbehaving president, “And the way we spank the president is we do it through the checkbook.”

She says the House of Representatives has the most power in Washington because, “We have the power of the purse.”

“We’re the ones who say, ‘No, you can’t have the money.’ What’s wrong with us? What is wrong with us that we would give the president ten cents to fund Obamacare?”

IMMIGRATION BILL UNCONSTITUTIONAL

King confronted the president when the Obama administration recently decided not to enforce the employer mandate requirement in the health care law until after the 2014 elections.

“If President Obama wants to make changes to Obamacare, he must come to Congress,” King told CNS, adding, “We are a nation governed by laws written by Congress, not memos and blog posts written by bureaucrats.” King said.

Gohemert, who is a lawyer, says the Senate immigration bill has something in common with Obamacare, observing, “There is no question it’s unconstitutional.”

He says that’s because both Senate bills included funding, but only the House can do that.

“It is unconstitutional and, actually, Obamacare is unconstitutional. I was hoping in the original case that went to the Supreme Court someone would raise the origination clause, that anything that raises revenue must originate in the House.”

“And that point was not raised. It should have been raised,” he added wistfully.

THE END OF AMERICA

All three lawmakers agree amnesty will cause many serious problems, including higher unemployment, lower wages, greater national debt.

But they see something even more serious on the horizon, something that could change everything.

They fear amnesty could lead to one-party rule and the end of America as we know it.

Bachmann paints a scenario after amnesty passes in which “you’ll see the president, just like Superman, open his shirt and there will be a big ‘S’ on it, and President Obama will become the super civil rights advocate for all the people that have new legalization status.”

She says President Obama and his “minions” will then declare, “I’m the one who’s going to give you voting rights.”

So, even if a legalization bill passes that does not include voting rights, Bachmann says the president will simply declare, “We’re America and you’re legalized and you don’t have voting status? I’m here to give you civil rights. You deserve the right to vote.”

She says that will put Republicans in an impossible position, asking what are they going to do, tell people “No, we’re not going to allow you to vote?”

She predicts the president will then say, “[T]he Republicans don’t want you to have access to the benefits you deserve, Obamacare, 80 different means-tested welfare programs, Social Security, Medicare … you deserve that, too. I’m going to be your champion to make sure you get all of these public assistance benefits.’”

“And what’s our platform going to be?” Bachmann wonders. “No, you can’t have them? We will immediately be on defense and we will be forever on defense because the president has one plan. It is open borders with ongoing, rolling amnesty and no meaningful form of deportation anywhere.”

Bachmann adds one last warning: “That’s what WND viewers need to know we’re up against. This is very serious. It is a structural change in America and it will mean there will be no meaningful way to elect again a constitutional conservative for president. It’s not gonna happen.” Read more about 'Only you can stop amnesty'

A brand-new Georgia billboard proclaiming South Carolina’s alleged affinity for illegal aliens is raising eyebrows this week.

The sign, posted in Canton, Ga., declares: “South Carolina welcomes the undocumented. Sen. Lindsey Graham says his state has a labor shortage and wants more immigrants. For job tips, call his office at (864) 646-4090. Located in Pendleton, S.C. Only 2 hours from Atlanta!”

Sen. Graham, R-S.C., sits on a bipartisan committee that just passed a sweeping immigration-reform bill.

“These people must have been off the planet for the last five years,” said D.A. King, an immigration activist with the Dustin Inman Society who paid for the billboard. “We don’t need more workers. We need more jobs.”

King blasted the immigration bill, claiming illegal aliens will have an easier time getting jobs in the U.S., while making it more difficult for American citizens to find or hold onto employment.

“I think unemployed Georgians are already kicking and screaming,” King told WGCL-TV, the CBS affiliate in Atlanta.

“If you want an answer, go to the unemployment office and ask someone in line if they think adding 20 million more workers to the American workforce in the next several years is a good idea.”

The CBS station went to the Cobb-Cherokee Department of Labor office, and found that most people did not wish to comment on immigration, but did say they were desperate for work.

“With less income coming in, I have two kids to take care of, a husband and a household so it’ll be a struggle,” said Tangela Roach, who recently lost the second part-time job she had.

“I’m very concerned,” said Brooke Daugherty. “I’m a single parent. I’m very concerned to find a job immediately.”

King is hoping his billboard brings national attention to immigration reform and the negative impact it could have.

“Most of us want our borders enforced, our laws enforced and our jobs back,” King said.

King’s activist group was named for Dustin Inman, a 16-year-old American boy killed by an illegal alien in a traffic crash on Father’s Day weekend in 2000.

Dustin was on his way to a weekend of fishing in the North Georgia mountains with his parents.

Despite being in the U.S. illegally, the driver of the car that killed Dustin, Gonzalo Harrell-Gonzalez, was able to obtain a valid North Carolina driver’s license using his Mexican birth certificate and a Mexican Matricula Consular ID card.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/07/billboard-has-eye-popping-message-on-illegals/#97j4e6KUmqKZxMxD.99 Read more about Eye-popping billboard zings famous Republican

John Boehner wants immigration reform to pass. To get it done, the House speaker will have to capitalize on the widening gap among conservatives, and he’s preparing the groundwork to do it.

The rare split inside the conservative wing of Boehner’s Republican conference offers him an uncommon opportunity to bring a bill to the floor without facing an insurrection among his members. It also means convincing enough conservatives that passing some immigration measure won’t be preamble to the Senate using compromise negotiations to jam a more liberal version down the House’s throat.

As a senior GOP leadership aide put it, “Our conference is all over the place. Our goal here is to try and find that little slice of land where we can walk through and we’re not crucified on either side.”

Republicans on and off the Hill say Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy all want to do something on immigration. Boehner “really wants to get that done but he has to be real quiet about it because if he puts his name on it and his brand on it, like he did with the big (fiscal-cliff) deal, then it’s probably going to die under its own weight,” a former GOP leadership aide said.

So House leaders have been meeting privately with members, making the case that inaction on immigration will be more costly than doing something. Weeks into the debate, it remains a hard sell among reform opponents, particularly members who do not want to offer citizenship to people here illegally. They worry that any House legislation—such as a tough border-security bill most of them are after—will ultimately be watered down in negotiations with the Senate.

“What will have to happen, and is happening in private discussions, is that we have to convince these guys if we’re going to go to conference, we’re not going to cave on our principles,” a senior House GOP aide said. “That is the sales job you have to make to those guys.”

But it’s a hard argument to win—and not only because Republicans don’t think Democrats have much incentive to accept anything other than the Senate bill.

Plaguing House leadership is a fear among conservatives that immigration reform could be one of those few pieces of legislation that Boehner might value enough to bring to the floor knowing it would pass even though it fails to get the majority of House Republicans to back it.

“This is one of those issues where they may only get 80 to 100 Republicans to vote for it on the House floor, but there won’t be the huge internal backlash,” the former aide said. “And that gives (leadership) some room to maneuver and they have some conservative cover. They have (Sen. Marco) Rubio and (Rep. Raul) Labrador,” who are two key conservative Republicans pushing reform.

Some in leadership scoff at the notion of bringing anything to the floor without majority Republican support. “I just can’t see that happening,” a House GOP leadership aide said.

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said, “Our goal is always to pass legislation with strong Republican support consistent with our principles.”

A number of influential congressional Republicans believe that giving the 11 million people living in the country illegally a path to citizenship opens up a new pool of voters who share the GOP’s entrepreneurial, family, and religious values.

“There’s no reason why these people can’t be our voters except for the fact that you have (GOP Rep.) Steve King out there talking about electrifying our border fence,” the senior GOP aide said.

But before that happens, Republican leaders need to convert more skeptical lawmakers into believers. Read more about Boehner Aims to Move Immigration by Capitalizing on a Conservative Rift

LAS VEGAS — On the flight home from Washington last week for the Fourth of July recess, Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., read all 1,200 pages of immigration reform that had just passed the Senate.

It is a document that probably has no political future in the GOP-controlled House, but Heck may be a prime example of why House Republicans will be forced to grapple with immigration in the next few months, despite deep opposition within their caucus and their party.

Heck's district begins just south of the glitzy hotels and casinos on the Vegas Strip and stretches into the neighboring suburbs teeming with Latino and Asian immigrants, who work at the same hotels and casinos. Those immigrant employees comprise about a quarter of the district's voters and last year they mostly backed President Barack Obama, in part because of his support for immigration reform that is embodied in the recently approved Senate bill.

But the conservative Republican voters who secured Heck's re-election last year oppose any legislation that would give a pass to immigrants living in the United States illegally, especially because of Nevada's persistently high unemployment rate.

This is an immigration crossroads, where demographics and ideology collide, and Heck may have some special responsibility to persuade his GOP colleagues to take action on the issue.

He said that those Republicans who oppose a House debate "have to understand that for those of us who represent districts that have a large foreign population, this is not a Mexican issue, this is not a Hispanic issue. This is an issue about a broken legal immigration system. They've got to understand that we've got to address this broken immigration system or, quite honestly, we maintain the status quo and we continue to see a growing illegal population."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has said that on immigration, he will hold votes only on bills backed by a majority of House Republicans, which disqualifies the Senate measure Heck spent so much time with last week.

"Like any 1,198-page bill, there are some good things in there, there are some bad things in there," he said in an interview. "I hope that when those provisions are addressed in the House that we have the opportunity to tighten up the areas that need to be tightened."

Among the things in the Senate bill that Heck wants to change are making it a requirement that hundreds of miles of new border fencing be built and more agents be deployed to help eliminate illegal border crossings before any illegal immigrant is given a chance to start the process of becoming a U.S. citizen.

And he wants to toughen the education requirements for the children of illegal immigrants seeking citizenship.

Heck held a town hall meeting at a library auditorium here Tuesday night. About 80 people attended, and of the 15 questions he took, 10 were about immigration.

"Let's face it, we have a broken legal immigration system," he told the crowd at one point.

"No, we don't," one man shouted.

"Yes, we do," Heck shot back.

"You're just not enforcing the law," the man replied.

But Heck pressed on: "We do an awful lot of legal immigrant visa casework in my office. And we have folks that have been in the queue waiting for a visa to bring their spouse from the Philippines for 15 years."

"I think it's ridiculous," he added as others shouted at him. "As the grandson of Italian immigrants who came through Ellis Island . . ."

A woman cut him off, saying, "But they didn't come illegally."

"I understand that," Heck said. "And that's because they didn't have to wait 15 years back in Italy. It's not easy, but it's something we have to address."

Later, a younger woman in the back of the room put Heck on the spot: Would he vote for the Senate bill if it ever earned a vote in the House?

He wavered at first, then said, "If it was brought up in the House, there would be an opportunity to amend it."

But the woman pressed him again.

"As it's currently written, I would vote no," he said.

Knowing he couldn't please everyone, Heck remained hopeful.

"There are just some fundamental differences between certain individuals and party ideology," he told the crowd. "There will always be those divisions. But there's always the opportunity to come together, as we've seen in the House and in the Senate, to pass bills that everybody can get behind."

Heck is also facing considerable pressure from national Democrats who are pushing him to support immigration reform modeled on the Senate bill that most Republicans consider unacceptable.

Among Heck's constituents is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., whose home town of Searchlight sits in the southern part of the Republican's district. Reid held a rally Monday just off the Strip to celebrate the Senate measure's passage and to urge House Republicans to support it.

"We're a long ways from finished, we're only halfway done. But what a good halfway this is," Reid told hundreds who were packed into the local headquarters of the Culinary Workers Union. He urged the crowd to call GOP lawmakers such as Heck and "tell them that Speaker Boehner cannot stand in the way of what the American people want and are going to demand."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is airing Spanish-language radio ads here that criticize Heck's recent vote for a plan that would force the Department of Homeland Security to resume deporting the children of illegal immigrants. Similar ads are airing in 22 other House districts, in California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania, that are represented by Republicans who narrowly won re-election or have many Latino voters.

"Voting on immigration reform by itself may not win or lose a specific congressional district," DCCC Chairman Steve Israel, D-N.Y., said in an interview. "On the other hand, yet another failure by Republicans to find a compromise and solve a problem could win or lose the House. So this fits into a general narrative of whether Republicans like Joe Heck and others choose to pander to their right-wing base, or listen to the concerns of moderates and independents who expect some compromise."

Heck dismisses the push from Democrats.

"I'm not the speaker, I'm not the majority leader, I'm not a committee chairman. You can pressure me as much as you want, but I'm not the one that decides what gets a vote on the House floor," he said.

But some voters say that where Heck ends up on immigration will determine whether they support him for re-election in 2014.

Bob Yeary, a retired school teacher from Las Vegas, was one of the voters shouting at the lawmaker Tuesday night when he suggested that the immigration system is broken.

"He's in a tough position," Yeary said, adding later that Republicans will face severe electoral consequences if they support a significant immigration overhaul. "The GOP will be destroyed if we let 40 million, 50 million immigrants in at this time," he said.

Then there's Otto Merida, who leads the Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce and is a registered Republican. He meets regularly with Heck, and often tells him "that immigration is something that will determine how we vote for you in the next election. This is very important to us," he said. "And if you don't do it, unfortunately I'll have to vote against you and campaign against you, even though I like you. This is the right thing to do and we need to do it right now."

Astrid Silva, 25, has emerged as a prominent spokeswoman for immigrant advocates in southern Nevada. She crossed the Rio Grande with her family from Mexico as a 4-year-old girl and eventually settled in Las Vegas. She has spoken with Heck about immigration reform five times in recent months.

"We know that Heck understands our issues. He's been evolving on it," Silva said.

But she's ready and willing to campaign against Heck if he doesn't vote the way she wants.

"We've waited decades for this and I do think that we have momentum right now," she said. "If Congress takes much longer on it, we won't lose the momentum, but we will get very impatient

  Read more about Nevada district embodies GOP's immigration dilemma

There are significant unreported loopholes and exceptions in the immigration-reform bill that could allow illegal immigrants to achieve permanent status before the border security portions of the legislation are executed, WND has learned.

One of the key selling points repeatedly cited by the bill’s “Gang of Eight” sponsors has been that illegal aliens will not be eligible for permanency until after the border-security provisions of the legislation are implemented.

However, a WND review of the latest text of the bill, with the new Republican “border surge” amendment included, finds multiple possibilities for full immigration reform before the required border arrangements are in place.

Further, even the new border amendment leaves the possibility of gaps in the proposed pedestrian fence to be constructed along the border with Mexico.

The updated bill calls for over $40 billion in new border security provisions, including the stationing of 38,405 U.S. Border Patrol agents along the southern border as well as the construction of a 700-mile pedestrian fence along the 1,954 mile border.

The new Republican amendment to the bill contains a laundry list of new surveillance equipment to be installed, from cameras to seismic instruments, plus the construction of new integrated watch towers.

However, the bill contains language that would allow illegal aliens to achieve permanent status after 10 years before any or all of the new border security requirements are fulfilled.

The bill specifically states the “Secretary shall permit registered provisional immigrants to apply for an adjustment to lawful permanent resident status” after 10 years following the bill’s passage if litigation or a force majeure have prevented the fulfillment of the border security requirements, the implementation of a work visa program or electronic exit system.

Further, illegal immigrants can receive permanent resident status if the border requirements, the work visa program or the new electronic exit system has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

In one of many possible future scenarios, if claims are brought to district courts that tie up construction of the border fence, illegal aliens still can achieve permanent status after 10 years.

In another scenario, the Supreme Court can declare surveillance techniques or any of the border control methods required by the bill to be unconstitutional, and illegal aliens could still become permanent residents.

Further, there seem to be loopholes in the requirements for the 700-mile border fence.

A new border security strategy committee will determine the route of the fence.

According to the text of the bill, the fence is to be built on “nontribal” lands, meaning lands owned by Indian tribes may not require a fence.

There seems to also be loopholes if any sections of the fence interfere with the environment, culture, commerce or quality of life of local residents.

States the bill: “In implementing the Southern Border Fencing Strategy required by this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, States, local governments, Indian tribes, and property owners in the United States to minimize the impact on the environment, culture, commerce, and quality of life for the communities and residents located near the sites at which such fencing is to be constructed.”
  Read more about Loopholes mean amnesty before border security

House Republicans insisted Sunday that they plan to change key elements of the Senate-passed immigration bill, signaling a protracted and rocky battle ahead despite one Democrat's pronouncement that in the end the House will cave and pass the Senate bill anyway.

Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee who is playing a major role in the chamber's consideration of immigration policy, on Sunday addressed what is perhaps at the heart of the impasse.

He said the House, which is drafting its own plan, cannot agree to a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Rather, he wants a "pathway to legalization" -- in other words, allow some illegal immigrants a shot at a green card, but not full-fledged citizenship.

The pathway to citizenship, though, is a cornerstone of the Senate-passed bill, and any Democrat-backed plan. Increased border security, better enforcement of businesses and an expansion of the legal immigration system make up the rest of the bill.

Putting the issue in stark terms, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told "Fox News Sunday" that if Republicans strip the pathway to citizenship, "no Democrat" would support it.

The confrontation over the pathway to citizenship and other planks of the bill could continue to frustrate lawmakers on both sides, and in both chambers, as they try to sustain the momentum from this past week's Senate vote.

The bill passed Thursday with a strong majority of 68 senators voting in favor. Schumer cited the bipartisan support for the bill, as well as the motive of political survival, in claiming that House Speaker John Boehner would ultimately be compelled to pass it.

"I believe that by the end of this year, the House will pass the Senate bill," Schumer said.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," also suggested that Republicans' desire to "win a presidential race" would guide them toward supporting some version of the legislation.

But what's in store for the bill might not be so clear. And there is no easy resolution to the stand-off over the proposed pathway to citizenship.

House Republicans, in the near-term, are approaching the immigration overhaul in a piecemeal fashion, tackling a series of smaller-scale bills meant to address what the Senate covered in one massive piece of legislation.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., also speaking on "Fox News Sunday," rejected Schumer's prediction.

"I was moved almost to the point of tears by Senator Schumer's concern for the future prospects of the Republican Party," Gowdy said, sarcastically. "But we're going to not take his advice."

He added: "The Senate bill is not going to pass in the House. It's not going to pass for myriad reasons."

He, like other House Republicans, questioned Senate promises that their bill would offer legalization to illegal immigrants in the near-term while eventually building border security and immigration enforcement for employers.

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel also told FoxNews.com that the speaker and his caucus have been "perfectly clear" on their intentions.

"The House will not simply take up and pass the Senate bill," he said in an email. "Our legislation will reflect our principles, particularly on border security. Wishful thinking, frankly, is not a strategy for getting a bill to the president's desk."

Schumer methodically made his case Sunday for why he thinks Boehner will, in the end, bring the Senate bill to the floor.

Aside from citing the various political pressures weighing on the speaker, Schumer said the strategy of passing smaller-scale bills would not work. He said, for instance, that Democrats would not support an enforcement bill without the promise of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Factor in Republicans who refuse to support any immigration bill, Schumer said, and those bills cannot pass.

He claimed Boehner would ultimately be left with a choice between doing nothing and bringing the Senate bill to a vote, relying largely on Democrats to pass it.

Goodlatte, though, insisted that Republicans would take a "step-by-step" approach.

Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," he said "we want to see enforcement improved and actually enforced, and we want to find the appropriate legal status for people who are not here lawfully."

Asked about his opposition to the pathway to citizenship, he explained he didn't want a "special pathway to citizenship, where people who are here unlawfully get something that people who have worked for decades to immigrate lawfully do not have." Read more about House leaders vow to overhaul, replace Senate immigration bill despite Dem pressure