The Wall Street Journal was upset that conservatives forced the House Republicans to stand up for a secure border and American workers.
The Journal, which has long been a proponent of amnesty legislation, slammed conservatives like Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Reps. Steve King (R-IA) and Michele Bachmann (R-MN) for demanding “an array of policy changes, most notably new restrictions on the President’s executive order allowing” some illegal immigrants to stay in the country.
Sessions particularly emphasized that he opposed Obama’s potential granting of work permits to illegal immigrants via executive action because it would hurt American workers. He rallied conservatives to his side, which forced House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to pull the original border bill because it did not preclude Obama from using federal funds to enact his executive actions.
Instead of calling these conservatives the “pro-American workers caucus,” the Journal slammed them as the “deportation caucus” in a Saturday editorial.
A majority of Americans want illegal immigrant juveniles, 90% of whom are teenagers, to be sent back, but the Journal believes the GOP will “alienate” conservatives and minorities and “raise doubts among swing voters about whether Republicans would be prepared to govern if they do win control of the entire Congress.”
In addition, conservatives like Cruz, as the Journal noted, believe that the “only way to stop the border crisis is to stop Obama’s amnesty.” The Journal acknowledged that “nearly the entire Alabama delegation defected (thanks to Mr. Sessions) as did numerous participants at a Wednesday huddle held in Mr. Cruz’s office” because of those dual concerns, which left House leaders with “little choice but to pull the bill.”
Sessions killed the Senate bill with a budget point of order, and after the House passed its bills Friday evening, Sessions told Breitbart News that he applauded “the hard work of House Republicans in putting together this package, and in particular would like to recognize the steadfast and unflinching efforts from members of our Alabama delegation.”
“The border bill has been substantially improved and provides a marked contrast to the Senate Democrat bill–defeated on a bipartisan basis–that only perpetuated the crisis,” Sessions said.
Sessions also emphasized that the House bill protected American workers and would prevent another catastrophic border crisis.
“Most importantly, the House has taken a firm vote today to block the President’s plan to provide unlawful executive amnesty and work permits to 5-6 million illegal immigrants,” Sessions continued. “They have again acted to protect U.S. workers. President Obama’s suspension of immigration law created this crisis, and his new plan, if implemented, would escalate that crisis to an unimaginable degree.”
Sessions vowed to “keep fighting” for a similar bill in the Senate and appealed to all Americans: “ask your Senator where they stand on President Obama’s executive amnesty. Ask them where they stand on protecting unemployed citizens from a plan which will give work permits and jobs to millions of illegal workers.”
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