SCpols.com
Published: June 27, 2007
By: John Boyanoski
Article Link

Immigration Sparks Again In S.C.   
 

Not surprisingly, the South Carolina immigration debate has spilled over to talk radio.

What is surprising is that it was sports talk radio.

U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C., was giving an early morning interview on WCCP-FM Wednesday when the talked veered screechingly from Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and steroids in football to the immigration bill revived in Washington the day before.

Barrett said he doesn't support the legislation, but said it his belief the House will begin looking at the bill as early August and definitely by the end of the year if the Senate passes it this week.

"Don't give up on us," he said. "There are people who will still vote against this."

The political battle over immigration in South Carolina has been white hot as one-time political allies  battle over how and what can be done to solve the issue of illegal immigration.

The state congressional leaders have held town hall-style conventions at restaurants and libraries across the state in the last few weeks trying to gauge voters' reactions. At each event, there are rumblings of political upheaval if the immigration debate doesn't go the way the crowd wants it. Proponents say this is the first step in fixing the problems with unsecured borders and undocumented works. The people against the bill state it gives amnesty too easy and much of the rest of the bill is unenforceable.

On Tuesday, the Senate voted 64-35 to revive the bill that could legalize 12 million estimated workers here illegally, leading the White House and backers of the bill to hope it could be passed by the end of the week. However, GOP leaders used Senate rules to insist that the entire 373-page package be read aloud, relenting only when Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., agreed to postpone action on the amendments.

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., was highly critical of Reid.

"He used his power as Majority Leader to manipulate and abuse the rules of the Senate to ram this bill down our throats," DeMint said in a statement. "This has never been done before, and it's the most heavy-handed and rigged thing I have ever seen."

DeMint said Reid used parliamentary procedure tool known as a "clay pigeon" to split up the massive bill into multiple amendments and then moved to block all others.

"I was always told the Senate was the saucer that cooled the pot, but Sen. Reid is forcing us to drink straight from the spout," DeMint said.

DeMint has been one of the leaders of the group trying to battle the bill, and offered numerous amendments when it came before the Senate in May. On Wednesday, he said the new bill had a major loophole regarding border security. DeMint alleges the $4.4 billion could be used for Z-visas as well.

On the opposite of South Carolina's immigration fence has been U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. he has been one of the major backers of the bill to date, and voted for the passage Tuesday.

"The Senate must move forward in fixing our broken immigration system. It's a national disgrace to allow the current chaos to continue. While the reform legislation is not perfect, it is a substantial improvement over current law," he said.

Graham has come under increasing fire in his home state over his stance, and he acknowledges people don't like the plan because past endeavors have failed.

"People are skeptical -- and with good reason -- but we cannot allow this skepticism lead to inaction," he said. "If we do not address immigration reform now the problem will only get worse - not better."