Dr Kent’s Blog

No. 1: Who were the 7 Senators who switched and brought us victory on E-Verify in the Senate today?

See the Magnificant 7 right here.

Attempts to attach mandatory E-Verify to the Stimulus Bill in March failed when 50 Senators voted to kill the amendment by tabling it. But today, 7 of those 50 came over to our side. Click to see which NumbersUSA activists from what states we should be thanking.

The vote today put the Senate on record as saying that returning military veterans and other unemployed Americans — not illegal aliens — should have government-paid jobs.

No. 2: View the full roll-call vote on Sen. Sessions’ amendment to mandate E-Verify for all federal contractors.

How did your 2 Senators vote?

This is the toughest most sweeping of Sessions’ amendments, all of which previously failed.

This one:

• authorizes E-Verify PERMANENTLY
• mandates that any business getting a federal contract must run all new hires through E-Verify
• mandates that every existing employee who workS on the government contracts must be run through E-Verify

Thus, for the first time, E-Verify could be used to root out illegal aliens who were previously hired. The existing employee part only applies to that part of a company actually working on the government contract. Still, wouldn’t it be nice to know that no illegal aliens are being paid with taxpayer money?

No. 3: Which 6 Democrats defied Party leadership to vote for E-Verify in March and did it again today?

Hint: 5 are from states that partly or wholly are the Great Plains. Here they are.

Also at that link, read my entire analysis of the votes today on immigration amendments on the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill. Included is my salute to Senate Republicans who unanimously went against Big Business and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. How about that? I’m sure many didn’t want to vote with us, but voter pressure in their states has pushed them into becoming champions for American workers.

By the way, was that your state with the Senator who backslid, having voted for E-Verify in March but turning against it today?

No. 4: More phone calls needed Thursday for 2 more amendments.

Please go now to this page for the current status of voting on the Senate floor.

Our NumbersUSA legislative team is updating by the hour the progress of voting on DHS appropriations amendments.

As I write this, we are still waiting for votes on an amendment by Sen. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Vitter (R-La.).

Grassley’s amendment would allow every employer in America to voluntarily run all their current employees through E-Verify to make sure that none are illegal foreign workers. Right now, it is illegal for an employer to do that. Can you believe it?

Vitter’s amendment would re-instate a Bush Administration rule that businesses get notified of all their employees whose Social Security numbers don’t match up with SSA records. This would be another way of driving illegal aliens out of their jobs.

It appears that Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-Nev.) is using parliamentary moves to keep those two amendments from getting votes, once he lost on the Sessions and DeMint amendments. He probably will do what he has done often in the past: Call a cloture vote to end debate before the immigration amendments are brought to the floor.

Your phone calls may be the only things that can block this maneuver and force a vote.

Please follow the instructions on our FEDERAL E-VERIFY page for talking points.

The most important Senators to call are those who voted YES to kill the Sessions E-Verify amendment.

Especially if the Democrats’ phones are ringing off the hooks Thursday morning, they may tell Sen. Reid that he needs to allow an honest vote on our amendments.

No. 5: Fence vote was an eye-opener.

View the roll call vote of how each Senator stood on finishing the 700-mile fence on the Mexican border today.