Nov 2, 2013: GANG OF EIGHT HAD A BAD WEEK (Anoy. sender)

Week of Nov 1 This Issue: Your activism is working - Gang of Eight had a bad week The grassroots' intense, month-after-month opposition to the Gang of Eight's comprehensive amnesty bill culminated in a tough week for some of its members and for its legislation -- and a good week for all of us. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) saw his primary poll numbers drop to their lowest level. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), whose presidential preference polling has been falling all year, publicly distanced himself from the gang's bill in a new way. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) seemed to give up plans to pass the gang bill until later next year. And Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) urged that his border security bill in the House be shelved rather than in any way advance the Senate Gang's bill. First, in a stunning development, Sen. Marco Rubio issued a statement through his press secretary that indicates he no longer supports the comprehensive approach to immigration reform as exemplified by his amnesty bill, S.744, which he co-authored as part of the Gang of Eight. "At this point, the most realistic way to make progress on immigration would be through a series of individual bills. Any effort to use a limited bill as a ruse to trigger a conference that would then produce a comprehensive bill would be counterproductive." Our Florida activists in conjunction with FLIMEN, the anti-amnesty group in Florida, have been making life difficult for Sen. Rubio ever since the Gang revealed its bill earlier this year. It's caused a precipitous drop in national support for Sen. Rubio who had thoughts of seeking the GOP nomination for president in 2016. Another GOP Member of the Gang of Eight has suffered dearly from his support of a blanket amnesty. Winthrop University in South Carolina has found support for Sen. Lindsey Graham at an all-time low. Only 45% of Republican voters in the Palmetto State support the job that Sen. Graham is doing - down from 72% just before S.744 was introduced. Graham is already facing a number of credible primary challengers in 2014. Graham's steady drop in the polls may have triggered another GOP Gang of Eight Member, Sen. John McCain, to give a less-than-hopeful timeline for amnesty supporters. While attending an event in Chicago, Sen. McCain told reporters that Congress will likely wait until after primary season to deal with immigration reform. For what it's worth, primary season kicks off in March and runs to mid-September. In the House, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who authored the border security bill that weakens existing law, told radio personality Laura Ingraham that he's asked House Speaker John Boehner not to use his bill as a way to conference with S.744. This is a position we've been pushing for a few weeks as we've warned that pro-amnesty leaders in the House have planned for McCaul's bill to be the supposed "non-controversial" issue they could bring to the floor to "break the ice" for their larger plans. McCaul's new position shows the power of your activism to not only educate Members of Congress about bad parts of legislation, but to also educate them on the process that leaders were hoping to use to sneak an amnesty past the American people. All these examples are evidence that your phone calls, your faxes, and your local activism are truly paying off! But the threat of amnesty still looms large and will remain until the end of 2014 and the 113th Congress. Over the next week and a half, be on the lookout for more action opportunities. Also, we encourage you to complete our interests survey, which will enable us to send you more customized alerts. For instance, earlier this week, Roy sent out an alert for our activists who have identified themselves as Evangelical to help counter the Bibles, Badges, and Business "fly-in" earlier this week. If you're interested in dropping some fact sheets at your local district office during recess, please send an email to moubre@numbersusa.com. chris Chmielenski Fri, Nov 1st Action Congress broke for a 12-day recess earlier this week providing another opportunity for Members to listen to their constituents' concerns over immigration. Our Local Activism Coordinator, Melanie Oubre, has already been in contact or will be in contact with many of you who have indicated that you're interested in visiting town hall meetings or local district offices. In the meantime, check your Action Board for any available faxes. Features Are you making a district office visit during the Congressional recess? Here are some resources you can share: How the Border Security Results Act of 2013 weakens current law, National poll showing opposition to amnesty, Letter to Congress from Evangelicals for Biblical Immigration. Account There's an App for that! Our new mobile app is now available for both Android and iPhone users. From the new app, you can send messages to elected officials by fax, sign immigration petitions, make one-click calls to Congress, read the latest news and blogs from NumbersUSA.com, and help recruit new activists through "Five Ways Immigration Impacts You" feature. Download today at the Google Play Store or the Apple Store! Sen. Graham's favorability plummets after year-long push for amnesty A new poll from Winthrop University finds that Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) favorability in his home state has plummeted after co-authoring legislation that would grant amnesty to 11 million illegal aliens and double annual legal immigration flows. According to the poll, only 45% of GOP voters (including leaners) support the job that Sen. Graham is doing. thu, oct 31st Rubio Opposes Moving Forward with Senate Amnesty Legislation This is a remarkable change of opinion, Sen. Marco Rubio, one of the architects and main sponsors of the Senate's "Gang of Eight" amnesty legislation that was passed in the summer. A spokesmen for Sen. Rubio said: mon, oct 28th wed, oct 30th ICE Deportations at Record Lows A new report by the Center for Immigration Studies shows that deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are in fact at record lows, not the record highs claimed by Obama administration officials. This has occured because a shift in routine Border Patrol casework to ICE has allowed the latter to artificially increase deportation numbers.

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