Sen. Reid Voted Against Law Enforcement, Supported the Rights of Illegal Aliens

Vote to Hamstring Law Enforcement Surfaces

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --1001 Reasons to Vote Against Harry Reid, an independent committee, has uncovered yet another vote Sen. Harry Reid would probably rather forget.  On June 14, 1984 there was a vote on Amendment 18 to H.R. 1510, the Immigration Reform and Control Act.  The Amendment, which would have struck section 114, would have changed the law to require INS officers searching for illegal aliens to obtain a search warrant before searching an open field.  

This commonsense measure had the support of Members of Congress from across the board, from Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) to Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA).  Rep. Hamilton Fish's floor speech, transcribed in the Congressional Record p. 16239, contained this observation, "The effect of section 114 is to reverse a long line of U.S. Supreme Court decisions without the benefit of testimony of the effects on law enforcement of such a major departure from current law.  What effect would section 114 have on law enforcement? INS Commissioner Alan Nelson concludes that the provision 'will, in effect, create a haven for illegal aliens in rural, agricultural areas.'"  He also points to the following effects of section 114, "Employers will be able to 'hide in plain view' aliens who are unlawfully in the United States.  Illegal aliens will be able to shift or be shifted from one property for which a warrant is secured to another for which there is no warrant and thus escape apprehension."

"Back in the day, Rep. Harry Reid voted against a measure to help the INS deal with the serious problem of illegal immigration, based on Supreme Court cases upholding the 4th Amendment, such as Hester v. United States, Katz v. United States and Oliver v. United States.  It should be noted that his position put him to the left of Rep. Barney Frank, one of the most liberal Members of Congress, who stated at the time that the amendment threatened the sanctity of the search warrant.  It is ironic that the Sen. Reid we know today used his position as Majority Leader to stall a vote on a comprehensive immigration bill that dealt with illegal aliens and the responsibilities of the INS or other law enforcement agencies.  I guess he doesn't want to tie their hands while he's courting their support in his re-election," said Audrey Mullen, a spokeswoman for the Committee.

"1001 Reasons to Vote Against Harry Reid" exists online at http://www.harryreidvotes.com for the purpose of educating the public about Senator Reid's voting record and raising the funds necessary to finance television and radio ads this fall.  It is an independent 527 committee chaired by Nevada resident and former U.S. Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian.  Voters are encouraged to visit the HarryReidVotes.com website and use the interactive quiz function http://www.harryreidvotes.com/quiz/ to see how their views align with Senator Reid's votes.

SOURCE 1001 Reasons to Vote Against Harry Reid

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