Senate Committee Passes Legislation Barring Consideration of Religion In Immigration

A resolution barring consideration of religion in immigration has passed a Senate committee.

A Senate committee on Thursday approved a resolution that critics described as an “unprecedented” move granting immigrants easier access to the United States.

The amendment, offered by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.) and first reported on by theWashington Free Beacon, affirms the Senate’s belief “that the United States must not bar individuals from entering into the United States based on their religion, as such action would be contrary to the fundamental principles on which this Nation was founded.”

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Critics of the resolution’s language claim it could hinder attempts by U.S. law enforcement agencies to examine an individual’s religious beliefs as part of a background check on new immigrants.

A bipartisan 16-4 majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted in favor of the resolution. However, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) criticized the measure and offered his own counter proposal.

The immigration language “would constitute a transformation about our thoughts on immigration” and be interpreted as “a move towards the ratification of the idea that global migration is a human right and civil right for those in the U.S. and that immigrant rights must be supreme” to those of current American citizens, Sessions said.

“Foreign nationals living in foreign countries do not have a constitutional right to enter the country,” Sessions said before offering an additional amendment to uphold Second Amendment rights to bear arms.

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Sessions said that the Senate is heading down a slippery slope by backing language that seeks to eliminate religion as a factor considered during the immigration process.

“Reality would be denied if we do not realize that damaging religions and sects have arisen” across the globe, he said, describing the measure as “reckless.”

One congressional source who spoke to the Free Beacon Wednesday evening about Leahy’s language described it as a dangerous proposal.

“The Constitution, by definition, is a document that protects the rights of the American people—to extend it to the citizens of foreign countries living in those foreign countries is to turn the Constitution from a document that protects Americans into one that renders them utterly defenseless,” the source said.

Source: Free Beacon

Photo: Famm.org

The Left is all about politicizing even the most dangerous of propositions. Right now, with almost 8 years of Obama gaffs, failures, and outright refusals to act, the Democratic Presidential race seems more like a farce than a serious campaign. Anything that could sway a few voters to their side is worth compromising the United States, so long as they can retain their power.