Sen. Lugar's Sponsorship of DREAM Amnesty Helps Draw Primary Challenge From State Treasurer
Senator Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) will receive a major primary challenge in his bid for a seventh term in the United States Senate in 2012. State Treasurer Richard Mourdock announced Tuesday that he'll challenge Sen. Lugar after voting repeatedly against the wishes of his constituents, including a vote in favor of the massive DREAM Act Amnesty in December of last year.
"Sen. Lugar has always seemed to me to be a serious statesman, but that quality has always been missing in his blind eye to the suffering that his immigration policies cause the most vulnerable Americans, as well as the deterioration to the quality of life of ordinary citizens," said Roy Beck, President of NumbersUSA.
"Our Immigration-Reduction Report Cards give Sen. Lugar a D-minus for his career, beating out Sen. John McCain for the worst Republican in the Senate."
Sen. Lugar has never seen an amnesty bill he didn't like, voting in favor of mass amnesties 15 different times. Sen. Lugar supported the mass amnesty bills in 2006 and 2007, voted in favor of the DREAM Act in 2007 and 2010, and voted for the Ag-JOBS amnesty in 2005. He's also been a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act and, on multiple occasions, co-sponsored bills to extend the 245(i) amnesties.
Sen. Lugar's position on immigration has also been detrimental to America's unemployed. Despite record-high unemployment rates in 2009, Sen. Lugar co-sponsored a bill that would have raised the cap on guest worker visas for low-skilled workers in non-agricultural fields. He's also voted to increase caps on high-tech workers and supported amendments that would have increased the number of annual guest workers and annual green cards issued.
Sen. Lugar has voted to keep the Visa Lottery and to increase chain migration. He's voted against the border fence, against funding increases for the border patrol, and against penalties for sanctuary cities.
In more than 20 years in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Lugar has taken action 97 times, receiving only an 18% score.
For more information on Sen. Lugar's voting record, take a look at his career report card.