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Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint on Monday said that he opposed a bipartisan plan for comprehensive immigration reform because "unlawful immigrants" could live "another 50 years" and take advantage of government benefits that they earned by paying taxes.

At a press conference on Monday, the Heritage Foundation released a report that claimed the immigration reform bill offered by the "Gang of Eight" senators would cost Americans $6.3 trillion.

"The number over the 50-year lifespan of an amnesty for unlawful immigrants, it's $6.3 trillion to the American taxpayer," DeMint told Fox News host Martha MacCallum prior to the press conference. "And we know over time that this is going to increase more debt, increase taxes. That has a depressing effect on our economy. And we know that unlawful immigrants -- once that they have amnesty -- are going to replace the jobs of many Americans and depress their salaries."

"So there is no way you can look at this and conclude that it's good for the American taxpayer, and that includes immigrants who are here lawfully."

MacCallum noted that most benefits would not be available to immigrants for 13 years under the proposed plan.

"I'll believe that when I see it," the former South Carolina senator quipped. "Even if they follow through, unlawful immigrants are already receiving many benefits. A lot of their children are legal American citizens, whether its public education or Medicaid. But if you just look at a 13-year window when the life expectancy of unlawful immigrants goes another 50 years and once they get on Social Security and Medicare -- I mean, the average cost of an unlawful immigrant is hundreds of thousands of dollars."

DeMint added that he was all for immigration reform as long as "lower-skilled, less-educated" immigrants were excluded from the plan.

"In 1960, the average immigrant had about the same education and skill level of an American citizen. Today, immigrants have -- they're four times less likely to even have a high school diploma. And now with all of our welfare benefits, the arithmetic for immigration is totally different."

(h/t: Twitter/@igorvolsky)

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It looks like the Anchor Baby isn't too happy with Republicans like Lindsey Graham for working with Senate Democrats on the immigration bill he was touting over the weekend. Michelle Malkin and her ilk seem determined to make sure that the GOP ends up as popular with Hispanic voters as they are with African Americans right now.

From the Fox News Insider site: Michelle Malkin Calls Out Republicans for Supporting “Shamnesty” Immigration Bill:

On Your World this afternoon, Michelle Malkin called out “deluded” Republicans for joining with Democrats to craft legislation that she equates to amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the country.

“There are many self-deluded Republicans who feel that this kind of ‘shamnesty’ is a salvation for a party that is in shambles. [...] At the same time that they are talking out of one side of their mouth to grassroots conservatives and people of all political persuasions who believe that it is the government’s constitutionally-mandated role to secure the borders,” said Malkin, referring to a TownHall.com report indicating that border crossings are rapidly increasing since talks on an immigration deal began recently.

Good luck with that "minority outreach" program of yours, Republicans!

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Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Sunday challenged Republican lawmakers who oppose a bipartisan agreement to give legal status to undocumented immigrants as a part of comprehensive immigration reform.

"The are 11 million people living in the shadows, I believe that they deserve to come out of the shadows," the Arizona senator told Fox News host Chris Wallace.

"Under your plan -- although they wouldn't get the path to citizenship until you got this border enforcement certification -- they would almost immediately get probationary legal status, which basically means that they could continue to live in this country legally," Wallace noted. "Some of your critics on the right are saying that's amnesty."

"Well, I don’t think it is amnesty to start with," McCain insisted. "Second of all, what do you want to do with them?"

"Third of all, it's a tough path to citizenship, you have to pay back tax and learn English and have to have a clear record and get to the back of the line behind to the people who have come here legally or waiting legally. So, I just reject that."

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and other conservatives have blasted the bipartisan immigration reform proposal, arguing that the focus should be on securing the border without providing a path to citizenship.

"I have deep concerns with the proposed path to citizenship," Cruz recently said. "To allow those who came here illegally to be placed on such a path is both inconsistent with rule of law and profoundly unfair to the millions of legal immigrants who waited years, if not decades, to come to America legally."

(h/t: Think Progress)

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Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich explained on Sunday that his policies would require up to 9 million undocumented immigrants to return to their home nations -- and he predicted that they would do it voluntarily.

"What I've proposed is very standard things," the former House speaker told CBS host Bob Schieffer. "In that context, what I've said is there is a group of people that have been here for a long time, and we've talked about a citizen review board in the World War II Selective Service model, and we've said that if somebody's been here a long time and has an American family willing to sponsor them, they should be subject to review to get a residency permit -- not citizenship, but a residency permit."

He continued: "I just disagree with some of my [Republican] friends. I do not believe the American people are going to send police out to round up folks who have been here 25 years."

"There are 11 million of these people," Schieffer noted. "I mean, what are you going to do with them?"

"My guess is that 7 or 8 or 9 million of them would ultimately go home, get a guest-worker permit, come back under the law," Gingrich replied. "But the last million or 2 are people that have been here for a very long time. They're very part of -- they're not citizens, but they're part of the community."

"One of the requirements would be that they would have to have an American family sponsor them to be eligible for review by the citizen review board. I think it's a responsible position that recognizes the humanity of the problem, but firmly establishes the rule of law," the candidate added.

GOP hopeful Mitt Romney, who has called Gingrich's plan a form of amnesty, has also said undocumented immigrants would have to return to their home countries before applying for citizenship.

“For those that have come here illegally, they might have a transition time to allow them to set they affairs in order, and then go back home and get in line with everybody else,” Romney told supporters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa earlier this month. “They start in the back of the line, not at the front of the line.”

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Heaven forbid MSNBC can't have a discussion on immigration issues without rolling out their favorite bigot, Pat Buchanan. Sadly he his prediction was right and the DREAM Act went down in the Senate.

DREAM Act Dies in the Senate:

(CBS) The DREAM Act, a bill to provide a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants who entered the United States before age 16, died on the Senate floor on Saturday morning.

The failure of the bill - amid widespread opposition from Senate Republicans - is a major disappointment for Hispanic activists, who have grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress on immigration reform under President Obama.

The vote to end debate on the Dream Act and move to a final vote received only 55 votes, short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican-led filibuster. Forty-one senators voted no.

Three Republicans - Indiana's Dick Lugar, Utah's Bob Bennett and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski - were among the yes votes. Six Democrats voted no: Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Max Baucus and John Tester of Montana, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas. The bill had already passed the House and is supported by President Obama.

From The Daily Show July 8, 2010:

Arizona police officers can't arrest you for not carrying your papers, but if you don't have them, you can be detained. I guess that's what's known in Arizona as a "Catch Veintidos".