Tell Waffling Republicans: No Amnesty!
The Senate Judiciary Committee is now working on an immigration reform bill and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.) has indicated he would like to bring it to the floor before the end of March.
The key question: Will the Senate approve an amnesty for illegal aliens.
Human Events has the complete list of Senators (with contact info) who have indicated they will not support amnesty, may support amnesty, or will not reply to the question of will you support a bill that legalizes current criminal aliens.
Read the list, contact the supporters to say "thanks", the wafflers to say "get on board" and the question dodgers to say" do your job moron."
15 comments:
Last Friday's massive protest against HR 4437 shocked organizers and
politicians alike here in Chicago! The march (which was protested
by a newly-formed Illinois chapter of the Minutemen) was fairly well-
represented by local media though the really egregious parts of
HR4437 were diluted by the soundbyte-style of these broadcasts. This
is one of the better articles to emerge.
Saturday's Immigrant Rights March: Who kicked the sleeping giant?
* Joshua Hoyt, Illinois Coalition on Immigrant and Refugee Rights
It looks like someone went and kicked the sleeping giant.
On Friday, March 10, 2006 Chicago’s downtown was paralyzed by an
immigrant march estimated at more than 100,000 people. They carried
hand-lettered signs saying: “We are America,” “My Mexican immigrant
son died in Iraq,” “I’m a dishwasher—not a criminal,” and “Don’t
deport my parents.” The peaceful crowd stretched two and half miles,
from Union Park on the West Side to their destination in Federal
Plaza. No immigrant justice march like this has happened in Illinois
history since some 80,000 immigrants marched down State Street
demanding an 8-hour workday in 1886.
The Chicago march is part of a growing tsunami of immigrant protest
across the nation. Last week 5,000 Mexicans gathered in Oregon; on
Tuesday, March 6, some 30,000 Latinos from the Washington, D.C. area
rallied on the U.S. Capitol steps.
The marches are tied to the U.S. Senate debate on immigration reform
this month. The actions of the Senate are the last hope to win
reasonable and workable reforms. There is no doubt that any bill
reported out will include increased enforcement provisions. The
question is whether they will also include measures that reunite
divided immigrant families; create a guest worker program for the
nation’s future labor needs; and most divisively include an
eventual path to earned citizenship for the estimated 11 million
undocumented working and paying taxes in the U.S.
But the marchers are also protesting the harshly punitive enforcement
provisions of Rep. James Sensenbrenner’s (R-WI) HR 4437, an
“enforcement only” approach to immigration reform that was hurriedly
rammed through the House of Representatives just before Christmas.
This law makes the 11 million undocumented dishwashers and nannies
“aggravated criminal felons” and turns priests and nurses into
criminals for “aiding and abetting” the undocumented.
The Chicago march is the work of both emerging Mexican immigrant
leaders and also a crowning triumph for lifelong Mexican American
activists. But the Illinoisan who is most responsible for kicking the
sleeping giant, and who has the most to lose in the long term, was
not present.
Illinois Congressman and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert made a
decision last fall to use “illegal immigration” as the Republican
Party’s next emotionally charged wedge issue. The political
calculation is that the resentment and latent racism felt towards our
new Mexican neighbors can be demagogued for political advantage this
year, dividing the Democrats and keeping the House of Representatives
in Republican hands. Other political opportunists across the nation,
including perennial candidate Jim Oberweis in Illinois, have piled
on. If “gay marriage” worked in 2004, then why not “illegals” in ’06?
However, in what appears to be an entirely predictable example of the
law of unintended consequences, the immigrant communities in general
and the Mexican community in particular have declined to allow
themselves to be passive punching bags.
There are few communities in the U.S. that work harder at lower pay
and in worse conditions than the Mexican community. They do this by
and large with few complaints and in exchange for the promise that
their children might live better lives than they will. But it is also
a community with deep pride that does not appreciate having its hard
work being denigrated by being called criminals or terrorists. The
signs on Friday said it all: “We are America.”
The last big spasm of immigrant bashing was in California in the mid
1990’s by Governor Pete Wilson and Proposition 187. Mexican
immigrants responded by first marching, and then becoming citizens
and voting Democratic in record numbers.
Hastert’s short-sighted strategy has gored the Republican business
community that understands our nation’s labor needs and energized a
national Roman Catholic immigrant justice campaign so muscular that
last week Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles threatened massive
civil disobedience. But the anti-immigrant demagoguery has also
launched an unprecedented national political mobilization by the
Mexican and immigrant community. Oops!
A little noted fact from the ’04 presidential election was that
socially conservative immigrant Latinos were 40% more likely to vote
for President Bush than U.S. born Latinos. Now President Bush’s and
Karl Rove’s carefully crafted and successful Hispanic outreach
strategy is so much shredded lettuce.
What does this mean in Illinois? There are 348,000 legal immigrants
in Illinois currently eligible to become U.S. citizens. If a
substantial percentage of these folks now take the steps to become
U.S. citizens and the immigrant Latinos are cemented into the “Blue”
column of voters, it changes the political balance of power in
Illinois for the next generation. Regardless, any short-term
political gain to be made from the “Kick the illegals" strategy will
likely lead to disastrous long-term pain for the Republican Party.
And, as if the point needed further emphasis for Speaker Hastert
(whose district is now 25% Latino), flyers distributed at Friday’s
march announced ten upcoming workshops to assist immigrants become
citizens. Oh…and the motto of the march? “Hoy Marchamos! Mañana
Votamos!” (“We March Today. Tomorrow we Vote!”)
-- Joshua Hoyt is the Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition
for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, a statewide organization committed
to the full participation of immigrant in civic life.
This entire situation of illegal immigrants over running our United States makes me very angry, as all of our elected croanies turn the other cheek and continue onward with their personnal self rightious ambitions to further thier own agenda. Its just recently been statistically proven that 1 in 5 workers in this country today are illegal, not "undocumented" as these hypocrits would hope you beleive. This entire mental illness of political correctness has went completely out of control and context. The leaders of this country need to take our security and financial ability to absorb this kind of influx much more seriously. It's the primary reason why todays healthcare is in such a crisis mode and hospitals around the country are closing up for good. You can only give so much for so long before it totally undermines your ability to provide anything. These "illegals" have been told once you get here, they cannot deny you anything, so they come in knowing how to use and abuse the system in place and go to town. "STOP THE INSANITY" !!!
Who says they're all Hispanic?
Now who's the racist?
Illegal immigration wouldn't happen if not for illegal employers. We need to start a movement to make hiring illegal aliens a minimum manditory 10 years in jail. Stop being cowards about this. We need to step up and stop illegal employers.
HR 4437, Has a new law in it. This would require all employers to check immigration status, instead of the joke voluntary system now.
and it would increase the fines for Employers caught violating the law. Now if we can just get our Gov., Sect. of State and Attorney General to remember we live in America and we already have laws about immigration. Hmm they are all Democrats, interesting.
Wonder why Democrats get to break the law and make it worse for the elderly, young, disbaled and terminally ill that really need & deserve help. I feel a hell of a lot more sorry for them than people that snuck into my country, breaking the law.
ILLEGAL'S YOUR TIME IS ALMOST OVER. Go home peacefully or be forced! Again, it is your choice.
Take the great economic lesson's you learned while visiting us and take them home and prosper on your own.
If they're undocumented...how do they know how many are here?
I think it may be more accurate than you want to believe.
I couldn't read the "link" you provided from urban.org, as it went off the page. It doesn't matter anyway. When was the last census taken? 6 years ago? Look at the influx of illegal immigrants we've had since then.
The law is the law. Since it is already in place, the responsibility lies on you to prove why amnesty is better than the current laws, not the other way around. You have to provide better reasons than "the slate will be wiped clean" in favor of providing amnesty. As sue k said so eloquently, it means we have to wipe everything clean. It also doesn't solve any problems. It only invalidates the whole point of having laws. Illegal immigrants will continue to invade and the problems it brings will only get worse unless something else (not amnesty) is done.
Besides, I don't have to prove anything to you, since you're an anonymous blogger (as you said).
Census does NOT count Illegals, they are fixing that in time for the next big count in 2010.
Pew research says 12.2 Mllion Illegal's. Bear-Stearns says 18-20 Million, with 5 million NOT paying taxes.
El...We tried this Amnesty stuff in 1986 and 7 times since. The result? More Illegal Immigration now, than ever in our history.
Rewarding criminal behavior creates more criminal behavior, ask Tennesee about their mess of giving license's to illegal aliens. Gee, they stopped this month.
Economics? replace that Illegal 5% of our workforce with Americans. American wages,benefits, healthcare, etc. The Mexicans can take all the lessons they learned here and apply them to Mexico. the World's 12th wealthiest Nation, with the World's 3rd Richest man.
LOOKS AS IF WE NEED SOME KIND OF REVOLUTION
Sue is right on the money here, in saying that if we forgive the illegals of their criminality, then we by definition must forgive the real citizens of their wrong-doings. And, Sue, you left out tax cheats in your litany of wrong-doers to be forgiven. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. As usual, razonador is standing by his left-wing liberal biases in being an advocate for the illegal aliens. I'll bet if Teddy the K and Guillermo Bradbury were to read some of his stuff, they would offer him a job catering to the illegals at their "carousels of crime". He could go there and pat them on the butt and tell them what good people they are for being here illegally. But, I guess that's alright because , like anonymous, he gives a f___!
7 Amnesties? go to; www.numbersusa.com
left side, click on Amnesty button
Your question has been answered, you just don't want to hear it. However, your question is flawed to begin with.
Employers aren't enforcing the laws now because that's not their job. What makes you think they'll start after this? Stricter enforcement of what we've got now, including penatlies for both employers AND the immigrants themselves is the only thing that will solve this. This is the problem with this liberal mindset. It excuses illegal behavior and doesn't make people responsible for their actions.
You can stop trying to call people out when you can't even show us who you really are.
sensenbrenner bill is to harsh on these people. The immigration reform should forgive the illegal immigrants and have them pay a $2000 fine.
Tim Lewis and Razonador: Why are you using the word "undocumented" to describe the illegal aliens? That usage is tantamount to giving them some sort of elevated status in our society.
If you were to rob a bank at gunpoint, would you consider that an "undocumented withdrawal"? I'm pretty sure that the FBI would not consider it as such.
It is the same thing! Illegal immigration into the U.S. and bank robbery are both federal crimes. It seeems that some people have trouble with that concept.
Razonador: These illegals "felonized" themselves when they came across our borders illegally. Apparently you are having a problem with that fact. They are illegal aliens. They are felons under the laws of the U.S. Yet you and many others seem to want to side with illegality. This is called aiding and abetting criminal behavior, also a crime. Maybe not directly, but it amounts to pretty much the same thing.
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