Once More, Democrats Abandoning American Citizens

Immigrant Bill Fallout May Hurt House GOP
Strict Provisions Are Uniting Critics

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 12, 2006; Page A01

In the wake of this week's massive demonstrations, many House Republicans are worried that a tough anti-illegal-immigration bill they thought would please their political base has earned them little benefit while becoming a lightning rod for the fast-growing national movement for immigrant rights.

House Republicans rushed through legislation just before Christmas that would build hundreds of miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, require that businesses verify the legality of all employees' status through a national database, fortify border patrols, and declare illegal immigrants and those who help them to be felons. After more lenient legislation failed in the Senate last week, the House-passed version burst into the public consciousness this week, as hundreds of thousands of protesters across the country turned out to denounce the bill.

Yesterday, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) issued a joint statement seeking to deflect blame for the harshest provisions of the House bill toward the Democrats, who they said showed a lack of compassion. "It remains our intent to produce a strong border security bill that will not make unlawful presence in the United States a felony," Hastert and Frist said.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) fired back that "there's no running away from the fact that the Republican House passed a bill and Senator Frist offered one that criminalizes immigrants."

House Democrats acknowledged they helped block Republican efforts on the floor in December to soften the Republican-crafted section declaring illegal immigrants to be felons, but they said ultimate responsibility for the bill rests with the Republicans, who voted overwhelmingly for its passage.

"The Democrats were not going to do anything to make it easier for Republicans to pass an atrocious bill," said Jennifer Crider, a spokeswoman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Yesterday's maneuvering underscores how the immigration issue has mushroomed into a fierce political debate with potentially large stakes heading into the November congressional elections. The hundreds of thousands of protesters in the streets Monday vividly demonstrated the power of the issue, which some strategists say threatens to undercut President Bush's long-standing hope of making Hispanic voters a GOP constituency.

"There was political calculation that they could make this the wedge issue of 2006 and 2008, but it's not playing out that way," said Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.). "This has galvanized and energized the Latino community like no other issue I have seen in two decades, and that's going to have electoral consequences."

Republicans say they could accept that sentiment if they believed they had won political points from the GOP's restive base. But for all the negatives, they don't have many positives to show for their efforts.

"From the standpoint of those who would applaud the House's stand, I'd say we have not gotten sufficient credit," said Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), a reliable supporter of House leaders. "I'm somewhat distressed that they have not gotten word of what we've done."

The politics of the issue have shifted markedly since the House acted. Republican lawmakers are increasingly saying they will now consider some avenue to grant illegal immigrants access to lawful employment. And Democrats who voted for the House bill with an eye on their political futures or to preempt feared attacks from conservatives are rethinking their position.

Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio), a supporter of the bill, was greeted by protesters and shouts of "Migration is not a crime" in February when he opened his Ohio gubernatorial campaign office in Cleveland. Now, he regrets his vote, campaign spokesman Jess Goode said.

Attention! American residency is not an international right. Illegal aliens are just that, illegal. How dare these Democrats and gutless RINO Republicans undermine our Constitution and the priviledges of our citizenship? Latinos who are hear legally are of great benefit to our nation and our economy, but those who are here illegally are a net burden. Have you been to the emergency room lately? Our hospital emergency rooms are overwhelmed by the onslaught of illegals availing themselves of our free medical coverage.

Illegals do not pay taxes. Illegals burden our school systems. Illegals do take jobs that American citizens would do. That last is especially true in the construction industry.

There is a bizarre idea circulating, primarily from the Hispanic community, that because some hundreds of Illegals die each year attempting to enter America, somehow this entitles those who make it here to stay. What utter balderdash! Illegals do not earn the right to live here just because they "risk their lives to get a piece of the American dream." Illegals earn a jail cell for risking their lives to get a piece of the American dream. They are breaking the law. They are by definition, criminals (that's criminales for you Latinos).

Juan Jose Gutierrez, Director of Latino Movement USA, apparently doesn't understand how the law works. He appeared this morning on C-Span and in response to one callers statement that he supported legal immigration, and why don't these people immigrate legally, said "The current law doesn't allow them to." So what Mr. Gutierrez, that gives them the right to break our laws?

Worst, is the complicity of the Democrats in aiding this movement. They are not doing so out of conviction, but out of pure political avarice. As usual, Democrats don't care about the people they are using, only what they can get out of them in the way of power.

If they strike, fire them. If your yard maintenance people join the walk-out, fire them. Show your power.

Full Story: Lawbreakers, Everyone.

What do you think?

To leave your opinion click on the word "COMMENT(S)" below