Posted on 08/21/2009 8:41:51 PM PDT by machogirl
Today, in a meeting to convene a diverse group of labor, advocacy, faith and business leaders, SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina met with Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to discuss immigration reform.
As an added bonus, President Barack Obama made an unscheduled visit to the meeting and reiterated his support of pushing through a comprehensive immigration package this Congress.
The Hill reports that:
"Obama urged leaders to work together in order to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Advocates took the presidential visit as a sign of the administration's commitment to the issue."
In the first of its kind meeting -- to convene a diverse group of advocates to begin sketching a framework for reform-- Vice President Medina issued the following statement:
"Today's White House meeting with Secretary Napolitano and a diverse group of labor, faith, and business leaders is an important step towards shaping smart, comprehensive immigration reform legislation in the comings months. As the leader of the Department that has for far too long been tasked with the impossible job of enforcing broken, outdated laws, Secretary Napolitano knows first-hand how critical it is that we pass sweeping immigration reforms that are smart, enforceable and strengthen our economy for the long term.
"In coming months as the immigration debate heats up, Secretary Napolitano will play a central role in promoting real progress on the issue. In order to achieve the smart policy solution that the American public wants, we urge Secretary Napolitano to stand up publicly, light the fire and become an outspoken champion of comprehensive reform.
"Enforcement without reform has been tried for decades with dismal results. Instead of solving problems, it wastes taxpayer dollars, marginalizes immigrant communities and degrades the quality of life for all workers. In particular, expansion of employment verification programs like E-Verify is like painting the roof when the house is on fire; it's the wrong solution at the wrong time.
"For every day we delay on passing a solution to our broken immigration system, we impede our nation's economic recovery, create unnecessary divisions in our workforce, and cost taxpayers billions of wasted dollars.
"It is unacceptable to live in a country where millions of workers are living in shadows. The only way to ensure that every job in this country is filled by a legal permanent resident is to get undocumented immigrants out of the underground economy, into the system and under the rule of law. Diverse groups are aligned on the need for a comprehensive solution. Now we need the Administration and Congress to take bold steps, roll up their sleeves and pass smart reforms once and for all.
Shortly after the meeting, Secretary Napolitano issued a statement on the meeting saying:
"Today's meeting on comprehensive immigration reform was an important opportunity to hear from stakeholders and build on the significant time I've spent on the Hill meeting with members of Congress on this critical subject. I look forward to working with President Obama, my colleagues in Congress and representatives from law enforcement, business, labor organizations, the interfaith community, advocacy groups and others as we work on this important issue."
http://twitter.com/seiu
These people must be stopped.
If they can't bankrupt us through Cap and Trade and Government run health care then they need to inundate us with third world countries and have leftist judges destroy a civilized society and have YOU pay for THEM.
Quisling traitors and domestic enemies.
SEIU and ACORN are essentially the same group. SEIU is the illegal alien union and is very active in amnesty.
www.numbersusa.com to fax congress for free.
We can stop ObamaCare then amnesty. Keep fighting. Unemployment is 12 to 16% and illegals are bankrupting America.
One of the last things Napolitano did to Arizona was turn those SEIU knuckledraggers lose on Arizona state employees. The first thing Governor Brewer did was tell them to take a hike and get lost. They are some real Commie piggies. Bitter too.
Joy.
Hey libs: next election, Democrats might not need you at all. :) They’ll have fresh immigrants. :)
I feel like we are under attack from all sides. I guess they think if they try to ram everything at once, something will ram through.
I have never seen anything like it.
What a total Communist/Fascist.
We ARE under attack from all sides.
Enemies, foreign and domestic, led by the most successful communist mole in history.
Good Lord, I was glad when nappy left, but dang I was frightened so see her appointed as Homeland Security. Crap. She ruined the state. Now she’s out to ruin the country.
She appointed her “pal” former director of the Dept. of Corrections to a Homeland Security Post. Nice nepotism.
“It is unacceptable to live in a country where millions of workers are living in shadows. The only way to ensure that every job in this country is filled by a legal permanent resident is to get undocumented immigrants out of the underground economy, into the system and under the rule of law.”
What jobs, and whose rule of law?
They aren’t taking a breath. Continued assault and destruction of this country.
She took her “pal” from the FAA with her too! One thing I’ll say for Napolitano, she did an excellent job bankrupting Arizona.
Agree, he’s a lawyer, or “liar-yer”. Great parser of words.
I’ve heard rumors of which “pal” is her “pal”.
Didn’t take her too long to go from a huge surplus to bad debt.
Obama has to try and ram this dounw out throats BEFORE 2010. He knows people are catching on to his latest “crisi” that doesn’t exist. People are cathcing on to his lying. People MUST stay on their toes and FIGHT ALL OF IT.
This makes me want to puke on so many levels!
We already have a “rule of law”. Illegal to be here, illegal to steal ID, illegal to use fake docs, illegal to apply for benefits they aren’t supposed to have, etc.
Apparently not “our rule of law”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.