Posted on 08/03/2005 12:00:40 PM PDT by smoothsailing
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 03, 2005
Tough talk on illegal immigration
Colorado congressman shares message of reform with local law enforcement officers
BY NOAH HAGLUND
Of The Post and Courier Staff
HANAHAN--A Colorado congressman known for his hard-line stance on illegal immigration told a small crowd of police here Tuesday night that political correctness has made a very serious problem worse.
"Even in your ranks, I know it's sensitive," Tom Tancredo, a fourth-term Republican from Colorado's 6th District, said in his address to the group of 30 or so at the Fraternal Order of Police's Tri-County Lodge No. 3 on Campbell Street. "That is the thing that has prevented us from doing anything about this."
Tancredo, 59, has staked his political career on strengthening the nation's porous borders and immigration laws, things he says threaten the country's very existence. And he has been anything but politically correct in his approach, drawing the ire not only of his political opponents, but at times his own party.
His message seemed to resonate with the crowd of current and retired law-enforcement officers, touching on some common frustrations. One, in particular, was the perception that undocumented immigrants often get off the hook, because local authorities don't have the ability to detain them on federal immigration charges. Suspects can skip town on state or local offenses without being tracked.
That, said some in the crowd, presents a double standard that is unfair to Americans.
"An illegal alien actually has a different system of justice here," Tancredo said. "If you're here illegally, you can get a pass."
It's also a question of resources, he said.U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the successor agency to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, doesn't have enough of them to do their job, he said. ICE's regional supervisor, who attended the meeting, agreed. "He's right," resident agent-in-charge Pat McDavid said after the hour-long speech. "He understands that it's a question of resources,"
The local Fraternal Order of Police lodge invited Tancredo because of his high profile on immigration issues, said the group's secretary, R.E. Sharpe, a Charleston County sheriff's deputy.
"We sought out Mr. Tancredo because he's the only one on the national scope who's been willing to confront the issue," Sharpe said. "For quite some time, from a law enforcement perspective, we're getting volumes of illegal aliens with little or no assistance from the federal government.
"I was quite surprised he was willing to come," he said. After the meeting, Sharpe said he agreed with the message but didn't think anything would be done about it, because the people with the power to do something weren't there.
Tancredo has many detractors. Some accuse him of xenophobia. He sparked an outcry last month when he suggested on a talk radio program that the U.S. consider retaliatory strikes against Islamic Holy sites if radical Islamists were to set off a nuclear device inside the country. Hispanic and Islamic groups in Colorado on Monday called for the representative to resign.
His visit to the Palmetto State was brief; he arrived Monday and was scheduled to depart today. He spoke on several local radio stations and was to meet with political activists at the airport this morning, spokesman Will Adams said.
On Tuesday, Tancredo acknowledged that part of the reason for coming was the 2008 presidential primary.
"We have to get a president who will do something about (illegal immigration) -- that's why I'm here," he said. Though he also has visited Iowa, another crucial primary state, he said he has no presidential aspirations of his own. He said he would support somebody taller and better-looking.
"I'm too short, I'm too fat, I'm too bald to be the president of the United States," he said.
His stance on immigration has put him at loggerheads with the Bush administration and its support of an amnesty for undocumented immigrants from Mexico. Tancredo calls amnesty "a rotten idea" that would turn the flow of illegal immigrants into a "tidal wave."
"I support him in many ways," he said. "On this I think he is wrong."
He asked the audience for one thing: not to let political hopefuls of any party equivocate about their position on immigration.
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This article was printed via the web on 8/3/2005 2:43:06 PM . This article appeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Wednesday, August 03, 2005.
ping
He can't win, but he can force other candidates to get active on this issue. I'm pulling for George Allen.
Mexico City is already such a disastrous ghetto that nuking it would likely be an improvement.
If we are going to nuke disastrous ghettos could we start with Philadelphia and Camden? After we get all the Freepers to move that is.
Boy, thankyeee Republicans. Better not try and touch the illegal sacred cow of the elephant crowd.
Be hard to distinguish a mushroom cloud from the current smog.
yeah.. this (immigration thing) seems to be the comment "THE KING IS NAKED"... You can see that, by who gets the vapors and who agrees.. i.e. NOT all republicans are republicans.. but all democrats are democrats and not a few republicans too are democrats it seems..
Tancredo still talking? I thought it would hard to do with a constant foot in the mouth.
Tancredo is right about the foreign invaders, to bad he is not electable.
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Be Ever Vigilant!
Minutemen Patriots ~ Bump!
OTOH, Tom is really good guy with a great sense of humor. And you're right, he'll force some people to address immigration.
That's what I like about Tancredo - he puts principle over party when he knows his party is wrong.
What foot in the mouth are you referring to? Please explain.
How about an Allen/Tancredo ticket??
The MSM will rip Tancredo apart. Whether they like it or not, the polls show he does speak for the people on his get tough illegal immigration stance, but telling the truth in the media doesn't get you very far. I'm pulling for Allen in 2008 though.
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