Posted on 03/29/2006 9:01:48 PM PST by Giant Conservative
The immigration and security debate, which has sparked huge demonstrations in recent days by Hispanic residents of cities around the country, comes at a crucial moment for both parties.
Over the last three national elections, persistent appeals by Mr. Bush and other Republican leaders have helped double their party's share of the Hispanic vote, to more than 40 percent in 2004 from about 20 percent in 1996. As a result, Democrats can no longer rely on the country's 42 million Hispanic residents as a natural part of their base.
In a lunch meeting of Senate Republicans this week, Senator Mel Martinez of Florida, the only Hispanic Republican in the Senate, gave his colleagues a stern warning. "This is the first issue that, in my mind, has absolutely galvanized the Latino community in America like no other," Mr. Martinez said he told them.
The anger among Hispanics has continued even as the Senate Judiciary Committee proposed a bill this week that would allow illegal immigrants a way to become citizens. The backlash was aggravated, Mr. Martinez said in an interview, by a Republican plan to crack down on illegal immigrants that the House approved last year.
The outcome remains to be seen.
Polls show large majorities of the public both support tighter borders as a matter of national security, and oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants. Many working-class Democrats resent what they see as a continuing influx of cheap labor.
The stakes are enormous because Hispanics now account for one of every eight United States residents, and for about half the recent growth in the country's population.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Huh?
Including Martinez?
"all hispanics are not the same"
This should be emphasized.
The republican party is setting itself up for permanent minority status in twenty to fifty years. These people are not going to break for republicans, not matter how much they pander.
I also love how the media presents the image that all hispanics are mindless pro-illegal types who support open borders.
Yes, there are plenty of sources. Most hispanics, most southeast asians are against illegal immigration. Most immigrants who have come here legally are against it.
http://www.fairimmigration.com/index.html
We (Vietnamese) came through the process legally.
So others should get in line to get their papers"
Van Tran, California State Assemblyman
We feel the U.S. should treat illegal aliens the same way other countries treat their illegal aliens, and how Vietnamese illegal aliens and their children were treated. Vietnamese and non-Hispanics will be treated fairly and no longer be discriminated against by the U.S. Government if it does the following:
1. Enforce all immigration laws. At a minimum these enforcement measures should include:
A) Businesses should be required to check the validity of new employees Social Security or work permit numbers.
B) Local and state law enforcement officers should verify the citizenship and immigration status of everyone they apprehend. Every illegal alien they apprehend should be detained and transferred to the Homeland Security Departments ICE division for deportation.
2. Children born to illegal aliens and guest workers in the U.S. should not be given U.S. citizenship. The U.S. is totally out of step with the rest of the world in this regard.
3. Any long term guest worker program (1 year or more) should only include foreigners outside the United States, not illegal aliens inside the U.S. To protect the wages of Vietnamese-Americans and all Americans, the guest worker recommendations of the Jordan Commission should be followed.
4. We support U.S. investment in high immigrant sending countries to create more opportunities there. For example, we support the proposal where the U.S. would match any new funds Mexico spend on infrastructure, education, and law-enforcement improvements if they also institute free-market and anti-corruption reforms. Since a dollar goes much further in these countries, many times more people could be helped this way instead of helping only a relatively few by letting them into the U.S.
5. The U.S. should not allow legalized illegal aliens nor anyone they sponsored to sponsor their relatives for family preference immigration. This would eliminate the increased waiting times past legalizations of illegal aliens has created. For the minor children and spouses of legalized illegal aliens, a seperate temporary category could be set up as was done from 1992 to 1994.
6. Waiting times and backlongs would be further reduced if the diversity visa category was eliminated and family preference immigration increased a similar amount. This would also increase U.S. diversity much more than the current system, since almost half of the diversity admitees are from Europe
I must be nuts for still hoping that elected Servants of the People still do just that.. or even exist.. now it's just a career with perks.
...actually the word is spelled 'gunwales' but your point is well taken
LOL, after nationwide protests by unthankful brown aholes, I couldn't care less about them now. Let them eat cake...
They vote now at whim.
No ID needed to vote or proof of citizenship required!
For you to have the audacity to be able to predict the political status twenty to fifty years out, you must be psychic, or under the age of 25.
I think Martinez, DUmmiecrat FL, is blowing smoke. I have a strong feeling that most hispanic Americans are less than thrilled with depressed wages, crime and the other negatives that unchecked illegal migrants have wrought.
However, the Republican party is not handling the issue well at all.
And although the Democrats would be worse, I don't want the lesser of two evils, I want good policy executed expertly. And the GOP 's P.R . on this has been horrible!
They're going to have their cake and eat it too and then eat yours. They vote now. But it's worse than that. Without an election they are manipulating the U.S. Congress to please them at this very moment. They don't need no steenking vote.
If this is the NY Times slant, then the real solution must be 180 degrees opposite....build the damn wall!
Predict nothing, its in the census, this is becoming a minority majority nation and no matter what you read here the truth is that as a voting bloc latinos are down on the GOP. You call it immigration reform, they see it as the anti-hispanic people reform, bottom line. Sure you can find your latino Allen Keyes and JC Watts but you'll still lose 90% of the 1/3 vote latinos will soon have. The GOP will forever be connected to fat old white guys with lawnchairs and shotguns camped out on the border ready to stop the wetback. You might as well join the minuteman already.
Agreed. For every Mexican they pander to, they lose a dozen of their Republican base. We've been taken for granted one too many times, and this is the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
Most immigrants from Mexico are Christian.
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