Posted on 06/09/2007 11:41:54 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
SAN DIEGO ---- A diverse group of religious leaders, labor unions, legal advocates and community leaders joined Thursday to call on Congress to pass immigration reform that would help legalize illegal immigrants, keep migrant families together and protect immigrants' rights.
The group, called the Immigrant Rights Consortium of San Diego County, is made up of 25 organizations. They include the American Immigration Lawyers Association of San Diego, the American Jewish Committee of San Diego, the Council on American-Islamic Relations of San Diego, the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice and several others.
More than a dozen members of the group gathered for a press conference in San Diego on the same day the U.S. Senate debated a controversial bill to overhaul the nation's immigration system.
Rabbi Laurie Coskey of Poway said immigration reform is needed because there are large numbers of workers who are critical to the local economy but live in fear of deportation. She said they often fail to report abuses at work because they are in the country illegally.
"So often, what we find is wonderful people doing the jobs that make up the backbone of our San Diego economy, yet they are fearful. They live in the shadows together with their families," said Coskey, who serves as the director of the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, a grass-roots group focusing on labor rights.
Consortium members said the group has objectives beyond immigration reform, such as opposing local policies that discriminate against immigrants, educating immigrants about their rights and showing the public the contributions immigrants make.
Some local anti-illegal immigration activists said the new group does not represent the views of most Americans on reform.
"As evidenced by the millions of angry phone calls, faxes and e-mails to their government 'representatives,' loyal Americans are fed up to the point of snapping with law-breaking illegal aliens," said Mike Spencer, who heads the Vista Citizens Brigade, a group of anti-illegal immigration activists in Vista.
Members of the consortium said at the press conference that they disagree with the assertion that most Americans don't want immigration reform. They said most Americans want fair immigration laws that protect the nation's borders and safeguard immigrant rights.
Andrea Guerrero, the chairwoman of the group, said the consortium hired a polling company to survey county residents and ask their views on immigration reform. She said the group will announce the poll's results next week.
Several members of the group said a compromise immigration reform bill being debated in the Senate this week is not perfect, but it could be improved as it moves to the House and later in negotiations.
The bill would help legalize millions of illegal immigrants, but would change the rules for future legal immigrants.
Republicans and Democrats have offered dozens of amendments to the bill in recent weeks, including proposals to eliminate its guest worker program and narrow the number of illegal immigrants who would be eligible to legalize their status.
That's why some members of the consortium said they can't say whether they support the bill until they see its final form.
"We've had millions of people march for humane immigration reform, but we've not seen that humane immigration reform bill out there, yet. That's what we're asking for," said Enrique Morones, who heads the immigrant rights group Border Angels, which is part of the consortium.
North County anti-illegal immigration activists said they believe the majority of the public does not want a bill that would legalize illegal immigrants.
"Americans and San Diegans want our borders secured first and enforcement of our immigration laws before we offer full rights and services to people who have broken our laws," said Jeff Schwilk, founder of the Oceanside-based San Diego Minutemen, a group of anti-illegal immigration activists.
"This new group does not appear to acknowledge these realities," Schwilk said referring to the consortium. "They should focus on helping legal immigrants assimilate into American society, and on protecting legal workers."
Edgar Hopida, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in San Diego, said the immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. He said Muslims and other immigrants often face years of waiting while the government conducts background checks to immigrate legally and become citizens.
Hopida said the Senate bill offers hope to those waiting because it has provisions to help reduce the immigration backlogs.
"A lot of people in our community are 'backlogged' three to five years and they've been legitimate green card holders who are trying to get their citizenship," Hopida said. "If you have an Arab-sounding name, more than likely, you're going to be delayed in security."
================================================== Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.
I’ll make it easy for them:
They will be ‘legal’ when they return to the nation of which they are citizens;
They will have their families intact when they take their families back to the nation of which they are citizens.
They will have their ‘immigrant’s rights’ protected when they become LEGAL immigrants.
It is really simple if you remove the agenda to dissolve the border and dilute our national sovereignty from the discussion
You’ll never become a professional politician with that kind of attitude!! LOL
Thank you, Sir! That is the nicest thing anyone has said to me for weeks!
:-)
we have a full assault on our nation.....
The Jews and the Muslims are cooperating on this? Since there probably aren’t too many Jews sneaking across the border I have to wonder WHAT ARE THEY THINKING???
I’m so sick of the “keep families together” argument. They can all go back to Mexico and be together there.
Well, I’d start rounding up Islamic terrorists first...Nab them when they go pick up their bomb belts and operating capital from cair....
/s (or is it?)
No Muslims under any circumstances should be allowed to immigrate to our country. Not one!
Oy vey!
‘”You’ll never become a professional politician with that kind of attitude!!”
Thank you, Sir! That is the nicest thing anyone has said to me for weeks!
:-)’
LOL :)
The propaganda group for the death cult wants more free and open “immigration” into the USA. That is no surprise. The more members of the death cult who are here, the greater chance that some of them will blow themselves up and kill Christians and Jews.
We've not won anything yet on the illegal immigrant issue. The battle has just begun. If you don't like what you've been called up to this point, the next attack is presently forming and you'll be called worse.
We must continue the fight to save our nation against the wishes of our on legislators.
Illegal Mexicans in meat packing plants mad about not getting their cadillac welfare plantation? Or taking a dump in our spinach?
Mexico is not a friend of the United States and never has been. Think about this: Mexican nationals cheering Osama Bin Laden at a soccer match with the USA or carrying signs that glorify Osama Bin Laden in protests over US immigration laws...
Think about things Americans do in large numbers at the same time...
If Islamic terrorists were to poison lots of turkeys just before Thanksgiving, what do you think would be the result? How many Mexican nationals work in those poultry processing plants???
on = own
The Mexican nationals are just like the Palestinians...
Altogether, at least 15 people have been charged in the Haque investigation, and prosecutors expect more indictments...
Haque was convicted on more than 60 counts, including conspiracy, fraud and money laundering. His brother, Akram Haque, and Abdur Rashid, the imam at the Islamic Mosque, were convicted on similar charges after a three-week trial...
Fawaz Damra, spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of Cleveland, agreed Thursday to a deportation order that will send him to one of four Middle Eastern countries or the Palestinian territories. A jury in federal court in Akron convicted Damra in 2004 of lying about his links to Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations when he applied for U.S. citizenship in 1994. A judge sentenced him to two months in prison and stripped him of his citizenship.
And this is just in Cleveland, Ohio. They want to make all these people they are sneaking in LEGAL! This must stop! We must form a coalition bigger, louder, and with more common sense smarts than them! Our legislators are failing to uphold their Oaths of Office and are willing to sacrifice American citizens on the alter of terrorism. This is treason on the highest order.
My nephew didn't go to fight in Iraq to welcome them here with open arms!
Lowell Ponte
Thursday, June 7, 2007
A Ponte Proposal: in exchange for the $5,000 penalty your legislation purportedly would ask illegals to pay if, and only if, they seek U.S. citizenship, extend this tax exemption to EVERY current U.S. citizen.
It could work like this. Every John and Jane Doe would be given a one-time opportunity to pay a $5,000 fine, in exchange for which they would receive a refund of every penny in taxes they paid during any five tax years of their choosing ... presumably five years when they paid the highest taxes of their lives.
The “average family” in America pays approximately $5,405 a year. Five such years add up to $27,025, minus a $5,000 fine, would have our government cutting a tax-exempt check for $22,025 for each American family.
An average bribe this big should be enough to win support from the 53 percent of Americans who pay federal income taxes – disproportionately Republicans – even for a bill as anti-American as yours, Senator McCain.
There will be a lot of face change in congress next year.
Hey B, check out this load of open borders ~ screw America garbage!
Protect and support our American workers!
No Amnesty ~ Not Now ~ Not Ever!
Wake Up America!!
Molon Labe!
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.