Posted on 06/28/2007 10:32:55 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
PHOENIX (Reuters) - For day laborers seeking work in a sun-baked parking lot on Thursday, defeat of U.S. President George W. Bush's plans for an immigration overhaul has set back their dreams of a normal life.
The bill, which sought to give legal status to many of the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, failed to get enough support in a make-or-break vote in the U.S. Senate.
Workers standing around in searing heat outside a building materials store in Phoenix said hopes of an aboveboard life in this country of immigrants had crashed following news of the morning vote.
"Bush wanted to do something good, but the Senate wouldn't let him. It's disappointing," Miguel Gonzalez, 37, who has been in the United States for five years, said in Spanish.
"I have heard nothing but proposals and more proposals since I arrived ... but they all get thrown out for one reason or another," the Mexican national added with a shrug.
Bush has sought an overhaul of U.S. immigration laws for years and this bill may have been his last chance for a significant domestic legislative victory before leaving office at the end of his second term in January 2009.
It tied tough border security and workplace enforcement measures to a plan to legalize illegal immigrants and create a temporary worker program sought by business groups.
For Juan Carlos Esquivel, 36, a day laborer from Mexico City with a wife and three children, the defeat made no sense.
"There's work to be done, we want to do it, and now we can't. So how can that be a victory?" he said, standing in the shade of a mesquite tree in a straw sombrero. "Everybody loses, and the economy will suffer."
'WE'RE TRASH TO THEM'
Bush was unable to overcome fierce opposition from fellow Republicans who said the measure would reward an estimated 12 million immigrants for taking up residence in the United States illegally.
In Los Angeles, Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony, a key supporter of immigration reform on the West Coast, expressed regret about the Senate's decision.
"Without reform, our current system will continue to permit the exploitation of workers, the separation of families, and will handicap efforts to secure our nation's borders," he said in a statement
Janet Napolitano, the Democratic governor of the border state of Arizona, said she was "sorely disappointed" by the Senate's failure to act on the issue.
"By leaving it unattended, Congress is shirking its responsibility to not only Arizona, but the entire country," she said.
Back in the parking lot, where the temperature hit 107 F (42 C) in the shade, day laborer Bonifacio Sosa said the Senate's move would keep him on the margins of society and on the run from police.
"We are illegals, we are just trash to them, and we'll just have to carry on here in the shadows hiding from everyone," said Sosa, 58, who has raised four children since arriving in the United States 14 years ago.
"I have neither a voice or a vote, except when I pay fines or taxes," he added as traffic roared by in the street.
I don’t know if it’s the weather as much as being too far from their homeland, or maybe there aren’t enough construction jobs. Illegals have been flooding into New Orleans due to the rebuilding going on.
If you were to go to Los Angeles now, you would be surprised how many areas are like scenes out of a third world country. I had to laugh once when I had a brief chat with one professor from Mexico who was visiting here. He wanted to work on his English, but commented that there were too many Mexicans here!
We should never forget that AMERICAN dreams should have priority over the dreams of those that trespass illegaly in this country. They step on the graves of the brave souls that fought for OUR freedom.
Liberals have been trying to pass “Fairness” legislation for years. They know that unlike the liberal media, they do not have a monopoly on radio programs, which is why talk radio is so popular with Americans. The programs represent their views as well as discuss issues that are often times hidden from national/international media.
The jig is up and the RINO’s will no longer receive any support from true conservatives. Bloomberg recognizes this, which is why he had to jump the shark.....ship. Conservatives have drawn the line.
Forget the blarney fence. Erect a stinkin wall! If it worked in China, we can certainly do the same.
Although I am thankful the president strongly supported pro-life policies, I now have a lesser opinion of him as a result of this anti-American bill as well as his NAFTA Superhighway.
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I would go for a wall too,,,whatever it takes to seal that border,,,some folks don’t remember that three of the Ft.Dix
Six came across there,,,then there is that War On Drugs that
we never hear about anymore,,,
A fence is a joke, unless you include land mines, moats, bungy sticks, electric shock, pit bulls, hot oil.
Those mexicans would either dig under it or use ladders to climb over them.
Build a wall. Build it deep, thick, and very high. sentinels.
No sh*t New York Times photos. Guess which one is the immigrants and which is the bigoted immigration opponent:
LOL...I wonder if the dems are catching this message...the republican president is getting credit for the effort and the democrat Senate is getting the blame for the failure. I bet that really sticks in their craw.
he's been here for five years, and he's still speaking in Spanish... typical...
Those photos! They must have looked far and wide to find that fellow with the missing teeth? And those pro-illegal people look so saintly. This is so biased, it’s incredible.
With all due respect, they DO have rights here. They have the right to walk into an emergency room and get free medical care. They have the right to get WIC and food stamps. They have the right to educatate their offspring for free. The have the right to get subsidized housing. They have the right to get credit cards, loans and mortgages from almost any bank. They have the right to sue any one of us, with free legal represetation.....and on and on and on.
Of course, it’s free to those who are here illegally, but WE are the one’s footing the bill, as our taxes continue to rise year after year.
This is undoubtedly one of the major reasons the citizens are justifiably angry! Why doesn’t *someone* (anyone) author a bill to stop the benefits to those who enter (or stay) in our country illegally? Many states are taking on the immense problem of employer’s knowingly hiring illegals. (AZ and CA are two.) But NO ONE is tackling the FREEBIES these people are getting.
I read further, and the guy missing the teeth also has an eye missing!!! The editor said they discussed how to photograph him so it doesn’t look so obvious. This is beyond ridiculous. Next time they will photograph some grossly obese person eating a hamburger and say he is against these poor hungry undocumented noncriminals.
That dude was shot in the head losing an eye when he was a teenager. Later he had a heart attack and a lung removed. Believe me, that is his good side.
Regards
Are you kidding me?!
I could walk for miles and not find anyone in that bad of a shape. I’m glad there’s only one like him in the photo representing my position. I guess the LA Times couldn’t find another sad case. Good grief.
The dnc will have to keep all those Spanish language voter registration forms aside for a while.
They are no longer in the shadows, they are even giving open interviews in these articles...if polsters and reporters can find them...then our government can find and deport them...there is just NO will to do so.
I just love the way the good Cardinal blames “our system” and not the Mexican government for driving their own people out.
Poll to freep:
SURVEY
Should local police enforce federal immigration laws?
Yes
Scroll down right side of page.
http://www.nbc5.com/index.html
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