Posted on 10/22/2010 2:42:30 AM PDT by markomalley
SEATTLE When Maria Gianni is knocking on voters' doors, she's not bashful about telling people she is in the country illegally. She knows it's a risk to advertise to strangers that she's here illegally but one worth taking in what she sees as a crucial election.
The 42-year-old is one of dozens of volunteers many of them illegal immigrants canvassing neighborhoods in the Seattle area trying to get naturalized citizens to cast a ballot for candidates like Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who is in a neck-to-neck race with Republican Dino Rossi.
Pramila Jayapal, head of OneAmerica Votes, says the campaign is about empowering immigrants who may not feel like they can contribute to a campaign because they can't vote.
"Immigrants really do matter," Jayapal said. "If we can't vote ourselves, we're gonna knock on doors, or get family members to vote."
So far the illegal immigrants going door-to-door aren't meeting opposition. Craig Keller, an organizer for Respect WA, a group pushing for stricter immigration law in the Washington, said he doesn't mind illegal immigrants volunteering for vote drives, he just wants to make sure mistakes on the voter rolls don't allow them to vote.
"Anybody can go out and wave a sign, but when it comes to who's making the choices, there's no question they need to be citizens," Keller said.
In close elections across the country, the immigrant and minority vote is considered key for candidates, especially Democrats.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Has she hit up the cemeteries yet?
Criminals, campaigning for criminals.
That’s the Democratic party, 2010 version.
She can get deported for that. I had an Australian friend who gave parties for little local election issues and nearly saw America in her rear view mirror with her family. Cost them more than $100,000 to get it all straightened out with the authorities. Her husband had to put his business under the direction of an American citizen for 5 years while they battled it out in court.
I don’t understand why American’s can’t just turn these people in. shhheeesh....citizen’s arrest or something. illegal is illegal.
The fact that the media is brazen enough to make this a news story is telling.........
DEPORT HER NOW!
If they're here illegally, they DO NOT have OUR citzen's right to do squat!
Let’s all illegally emigrate to Mexico and start doing the same.
“DEPORT HER NOW! “
No. First take her in. Have the media there. Make a VERY big stink of it with lawsuits and campaign ads.
Then deport her.
I assume these are the same folks that wash my car at the car wash and ride with the landscapers...
when I was working(retired), they hired a cleaning company rather than employ their own cleaners...once again, I assume these are the same illegals....
for the most part?
Nice people.
My suggestion?
send them BACK and make them go through the same process my Grandparents had to go through when they came here from Italy around 1900.
VOTE????
not on your life.
Pass. I would however vote to have all our sewer pipes point in that direction.
Then deport her.
Worth repeating!!!
LOL!
“Lets all illegally emigrate to Mexico and start doing the same.”
Are you some kind of masochist? LOL
She is on the right. It's not like she is worried about being deported. She poses for a picture to be put in a voter guide!
In you face, America!
In this photograph taken Sunday, Oct. 16, 2010, Maria Gianni, right, embraces community organizer Elsa Batris-Boni at a phone bank in Seattle being used by One America Votes, an organization that has launched a vote drive to get naturalized citizen voters to vote Democrat. Gianni is one of several illegal immigrants who are volunteering in the vote drive. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
Ok, who if anyone from OUR side is EVER going to stand up to this crap?? We should sending down law enforcement IMMEDIATELY. But we just sort of sit back and ogle at it ..grumble a bit, then go on about our business.
Tomorrow we’re all gonna wake up and our country will be GONE.
The group (One America Votes) has to step carefully, however. Only U.S. citizens can vote, or even register to vote, something not widely understood among immigrants. Some may, for example, think that a green card gives them license to exercise their civic duty—and consequently find themselves in deportation proceedings for committing an illegal act. There have been a number of such cases in New York, according to a Sunday New York Times piece.
******
They’re hoping they don’t get caught voting! That is what this is about instead of “getting out the vote”.
Prior to joining OneAmerica as the State Policy and Legislative Manager, Toby Guevin was the State Policy Director at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) where he coordinated the organizations state advocacy efforts and provided training and technical assistance on immigrant access to benefits
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