Posted on 07/23/2002 1:47:26 PM PDT by Damocles
House minority leader tells Hispanic conference he will introduce bill to legalize undocumented immigrants Mon Jul 22, 3:50 PM ET By DEBORAH KONG, AP Minority Issues Writer
MIAMI - House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt said Monday he plans to introduce a bill that would grant legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants.
The measure, he said, would legalize immigrants who have lived in the United States for five years and worked in the country for two years.
"Our proposal will bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows and into the light of accountability and greater cooperation in our fight against terrorism," Gephardt said at the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights group.
The crowd of about 3,000 gave Gephardt a standing ovation.
"We are all immigrants unless we're Native Americans," the Missouri Democrat said. "There are probably millions of immigrants in this country who have done everything we've asked them to do. They've worked, they've stayed out of trouble, they've obeyed the laws, they've helped their families, and they would like an opportunity.
The House Democratic caucus has been working on a proposal that "recognizes the hard work of immigrants" by granting them legal status, he said. The bill will be introduced within two weeks, Gephardt said.
He said he didn't know how many undocumented immigrants the proposal could affect but it would apply to people from all countries.
The United States has an estimated 8 to 9 million undocumented immigrants. Cecilia Munoz, a La Raza vice president, estimates Gephardt's proposal would apply to about 3 to 4 million undocumented immigrants. She said about 60 percent to 75 percent of those would be Hispanic, while many of the rest would be Asian.
In a dig at President Bush ( news - web sites), Gephardt said talks between Mexico and the administration on immigration reform have stalled.
"President Bush talks about immigration reform, but there's not been enough action to match that rhetoric," Gephardt said.
The Bush administration last year was considering a plan to grant guest worker status and eventually legal residency to some of the estimated 3 million Mexican illegal immigrants believed to be in the United States.
Gephardt's proposal would jump start the movement for legalization, which had lost some momentum after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Munoz said. Since then, immigration policy has focused more on securing the U.S.-Mexico border and restricting immigrant visas.
"It marks the formal resurrection of the issue," Munoz said. "We're coming back up on the radar screen."
This is the part that gets me. Isn't this the same blanket amnesty that sent everyone into a tizzy a few months ago?
And how can the guy propose a bill and not have a clue on how many people are going to become "new" citizens?
What proof could possible be offered in order to show an illegal/undocumented immigrant has been in the country for 5 years? A voting record in St. Louis? &^)
Think about it. 3-4 million more voters who will go democratic by a ratio of 3 or 4 to 1. Despite the pandering by the President.
Mexicans are socialist. They have no experience with, understanding of, or desire for a republican form of government. If we don't turn this around, the future of the United States is socialism.
And the complete farce of it all is that nothing has been done to secure the border with Mexico. Nothing. It is all a complete bag of gas.
My favorite part ---where they admit they'll give amnesty to the lazy ones who have been here 5 years and didn't work for 3 of them.
Gephardt is obviously living a parallel universe.
To most Americans "immigration reform" means actually deporting the illegal alien.
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