Posted on 08/07/2004 8:03:56 AM PDT by seastay
We'll punish Bushes at the polls, immigrants promise
Immigrant voters will show their displeasure with the Bush brothers for not doing enough to help undocumented migrants become legal, advocates say.
Leaders of several immigrant and labor rights organizations in South Florida on Thursday accused President Bush and his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, of failing to keep promises to help undocumented migrants legalize their presence.
At a Miami news conference, speakers for the groups said immigrants who have become American citizens will vote against candidates who have not helped advance proposals that would enable illegal migrants to achieve legal status. The proposals are two congressional bills that would put migrant farmworkers and children of undocumented migrants on a track to legal residency and a plan to grant temporary residency to undocumented migrants from Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
''Immigrants are paying attention and, come Election Day, they will cast their ballots for public officials who deliver on their promises, not for those who continue to make empty promises,'' said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of Service Employees International Union.
Taylor Gross, a White House spokesman, said President Bush is working with Congress in shaping his guest-worker program. Jacob DiPietre, a Gov. Bush spokesman, said his boss was studying the proposal.
Activists at the news conference said President Bush had offered to grant temporary work permits to illegal migrant workers but had done little to advance the project, and had also not objected to Republican lawmakers in Congress blocking a separate bill giving residency to migrant farmworkers.
They also took Gov. Bush to task for not following up on his recent statement that he would be ''inclined'' to support temporary protected status for Haitians. Immigrant advocates said the offer should also be extended to Dominicans.
DiPietre said Gov. Bush realizes only the federal government can grant temporary status.
'Tis a scary thought.
That's a very good point. People in North Texas seem to have little clue about what is taking place in the southern counties and if they don't start doing something, Texas will go democrat very soon. The demographics are changing fast.
It amazes me that today there is less election fraud in Mexico going on than there is in this country. Over there they aren't so afraid to offend people and they require they carry the IFE card to prove their citizenship and ensure they vote only once. Not here where election fraud has become massive and we're allowing all kinds of non-citizens to vote.
You make some good points, but while the euphemism 'undocumented immigrant/worker' was a creation of the Left, it is now becoming more widespread in its use by those allegedly on the Right. Bush uses it. GOP Senators use it. The WSJouranl uses it.
Among the media, it seems to be about 50/50 now between some variation on the 'undocumented' term verus 'illegal immigrant.' 'Illegal alien' -- the best and most accurate description -- seems to be dying out.
You're right that legal immigrants should be just as or even more upset about illegal immigration as anyone else seeing as how they must often compete with them for work.
But Kerry/Edwards will easily win the legal immigrant vote this year. Gore blew Bush away with Hispanics by something like 62-35, and right now Bush is polling even worse among them. Bush also lost the Asian vote.
Demography is moving towards the Left/Dems. I've read things by people like Michael Barone who say otherwise, but I can't buy any of his arguments.
I think Texas will remain GOP for a bit longer, then it will move into the battleground state category for a while before eventually leaning Democratic.
What will keep Texas from going as far left as California is the fact that white Texans are much more conservative as a whole than their Calif counterparts. The GOP, or Bush at least, has routinely gotten 70% or more of the white vote in Texas. That is why the GOP is dominant there right now, and if they can keep that up then I think it will prevent Texas from going the way of Calif for several more election cycles.
Of course if the GOP were to actually do as most Americans want and REDUCE legal immigration and get serious about stopping illegal immigration, then all demographic projections would significantly change. I mean the past few decades of mass immigration plus the higher birth rates of Hispanics will ensure that demography continues to trend in favor of the Dems for years to come even with a reduction, but at least with a reduction the demographic shift would be slowed (and perhaps eventually stabalize) to the point where th GOP has a chance to compete 20 yrs from now.
Cutting off welfare programs, taking back that billions for the free health care for illegals in that Medicare package, making them pay their own way would do a lot to reverse the demographics. There should be no welfare benefits for foreigners --- that's what's changing the demographics of Texas so fast. It's like we're intentionally bringing in millions who can only depend on the government for everything.
Actually, Clinton did make a whole big bunch of them citizens right before the election in 96 (knowing that they would generally vote Democrat) by ordering the INS in effect to skip the normal background checks and other procedures -- the program was called CitizenshipUSA.
I can't remember which pool these new citizens came out of, i.e. if they were generally previous illegals who had been amnestied (or 245(i)ed) or if they came through more normal channels (doubtful). Clinton didn't directly turn illegals into citizens with this program, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did turn a substantial number of former illegals into citizens.
If you don't help us with the invasion of your nation we will punish you. Unfortunately Bush has been helping them all too much.
Just to be fair, I think there were a number of Mexicans who came to the U.S. and worked the mines (and probably in other places as well) during WWII. They may have done it more for their own economic benefit than any desire to help the war effort -- I don't know.
Try doing something to prove you give a rat's rear about America for once [like learning English or joining the military as some new citizens have] and we might think about it you *&^% *&^%())(*>)&^%(()(&%$...and furthermore...*&%^$ *(&*^%% [sorry I had to censor that].
"Please tell me again, how do they have the right to vote?"
They don't. But hey, they didn't stop crossing the border illegally either.
Would that be legal or illegal immigrant voters?
Obviously their own economic benefit ---- just like today, Mexico isn't sending troops to help us in Iraq, they didn't even vote to support us --- but they're more than happy to fill the jobs that Americans over there dying in Iraq could have had. They want the economic benefits of the USA, but they don't support us in wartime.
Globalization is not tinfoil hat. All of the trade agreements the admininstration is trying to get passed proves that we are in the process of eroding our borders just like EU. In addition to being the Free Trade of the Americas bloc we are also considering allowing Indians to come here and work without a visa as well. The fact that we stay involved in the UN, and WTO and other alphabet supranational soups, proves this as well.
It's become a rather fine line anyway. Also more legal immigrants are here collecting welfare handouts than are illegals. Plus many illegals "share" the welfare benefits of their born-here (hence legal) offspring. It's the welfare --- not Bush's promises or non-promises, plus the fact that the democrat party reminds them more of the PRI party which they kept in power for so many decades. Mexico looks just like a country the democrats would gladly rule --- union membership of over 70% versus the 10% union membership of Americans.
Oh and now foreign nations are invited to audit our elections.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1187019/posts?page=3#3
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