Jun 20 2008
NC Dems Stall Immigration Bills
Although it is not strictly a partisan issue, Republicans in the House and Senate have generally backed immigration-related measures, while Democrats, who control both chambers, have largely opted for the status quo when it comes to immigration policy.
Democratic leaders say they have taken steps in the past five years to tighten illegal immigration controls, including:
* requiring proof of legal status to get a driver’s license.
*Â requiring state workers and those working for state contractors to be here legally.
*Â requiring laws so that jailers must determine if those charged with felonies or impaired driving are legal U.S. residents.
This year, measures related to admitting illegal immigrants to community colleges and universities have been the focus of fierce debate. But bills designed to make it easier for the children of illegal immigrants to attend state colleges or enter degree programs are not likely to move forward this year.
“I think it’s a little too hot for this session,” said Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat sponsoring one of those bills.
Rep. Hugh Holliman, a Lexington Democrat and the House majority leader, said the state’s actions can only go so far.
“We would all like to see the federal government concentrate and solve the problem,” he said. “But there’s a limit to what the states can do. We can’t build a wall around North Carolina.”
Holliman is attempting to use the Federal Government as a scape goat for his lack of action. Hugh doesn’t want these bills to pass and that’s not surprising. The Democratic Party as well as some Republicans like Bush and McCain have a love affair with illegal immigrants. Bush and McCain think that if they legalize them they will vote Republican. They won’t of course. They’ll vote Democrat and the Democrats know that which is why they want them legalized as well. Then you have the third rail of this issue embodied by Socialists like Pricey Harrison who think that hard working North Carolinians should pay higher taxes, depriving their own family of needs, in order to give a free ride to these alien criminals and their offspring.
Arizona, Oklahoma, and most recently South Carolina have put into place sweeping laws aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration and in the two western states it’s working. South Carolina’s law is too new to see its effect yet. Holliman wants to sit on his behind and just make excuses for his for his opposition on this important issue and then lie to the media about it.
Illegal immigration is so abundant in NC because of the need for the workers. I do not think that people realize the struggles these people go through to get here even if it is illegally. Some have been here for upwards of ten years living in fear every day that they could be sent back. I have many Mexican immigrant friends that I care a lot about and they are some of the best people I know. Many people feel that immigrants are the reason for high crime rates when in reality we cause them to commit crimes by keeping them for higher paying jobs because of their citizenship status. Regardless of your country of origin you will do what it takes to survive and to support your family. Most all of the US citizens now are descendents of immigrants, who came here to make a better life for themselves and their families. Many of the immigrants I know are very hard working people and are also going to college and trying to become a productive part of society. I have heard there was a bill up for review not long ago which was denied that would at least help the immigrants who had been here for so many years to become citizens. This seems as though it would have been a good move , theses people have been here most of if not all of their lives. How about a child whose family moved here 10 years ago, the Child is now 19 he has 2 brothers one 12 and the other 4. The four year old was born in the US making him a natural born citizen. So what is the rest of his family who is not legal gets caught? Are we going to deport a US citizen to another country? Now the 12 year old. He does good in school he plays sports and volunteers in his community, what happens when he turns 16 he can not get a drivers license he has to go to work some where he also may want to continue his education.. He has no choice but to drive illegally. We have taken a good child who has not done anything wrong and backed him into a corner and given hin few choices but to break the law. How about the 19 year old? He has been out of high school and moved on to college. Education is important to him and he wants to make something of himself and to be able to help his family as well. His drivers license is going to expire soon, he has no proof of legal status to renew it. Has to go to work and needs to continue education once again we force an otherwise good person to break the law. He has also been working for over a year now helping to support his family. Good paying jobs are hard to find for him because good paying jobs do a background check. A background check that will show he has done nothing wrong but being born somewhere other than the US. What kind of people punish others for where they were born. I was in the Air Force and fought for the US and I was fighting for the freedom of all the people in the US Legal or not. Most of the people would be more than happy to become legal citizens but as with everything we have turned it into a complicated and costly process. they also have the fear of being deported if they try. Many people say they only have to go back for six months to a year but many of these people have never been to the country or were very young they have nothing there to go to. They would have to leave everything they worked for here so if they do make it back they have nothing here either. I am sure there are many other problems that I as a white natural born citizen do not see that these people face. When I hear the things that we do to people and hear the problems that my friends are facing I am not too proud to call the US my country. Do yourself a favor get out and know some of the immigrants and look into the eyes of the children that you are condemning to a life of poverty and struggle. Think about these thing each and every time you vote on any bill that that affects another human beings life. Immigrants are going to be here it is up to us if we are going to help them and make the a productive part of our society or are we going to turn our backs on them and make life so hard that they have no choice but to turn to crime? By enforcing the laws that are currently in place we are making our crime rate go up….We are making our economy go down. We are taking away the basic rights that every human being should have. And we are missing out on many productive citizens that we need and should be trying to help. We try to blame everything on the immigrants themselves but WE are to blame. Like any rational people they are just trying to better themselves and to help their families to have a better life by coming to the land of opportunity. What are we going to show them that it is only the land of opportunity if you were born here or are we going to have mercy on people who are doing no different than our own ancestors did many years ago. I hope you will take this all into consideration. If nothing else comes from this I hope that we can at least help the ones who have been here five years or more and have become good law abiding citizens of the US in every way but on paper. Please feels free to contact me with any response or questions. tmaready@yahoo.com