Omar
--
I wonder sometimes if the Republican presidential candidates realize
there's a cost to what they say.
Even more than usual, they've been
falling all over themselves lately to get Tea Party support by scapegoating
immigrants.
If he wins the nomination, Mitt Romney will have managed to
position himself farther to the right on immigration than any presidential
nominee in recent memory by saying he'd make all undocumented immigrants in the
United States leave.
On Tuesday, Rick Perry was proud to announce the
endorsement of Arizona anti-immigration crusader Sheriff Joe Arpaio, saying that
if he becomes president he'll "detain and deport every illegal alien who is
apprehended." And a day before, Newt Gingrich came out in favor of a new South
Carolina law that allows police to demand the immigration status of anyone they
pull over.
With the Iowa caucuses less than a month away, the GOP
candidates are desperate for their party's right-wing support -- and it's
becoming clearer every day that they're willing to demonize millions of people
to get it.
Had enough?
Join me in sending a message to the GOP that their words have a price for the immigrant community and the rest of the nation, and we're not going to stand by and let them divide us.
Among the more than 11 million
undocumented immigrants the GOP candidates are quick to cast off, there are
grandparents, mothers, and fathers who have been here for decades and who have
contributed to our communities, paid taxes, and even put their lives on the line
to defend our country in the armed forces.
"Rounding up" and deporting
them all without any consideration for who they are or how they've become a part
of our country would undo threads that tie our communities
together.
That's not the America you and I believe in. We believe that
instead of dividing or excluding folks, we're strongest when we're in it
together.
That's why President Obama wants comprehensive immigration reform that will help us abide by our laws while respecting our heritage as a nation of immigrants.
He supports the DREAM Act so that children of
immigrants won't be punished for the actions of their parents, and he's directed
the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize the deportation of criminals,
rather than DREAMers and family members of veterans or active duty
members.
There's going to be a clear choice in this election, and it's up
to us to let the GOP know that we won't stand by as they attack our communities
in their desperate race for Tea Party votes.
Fight back against the GOP candidates using Hispanic families to try to score political points: http://my.barackobama.com/Stop-Scapegoating-Immigrants Thanks, Adrian Adrian Saenz National Latino Vote Director |
It is full of half-truths, however he is right about some of the things the GOP is saying. Nevertheless, what he neglects to mention in his praise of Obama is the fact that Obama should be recognized as the Deporter-In-Chief in addition to Where-Have-All-The-Jobs-Gone-Chief. The Obama Administration has deported more than 1 million immigrants during his term -- more than any other POTUS during the same amount of time.And the height of the hypocrisy is in his closing sentence of "Fight back against the GOP candidates using Hispanic families to try to score political points." Obama is the one trying to score political points by hoping Hispanic families do not realize that his actions are much louder than his rhetoric.
The GOP is not off the hook either. Except for Gingrich, Johnson and Huntsman; the remaining Presidential candidates have been pandering to the extreme wing of the GOP. Rick Perry while governor of Texas was pro-immigrant, but has done an about face for some reason and is now talking about the unrealistic deportation of the approximate 11 million illegal immigrants. Seeking and accepting the endorsement of Sheriff Joe Arpaio is alienating Perry and the GOP further from Latino immigrants. There is a fringe element of the GOP that appreciates the tough talk on illegal immigrants. These are the same folks who believe our government is spending too much money and believe in domestic security. I too believe in these things, however I do not think illegal immigrants are the cause of runaway spending. As for national security, I believe in secure borders but not just to our south with Mexico, but to our north as well with Canada. I know the drug cartels from Mexico get all the headlines, but terrorists can easily slip into our country from the north and through our ports as well.
I belong to an organization Cafe Con Leche Republicans who has sensible solutions to the illegal immigrant problem that most people if they researched and truly understood the issue from an unbiased perspective would agree there are solutions that are fair and equitable. Check us out at http://cafeconlecherepublicans.com/
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