The Senate Armed Services Committee held a field hearing on Immigrant contributions to the Military today.
Marine General, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and son of an Italian Immigrant father Peter Pace testified, "My dad came here, sometimes worked three jobs, but the jobs were there for him and the opportunities were there for him." He added, "There is no other country on the planet that affords that opportunity to those who come."
The five senators who attended the hearing said the enforcement-only House bill passed in December would dishonor the immigrants who served in the armed forces because it would render as criminals some of their relatives -- parents or spouses -- who may be undocumented immigrants.
In other news, the Wall Street Journal published, not one, but two pieces in support of comprehensive immigration reform. Take an extra look at the signatories on that second piece, and you'll realize how ridiculous the House Know-Nothings sound when they try to demonize the predominantly Republican drafted and sponsored Senate Bill in favor of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (S 2611) by referring to it as the Reid-Kennedy Bill. The truth is that Comprehensive immigration reform is favored by the majority of Republican voters.
In all, when the Senate and House versions of the immigration legislation were fairly explained to voters -- in some detail -- Republicans backed the Senate version 75-17 but only broke even on the House bill, 47-46. Asked if the Senate bill constitutes "amnesty," the dirty word in the immigration debate, 39 percent said yes but 49 percent said no.
The fact is that Republican voters are far ahead of their Neanderthal leaders on the immigration debate. They recognize that, as The New York Times reported, three-quarters of illegal immigrants work for major corporations and have income taxes withheld from their paychecks like other American workers. What is more, this three-quarters contribute to Social Security even though they have no prospect of ever receiving benefits.
7 comments:
Pretty rich for a neutral nation to produce so many warmongers.
Besides, a handful of heroic stories pales in in comparison to millions of lawbreaking illegals.
I think the posting contains a lot of boloney. Who are you calling Neanderthals and Know-Nothings?
I think Pace's father was an immigrant and not an illegal alien. There is an important distinction there that you are ignoring.
"The five senators who attended the hearing said the enforcement-only House bill passed in December would dishonor the immigrants who served in the armed forces because it would render as criminals some of their relatives -- parents or spouses -- who may be undocumented immigrants."
This is the stupidest statement I ever heard. I want to know the names of these trai/sena/tors.
Umm, yes. A trifling handful. For every immigrant 'Horatio Alger tale' there are 100s of thousands of under-skilled and under-educated stories; not worthy of mention and in all likelihood conveniently ignored.
And what purpose is served to exhume meritorious deeds of others? Is it a measure of the current crop of lawbreakers? The glorious (?) memories of others gone before are besmirched by the linkage.
As to the self-congratulatory nature of this blog, the shameless cheerleading is accepted as a substitute for meaningful debate. Dissenting opinion is met with mockery and insult.
Read the full hearing testimony and you might gain a perspective on (1) who was actually there and (2) what the facts are.
Stretch limo:
Please read the full article link and you'll see that most republican voters support comprehensive imigration reform.
The reference to "Neanderthal leadership in the House" is strong language used by the author of the linked article. It refers to the what the author sees as the backward approach taken by House leaders on the issue of immigration reform.
"Know-Nothings" refers to the 19th Century anti-immigrant stance of the House leadership and their refusal to enter into a conference committee on the House and Senate bills. Of particular interest to readers is the similarity this stance has with the anti-Irish Know-Nothing and nativist movement of 150 years ago.
The Senate bill (S2611) provides for border security, tighter enforcement of immigration laws AND proposes a workable solution for dealing with the 12 million (50,000 Irish) undocumented people that have been living in the United States for years.
The House Bill (HR 4437) focuses only on enforcement and does nothing to solve the problem of the millions of decent undocumented people that are already here.
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