They keep coming. We just stopped them at the ballot box, but they keep coming. We have stopped them in the courts, but they keep coming. We have stopped them in our communities, but they keep coming. They are the anti-immigrants. Their latest act: the Son of SB 1070 -- a ballot measure for February 2012 to bring Arizona's divisive anti-immigrants law to California. They keep coming and they must be stopped.
No sooner had Senator Barbara Boxer and Governor Jerry Brown led a statewide sweep for Democrats than tea party Republicans took out papers to attempt by proposition what they failed by candidate. What lies ahead is a costly, multimillion dollar ballot fight designed by anti-immigrants to divide families, communities, and coalitions.
Californians will reject Son of SB 1070 because we know it is necessary to work together to secure our borders, keep families together, protect our workers, and grow our economy. We know that it is time to end "don't ask, don't tell" in immigration by providing a path to legalization for millions living in the shadows, and that is why we elected federal legislators to work on a national solution. 85 percent of Democrats, 68 percent of Republicans and 74 percent of voters registered as "Decline-to-state" overwhelmingly support the DREAM Act for immigrant children and just rejected extremist candidates who don't. Communities of color -- Asian Americans, African Americans, and Latinos -- voted overwhelmingly for candidates who support immigrants and will defeat Son of SB 1070.
The anti-immigrants know they can't win through candidates, which is why they are circulating the initiative. They know California voters reject scapegoating so in Orwellian fashion they named themselves -- wait for it -- 'Support Immigration' to induce you, supermarket shopper, into signing Son of SB 1070. Don't buy what they're peddling. The anti-immigrants say they are merely enforcing federal laws like E-verify. Well they don't need to change California law in order to implement federal law. They say they are not anti-immigrant, just anti-illegal immigrant -- but tell that to the families they are ripping apart. Tell that to Meg Whitman's former housekeeper, who was kicked to the curb when she asked for help in attaining legal status. Tell that to the farm workers who form the backbone of California's agricultural economy. Tell that to the DREAM Act kids who came here as babies and are working hard, playing by the rules, and striving for a better life and a chance to contribute to society. Tell that to the millions of Latino voters who were urged by the GOP "don't vote" -- a move that backfired so completely that Democrats across the West stopped the red tide at the Rockies, and California Republicans risk losing immigrant voters for generations.
They say they have won before -- but we are a different state demographically and politically now than we were when when Pete Wilson brought Prop 187 to the ballot box with his version of "they keep coming" as evidenced by the decisive voter rejection of his candidate Meg Whitman.
So if you're a California voter reading this, and you see a petition gatherer from "Support Immigration" kindly let them know that you do support immigration which is why you'll decline to sign Son of SB 1070. Tell the anti-immigrants you know they are trying to drive a wedge among Californians, and that you refuse to be divided by race. Tell them you just rejected extremist tea party Republicanism in November, and see no need to undermine your vote. Tell them you understand that what Arizona passed out of policy frustration, California must not pass as political retribution. And when the anti-immigrants qualify for the ballot, join the vast majority of Californians who support fair and humane approaches to immigration in defeating Son of SB 1070.
Follow Christine Pelosi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sfpelosi
Despite all that hate going around, Hispanics are taking an increasingly more active role in the political process (e.g., http://www.hispanosunidos.us ). Their results are now shaping the political process in big ways (if in doubt, ask Meg Whitman).
We need to HEAVILY fine those who hire ILLEGALS so that the jobs for them would dry up and they would self-deport.
The CA version of SB1070 will take care of that.
We need to purge our state of the MILLIONS of ILLEGAL ALIENS who are sucking our systems dry. We need to provide for our own CITIZENS and LEGAL immigrants. ILLEGAL ALIENS need to go back to their own countries. Christine why don't you go with them and make those countries take care of their own so that they don't come over here ILLEGALLY?
California has a 12.4% unemployment rate of legal American Citizens ~ and is harboring 2.2 million illegal scabs taking California citizens' jobs
Hopefully, the CA version of SB1070, will also contain one of the same provisions as AZ SB 1070 as amended by HB 2162, that was upheld by the Courts ~
Being the abolishment of all Sanctuary Status by municipalities & counties
The U.S. has nearly 10% unemployment rate of American Citizens = 16 million Americans out of work, facing nearly 6 million home foreclosures ~
All the while, there are over 11 million illegal scabs working in the U.S.. taking Americans' jobs
Immigrants are always scapegoated in times of crisis, documented or undocumented.
The immigration system is broken and outdated, but Arizona's law is unabashed discrimination, the chiefs of police were against it as it puts them in an awkward position.
We can't have every state or group taking immigration into their own hands, the high unemployment rate is largely from millions of jobs being shipped overseas, not immigrants coming in and stealing them from the hardworking white Americans.
Oh, that's right we didn't - that is just your excuse for the ILLEGAL ALIENS that are invading our country.
BTW I am a CA native and I can pronounce all the names of the cities and states of this country.
Get a new mantra - this one isn't working.
And before any one gets upset, that is GOP and DEM governments, it is both sides.
Maybe if our laws on immigration were enforced for a while, we would not like them and want them changed. But what we know we don’t like is being played for fools by our own government.
We were told in 1986 under the Simpson-Mazzoli Act,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Reform_and_Control_Act_of_1986
that if we just legalized the illegals, then no more would come, how did that work out?
We were told in 1986 that if we would agree to grant amnesty, then the federal government would enforce our immigration laws and all future immigration would be legal, and all these years latter they still refuse to do it. We legalized 4 million and 15 million more came!
The DEMs say “if we just knew who was employing these workers we would fine themâ€
The GOPs say “if we just knew where the illegals were we would deport themâ€.
Both DEM and GOP Governments knew we had 15 million illegal workers in this country, they KNOW where almost each and every one is employed, they KNOW who is employing almost every one and their employers MAILING ADDRESS. They play us for complete fools! And we are tired of it!
You don’t believe that?
Read our own government website:
http://www.ssa.gov/employer/noMatchNotices.htm
The first step to getting Americans employed is to fully implement E-Verify and make it mandatory nationwide. That would create between 6 and 15 MILLION jobs for Americans tomorrow. The last stimulus package cost 800 Billion and “saved or created†2 million jobs. Fully implementing E-Verify would only cost a few million and create at least 6 million jobs for Americans. It is already in place and working, making it mandatory would cost very little and create millions of jobs for Americans who would spend the money here and not send it out of the country.
E-Verify is an Internet-based system operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration.
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Verify
It's not a question of race but rather one of security. It's hard for you folks to comprehend, but it's true.
They HAVE a legal option.
They can go home and apply at our embassy, IN THEIR OWN country, just like the million immigrants who get citizenship here every year did.
We let in more people every year that any other country on earth, all we ask is that they respect our country and it’s laws.
What is “unfair†or “racist†about that?
If they refuse to follow our laws, let them stay home in their own country or apply for citizenship in a country whose laws they will follow.
Very frustrating.
I think you are correct!
Vast majorities of American support Arizona’s law including HALF OF ALL DEMOCRATES!
“Sixty-one percent of Americans — and 64 percent of registered voters — said they favored the law in a survey of 1,016 adults conducted May 6-9.â€
“Strikingly, nearly half of Democrats like the law, under which local law enforcement officers are tasked with verifying people's immigration status if they suspect them of being in the country illegally. While the Democratic Party generally is regarded as more sympathetic to illegal immigrants' plights, 46 percent of Democrats said they favored the law for Arizona and 49 percent said they'd favor the law's passage in their own states.â€
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700031919/National-poll-on-Arizona-immigration-law-echoes-Utahs-results.html
MSNBC (not rightwing) and Chris Mathews (not rightwing) reported that 60% of Americans approve of this law or want it stronger.
Here is the poll he was quoting:
CBS News/New York Times (not rightwing) poll on AZ new Immigration Law:
It goes “to far†- 34%
It is “about right†- 51%
Should be stronger - 9%
Don’t know – 4%
Here is the link:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20004030-503544.html
Sorry Tea par-tiers, but California is moving in another direction.
But what you don't seem to realize is HALF of all DEMs nationwide support laws like this.
Maybe the DEMs in CA are different than DEMs nationwide, we will see.
“Strikingly, nearly half of Democrats like the law, under which local law enforcement officers are tasked with verifying people's immigration status if they suspect them of being in the country illegally. While the Democratic Party generally is regarded as more sympathetic to illegal immigrants' plights, 46 percent of Democrats said they favored the law for Arizona and 49 percent said they'd favor the law's passage in their own states.â€
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700031919/National-poll-on-Arizona-immigration-law-echoes-Utahs-results.html
"dog whistle to call the racists" that is a sad statement to make.
You statement implies Half of all DEMs and 60% of all Americans are "racists".
I think even you know that is false. Illegal is not a race.
CBS News/New York Times (not rightwing) poll on AZ new Immigration Law:
It goes “to far†- 34%
It is “about right†- 51%
Should be stronger - 9%
Don’t know – 4%
Here is the link:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20004030-503544.html
The fact is that we already have a comprehensive immigration system, and it does not need any major reform. It works pretty well other than when millions of people try to sneak across our borders because, for example, nafta eradicated all their farms and left them with nothing. In other words, we've been through strange times but that's no reason to throw out all the laws. What we should do is enforce the borders and come up with an amnesty procedure for the long-term illegal residents.
What the Chamber of Commerce wants is to have the laws changed to say that any business can import as many foreign workers as they want at any time. That's their goal. If they create the perception of a crisis, they will have an easier time slipping this through Congress.
By the way: I think we should halt any foreign worker program until our own unemployment is down to 3%. And businesses should have no involvement whatsoever in our immigration system.
****** Been there, done that. It didn't work. No amnesty and start enforcing the laws on the books. There are parts of our society with long term unemployment. These people need jobs. If the time comes that we need more people we can increase legal immigration.
Sure I do BUT that is my point. Very few things are black and white. Like the conservative 'welfare mom', extreme examples serve to polarize. We need to find solutions. You may not like the answer nor will I but we are moving. Instead, reactionary conservatives stop change and aggravate problems, immigration is a classic example, no solution means things get worse and you support it.
Nobody is above the laws, and please don't portrait youself like an apostol of truth and rights.
There is no assimilation and therefore you have these pockets in communities that can't function outside of the pockets. It is fracturing cities.
Being against illegal immigration is not tantamount to demonizing the people who are just trying to provide a better life for themselves. But at whose expense?
I do however think we should consider something for the children of parents who came here illegally with very strict provisions such as a grandfather clause to discourage further illegal immigrants.
The DREAM act at least lets us deal realistically with one aspect of the problem. Lets get these kids who were brought here and who have worked hard academically, or are willing to serve this country in the military, let's give them a path out of the shadows.
Take the reasons for being here and they will make the decision to return Just the same way they made the decision to come
Economics
And if the left would ever figure out that there wil be no amnesty and stop telling these people that all you have to do is show up and we will give you a US Passport
Then people illegaly in the country will make the decision to return home
The left needs to take a good look at the state of affairs withe local citizens before it considers giving away 10-15 million new US Passports
BTW illegal is not a race its a crime punishable by deportation or jail time so lets get on with it