Posted on 12/04/2004 1:33:37 PM PST by nj26
John M. Morganelli has gone global with his fight against illegal immigrants, drawing criticism from immigrant advocates.
Northampton County's outspoken district attorney recently formed an Internet political action committee, with which he hopes to support like-minded candidates for political office.
The Web address for Us Securing America PAC is http://www.usapac.us . Morganelli said he registered the site a few weeks ago.
''Hopefully, if it catches on, we'll be able to support candidates'' who are concerned about the growing number of illegal immigrants in the country, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcall.com ...
Hopefully, we will see more grass-roots efforts to fund candidates that support secure borders.
Is immigration that big of an issue in PA? I mean like on a scale with CA and AZ?
No, illegal immigration has not had the impact on Pennsylvania yet that it has had in Calif. etc. Perhaps he believes in "pre-emptive action" like our president.
You can find all the state statistics here:
******
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1287036/posts?page=18
Economy Slowed, But Immigration Didn't - The Foreign-Born Population, 2000-2004
bump
CNN is reporting on Reliable Sources that Sen. Kip Bond (R) states (regarding the Intelligence Bill) that congress needs to wait on this bill to work out the problems. Kate O'bern (sp) and Robert Novak actually seem to get it as well that the illegal migration issue needs to be in an intelligence bill.
But they don't think they should be prosecuted for doing wrong against us. They think it is okay to break the law here. After all, we're just dumb Americans.
"They feel they are going to be penalized when they are undocumented.'"
Well, DUH!!! Here's a clue, dumb@ss; they SHOULD be!
"Culleton, of Washington D.C., said immigrant families frequently are composed of documented and undocumented members, and that can cause problems with law enforcement."
That's code for "illegals with anchor babies."
"Morganelli's office has led raids on two county pallet manufacture and repair businesses and arrested several dozen illegal immigrants for identity theft or tampering with public records."
What a racist. < /sarcasm >
I live near the "Onion Growing" area of Orange County NY.
Often an illegal or twenty shows up at the onion farms looking for work.
When not working, they cause trouble.
Stats are not available because documenting it may 'cause tension.'
But the last time they actually gave an attempt to enforce immigration law, they bagged thirty two illegals at one local farm.
Gotham Gazette - http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/immigrants/20030603/11/410
Trying To Protect Undocumented Immigrants
by Larry Tung
June 06, 2003
When Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently issued an executive order that permitted city employees to report undocumented immigrants to law enforcement authorities, he was reversing a long-standing ban on such a practice by his three predecessors as mayor, Ed Koch, David Dinkins, and Rudy Giuliani. The ban on disclosure had been intended to encourage undocumented immigrants to make use of such city services as health care, social services, and police and fire protection without fear of being detained or deported.
It would be easy to conclude from his lifting of the ban that the nationwide and federal fear of immigrants has made its way to New York. But earlier last month, on his weekly radio show, Bloomberg expressed the view that all undocumented immigrants should be made American citizens.
His lifting of the ban was to put him in compliance with a court order. But his view on legalizing the undocumented is more in keeping with the local attitude, one that has resulted in a push for protection of immigrants in several areas.
Access Without Fear
While the mayor reversed the ban on disclosure of immigration status, more than 30 members of the New York City Council sponsored an "Access Without Fear" bill (Intro 326) that would turn such a ban into law.
Many believe that the need for such a law is greater in the post-9/11 New York as incidents of detention and deportation, as well as "special registration" of males from Muslim countries, have concerned tens of thousands of New York residents and have greatly intensified the climate of fear in the Muslim and South Asian communities.
"Effective law enforcement and public health protection are impossible without the cooperation of New York's immigrant communities," said Margie McHugh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition in a public hearing at the City Council on May 5. "But in order to have cooperation, the city must first establish trust with those communities."
Language Assistance in Hospitals
According to the 2000 Census, over 1.1 million New York State residents do not speak English well or at all, and nearly half of New York City residents speak a language other than English at home. Among them, many are undocumented immigrants who receive health care services.
In an attempt to better serve hospital visitors with limited English proficiency, more than 20 members of the New York State Legislature proposed a bill to require hospitals to provide language assistance services to patients who need them. The bill would also require that frequently used forms essential to a patient's care and treatment be available in all of the primary languages spoken by a hospital's patient population.
"Ensuring appropriate language access will reduce the number of repeat visits, emergency room visits, misdiagnosis, and uncollectible debts at hospitals," the New York Immigration Coalition has argued.
Dream Act
To many illegal immigrants and their children, the best way to realize the American dream is through education. However, many of the 50,000 or so undocumented immigrants who graduate from high school in the United States every year face a common dilemma: They cannot apply for college without a green card, or they simply cannot afford the tuition.
Public officials and immigrant advocates are pushing for a law to help those students.
"Children don't make decisions about how they come to this country," Rep. Robert Mendendez, D-Union City, New Jersey, told the Bergen County Record. "When good students who want to continue their education and contribute to this country are prevented from reaching their full potential?€?we're all deprived."
"The situation for theses students is really, really difficult," Claudia Gomez, an advocate with the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights in Oakland, told the San Jose Mercury News. "They can't legalize their status on their own because there's no mechanism for it."
A bill called the DREAM Act - which stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act - would legalize the status of those students who are under 21 years of age, have earned a high school diploma or equivalent, be of "good moral character", and have lived in the United States for at least five years.
Another proposal, which is called the Student Adjustment Act and is sponsored by many members of the House, offers a similar solution.
The Dream Act died in the Senate last year but is expected to be reintroduced soon.
Meanwhile, New York is one of four states to have passed laws to allow undocumented students to pay resident tuition rates. In the City University of New York, undocumented students who have spent a minimum of two years attending high school in the state
pay the lower in-state tuition.
These laws were not universally welcomed. "Allowing illegal immigrants to study at CUNY was a national security issue and an insult to every citizen and legal immigrant seeking a higher education," said State Senator Frank Padavan, a Republican from Queens.
"This is a slap in the face to everyone who believes in the rule of law," Jim Ludwick, President of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, told the Associated Press. "No matter what you do for these people, it's not enough. The sky is the limit."
But officials at City University itself seem relieved that a law passed a year ago in the New York State Legislature reversed an earlier policy that the educators had said they were forced to implement, hiking tuition for the undocumented in order to comply with federal law.
"I take great pride in CUNY's historic role as a ladder of upward mobility for many generations of immigrants," Chancellor Matthew Goldstein has said. "Our city, state, and nation have greatly benefited as a result."
A native of Taipei, Taiwan, Larry Tung is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer and video artist. He also teaches English as a Second Language in Flushing and has been covering the Chinese community in New York City for The Citizen.
Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coaltion (PICC)
Advocates Call for Immigration Reform to Reunite Families
See Photographs from the Press Conference May 4, 2004
PHILADELPHIA – As part of a nationwide call to action, The Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (PICC) announced its support for federal comprehensive immigration reform at a press conference at 11AM on Tuesday, May 4, 2004 at City Hall.
On May 4,2004, Democratic leadership in Congress introduced a comprehensive bill to provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and reunite immigrant families. PICC believes that this bill recognizes the need for overall reform of current immigration law and sets forth principals that must be included in any bi-partisan legislation that Congress passes.
PICC supports the principals enunciated within this bill and encourages bi-partisan effort designed to fix our nation’s broken immigration system by accomplishing four inter-related objectives. :
1) Reunite families: Reduce the years of family separation caused by a backlogged bureaucracy and unduly restrictive laws;
2) Reward work: Give immigrants who are in the U.S., working hard, paying taxes, and learning English a chance to earn legal residency over time and to get on the path to citizenship;
3) Respect workers: Reduce exploitation and downward wage pressures by creating a worker visa program that protects the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers and provides equal rights to immigrant workers admitted in the future to fill available jobs; and
4) Reduce illegal immigration: Devise fair and reasonable rules that are realistic and enforceable. Replace the current chaotic, deadly, and illegal flow of exploitable workers and desperate family members with an orderly, safe, and legal flow of workers with full labor rights and family members with legal immigrant visas.
Our immigration system is broken. We need bi-partisan comprehensive reform that will reunite families, protect all workers, and provide a path to legal status. The press conference discussed key features of the proposed legislation, and feature presentations by immigrant leaders.
Thank you for the link.
Just 14,999,968 to go. I suspect if this keeps up in Orange County, onion growers will soon find another county to grow in and you will not have to worry about jobs luring those miscreants.
"onion growers will soon find another county to grow in and you will not have to worry about jobs luring those miscreants."
Now where did I say that?
Care to quote me?
"Just 14,999,968 to go."
CARE TO QUOTE ME ON THIS?
You didn't say it, I wrote it. There is no need to quote you...they are my comments. Frankly I don't understand your confusion, but please don't respond to me with...
"Frankly I don't understand your confusion" CARE TO QUOTE ME ON THIS?
It just makes you look silly.
No, since it was YOUR quote, it makes YOU look rather pathetic.
Nice to know you like to put words in people's mouths.
Standard procedure for liberals.
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