Posted on 11/10/2010 3:01:37 PM PST by jazusamo
(CNSNews.com) – The city council of Iowa City, Iowa, is considering whether to turn the municipality into a “sanctuary city” for illegal aliens, but the state's new governor-elect not only opposes the bid, he would like to see Iowa adopt a tough Arizona-style immigration statute.
In an interview with CNSNews.com, Tim Albrect, spokesman for Iowa Governor-elect Terry Branstad, said that the incoming governor opposes turning any Iowa city into a sanctuary for illegal immigrants and wants tougher laws against illegal immigration put on the books.
“The governor-elect does support an Iowa-specific law similar to the one that passed in Arizona,” Albrect said. “Additionally he would not support any effort to weaken our immigration laws.”
In Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa, a group known as the “Sanctuary City Committee” is leading a push to become a “sanctuary” for illegal aliens – a city where law enforcement officials are ordered to ignore the immigration status of those involved in police matters.
The group, which is led by Rev. Rudolph Juarez, pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church, says that making Iowa City a sanctuary city will encourage undocumented immigrants to come forward if they are a victim of a crime or have information regarding criminal activity.
Juarez also says he wants to ensure that immigration law is enfored at the federal level and not the local level.
"We certainly are not advocating the breaking of any laws," Juarez told the Associated Press. "We're not advocating for an open invitation to criminals. We're talking about purely civil and human rights."
Iowa City Mayor Matt Hayek and other members of the city council have not yet taken a position on the issue.
An overwhelming number of Iowans, meanwhile, appear to support Brandstad’s position.
According to a recent poll by The Des Moines Register, 66 percent of Iowans favor passing an immigration law like the one enacted this year in Arizona which allows law enforcement to inquire about an individual’s citizenship status if they are suspected of engaging in some other type of illegal activity.
Bob Dane, spokesman for the group Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), says that the supposed benefits of sanctuary city policies don’t come anywhere close to outweighing the numerous problems caused by illegal immigration.
“They’re making the argument that sanctuary makes the immigrants comfortable reporting crimes,” Dane said in an interview with CNSNews.com. “Well, the cost to the community in terms of education, health care, crime and quality of life are far greater than any benefit that comes from an illegal immigrant sharing information with the police.”
Dane added: “You ask any police officer, not an elected police chief who’s beholden to the special interests, they will tell you (that) they would rather have the authority to inquire and act on immigration status than make bargains with lawbreakers just to get information.”
While there are currently 31 self-described “sanctuary cities” in the United States, Dane said the public is beginning to turn against the concept of laws that allow illegal immigrants to hide their status.
“It’s astonishing. You have most of the country moving from a sanctuary mentality to a fix-it mentality,” Dane said. “But you’ve got pockets of resistance by politicians who bend to extreme political correctness and they put the policies in place and just create a huge magnet at a time when there are limited resources for legal residences. It’s basically ‘come one, come all.’”
Ironically, the Obama administration, which filed suit earlier this year against Arizona for allowing police to check the immigration status of suspected criminals, has indicated that it would not take action against localities that violate federal laws by giving sanctuary status to illegal aliens.
One week after the Justice Department filed suit against the Arizona law, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Eric Holder drew a distinction between the Arizona law and sanctuary cities, saying it was appropriate to take action against Arizona, but inappropriate for the Justice Department to prosecute cities that do not uphold federal immigration laws.
“There is a big difference between a state or locality saying they are not going to use their resources to enforce a federal law, as so-called sanctuary cities have done, and a state passing its own immigration policy that actively interferes with federal law," Justice Department Tracy Schmaler, told the Washington Times newspaper. "That's what Arizona did in this case."
...sanctuary cities should get no Federal money....not one cent!
The Catholic Church is getting into the act to anger American Catholics with their pro-illegal policies.
Freakin' amazing.
I couldn't agree more!
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
If Iowa city council even considers something this demented, then there is something seriously wrong with that town. Russian Mafia, MS-13, the drug cartels, Somalian terrorists, and others no doubt are cheering it on.
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