Posted on 07/03/2011 1:10:01 PM PDT by Borough Park
Former senator says Vargas should stay in U.S.
Former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) said Sunday that Jose Antonio Vargas, the former Washington Post reporter who came out last month as an illegal immigrant, should be allowed to "become an American."
"It's a difficult problem, and what we need to do is find a way in which Jose can continue to contribute to this country," Martinez said on ABC's "This Week."
"He wants to be an American," Martinez continued. "This is a great thing. This is the Fourth of July. We need to talk about the fact that this is a country people still yearn to come to. People love this country and when they come here, they get invested in America. They want to become Americans.
"Allow this man to become an American," he said.
Martinez, a Cuban immigrant, spent his time in the Senate pushing for a comprehensive immigration reform bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for the country's 11 million undocumented immigrants. But he said Sunday that Congress could move forward on a piecemeal basis, starting first with fixing the visa system for high-skilled workers.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
I remember when freepers were gloating that “true conservative” Mel Martinez beat “RINO” Bill McCollum in the GOP primary.
Spit
RINO’s are not on our side, they only pretend to be to get elected.
Blood is thicker than water. In addition, a journalist is a valuable asset for those presently conquering America.
Vargas couldn’t have been contributing much, working where he was. Let him go home, and work at coming back here legally.
Martinez is a disappointment. All that makes this nation great, from its beginning till now, is at risk from Democrats, and that includes the vast majority of illegals.
This is a response I got from Mel about 0bama’s citizenship.
date Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 10:46 AM
subject Response to your recent comments
mailed-by martinez.senate.gov
Dear Mr. ......:
Thank you for contacting me regarding President-Elect Obama’s citizenship. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns.
Like you, I believe that our federal government has the responsibility to make certain that the Constitution of the United States is not compromised. We must fight to uphold our Constitution through our courts and political processes.
Article II of the Constitution provides that “no Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.” The Constitution, however, does not specify how that qualification for office is to be enforced. As you may know, a voter recently raised this issue before a federal court in Pennsylvania. On October 24, 2008, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania released an order in the case of Berg v.Obama.In that case, the plaintiff, Phillip Berg, raised the same issue that your letter raises regarding proof of the President-Elect’s birthplace. Through his lawsuit, Mr. Berg sought to compel President-Elect Obama to produce a certified copy of his birth certificate.
The District Court dismissed Mr. Berg’s suit and held that the question of Obama’s citizenship is not a matter for a court to decide. The court further noted that voters, not courts, should decide whether a particular presidential candidate is qualified to hold office.
Presidential candidates are vetted by voters at least twice - first in the primary elections and again in the general election. President-Elect Obama won the Democratic Party’s nomination after one of the most fiercely contested presidential primaries in American history. And, he has now been duly elected by the majority of voters in the United States. Throughout both the primary and general election, concerns about Mr. Obama’s birthplace were raised. The voters have made clear their view that Mr. Obama meets the qualifications to hold the office of President.
After he is sworn into office, Mr. Obama will be our nation’s President and I intend to bestow upon him the honor and respect due any man who holds that Office. Yet, I am certain that there will be times when I will disagree and oppose President Obama’s policies. When that happens, you can be assured that I will pursue vigorously what I believe to be in the best interest of Florida and the nation.
I thank you for sharing your views with me and will keep your concerns in mind. If you have additional questions or comments, please contact me. For more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Mel Martinez
United States Senator
This is one of the reasons he is a “former” senator from this state.
Here's the problem. First of all respect and honor are EARNED! Not bestowed upon someone who just so happens to win an election!
FUBO! and FEMM!
IN the first place MEL, it is INDEPENDENCE DAY, and NOT the
“Fourth of July” .. The 4th of July is a date on which in the US we celebrate the anniversary of the Declaration of our Independence from Great Britain.
So, Mel Martinez came to the US as a special case Cuban, “Peter Pan” flight child. He did not have the experience of Castro as an adult nor would he have full understanding of “illegal” status, inasmuch as Cubans, under special laws have special immigrant status. Depending on if they are “feet wet” or “feet dry” determines their status. In his case he was dry— organized flight dry. He did become a naturalized citizen. Anything less in the understanding or allowing bending of the rules and we will quickly become Balkanized (some would say we already are).
“It’s the 4th of July and if we can’t get amnesty or the NIGHTMARE Act, then let’s just make an exception to the laws in every case and blah blah blah blah ...”
However, if you have been filling out the paperwork, jumping all the legal hurdles and waiting, patiently or not—but don’t have your own news column or know any congresscritters—that’s just twodambad.
“Vargas couldn’t have been contributing much, working where he was. Let him go home, and work at coming back here legally.”
NOPE!
Time to put some actual teeth in the immigration laws!
ANYONE caught here illegally should not only be deported, they should lose ANY and ALL chance of EVER being allowed back into our country for any reason, and permanently barred from applying for citizenship.
They’ve already proven their disregard for our laws, we have plenty of home grown criminals to deal with.
I’d say it’s fair to let him stay ... if Martinez goes instead.
Isn’t this the same lefty punk who was able to enter the white house with false ID?
Isn’t false ID still a crime?
Didn’t he have to lie on Fed. forms, and to Fed. agents, to enter the white house?
Didn’t Martha Stewart go to prison for lying to Fed. agents?
What crimes am I immune to prosecution for as an American citizen?
Fine him for every dime he has, then deport him.
“Time to put some actual teeth in the immigration laws!
ANYONE caught here illegally should not only be deported, they should lose ANY and ALL chance of EVER being allowed back into our country for any reason, and permanently barred from applying for citizenship.”
I’m fine with that too. Back when Bush reignited the illegal immigration dispute amongst Republicans, I countered with a plan that suggested exactly what you are saying here.
Ugh. W’s pick for HUD and the GOP chairmanship, whom he enthusiastically supported for the Senate.
It still escapes too many Freepers that had Bush had his way he would have killed off the GOP via new voters from a new amnesty.
And IMO that would have killed the country.
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