Posted on 11/19/2001 12:22:00 PM PST by callisto
New York City Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg said Monday that he would make permanent his predecessor Rudy Giuliani's temporary waiver of U.S. immigration laws for the families of Domincans who were killed last week on American Airlines Flight 587 -- saying he would extend the waiver to all undocumented aliens in the city.
"Whether they're Dominicans or not, those people who are undocumented do not have to worry about city government going to the federal government," Bloomberg told WABC Radio's John Gambling.
"We will provide the services, whether they are health care services or education for their children or anything else we can do irregardless of the federal government rightly trying to make sense out of our immigration policy."
"That statement you just made, will that apply for the forseeable future?" asked the incredulous host.
"Absolutely," said the newly minted Republican, without missing a beat. "My job as mayor is to make sure we deliever the city services. It is the federal government's job to make sure we get control of our borders and have an appropriate immigration policy."
Asked if his refusal to enforce U.S. immigration laws would make the feds' job even tougher, Bloomberg said, "I think the federal government just has to have a set of fair and enforced laws but my job is to be a city official and to provide the services.... We just have to step back and say, there's two levels here. They can go in parallel."
Last week Mayor Giuliani said the city wouldn't seek to deport any Dominicans who were discovered to be in the U.S. illegally as a result of the 587 air disaster, which killed 260 people.
The plane carried mostly Dominicans and Domincan-Americans who were traveling back to the Dominian Republic to visit family and friends. Many have expressed concern that if they traveled home for funerals and memorial services, they would not be allowed to re-enter the U.S.
"We will provide the services, whether they are health care services or education for their children or anything else we can do irregardless of the federal government rightly trying to make sense out of our immigration policy."So does that sound like he already knows that it's wrong in light of current immigration problems?
I've read enough already. Bloomberg, irregardless is NOT a word. That drives me nuts, for some reason.
Surely this is still better than Green.
Surely this is still better than Green.
Surely this is still better than Green.
God help us.
Troops returning from Gettysburg put down the rioting and put the city under martial law.
But if we catch you US citizens with so much as a pair of tweezer when you try to get on a plane, we will put you so far under the jail that you will never see daylight again.
AAAHHHHH, you have to love the socialist smell in the air.
I've read enough already. Bloomberg, irregardless is NOT a word. That drives me nuts, for some reason.
It drives me nuts too. It is particularly irritating when the person doing the speaking is supposed to be educated enough to run the city of New York. Besides, enough commentary has been given publicly regarding the use of the term "irregardless", that anyone who continues to use it sounds like an idiot. The rest of what he said only confirms that.
One problem many of us have is that we think that EVERYONE else has the same views as we do, it's just that they don't know it and are ignorant of politics.
It seems to me that he has a valid Constitutional point here. I don't see why it is the responsibility of the City of New York to post police officers on the California-Mexico border. There is a leader who should be protecting us from illegal immigration, and his name is George W. Bush.
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