Although most voters rank immigration as an important issue, it wasn’t one for the presidential candidates yesterday. Many of the problems that the United States faces – in health care, education, and public finance – are made worse by our cheap labor addiction and outsourcing costs to the public sector.
Romney Campaign Clarifies, Says He Won’t Grant New Deferred Action Petitions
“With hours to go before the presidential candidates meet in Denver for their first debate, Mitt Romney has scaled back his acceptance of a program by President Obama to grant reprieves from deportation to hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants,” the New York Times says.
“On Monday, after months of pressure to clarify whether he would end the program if elected, Mr. Romney said in an interview with The Denver Post that he would not cancel two-year deportation deferrals already granted by the Obama administration.”
Judge Halts Anti-Fraud Effort in N.M.
“Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration agreed Wednesday to settle a lawsuit and not revive a plan to cancel the driver’s licenses of immigrants who fail to verify whether they still live in the state. The administration announced the program last year but it was suspended by a state district court in Santa Fe after the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a lawsuit,” TheRepublic.com reports.
Immigration Not an Issue in First Obama-Romney Debate
“Immigration — and Mitt Romney’s evolving position on how to address those who’ve already come into the U.S. illegally — has driven the conversation on the campaign trail this week. But despite the presidential debate being held Wednesday in Colorado — where more than 20 percent of the population is Hispanic — Romney and President Barack Obama focused almost exclusively on the economy, health care and the broader role of the federal government,” the Dallas Morning News says.
“With two more debates scheduled this month, however, the immigration topic is unlikely to disappear as Romney ups his outreach to Hispanic voters in an effort to inoculate some of his more strident immigration rhetoric from the GOP primary.”
Attention California Grocery Shoppers: Mi Pueblo Is Using E-Verify
“Mi Pueblo Foods, a grocery chain catering to the Latino market, is facing a boycott after agreeing to participate in a federal program designed to verify the immigration status of employees. Mike Henneberry, spokesman for United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 5, said the union will launch the boycott Monday in an effort to get the San Jose-based chain to roll back its use of the Internet-based E-Verify program,” the San Jose Mercury News says.
“Mi Pueblo spokeswoman Perla Rodriguez said the action is the latest “stunt” by a union that’s unsuccessfully tried to organize workers for years. She acknowledged the boycott could hurt business. ‘What concerns us is that the union says it cares about our employees, but taking this action could have a negative impact on our employees,’ she said. ‘At the end of the day, it could cost jobs. These are real people with real families who need to put food on the table.'”
Based around Central California, the Mi Pueblo site has a list of locations on their website.
9 Comments
This is unacceptable not to petition “deferred action” what is Romney thinking..I hope he is just saying what illegals want to hear and change his mind. Judicial Watch has brought attention to the amount of illegal aliens using someone elses ID, SS# ect to even have stayed and work here in the U.S for years. Janet Napalitiano stated she does not care, “just use the ID # that you were issued (ITIN”S) the INS and BICE will not even see the other IDS.”
Yes people if you are a terrorist who can obtain an ITIN you can stay and work in the U.S
We should pass the 2008 Federal Immigration Laws in all of the states. No more sanctuaries for illegal aliens, no more bank acounts, no more government handouts to anchor babies and most of all NO MORE IMMIGRATION INTO THE U.S FOR TEN YEARS. I am very dissappointed in Romney already, but I will elect him because anybody is better than B.O. and his administration.
This government will never ever care about the American citizens, and they will never stop illegal immigration and have no intention of doing so ever.
Immigration Not On Debate?
I beg to differ, it was on the debate, they were discussing why the economy is so repressed….both candidates just omitted immigration/overpopulation as the true root cause to our 15% U6 unemployment rate.
Separating the immigration issue from the economy issue is showing complete lack of clarity and common sense.
What aJoke, “the GIANT ELEPHANT” in the room, that affects all of the topics/employment/etc, is off-the-table for debate???LOL???… must be a truce with PBS/Cripts/Bloods ‘debate’??..LOL
I think it’s interesting to note that neither Obama nor any of the Democrats will say what happens to those who do not fit the criteria that Obama has laid out.. Will they be deported, or will they still be here collecting benefits as usual? I hope those who approve this plan realize that illegals (yes, the chldren of illegals are also illegal) allowed the visas will certainly demand citizenship when the time is up and it will be granted. Then, the chain migration kicks in and every 10th cousin will arrive. We can have no better title than “the land of the free….” for illegals.
About these deferred action petitions, the Romney campaign was right to clarify that they won’t grant new ones. However, I never took Romney’s initial comments in Denver as a cave-in position. Even though I’m thoroughly committed to true, patriotic immigration reform, if I were in Romney’s shoes I would also honor Obama’s 2-year visa for the children of illegal aliens. Not that I think it’s good policy, but because I believe the U.S. government shouldn’t be granting, then pulling back, a deal like this made to kids. That kind of flip-flopping in government is exactly the kind of thing that leads to uncertainty, and play that out over time as administrations change, and it could make our country less stable. Romney should honor Obama’s visas, then not renew them.
Hi Concerned Citizen
I know you still feel there’s more immigration law enforcement on the Republican Party end with Romney.
The Republicans have been immersed in long litigation “dog fights” over AZ’z SB 1070 and other issues, which are really just immigration laws already on the books. E-verify is too, to defy it in one’s company, is the same as saying “identity fraud” is fine, if no one investigates it, just sweep it under the rug and maybe we’ll do something about it in 2 years, i.e., the Republican E-verify Bill that never was passed earlier this year.
IMO, the real “uncertainty” in government is “by-passing” immigration laws on the books, and/or wastefully spending huge amouts of taxpayer legal fees to enforce laws already on the books; the Republican method. IMO, the Democrats are no better either, they’re Republicans for cheap labor overpopulation and ignoring/delaying enforcement of immigration laws already on the books too.
Hi softwareingineer,
I’m well-aware of your frustration with both parties, and in many ways I have agreed with you all along. However, I also think you’re misreading the situation. The national mood toward immigration has changed from decades past and the Federal government is getting gradually more restrictive in step with changing realities.
Romney has not come out with the red meat speech on immigration that many patriotic immigration reformers want. Some have naively said Romney has sold out. However, he has been I believe firm and forthright since he ran for president in the 2008 election, and also appropriately cautious. He is not and I believe should not come out with a fiery speech. He doesn’t need to and it would damage the broad coalition he wants so he can govern effectively. He will drop the Federal lawsuits against Arizona and South Carolina and make appointments to the Supreme Court that will bolster our case for rule of law.
I also think he will not get pushed around by the immigration lobby. Romney doesn’t need their money. He has kids of his own who are going to have to live in his legacy. Not only that, but I believe with the Eurozone unraveling, even the trans-Atlantic elites are souring on the whole North American Union idea. It’s patently clear that multiculturalism has lots of nasty consequences that weren’t properly factored into think tanks’ global strategy sessions during a long period of practically drunken prosperity.
Despite Romney’s clear no-amnesty platform, Henry Kissinger came out and endorsed him. That said something to me: our platform has become mainstream. The decline of the nation-state in the West is creating huge security headaches, not to mention economic ones: witness the fiscal meltdown taking place in California.
Romney is increasingly likely to win this election and I believe he will win. I have endorsed Romney since 2008 on FAIR’s blog. We should all be proud that a major candidate, about to be President, is adopting FAIR’s platform, including self-deportation, almost verbatim. That’s big progress. You have been a steady voice for real change, softwarengineer, and I hope for your sake that as we continue to win this debate, you will begin to recognize and enjoy the victories along the way.
Under “deferred action.” You must apply for citizenship, have a full backround check, lived and worked for at least five years (does’nt make sense) and came here under 18 years of age. At least these people will also be tested for communicable diseases. But what about the ones who have lived here illegally using someone elses ID including their own childrens and siblings SS#, don’t you think they should be deported for breaking more of our laws in the U.S? This is something Mitt Romney really needs to look into.