Thread: Bredesen pulls Wilsons’ daughter into immigration talks

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index ... s_id=51176

Bredesen pulls Wilsons’ daughter into immigration talks
By John Rodgers, jrodgers@nashvillecitypaper.com
July 26, 2006

After a “very combative” meeting with the Bredesen Administration, the eldest daughter of a Mt. Juliet couple killed in a car crash - allegedly by an illegal alien – is questioning whether Bredesen is “flipping” on immigration for the right reasons.

Heather Lynn Steffek is the eldest daughter of Sean and Donna Wilson, the Mt. Juliet couple that was killed last month in a car wreck allegedly caused by Gustavo Reyes Garcia, an illegal immigrant.

Since her parent’s death, Steffek has become an outspoken advocate for the state to take action on addressing illegal immigration.

After previous statements saying it was a “federal issue,” Gov. Phil Bredesen recently began focusing on immigration reform.

“Is he doing this before election time because it’s the right thing to do?” Steffek said. “And then, what happens if he gets elected again?”

On explaining his emphasis, Bredesen has said he thought Congress was going to address the issue earlier this year, but that “fell apart.” He said the state should take up the issue on an “interim” basis.

About three weeks after the wreck, Steffek appeared with Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Bryson (R-Franklin) in a news conference that urged Bredesen to take action on immigration and criticized his opposition to a bill that would have given some Tennessee Highway Patrolmen the ability to enforce federal immigration laws.

The day Steffek appeared with Bryson, the Bredesen campaign said that the state senator from Franklin was “trying to exploit what is obviously a tragic situation.”

In the midst of the Bredesen Administration’s new push on illegal immigration reform, however, one of Bredesen’s top aides, Tam Gordon, met with Steffek Friday to discuss the immigration issues Bredesen has recently focused on.

Steffek said Gordon, Bredesen’s special assistant for projects, contacted her right after she appeared with Bryson and requested a meeting. Steffek initially refused, but after reading about Bredesen’s recent immigration push in The City Paper, Steffek agreed to meet with Gordon.

Gordon said the purpose of the meeting was not to try to persuade Steffek to forsake Bryson and support Bredesen, but to express condolences for the loss of her parents and to tell her about Bredesen’s immigration plan.

“Also, to have a conversation with somebody who’s really been touched by this issue to find out, ‘What are your ideas?’” Gordon said. “It’s obvious, she’s worked very hard. She’s done a lot of research on this issue.”

Steffek said she and Gordon did discuss the immigration issue, what the governor was doing and what Steffek would like to see done, but said the meeting became “very combative.”

While she said she appreciated Gordon’s condolences, Steffek claimed that Gordon was “very demoralizing” and “talked down to me the entire time.”

“She would almost become condescending in, ‘Heather, what would you like to see happen? What changes do you want?” Steffek said. “It was just really angering me.”

Gordon said she can understand that Steffek has been “personally touched by this issue.”

“She has lost her parents - she wants some action and she wants some action now,” Gordon said. “I think sitting in her position, I’d feel the same way.”

Steffek said she wants Tennessee to take tougher law enforcement approaches toward illegal immigrants, saying she’s “not getting why being illegal is not a crime in my country.” She points to other states, like Georgia, that have addressed the problem and said that Bredesen needed to show leadership and address the immigration issue, which she said he hasn’t done.

Last week, Bredesen held two events open to the media on immigration. One was a media briefing regarding the governor’s sending the National Guard to Arizona to police the border. The second was a roundtable discussion with local, state and federal officials on the issues presented by immigration and how law enforcement can best deal with them.


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I know of several instances of Americans being killed by illegal aliens, here in North Carolina and I'm sure, just about every state in the union. It would be good if the remaining family members of those victims would come forward, as Ms. Steffek did and put pressure on their state governments. Governor Easley, here in North Carolina, has made similar statements about it being a federal and not a state issue, and the Democrat-controlled state Congress has buried anti-illegal alien bills, in committee.

Regardless of whether they think illegal immigration is a federal issue, it is the state's responsibility to protect it's citizens and by allowing illegal aliens to run free, they are putting lives in jeopardy.