Thread: Gov Martinez: Illegal Immigration Okay for Me, Not for You

Governor Martinez: Illegal Immigration Okay for Me, Not for You

Atlantic Wire
Alexander Abad-Santos 11:02 AM ET



Players: Susana Martinez, New Mexico's Republican and Tea Party-backed Governor; Brett Wilkes, national executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based League of United Latin American Citizens and opponents of her bill

The Opening Serve: Governor Susana Martinez has been busy pushing bill HB18 of late. The bill would repeal a law that currently allows undocumented immigrants to register for driver's licenses--a measure passed by her Democratic predecessor. New Mexico is one of three states--including Washington and Utah--where undocumented immigrants can obtain driver's licenses. Martinez has run into resistance in trying to push the bill forward. Last week, Martinez confirmed that her grandparents were illegal immigrants. The AP reports that Martinez recently found out about her grandparents through the media's research of the 1930 census. "I know they arrived without documents, especially my father's father," Martinez said in an interview in Spanish with KLUZ-TV (translated via Reuters), the Albuquerque Univision affiliate. "What happened in the 1920's and 30's and what the law was at that time, immigration law, people came and went," said Martinez to KOB TV. "Frankly, I am an American citizen," said Martinez. "I have been elected governor and it is my job to do New Mexicans' jobs…to do what they're asking me to do…and that's what I'm doing. I'm fighting to repeal a law that makes people in our state unsafe…that makes our country unsafe."

The Return Volley: Reuters reports that her opponents have called the governor disgusting and hypocritical. Brett Wilkes, national director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, was slightly more diplomatic. "Her grandparents shared the same story of many undocumented people. It's a sad day that the governor has chosen to turn her back on the same sacrifices she has benefited from," Wilkes told Reuters. "This is not the governor's finest hour." New Mexico Representative Ray Begaye told KOB that Martinez's grandparents were fair game in the debate. "You have folks that came in illegally from Mexico to El Paso or wherever, and then you have a governor that's saying let's get rid of 'em, send 'em home, so to speak, and that's a strong message," Begaye said. Martinez responded in an official statement, "It's unfortunate that some are choosing to personally attack the governor, but these tactics prove that supporters of giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants have run out of legitimate defenses for a bad policy." The "bad policy" Martinez refers to is what she believes is a threat to national security. "Since that time [when her grandparents immigrated to the U.S.] we've suffered a lot. Simply look at what happened on September 11," she said in the KLUZ-TV interview. "We have to ensure that when the people come to the United States people aren't coming to New Mexico to receive a license with false documents." Democratic state Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino told Reuters the only thing that had changed was the perception of immigrants. "The rules have not changed," said Ortiz y Pino. "What changed is this need to find some enemy as the cause to our problems."

What They Say They're Fighting About: Whether or not undocumented immigrants should be able to get driver's licenses.

What They're Really Fighting About: Governor Martinez, her grandparents and her politics. Martinez sees her grandparents' actions as a non-issue and a desperate last resort for her critics. Her opponents say that Martinez being the granddaughter of undocumented immigrants is fair game (consequently making her a hypocrite), considering the governor is pushing an anti-illegal immigrant agenda.

Who's Winning Now: Martinez's opponents. If your parents or grandparents are undocumented immigrants, it's probably best that you think twice about becoming a figure in the Tea Party and pushing a bill tough on similar undocumented immigrants. Martinez's team is now in a PR predicament--the media finding out about Martinez's grandparents before Martinez came forward just adds to their headache. The louder she campaigns for the bill, the louder her opponents will point out that they believe she's reaped the benefits of her grandparents' undocumented immigration--calling her values into question. But she can't remain a low profile if she wants to keep the Tea Party's and her political party's favor.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at aabadsantos@theatlantic.com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

(links at source)

Source: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics ... you/42406/

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The Same Media that Refuses to Look Into Obama’s Past Digs Deep in Susana Martinez’s Family History
pajamasmedia.com
by Bryan Preston
Posted at 6:30 am on September 9th, 2011

The Same Media that Refuses to Look Into Obama’s Past Digs Deep in Susana Martinez’s Family History

That should be the real headline of this story, the gist of which is this: It turns out that New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez’s grandparents were illegal aliens from Mexico. Big whoop.

Martinez, a native Texan and conservative Republican who became America’s first female Hispanic governor in the 2010 GOP sweep, has been working to overturn a New Mexico law that allows illegal aliens to get state drivers licenses. Martinez is right on the policy here, but rather than meet her on the merits, her critics have taken to accusing her of being a turncoat or some such. The media in NM has been looking generations into her family’s past, and has determined that her grandparents were indeed illegal aliens.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported in July that the 1930 U.S. Census Bureaurecord lists Martinez’s paternal grandparents’ citizenship status as “ALâ€

This woman is quickly becoming someone to closely watch.

And for the right reasons

Good find HAPPY2BME.

We have to hear about Obama's illegal alien relatives after they get arrested or charged, and then the media does all it can to protect them and Obama.

But someone opposes an element of the Globalist agenda to destroy America, like licenses for illegals, and they go digging fast dont they?

W

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

We have to hear about Obama's illegal alien relatives after they get arrested or charged, and then the media does all it can to protect them and Obama.

But someone opposes an element of the Globalist agenda to destroy America, like licenses for illegals, and they go digging fast dont they?

W

========================================

Through their failure to address these core issues, we confirm this every time there is a GOP Presidential debate. They AVOID IT like the plague.

Susana Martinez has a big ugly job right now. She ran on honest government and I think she is doing a terrific job.

This is some of the other stuff she has had to deal with.

New Mexico: Wide-open state of no rulesArrests of people in authority piling up
Updated: Saturday, 23 Jul 2011, 11:53 AM MDT
Published : Saturday, 23 Jul 2011, 11:53 AM MDT

JERI CLAUSING, Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The arrest of Albuquerque's chief criminal judge on charges he raped a prostitute is just the latest example of a seemingly Wild West-no-rules-attitude permeating numerous levels of authority in New Mexico.

Just this year, the mayor, police chief and a trustee of the small border town of Columbus were accused of helping smuggle hundreds of guns into the Mexico. A judge in Las Cruces was charged in a bribery scandal with alleged ties to former Gov. Bill Richardson. The Albuquerque police department has been under increased scrutiny for an escalation in questionable police shootings of unarmed civilians. One of its officers is facing charges that he killed his wife to hide his involvement in a car theft ring. And the city's public safety director just quit amidst a probe of his handling of a car accident involving his wife.

Additionally, one of the state's most distinguished professors was recently accused of helping run a sophisticated online prostitution ring. The former Santa Fe sheriff last week pleaded guilty to embezzlement. And several pay-to-play investigations continue into dealings of former Richardson administration officials and others close to the Democrat who ran the state for eight years.

This just to cite several recent, prominent examples.

Whether or not the headline-making cases are the result of systemic flaws within the state's culture of politics and leadership is a topic of endless debate in this arid, mostly rural border state of 2 million that attracts a mix of celebrities and the wealthy to its mountains and artistic enclaves like Santa Fe and Taos.

"You've got corruption all over the place," said Doug Turner, who chaired the commission that oversees judicial conduct from 1995 to 2002. "We just have a unique brand of it.'"

"We are big state with not very many people. And so communities are tight. People know one another. They get involved in each other's lives, in their political campaigns. They go to events. It's a fairly small group of people. The impact feels significantly greater in that environment."

Indeed, Republican Gov. Susana Martinez capitalized on a backlash against a growing round of allegations of pay-to-play in the Richardson administration, successfully campaigning last year to return honesty and integrity to the state after two-terms under Richardson. Richardson himself has never been charged but his name has surfaced in a number of investigations.

And the GOP is already bringing the anti-corruption soap box back around in its attempts to turn the purple state red in next year's elections, putting out a press release Thursday touting Republican District Attorney Matt Chandler's conviction of "another corrupt public official."

Chandler of Clovis handled the case against Democratic Santa Fe Sheriff Greg Solano, who pleaded guilty to selling some $74,000 worth of county equipment on eBay.

Ironically, the arrest of state District Judge Pat Murdoch Tuesday on sexual penetration and witness intimidation charges came just days after Martinez — in an address to a meeting of the state bar — called on the state's judges and lawyers to take steps to help bolster confidence in the legal system. She cited the Las Cruces case in which state District Judge Michael Murphy is accused of telling a potential judicial candidate that she needed to make payments to a Democratic activist close to Richardson if she wanted to be considered for a seat on the bench.

Turner said it was unclear to him if the arrest of Murdoch Tuesday and the case against Judge Murphy in Las Cruces signaled a rise in judicial wrongdoing.

"I can tell you from my eight years on the commission, there are a lot of issues in the judicial system in the state," said Turner, who ran against Martinez in last year's Republican primary. "I don't think it's better, but I can't say it's getting worse. They might be getting more press coverage because of the salacious nature of the charges. In reality, we've had some very good judges who've done some very stupid things."

Turner said many of the problems with the state judiciary have to do with the lower level courts, magistrate judges "who aren't necessarily legal professionals and therefore have a tendency to become very important people in small communities. The result is sometimes the abuse of authority."

Less common, he said, are infractions at the district court or higher levels.

Tony Scarborough, a retired state Supreme Court Justice, said he thinks the system works just fine.

"I have my doubts about the merit of the charges," he said of the Murdoch case.

Police acknowledged the prostitute — who videotaped one of what she said were eight alleged encounters with the judge — may have been trying to extort from the judge and may herself face charges. She has accused him of performing oral sex on her over her objections and attempts to push him away.

Vice Sgt. Matt Thompson told the Albuquerque Journal he believes the case against Murdoch is credible.

But Murdoch's attorney, Ahmed Assad, said his client will be vindicated.

Several other members of the judiciary have also found themselves on the wrong side of the law in recent years, including Appeals Court Judge Robert Robles, who resigned this year after being arrested for drunken driving and Bernalillo County Metro Court Judge Victoria Grant, who retired in 2010 after being charged with 21 counts of misconduct, mostly involving allegations she mistreated defendants.

Asked if he thought the state's historical political reputation for corruption filtered down to the bench and other posts of authority, Turner said, "Absolutely. Power corrupts."
http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/new- ... f-no-rules

Just goes to show even a tea party backed person is not what they seam.You have to study each one no matter which party you have to screan them.Just because they say something look it up check their back ground vote for the ones that are honest not just because of the party they are on.