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  1. #1
    Senior Member steelerbabe's Avatar
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    Sharp Words Over Immigration

    http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news ... 069108.htm

    Sharp words over immigrationA legislative hearing failed to produce agreement on the nature of the problem, let alone a remedy.
    By Amy Worden
    Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
    HARRISBURG - Starkly contrasting views of immigration clashed in a state House hearing yesterday that left Pennsylvania no closer to defining and resolving the problem than the state line is to the Rio Grande.

    During the four-hour hearing, several heated exchanges erupted between lawmakers and witnesses. One prosecutor depicted illegal immigrants as criminals. Union leaders said many industries in the state would collapse without immigrant labor. And school administrators in one central Pennsylvania district with a high immigrant population, finding themselves caught in the crossfire, were forced to defend their obligation to educate all children regardless of citizenship.

    Convened by the House Republican Policy Committee, this was the first of four scheduled regional hearings to discuss ways the state should respond to the immigration issue. The next hearing is 10 a.m. July 27 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

    Pennsylvania lawmakers last month introduced several immigration-related bills aimed at cracking down on undocumented residents by cutting off benefits and penalizing employers. Supporters say that, with Congress unable to reach agreement on federal immigration policy, it is up to the states to respond. More than 500 immigration bills are under consideration in legislatures across the U.S.

    Testimony yesterday did not determine whether there is an illegal-immigration problem in Pennsylvania.

    What was clear was that - as in the federal debate - there are opposing views on what should be done to address the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. One camp wants to detain them and deport them; the other wants the federal government to find ways to allow them to become citizens.

    Northampton County District Attorney John M. Morganelli blamed illegal immigrants for the rising rate of violent crime in his county. He blamed federal immigration authorities for failing to prosecute immigrants for carrying fraudulent documents.

    Morganelli, who offered mostly anecdotal evidence, said illegal immigrants do not come to the United States with "the intent to commit to the American way" but "come to commit crime."

    Union leaders and the owner of a Lancaster poultry operation presented a very different picture of the latest wave of immigrants in Pennsylvania, an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 of whom are illegal.

    "The record shows that employers in Pennsylvania credit immigrant labor to their success both in the hospitality industry and landscaping industry," said Diane Topakian, political program coordinator in Pennsylvania for the Service Employees International Union.

    She said that her union - which represents 60,000 Pennsylvania workers, some of them undocumented - opposed "piecemeal" state policies and that it is up to the federal government to fix the "broken immigration system."

    Topakian's testimony prompted Rep. Daryl D. Metcalfe (R., Butler), lead sponsor of the three immigration bills introduced last month, to ask angrily whether her union supported illegal immigration.

    "It is unrealistic to send 12 million workers home," she said. "We don't support illegal immigration... . We believe immigrants come from other countries for work to join their families and become productive members of society."

    Clearly caught in the middle of the debate were educators from a school district west of Harrisburg where 18 percent of the students are Hispanic.

    Bettie J. Bertram, supervisor of special education and English as a Second Language in the Upper Adams School District, said federal and state law prohibits school officials from inquiring about a child's legal status.

    Bertram, whose district lies in the heart of the state's apple-producing region, which relies heavily on migrant labor, said it was her legal and ethical responsibility to educate all children regardless of their status or status of their parents.

    Her testimony prompted an outburst from Metcalfe, who excoriated her for saying she had an ethical responsibility to educate illegal immigrants.

    "The only right an illegal has is the right to go home," Metcalfe said. "It is unethical to use public resources to educate someone who is here illegally."

    Larry Frankel, legislative director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, submitted written testimony calling for a comprehensive federal immigration policy. In an interview afterward, he said the hearing failed to set the groundwork to establish a definition of "illegal immigrant."

    "There is the security-of-borders and law-enforcement side, versus how to deal with millions of immigrants who are already here with families that businesses and communities depend on," he said. "There is a distinction between someone who specifically entered on a visa, who got a job and paid his taxes, only to have his visa expire, and a criminal."

  2. #2
    Senior Member AlturaCt's Avatar
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    Union leaders said many industries in the state would collapse without immigrant labor.
    "The record shows that employers in Pennsylvania credit immigrant labor to their success both in the hospitality industry and landscaping industry,"
    I'm tired of this. Corporate America helps create the problem then tries to hold us hostage by such as this.

    "It is unrealistic to send 12 million workers home," she said. "We don't support illegal immigration... . We believe immigrants come from other countries for work to join their families and become productive members of society."
    The question was: Do you support illegal immigration? Not what we can or can't do with 12 million "workers".


    said it was her legal and ethical responsibility to educate all children regardless of their status or status of their parents.
    "The only right an illegal has is the right to go home," Metcalfe said. "It is unethical to use public resources to educate someone who is here illegally."

    Thank you Mr Metcalfe!



    In case you want to give support to Mr Mercalfe and his support for America. Please send hiim a note of thanks. You don't have to be from PA to say thanks! dmetcalf@pahousegop.com
    [b]Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.
    - Arnold J. Toynbee

  3. #3
    Senior Member WavTek's Avatar
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    In an interview afterward, he said the hearing failed to set the groundwork to establish a definition of "illegal immigrant."
    Does this guy even have a brain? Here's a definition for you. Anyone who is not an American citizen, who comes to our country without permission, bypassing the LEGAL way to enter our country, is an illegal alien. Leave it to a lawyer to distort the obvious.
    REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER!

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