This just came into my email:

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JONES JOINS AMERICAN HISPANIC COALITION TO SUPPORT IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT LEGISLATION


Washington, D.C. - At a press conference today on Capitol Hill, Representative Walter B. Jones (NC) joined Reps. J.D. Hayworth (AZ), Brian Bilbray (CA), Virgil Goode (VA) and representatives from You Don't Speak for Me! (YDSFM) - a coalition of American Hispanics who support enforcement of U.S. immigration laws - to discuss the immediate need for passage of an immigration bill that focuses on enforcement first.


"As law enforcement officials on the border have testified, illegal immigration poses a serious threat to our national security," Congressman Jones said today. "The American people have a right to expect their government to do what is necessary to secure our nation's borders and enforce our immigration laws."


"This past 4th of July, for the second year, I had the opportunity to attend a naturalization ceremony in Kinston, NC. It was an exciting and humbling experience to witness 25 individuals from 18 different countries become proud new citizens, and to thank them for understanding our nation's Constitution and respecting our nation's laws," Jones said. "A country will never survive if it does not protect and enforce the laws of the land."


In response to a new lobbying effort by illegal aliens and their supporters demanding amnesty, members of YDSFM discussed the support that exists among American Hispanics for strong immigration enforcement, and opposition to an illegal alien amnesty.


"America's security is being compromised, our citizens along the border live in a state of fear, and our law enforcement personnel are under assault. It's time for action, not talk; enforcement, not amnesty," said Claudia Spencer, a legal immigrant from Mexico and YDSFM Vice Chair. "The Hispanic voices that Congress needs to hear are those of American citizens who live under a state of siege, or who have lost jobs, wages and opportunities to illegal aliens who are pouring into our country."


Texas Sheriffs Arvin West of Hudspeth County and Sigifredo Gonzalez of Zapata County were forced to cancel their planned appearance at the news conference due to an urgent law enforcement situation along the Mexican border. A message read on their behalf stated: "There is a war going on along our southern border that must be addressed immediately. America's security is threatened by the lawless and chaotic border, and it is the obligation of Congress to enforce the border and crackdown on illegal immigration."


"What Sheriffs West and Gonzalez and their deputies are encountering on a daily basis is a threat to our homeland security of the highest order," said Col. Al Rodriguez, Chairman of YDSFM and U.S. Army veteran. "We can see no higher order of business for Congress other than to address what can only be described as a national crisis."


© 2006 All Rights Reserved, Walter Jones