Thread: MS - Rogue lt. gov. gets 'F' on illegal immigration

Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 7/18/2012 4:10:00 AM

A Mississippi-based immigration enforcement advocacy organization says it should have better vetted the Republican candidates who ran for lieutenant governor last year.

For years, any effort to pass meaningful legislation to deal with Mississippi's problem with illegal immigration was thwarted by a Democratic-controlled legislature. So groups like the Mississippi Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement (MFIRE) worked hard to get a Republican-controlled legislature for the 2012 session. But unfortunately, says Dr. Rodney Hunt, president of MFIRE, this year's legislation died in the Senate because of a Republican -- Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves.

"We heard early on in this last session that the lieutenant governor would not let any illegal immigration legislation get to the Senate floor -- and unfortunately, that was borne out by the events," Hunt laments. "We actually gave the lieutenant governor an 'F' on illegal immigration."

As for Lt. Gov. Reeves arguing that immigration is a federal responsibility, the MFIRE president says that claim has been defused by recent Supreme Court decisions, particularly in the high court "okaying Arizona's E-Verify law in 2011. And this year they did allow 11 out of the 14 sections of Arizona's law to continue to be law."

In hindsight, Hunt admits that his organization should have paid more attention to last year's race for lieutenant governor. "In retrospect, we were so focused on changing the House leadership that we unfortunately didn't vet the lieutenant governor well enough in the primaries," he says.

But as the MFIRE president points out, there are legislators who plan to hold a hearing on August 16 to try and gain support for strong border enforcement legislation in the 2013 session.

One Old Vet

Rogue lt. gov. gets 'F' on illegal immigration (OneNewsNow.com)

If thils was'nt such a serious topic, the story would be funny. One politician not even knowing who they are pulling for, oh, the irony of American politics is very frustrating. Due creidit, they admitted thier error, kudos for that.