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Immigration taking center stage at Paul event

By TJ Aulds
The Daily News

Published August 20, 2006

Barbecue and country music are set to be served up at a political fundraiser for Congressman Ron Paul Sunday. But the real red meat of the day may very well be the immigration issue.

That’s because the Brazoria County Republican, whose district includes a sizeable chunk of Galveston County, has invited Chris Simcox, the founder and president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, to be the event’s special guest. The fundraiser will be held at the Charles T. Doyle Convention Center in Texas City Sunday afternoon.

Simcox heads the controversial group that patrols the United States-Mexico border on the lookout for illegal immigrants. The Minuteman group also is pushing for tougher border security as well as enforcement of immigration laws.

Paul is one of a large group of House Republicans supporting Simcox’s stance calling for securing the physical border before introducing comprehensive immigration reform measures that President George Bush, some moderate Republicans and the majority of Democrats back.

Paul recently waded a bit deeper into the immigration fray by introducing legislation that would deny citizenship to children born in the United States to illegal immigrant parents. He referred to those children as “anchor babies.”

“As long as illegal immigrants know that their children born here will be citizens, the perverse incentive to sneak into this country remains strong,” Paul said last month. “Citizenship involves more than the mere location of one’s birth. True citizenship requires cultural connections and an allegiance to the United States.

“Birthright citizenship sometimes confers the benefits of being American on people who do not truly embrace America.”

Paul’s stance on illegal immigration and the recent legislation drew the ire of Texas Democrats who are backing political newcomer Shane Sklar in his bid to unseat the longtime congressman.

“Our response to illegal immigration must be absolute vigilance at the border and a commitment to end the demand for illegal labor in this country. Changing the definition of citizenship is a radical measure that will affect every American family and create a whole new bureaucracy,” Sklar said.

The state Democrats too unloaded on Paul’s fundraiser Friday claiming that he was also to feature Colorado Congressman, and fellow get-tough-immigration wonk, Tom Tancredo, as one of the event’s special guests. Tancredo is one of the House’s most outspoken critics of the Bush administration’s stance on immigration issues.

Party spokeswoman Amber Moon said it was, “appalling for Ron Paul to bring Tom Tancredo to Texas, look at his constituents with a straight face, and then ask them for money,” given the fact Paul had voted against legislation that would have provided hurricane relief monies for victims of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

Paul regularly votes against spending measures because he claims most contain foreign appropriation monies. While a Republican, Paul is often aligned with the Libertarian platform against sending funds overseas.

It seems the Democrats were a bit misinformed about Tancredo’s participation in the event, said Paul spokeswoman Penny Langford-Freeman. While he was invited to the event, Tancredo is not coming, she said.

On the Web

• www.ronpaulforcongress.com

• www.shanesklar.com