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09-02-2006, 05:55 PM #1
Deporting immigrants is too costly, Braley says
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs. ... /1001/NEWS
Deporting immigrants is too costly, Braley says
But, the Democratic candidate for Iowa's 1st District says that he opposes amnesty for undocumented residents.
By TOM WITOSKY
Register Staff Writer
September 2, 2006
Democratic congressional candidate Bruce Braley insisted Friday he is opposed to granting amnesty to illegal immigrants, but also acknowledged that American taxpayers probably can't afford to deport all of them.
Instead, Braley, a Waterloo trial lawyer running against Bettendorf businessman Mike Whalen in Iowa's 1st District, said that any reform of U.S. immigration laws must impose fines and other "meaningful" costs on illegal or undocumented immigrants as punishment for breaking U.S. laws.
"It has to be meaningful punishment and that is something Congress has to decide because the cost of deporting 12 million illegal immigrants would be over $200 billion," Braley said. "With rising deficits, taxpayers can't afford that, so we have to come up with a more creative way of addressing the problem."
Braley said, for example, that all illegal workers would be required to make back payments on Social Security and other taxes that they failed to pay while working illegally.
Republican and Democratic congressional leaders have identified the contest between Whalen and Braley as one of the key races to determine control of the U.S. House. The two are vying to replace Republican congressman Jim Nussle, who is running for Iowa governor.
Braley made his comments at a news conference before a U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration reform issues led by Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner and Iowa's 5th District Republican Congressman Steve King.
Braley branded the hearing a "political stunt," and challenged Whalen, who owns a hotel and restaurant chain, to pledge that he has never hired an illegal immigrant.
"It is important that Iowa voters know their congression al candidates have followed employment law and have not exploited foreign labor. That's why I challenge Mike Whalen to join me in this pledge," Braley said.
Brian Dumas, an adviser to the Whalen campaign, described Braley's pledge as a "cutesy, trial-lawyer tactic that does nothing to further the discussion about immigration. It's too bad Bruce Braley has never run a business and has spent his career suing people."
Whalen's business, Heart of America, "has always followed the federal guidelines regarding the verification of employment of all of its employees," Dumas said.
Dumas also took issue with Braley's statement that he opposes amnesty. "You can't have it both ways. Bruce Braley is not willing to deport illegal immigrants. That means he's in favor of amnesty."
Braley also said that the current immigration problems are largely due to the failure to enforce sanctions against employers who hire illegal immigrants and a desire by Republicans to use the issue solely for political purposes.
Among other things, Braley said only three employers were cited for fines for hiring illegal immigrants in 2004 compared with 417 in 1999 - the year before President Bush's election.
"Our immigration system is broke. Illegal immigration is at an all-time high," Braley said. "Unfortunately, our Congress has failed to secure our borders.
"These immigration hearings get us no closer to solving the problem. They are a political ploy attempting to boost the approval rating of those in Congress"Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn
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09-02-2006, 07:55 PM #2
Re: Deporting immigrants is too costly, Braley says
[quote="Brian503a"]http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060902/NEWS09/609020334/1001/NEWS
[b]Deporting immigrants is too costly
American taxpayers probably can't afford to deport all of them.
I think the immigration lawyer together with the person hiring illegals wrote this" Do not compromise yourself . You are all you've got ." -Janice Joplin .
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09-02-2006, 11:52 PM #3
- Join Date
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It is far more costly to keep them here. They are not only draining us financially, they are destroying our culture.
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09-03-2006, 01:04 PM #4they are destroying our culture.
And on that you can put no price...[b]Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.
- Arnold J. Toynbee
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09-03-2006, 03:37 PM #5
One time cost to deport vs lifetime of draining taxpayers
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05-05-2024, 10:24 AM in illegal immigration News Stories & Reports