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  1. #1
    Senior Member Populist's Avatar
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    Immigrants concerned with Sen. Kennedy's health

    *Note how this article states that he is walking along a private pier. Wonder if this private area has a fence or other restrictions around it?
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    Immigrants concerned with Sen. Kennedy's health


    Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., left, and his wife Victoria Reggie Kennedy, walk along a private pier with two family Portuguese water dogs on Wednesday, after checking out of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

    ojornal.com
    05/23/2008
    By: Lurdes C. da Silva

    BOSTON - The announcement that Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has brain cancer was met by many immigrants with deep concern not only for his health but also for what this could potentially mean for immigration reform.

    First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962, Kennedy has often been described as a champion of social and immigrant causes.

    "The immigrant communities of the Commonwealth are very concerned about the health of Senator Ted Kennedy," said Eva Millona, Acting Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA). "Senator Kennedy has been a tireless champion for immigrant and refugee rights. He has consistently fought for fairness and equality for all families and worked hard to ensure that a comprehensive immigration reform proposal reflects those values."

    "Our prayers are with the Senator and his family and the millions of immigrants to whom his fearless leadership continues to give hope at a time of increasing hostility and anxiety," said HeloĂ*sa GalvĂŁo, president of the Brazilian Women's Group. "Sen. Kennedy's generous spirit represents the best of this country. He is our leader, our friend and our inspiration."

    Kennedy's fight on behalf of immigrants started early on.

    In 1965, he managed the successful floor battle to pass the Hart-Celler Act that abolished quotas and lifted a 1924 ban on immigration from Asia. Numerous battles followed throughout the years.

    In recent years, the senator staunchly pressed for immigration reform, sponsoring overhaul legislation with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., The bill, which eventually died in Congress, would have allowed most of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants already in this country to earn legalized status. Early drafts of the bill allowed them to become citizens after a few years if they meet requirements such as learning English, passing a criminal background check, and paying back taxes and a $2,000 fine.


    "Newcomers feel a strong connection to Senator Kennedy," said Millona. "To many, he is a champion of the American dream. He is an inimitable leader in the Senate, fighting for increased health care access, improved education, and civil rights."

    Last year, he personally showed his support and concern for the families affected by the immigration raid conducted at the Michael Bianco factory in New Bedford. More than 350 alleged illegal immigrants were detained.

    The majority of those arrested were women and many of them left young children behind. In many cases, they were their sole caregivers.

    "After the immigration raid, Senator Kennedy came to New Bedford to listen to the stories and heartache of families who had been torn apart and promised that he would do everything in his power to keep families together in the future," said Millona. "Those same families and many others around the country are praying for his recovery."

    Mostly recently, in early May, Kennedy co-sponsored with Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., a bill that would require immigrants being held at U.S. immigration detention centers be given proper and timely medical attention. Addressing the Senate floor, he characterized the ongoing practice as "appalling," saying that immigrants are being denied care while in the custody of the Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    "It's hard to foresee what Congress is going to do without Kennedy," said GalvĂŁo. "He has been such a liberal, human, friendly, strong and fighting voice for immigrant, women and elderly rights. He is a fighter and we're certain he is going to fight this one more battle. We must be by his side during this difficult time, as he has been by ours during all these years."

    Although a supporter of all immigrants, he and his family have shared a special connection to the Portuguese. His brother John F. Kennedy responded quickly in the U.S. Senate to great devastation and hardship caused by the eruption of the Capelinhos Volcano in Faial in 1957, proposing the Azorean Refugee Act, securing 2,000 visas for households heads originally from that island to emigrate to U.S. shores.

    "Immigration is in our blood. It's part of our founding story," Sen. Kennedy told O Jornal last fall, during the 50th anniversary of the volcano's eruption.

    "The close ties between America and Portugal, especially after the tragedy of the Capelinhos Volcano, continue to the present day," he said. "There are now more than a million Americans of Portuguese ancestry, and they have contributed immensely to Massachusetts and the nation. I'm proud to do all I can in the Senate to maintain those close ties in the years ahead."

    In the 1990s, Kennedy also secured $500,000 for the establishment of a Portuguese Community Center in New Bedford that would house the Casa da Saudade Library and other Portuguese organizations. The funds continue to be set aside, as the project has yet to come to fruition.

    Having fought for immigrant rights for decades, the fight is now his.

    The 76-year-old Kennedy was diagnosed this week with a malignant glioma, an especially lethal type of brain tumor. Most such patients die within three years, sooner if they are older.

    On Wednesday, he was released from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and returned to the family compound at Hyannis Port to await test results that will help determine his treatment, which is expected to include chemotherapy and radiation.

    Kennedy gave a thumbs-up to well-wishers and kisses to relatives as he walked out of the hospital. A square bandage on the back of his head marked the spot where doctors performed a biopsy on the brain tumor.

    Kennedy's Portuguese water dogs, Sunny and Splash, met him at the hospital door. Hospital employees and others applauded the senator.

    Kennedy took a walk on the beach with his dogs as soon as he got home.

    "Good to be back home," he told reporters before he and his wife headed off for a sail on his sloop, Mya.

    Doctors said Kennedy has "recovered remarkably quickly" from the biopsy. They said he would recuperate at his home over the Memorial Day weekend.

    http://www.ojornal.com/site/news.cfm?ne ... 3384&rfi=6

    Some AP material used in this report.
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  2. #2
    Senior Member miguelina's Avatar
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    What immigrants does Kennedy speak for? None.

    Illegal aliens, on the other hand, are concerned for themselves. Teddy's motto should be "ask not what you can do for this country, but what this country can do for you" when it comes to illegal aliens. The total opposite of what JFK stood for.
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  3. #3
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    Didn't I read a quote of him saying after the 1986 amnesty this would not happen again?
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    Senior Member miguelina's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jean
    Didn't I read a quote of him saying after the 1986 amnesty this would not happen again?
    Yep, he promised it would NEVER happen again.
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  5. #5
    Senior Member judyweller's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by miguelina
    Quote Originally Posted by jean
    Didn't I read a quote of him saying after the 1986 amnesty this would not happen again?
    Yep, he promised it would NEVER happen again.
    They all said It is just that they never enforced employer sanctions and now employers don't want to follow the law.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Populist's Avatar
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    Re: 1986 Amnesty

    This amnesty will give citizenship to only 1.1-1.3 million illegal aliens. We will secure the borders henceforth. We will never again bring forward another Amnesty Bill like this.

    -Sen. Edward Kennedy

    -----------

    Re: 1965 Immigration Act

    "The bill will not flood our cities with immigrants. It will not upset the ethnic mix of our society."

    Sen. Edward Kennedy

    http://www.cis.org/articles/1995/olg12-28-95.html
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  7. #7
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    Thank you Populist.

    Now I remember because I thought at the time he could always later get out of his statement because he added 'not like this.'

    Afterall, the bill last year said they'd have to pay a fine, yada yada yada so it was different.
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  8. #8
    Senior Member Populist's Avatar
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    Related story:


    Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (center) sings the Mexican ranchero song “Jaliscoâ€
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  9. #9
    Senior Member fedupinwaukegan's Avatar
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    Funny how the two sides see the history and 'accomplishments' of Senator Kennedy so differently...

    Note: My town is on Lake Michigan. Our pier isn't even quite that big.

    The rich are different then you and I...

    I would like to take Senator Kennedy and Vicki out to lunch and then a tour of my town...



    Getting to the restaurant we would pass this;


    after lunch we could take a leisurely shopping stroll down the main strip
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  10. #10
    Senior Member lccat's Avatar
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    If the name ends up being the Kennedy Blanket Amnesty Bill instead of the McCain/Kennedy Blanket Amnesty Bill Senator McCAMNESTY will be very mad "my friends".

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