Thread: Protesters decry Lipinski's vote on immigration bill

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... &cset=true

By Andrew L. Wang
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 29, 2005

Hispanic community activists gathered Wednesday in front of the office of U.S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) on the Southwest Side to protest his vote for a bill that would impose stricter regulations on undocumented immigrants and make illegal entry into the country a criminal act.

The group of about two dozen protesters also announced the formation of the Committee for the Progress of the 3rd Congressional District, a set of business and community leaders who intend to find a candidate to run against Lipinski in 2008.

"The Mexican community is incensed by his voting in the bill," said Juan Salgado, director of the non-profit Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "Immigration is one of the main reasons Chicago continues to be prosperous ... This is just not sensible."

House Bill 4437--introduced by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) and titled the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005--would make illegal entry, formerly a civil violation, a felony. It also would make helping and transporting illegal immigrants already in the country a crime.

The legislation includes provisions for construction of a fence along the border with Mexico, calls for employers to verify employment eligibility with the Department of Homeland Security and seeks increased high-tech surveillance at the nation's ports and other entry points.

The House approved the bill Dec. 16. It is now under consideration by the Senate. Lipinski was one of 36 House Democrats to vote for the bill.

"The congressman's vote on HR 4437 was not a vote against legal immigration," said Chris Ganschow, Lipinski's spokesman. "It's a vote to secure our borders in the wake of 9/11."

Though Lipinski intends to run for re-election next year, Salgado said the committee set its sights on 2008 because it is too late to find a strong candidate to face the incumbent.

Change is needed because the congressman has not sufficiently addressed the concerns of the Hispanic population in the 3rd District, which covers parts of the Southwest Side and surrounding suburbs, Salgado said.

About 21 percent of the district's approximately 653,600 people considered themselves Hispanic, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

The bill, if signed into law, "would mean chaos, for employers, for schools, for churches, for families in general," Salgado said.

So how does this

a bill that would impose stricter regulations on undocumented immigrants and make illegal entry into the country a criminal act.

equal this?

The bill, if signed into law, "would mean chaos, for employers, for schools, for churches, for families in general," Salgado said.