Thread: Sen. Lugar pulls his name from DREAM Act

Lugar pulls his name from DREAM Act

May 11, 2011

WASHINGTON - As the politics of the 2012 election heat up, GOP Sen. Richard Lugar declined today to join Democrats in reintroducing an immigration measure he's long supported.

Lugar has for years co-sponsored with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a bill to let illegal immigrants who grew up in the United States earn legal status through college or the military.

But Lugar, who is facing challenges from both a Republican and a moderate Democrat in his bid for a seventh term, did not sign onto the latest introduction of the legislation, announced today by Durbin and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The national push comes on the heels of the arrest Monday in Indianapolis of five illegal immigrant students who were protesting state legislation to deny undocumented students lower in-state tuition fees.

Gov. Mitch Daniels signed that bill into law Tuesday, along with a bill penalizing businesses for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.


Lugar's spokesman said Lugar did not join Democrats in reintroducing the federal legislation to help children of illegal immigrants - known as the DREAM Act, or Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors - because Democrats have politicized the issue.


"President Obama's appearance in Texas yesterday framed immigration as a divisive election issue instead of attempting a legitimate debate on comprehensive reform," said spokesman Mark Helmke. "Ridiculing Republicans was clearly a partisan push that effectively stops a productive discussion about comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act before the 2012 election."


In his Texas speech Tuesday, Obama said his administration has gone "above and beyond what was requested by the very Republicans who said they supported broader reform as long as we got serious about enforcement."


"Maybe they'll say we need a moat," Obama joked. "Or alligators in the moat. They'll never be satisfied. And I understand that. That's politics."


He called for continuing to strengthen border security, making it harder for businesses to hire illegal immigrants, streamlining the legal immigration process and creating a pathway to citizenship, which critics characterize as amnesty.


Obama also renewed his call for the DREAM Act, saying it was blocked in the Senate last year by politics when some Republicans who had previously supported it changed their positions.


"That was a tremendous disappointment to get so close and then see politics get in the way," Obama said. "You've got to help push for comprehensive reform, and you've got to identify what steps we can take right now - like the DREAM Act, like visa reform - areas where we can find common ground among Democrats and Republicans and begin to fix what's broken."


Lugar was one of three Republicans who joined most Democrats in December in an unsuccessful effort to consider the House-passed DREAM Act.


State Treasurer Richard Mourdock cited Lugar's support for the DREAM Act as one of the reasons he announced his primary challenge to Lugar in February.


Rep. Joe Donnelly, who announced Monday that he is seeking the Democratic nomination for the Senate race, opposed House passage of the DREAM Act last year.


Lugar said last year that the DREAM Act was a more promising way of making progress on immigration issues, "particularly through students who have already demonstrated achievement."


"It's common sense that we would want to have them as part of our citizenry," Lugar said.


Helmke said Lugar still supports helping "a few good students who are not responsible for decisions their parents made" by coming to the U.S. illegally, but those students "should not be used in a political game."


"By doing so," Helmke said, "the Obama administration has guaranteed the bill will not move in this Congress."


Ali Noorani, executive director of the immigrant-rights group National Immigration Forum, said he's not disappointed in Lugar's decision because Lugar still supports the DREAM Act itself and, he said, because immigration has always been politicized by both parties.


"I'm not reading too much into Sen. Lugar's not co-sponsoring this at this point," Noorani said. "Let's not get all worked up by the temperature getting a little hot at this moment."


http://oneoldvet.com/

www.jconline.com

The RINO is up for re-election and the T-party has got his number

dont fall for it America .. put this MEGA RINO out into the unemployment lines

Either way ... your fired

[quote="jean"]Lugar pulls his name from DREAM Act

Be suspicious, very suspicious of the trickery coming out before elections! It would make too much sense if they all were held accountable for the promises they make in their speeches. Accountability, now there's some "Hope we can count on"! We know they tell us lie after lie to get elected, but our government is one giant conspiracy, so why would they tell the truth??

I agree with you AS7, Lugar is a RINO who needs to go. He would just vote for amnesty the day after he's re-elected. Hope his constituents don't fall for it. But I do think this is a good sign for us, that he knows full well how most voters feel, and that he probably can't get re-elected if he sponsors an amnesty.

Where is that list of Dems that are up for re-election? we need that to blast them with calls & Faxes.

Originally Posted by dregerk

Where is that list of Dems that are up for re-election? we need that to blast them with calls & Faxes.

Here are the 21 Dems that are up for reelection 2012


http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1224223.html#1224223

Originally Posted by working4change

Originally Posted by dregerk

Where is that list of Dems that are up for re-election? we need that to blast them with calls & Faxes.

Here are the 21 Dems that are up for reelection 2012


http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1224223.html#1224223

Thanks for the link W4C! I'm back in action and ready to go to work...LOL!

Lugar's spokesman said Lugar did not join Democrats in reintroducing the federal legislation to help children of illegal immigrants - known as the DREAM Act, or Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors - because Democrats have politicized the issue.

What a load of crap! He's running scared, I hope his opponents pound home the fact that up until election time this POS has backed shamnesty!

They will lie cheat steal and sell their soul and country for a vote,dont trust or believe none of them when they change their minds right before an election.