Thread: Tancredo calls for tough immigration laws

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Published February 3, 2007



Tancredo calls for tough immigration laws

By PAULA LAVIGNE
REGISTER STAFF WRITER


Council Bluffs, Ia. — Saying that illegal immigration has diluted the country’s patriotism, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo advocated that border security be the nation’s top priority during a visit today to supporters in western Iowa.

The Republican presidential candidate spoke to more than 60 people today at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 737 hall in Council Bluffs. He visited Sioux City earlier in the day.

Since 1999, the Denver native has represented Colorado’s 6th Congressional District, an area that includes one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States.

Tancredo has been a harsh critic of the Bush administration’s proposal to grant amnesty for illegal immigrants, a topic he focused on today.

“We have a cult of multiculturalism. This is what permeates our society,” he said. Immigrants who come to the United States but refuse to assimilate by learning the language and following the laws water down what it means to be an American, he said.

“It’s a cultural, political, linguistic tower of Babel,” he said.

He favors measures to eliminate incentives for immigrants to come to the United States and encourages a reduction in the number of legal immigrants.

The nation should enforce its immigration laws by building a border fence, deporting illegal immigrants, and going after companies that hire them for cheap labor – which he said was a better solution for higher pay than raising the minimum wage.

He cited the Dec. 12 raids on the Swift & Co. meat processing plants in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement netted a total of almost 1,300 people, including almost 100 workers from the plant in Marshalltown.

“Amazingly, miraculously, all plants are operating. They’re right at capacity again,” said the congressman, whose father once worked at a packing plant in Colorado.

Tancredo said he didn’t know who Swift hired to replace the deported workers. “But are there Americans who would work there? You be there are,” he said.

He said illegal immigrants are a drain on the nation’s health care, schools, and other entitlement programs and he suggested doing away with bilingual education.

Spending on English-as-a-second-language classes also concerns Peggy Sieleman, 39, from Persia, a small town north of Council Bluffs. Sieleman has four school-age children, the three youngest of whom were at the rally.

Government spending on social programs, especially education, which benefits illegal immigrants should instead go toward veterans and programs for the elderly, she said. She said she supports Tancredo because he advocates better enforcement of the nation’s existing immigration laws.

“I like that he speaks the truth and he does his research,” she said of the congressman. “He is a man of honor and character.”

Tancredo is a former public school teacher who also worked in Colorado for the U.S. Department of Education under former presidents Reagan and Bush.

Although Tancredo doesn’t have the national profile of more well-known Republican candidates such as former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, he recently – and somewhat controversially – entered the spotlight tied to today’s big football game in Miami.

Tancredo’s references to Miami as a “Third World country” – in part because of the city’s high percentage of residents who don’t speak English – caught the ire of popular Miami Herald humor columnist Dave Barry.

As part of his jabs against the congressman, whom Barry referred to as a “xenophobic dimwit,” the columnist has been directing readers to call Tancredo’s office for Super Bowl tickets.

Tancredo spokesman T.Q. Houlton said despite the attention, only about 15 people actually called for a pass to the game.

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3 comments left at the time posted:

Reader Comment Posted by: lynn1953
on Sat Feb 03, 2007 10:19 pm
Iowa Residents would be wise to listen to what Tom Tancredo says and I encourage everyone to look beyond the local news media to see just what is happening in this country, due to the invasion of illegals into our sovereign nation. The news media doesn't seem to want the legal citizens of this county to know just how bad this problem is. WAKE UP IOWA


Reader Comment Posted by: DR.COOLBEANS
on Sat Feb 03, 2007 10:12 pm
AT LEAST THIS GUY HAS SOME BALLS !!


Reader Comment Posted by: cedarrivergirl
on Sat Feb 03, 2007 9:31 pm
this guy looks to be very interesting.I like his ideas concerning immigration!! Very interesting!!

would like to make a small wager, that before the next 2 years are over, Tom Tancredo will look a hell of a lot more interesting to a huge number of Americans!

I think it is already happening Nitty!

Yes! Tom won't be able to depend on his own party nor the media. He needs to go out among the people like he is doing.
Go Tom Tancredo!!!

Saying that illegal immigration has diluted the country’s patriotism, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo advocated that border security be the nation’s top priority during a visit today to supporters in western Iowa.

Tom Tancredo has a way of zooming right in the truth, doesn't he? I don't think that he cares for the beat around the bush approach. And that is just what our country needs. A real leader who recognizes the problems the American people are having and who is willing to talk about them openly and address them in an honest way.

I think it's called "having some respect for the American people".