Thread: NC Citizens to Lobby Legislature to ask Democrats to allow v

You folks are great! If the press treats us fairly, today was a great success. We had around 50 people at our rally and touched almost every office in the House and Senate with our door to door lobbying backed up by your calls and e-mails.

Will monitor press and get you all more details soon. Please keep the calls and emails up through Thursday.

W

I was there at the Raleigh rally today! I made a small number of phone calls to NC Dem House today and will do more tommorow.

Great job done by the organizers of the Raleigh event today.

Some coverage in the Durham paper. http://www.heraldsun.com/state/6-750236.html . Certainly the most positive press I have seen in the local paper. Shows you are making progress. I will make some more calls today. Thanks for the great effort yesterday!

Advocates urge NC lawmakers to crack down on illegal immigration


Jul 5, 2006 : 8:38 pm ET

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Democratic leaders should consider Republican proposals that supporters say would address the issue of illegal immigration in North Carolina, the head of a immigration reform group said at a rally Wednesday.

William Gheen, president of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, said Democratic lawmakers have stalled immigration reform that he says a majority of the public favors.

"These bills are going to die without being discussed," Gheen said at the rally, which attracted a few dozen supporters along with some Republican lawmakers.

Republicans have filed a number of bills to strengthen laws for voter identification, registration and illegal immigration, but none has made it out of committee in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.

North Carolina has become "known internationally as the place to come to get a real fake ID," said Fern Shubert, a former Republican state senator and gubernatorial candidate.

"Our driver's licenses are an international joke and disgrace," she said at the rally.

Among the bills in committee are ones that would mandate significant documentation for drivers' licenses and cut off all state benefits and welfare for illegal aliens. All but one of the bills cited by advocates are sitting in the a rules committee.

House rules committee co-chairman Mickey Michaux said lawmakers may still consider some of the proposals this session.

"Now that we've got the budget out, hopefully we can go back and take a look at them," said Michaux, D-Durham.

North Carolina ranks seventh in the nation with almost 400,000 illegal immigrants, according to the Washington-based Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research organization.