Thread: {Sob}U.S. immigration defeat frustrates workers' dreams

From Monsters and Critics.com

US News
U.S. immigration defeat frustrates workers' dreams
By Tim Gaynor
Jun 28, 2007, 23:30 GMT




PHOENIX - For day laborers seeking work in a sun-baked parking lot on Thursday, defeat of U.S. President George W. Bush's plans for an immigration overhaul has set back their dreams of a normal life.

The bill, which sought to give legal status to many of the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, failed to get enough support in a make-or-break vote in the U.S. Senate.

Workers standing around in searing heat outside a building materials store in Phoenix said hopes of an aboveboard life in this country of immigrants had crashed following news of the morning vote.

'Bush wanted to do something good, but the Senate wouldn't let him. It's disappointing,' Miguel Gonzalez, 37, who has been in the United States for five year, said in Spanish.

'I have heard nothing but proposals and more proposals since I arrived ... but they all get thrown out for one reason or another,' the Mexican national added with a shrug.

Bush has sought an overhaul of U.S. immigration laws for years and this bill may have been his last chance for a significant domestic legislative victory before leaving office at the end of his second term in January 2009.

It tied tough border security and workplace enforcement measures to a plan to legalize illegal immigrants and create a temporary worker program sought by business groups.

For Juan Carlos Esquivel, 36, a day laborer from Mexico City with a wife and three children, the defeat made no sense.

'There's work to be done, we want to do it, and now we can't. So how can that be a victory?' he said, standing in the shade of a mesquite tree in a straw sombrero. 'Everybody loses, and the economy will suffer.'

'WE'RE TRASH TO THEM'

Bush was unable to overcome fierce opposition from fellow Republicans who said the measure would reward an estimated 12 million immigrants for taking up residence in the United States illegally.

In Los Angeles, Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony, a key supporter of immigration reform on the West Coast, expressed regret about the Senate's decision.

'Without reform, our current system will continue to permit the exploitation of workers, the separation of families, and will handicap efforts to secure our nation's borders,' he said in a statement

Janet Napolitano, the Democratic governor of the border state of Arizona, said she was 'sorely disappointed' by the Senate's failure to act on the issue.

'By leaving it unattended, Congress is shirking its responsibility to not only Arizona, but the entire country,' she said.

Back in the parking lot, where the temperature hit 107 F (42 C) in the shade, day laborer Bonifacio Sosa said the Senate's move would keep him on the margins of society and on the run from police.

'We are illegals, we are just trash to them, and we'll just have to carry on here in the shadows hiding from everyone,' said Sosa, 58, who has raised four children since arriving in the United States 14 years ago.

'I have neither a voice or a vote, except when I pay fines or taxes,' he added as traffic roared by in the street.

(Additional reporting by David Schwartz in Phoenix)

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http://news.monstersandcritics.com/usa/news/article_132

Where's my hanky???

For Juan Carlos Esquivel, 36, a day laborer from Mexico City with a wife and three children, the defeat made no sense.

'There's work to be done, we want to do it, and now we can't. So how can that be a victory?' he said, standing in the shade of a mesquite tree in a straw sombrero. 'Everybody loses, and the economy will suffer.'

'WE'RE TRASH TO THEM'

Of course it makes no sense to you Juan, you aren't a citizen or a taxpayer so we don't expect you to understand. Go home and do your work, we don't need you here oh and by the way, don't worry about our economy, we've managed to build an entire nation and keep it going for a few hundred years now without you.

'WE'RE TRASH TO THEM'

You are lawbreakers and you must go home or face the penalty.

'We are illegals, we are just trash to them, and we'll just have to carry on here in the shadows hiding from everyone,' said Sosa, 58, who has raised four children since arriving in the United States 14 years ago.

Well....you finally admit it.

'I have neither a voice or a vote, except when I pay fines or taxes,' he added as traffic roared by in the street.

What fines and taxes have you paid?

'I have neither a voice or a vote, except when I pay fines or taxes,' he added as traffic roared by in the street

YOU KNEW you were breaking the law when you came into this country illegally. So ... you should have come the right way or stayed on your home country!!

the biggest issue still remains - anchor babies. They will come in and within a year they can chnage our country's future forever - The anchor babies will change our nation

we must get the anchor baby loophole CLOSED !

Too bad they don't bring their dreams to fruition in their own countries. Now go home and tell your government no. Stop stealing our dream!

'We are illegals, we are just trash to them, and we'll just have to carry on here in the shadows hiding from everyone,' said Sosa, 58, who has raised four children since arriving in the United States 14 years ago.



OH you're in the shadows for 14 years making a living here and standing in the parking lot. Not much shadow there sir.

'Without reform, our current system will continue to permit the exploitation of workers, the separation of families, and will handicap efforts to secure our nation's borders,' he said in a statement

To avoid exploitation...stay in your home country, don't come here.
To prevent separation of your family...stay with your family in your native country...don't come here.

'I have heard nothing but proposals and more proposals since I arrived ... but they all get thrown out for one reason or another,' the Mexican national added with a shrug.

So you came here looking to have us pass legislation to provide you benefits for coming here illegally?

For Juan Carlos Esquivel, 36, a day laborer from Mexico City with a wife and three children, the defeat made no sense. 'There's work to be done, we want to do it, and now we can't. So how can that be a victory?' he said, standing in the shade of a mesquite tree in a straw sombrero. 'Everybody loses, and the economy will suffer.'

So Juan Cartlos, a 36 year old obviously illegal alien day laborer is an expert on the American economy? And define the phrase, Juan, in which you state "everybody loses".

'We are illegals, we are just trash to them, and we'll just have to carry on here in the shadows hiding from everyone,' said Sosa, 58, who has raised four children since arriving in the United States 14 years ago.

I suggest you contact any one of our pro-amnesty Senators, say, starting with Ted Kennedy and work your way down the list. I'm sure they'll set you up.

Code:

'I have neither a voice or a vote, except when I pay fines or taxes,' he added as traffic roared by in the street.

OK, Mr. Sosa, I'd like to check on the veracity of your statement that you pay taxes. Please provide your tax returns to me for review. And what is this about fines? The U.S. doesn't levy fines against an individual unless there has been a law broken. What laws, besides illegal entry and document fraud, have you broken?