Thread: Catching up: U.S. Rep Luis Gutierrez arrested during immigra

Catching up: U.S. Rep Luis Gutierrez arrested during immigration protest

By Brett Schweinberg, bschweinberg@mysuburbanlife.com
Berwyn Life
Posted Aug 05, 2011 @ 06:10 AM

Area Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-Chicago) recently was arrested during a pro-immigrant protest outside the White House.He was one of 12 who were cuffed and later fined $100 for sitting in an area in front of the White House where people are supposed to keep moving. Gutierrez was arrested in May 2010 for a similar offense.

Despite pro-immigration reform rhetoric, Gutierrez claims President Obama is on pace to deport more immigrants than any president in history. Gutierrez also has been involved in the ongoing battle of the federal government’s debt ceiling, and said he thinks some of his colleagues in Congress have been unreasonable.

He predominantly represents Chicago, but also serves Cicero, the northern edge of Berwyn, a swath of Brookfield and a small part of Westchester.

Can you tell me what you’re protesting and why?

We have a broken immigrations system that’s really having a corrosive and destructive effect on our families ... . There's something fundamentally wrong with the way we deport some people. What I want the President to do is to get rid of the criminals and the gangbangers and the drug dealers, but I also want him to show some discretion. Leave the good people here that have families and don’t have any chance under the current law to adjust their immigration status.

Why is this issue is worth getting arrested over?

I have a specialist in my district who went to Afghanistan, and when he came back, his wife had been deported ... . I know when I leave for Washington, D.C., when I come home in four or five days, my wife will be there. My kids know, when I leave, that their father will be coming back. Tens of thousands of American children have already lost their mom or dad. I know how important it is in my life, and I want the federal government to respect those marriages and those families, too.

How does the issue of deportation affect your district?

My district has one of the largest immigrant populations out there, whether they’re from the Ukraine, Poland, the Philippines or Mexico. We have a strong immigrant community, and we all know them. They’re the people who mow our lawns and help us raise our kids. They’re the people behind the counter in our convenience stores. We know when we sit down for a nice meal who picked our vegetables. I think we should celebrate their contributions to our community and our economy.

Switching gears a bit: you’ve spent the last week mired in the debt ceiling talks. From the outside, it seems like the stakes are high and the political shenanigans has been at a high level, as well. What’s it been like on the inside?

There are new members of Congress, dozens of them, that have never sat down at a table to try and understand the other side and make a compromise. They come here with one idea and one idea alone, and there aren’t any other visions of the world. They almost get giddy sometimes. They’re so anti-government that they’re willing to bring the whole government down just because they can, and it’s dangerous to have that kind of extremism in the House.

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/features/ ... on-protest

What a scumbag, anti-American loser.

Seriously? a Compromise?

We have been Compromising for the last 50 years and look where it has gotten us.

You never stop TAKING Luis so it is time to stop compromising.

My question to Gutierrez would be "is there something stopping these kids whose parent has been deported from leaving with them"? I'm not talking about "deporting" their anchors with them but just giving the parents the option of taking them with them of which of course they do. I wonder how he would answer that one?