Thread: VA: Jim Webb -- TURN UP THE HEAT!

Webb Catching Heat On Immigration From Left and Right

by: Lowell
Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 23:05:35 PM EDT

Tomorrow's edition of The Hill reports that Senator Webb is facing a "backlash" from Virginia pro- AND anti-immigration groups.
The pro-immigration groups are critical of Webb for proposing an amendment that would "add criteria for 12 million illegal immigrants trying to qualify for 'Z visas' by requiring the visas be made available to those in the country for longer than four years and those who have 'strong roots' in their communities."

According to Claire Guthrie Gastañaga of the Virginia Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, "Senator Webb's amendment essentially leaves millions and millions of people in the shadow." Mukit Hossain, president of the Virginia Muslim Political Action Committee, says that "It's premature to say that the community has given up on Jim Webb, but there are a lot of questions on what is it he is trying to achieve and [whether] our trust [was] well founded."

Meanwhile, the article reports that Webb "also is facing a groundswell of pressure from the right," specifically the "anti-illegal immigration group NumbersUSA."

Does the fact that Senator Webb is being attacked from both the left AND the right on immigration mean that he's right in the middle of American public opinion on this issue? And wouldn't that be a good thing? Or, is the old quote by former Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower correct, that "[t]here's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos?" I guess we'll find out soon. Personally, I hope that the center holds on this issue, and we get some sort of reasonable immigration reform. If not, something tells me we won't be revisiting this issue for a loooooong time to come.

Source: http://www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=9039

Called Webb's office a bit ago. Although the staffer would not speak for Webb, he believed it was PROBABLE that Webb would vote YES for the Immigration Bill if Webb's Amendment was passed. I figured as much, so I was ready with Virginia stats (our state unemployment rate is 9.6%, for example).

However, after a one-sided debate with the staffer, he also said that if there were other Amendments that were passed and Webb did not approve of them, he would probably not vote for the Bill.

Essentially, Webb is non-committal, so keep pushing him.

The press release on his Amendment is found here: http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=275586

Many pro-amnesty folks hate his Amendment because the "pathway" will only be provided for employed illegals who have "roots", as he calls it.

Thanks for the heads up.

Can you post his contact info here too? Will encourage people who open this thread to call him.

You did a great job with the staffer!!

Senator Jim Webb CONTACT INFO (offices, phones, and email addys):


Hampton Roads
222 Central Park Ave.
Suite 120
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
Phone: 757-518-1674
Fax: 757-518-1679


Richmond Office
507 East Franklin Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: 804-771-2221
Fax: 804-771-8313


Roanoke Office
3140 Chaparral Drive
Building C, Suite 101
Roanoke, VA 24018
Phone: 540-772-4236
Fax: 540-772-6870


Washington, D.C.
144 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4024
Fax: 202-228-6363

Direct email:

jim_webb@webb.senate.gov (note there is an 'underscore' character between first and last name, not a blank-space)

Senate Contact Form for email:

http://webb.senate.gov/contact/

We have possibilities with Jim Webb...he is an independant-minded democrat. Virginians...please continue to write, call & fax. It's for our children & grandchildren's future! Don't let corporate America dissolve the middle class and our country.

Does the fact that Senator Webb is being attacked from both the left AND the right on immigration mean that he's right in the middle of American public opinion on this issue?

Give me a break, siding with 20% of the population does not put you in the midde!

Just finished faxing both Senators again...they are going to keep hearing from me every day until this thing is defeated. I'll never relent.

"Does the fact that Senator Webb is being attacked from both the left AND the right on immigration mean that he's right in the middle of American public opinion on this issue?"

I live in Georgia, down here if you have a tornado on your right side and another one on your left side, then you've got real problems. Webb's got real problems. Maybe he should get out of the path of the storm?

By the way, why is it that the media always assumes that the middle ground is where most people stand? Polls are running 80% or more against this bill. It doesn't sound like the majority position is in the middle.

The basic labor and economic figures support our beliefs. Here is how I try to hold their feet-to-the-fire:

Living in poverty in America is currently defined as earning a household income of less than $18,000 annually. And there is a much larger group that is the families making under $25,000. Those are the people who we consider the working poor. The majority of low-skilled, poorly educated, low-income illegal aliens earn wages that place them in one of these above-mentioned income categories.

The working poor and those living at or below-poverty level utilize tax-based services and benefits. Without the tax-base of the middle class, there will be insufficient funding (or no funding, depending upon how depressed and/or depleted our middle class gets). Who will pay for these services and benefits to the poor?

There are three forms of poverty here in Virginia (like most areas): generational poverty, immigration poverty, and situational poverty. The prevalence of "immigration poverty" is obvious in our large Virginia suburban areas and university towns. These urban/suburban centers provide services to the poor, such as public transportation, public education, and public housing. The burden of paying for social programs for the poor falls disproportionately on Virginia taxpayers, even more so on those living in the higher illegal alien concentrations such as Manassas, Fairfax, or Centreville.

These cities have a large number of entry-level jobs that allow people to work but not earn a sufficient wage. The catch-all phrase we hear about illegal aliens (code word: immigrant) who are employed is: "they are filling jobs" or "they are doing the jobs that no one else will do" is very misleading. This type of statement does not provide any information on the actual wages earned (usually at or below poverty level, certainly hovering around the minimum wage). Also, having a "job" does not provide information about job-related benefits (usually few if any). The majority of illegal aliens don't have a lot of education or skills that will help them get into the job market. Once they have a job, they're stuck, unless they can learn while they are in a job (OTJ training, so to speak).

They then use public services when possible. Public services most widely used by low-income residents, such as subsidized housing and public transport, help offset those low wages. Who pays for that ??? TAXPAYERS, and these are the wage-earning taxpayers from the middle or upper middle classes who do not USE those services. So taxpayers help offset the low wages for the low-skilled illegal aliens, so that we can help our corporations make higher profit margins. And this is what is "good for the economy".

Yeah, right....

As William said, "I don't think many people believe anything this lying puppet of big business says any more."

Don't think that all illegals work at or below the poverty level.

Here in Georgia a lot of these people work at construction jobs and make between 20 and 30 dollars per hour. They take jobs away from American workers who will do these jobs.

Also, some of the illegals own their own businesses, some of these businesses cater to the latino community but others are mainstream businesses competing directly with businesses own and operated by American citizens.

Some of these illegal businesses have been started by using SBA loans. I read an article the other day about illegals applying for SBA loans in California.