Republicans disclosed a Spanish-language radio advertising campaign designed to shoulder Democrats with the responsibility for legislation passed by the GOP-controlled House that would make illegal immigrants subject to felony charges.
The ads are scheduled to air in New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada — states with large Latino populations.
The Senate has not voted on the issue of penalties. In the House, Republicans drafted legislation to make illegal immigrants subject to felony charges. Democrats say they were denied a chance to eliminate criminal penalties from the bill.
At another point, Republicans tried to substitute misdemeanor charges for felonies in the bill. Democrats opposed that effort, with at least some of them saying they wanted no criminal penalties at all. Republicans then passed the overall bill — including felony charges — on a largely party-line vote.
Friday, April 14, 2006
GOP LIES TO HISPANICS IN NEW AD CAMPAIGN
The immigration debate is cluttered by a Republican effort to blame Democrats for something the GOP did. The Los Angeles Times reports:
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5 comments:
Egad!
Republicans lying to voters?
Republicans perverting truth and justice, simply in order to remain in office?
No, this can't be. Shame on Ron Davis for perpetrating such nonsense ... he must be one of them far-out wacko liberals we keep hearing about ... you know, the guys who are ruining this great nation under Christ.
More left wing agenda, when will some decent folks take control of this mess?
It SHOULD be a felony to sneak into this country. We have a right to know who's coming in. Othewise, why have a Border Patrol at all?
If people want to come work here, fine. Just sign the friggin' guest book first, okay?
Or, better yet... apply to become a citizen. Yes, that process needs to be simplified, it's a bureaucratic nightmare (most of government IS such a nightmare, though), but we're a nation of laws - too many laws, in some cases, but some laws DO need to exist.
Then again, it IS fun to watch the Two-Party Monopoly beat itself up; it's like watching a two-headed snake fight over its food. Great fun.
This is a subject that is especially important to me, since I represent indigent criminal defendants in Texas, and most of my clients are illegals.
Totally agree that we need laws in this area. Totally agree that illegals should register/naturalize. But a felony? Do you know sentence ranges for federal felonies? As in so many cases, the problem is not what we criminalize, but how we punish it. An illegal who returns to this country right now with a prior marijuana possession offense can serve four or five years in prison. Under the new statute, he might get a MANDATORY minimum of ten. Felonizing first-time enterers means putting folks away for up to five years. For crossing the river.
Even if that were fair, do you know how many people cross every year (deterrence will not work for most of these folks, so they're still going to come)? We can't afford this plan, because we don't have the prison space for it.
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