GREEN PARTY U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE WARNS IMMIGRANT RIGHTS SUPPORTERS TO 'BEWARE OF THE DEMOCRATS'
For Immediate Release
September 22, 2010
Contact:
info@voteforduane.org ANAHEIM, Calif – Duane Roberts, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, warns immigrant rights supporters to "beware of the Democrats", pointing out politicians from that party have "been far more aggressive" in criminalizing undocumented workers than their counterparts. Roberts says some "anti-immigrant initiatives" pushed by Republicans started with Democrats:
"During the past week, Democrats in the U.S. Senate have been introducing legislation they know won't pass like the DREAM Act in an cynical attempt to dupe supporters of immigrant rights into thinking that meaningful 'immigration reform' is around the corner if they just keep voting this party back into power. But beware of the Democrats. They are not what they portray themselves to be.
"The reason why Democrats back the DREAM Act is not because they are 'pro-immigrant', but because the Obama administration is rapidly expanding U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan and is preparing to launch an attack against Iran. It wants undocumented workers to enlist in the armed forces to become cannon fodder in these wars to avoid drafting 'citizens'.
"The Democratic Party works incredibly hard to maintain this rather elaborate -- but completely phony -- facade of being welcoming of all newcomers to this country. But the harsh reality is that its politicians have historically been far more aggressive than their Republican Party counterparts in pushing for laws and policies criminalizing undocumented workers.
"In 1993, Elaine Alquist, a Democratic State Senator, introduced S.B. 976, the bill that stripped undocumented workers of the right to obtain a driver's license in the state of California. The only reason why then-Republican Governor Pete Wilson was able to sign it into law is because the Democrats which controlled both houses of the State Legislature put it on his desk.
"In 1997, Loretta Sanchez, a Democratic Congresswoman, asked the Clinton administration to continue funding a 'pilot program' at the Anaheim City jail where immigration agents were used to screen detainees taken into custody. This program caused the deportation of numerous undocumented workers with no prior criminal records for minor offenses and traffic violations.
"Last year, President Obama appointed Janet Napolitano to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. When Napolitano was Democratic Governor of Arizona, she was a close ally of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and lobbied the Bush administration on his behalf to give his army of deputies the power to arrest undocumented workers under provisions of 287(g).
"Not too long ago, Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer voted in favor of an unsuccessful amendment to a defense spending bill that authorized $250 million in funds to deploy 6,000 National Guardsmen to patrol the U.S./Mexico border. She, along with her colleague, Senator Dianne Feinstein, another Democrat, have been avid cheerleaders for militarizing the border since the 1990s.
"If you scrutinize anti-immigrant initiatives peddled by opportunistic Republican Party politicians, in most circumstances you'll discover they've modeled them on laws and policies originally crafted by Democratic Party politicians. The ultimate irony in this is that the Republicans are called racists for advancing initiatives that were first introduced by the Democrats.
"Take for example Alan Mansoor, the Republican Mayor of Costa Mesa. Almost every anti-immigrant initiative he has proposed on the council dais during his term were based on laws and policies put into motion by President Bill Clinton, Senator Boxer, Senator Feinstein, Congresswoman Sanchez, and lately Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano -- all Democrats.
"The reason Mayor Mansoor was able to get immigration agents stationed full-time in the Costa Mesa City jail was because Congresswoman Sanchez helped keep the original 'pilot program' alive at Anaheim City jail over a decade ago. Back then, the federal government wanted it shut down because they didn't want their immigration agents wasting time deporting low-level offenders.
"Eugene Debs, the five-time Socialist Party candidate for President, once said there was 'not a dime's worth of difference' between the two major capitalist political parties. That's not entirely correct: When the Republicans kick undocumented workers in the teeth, they do it with an ugly frown on their face; when the Democrats do the same thing, they do it with a friendly smile.
"Beware of the Democrats".
www.voteforduane.org
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