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Thursday, September 11, 2008
Informal hearing highlights illegal immigrant criminals
Army Staff Sgt. Anita Shaw spoke emotionally Thursday about receiving a call in Iraq, during her second tour of duty, that her son Jamiel, a high school football star in Los Angeles, had been killed. Police have charged an illegal immigrant believed to be a gang member with the crime.
“We are supposed to be the land of the free, the proud, the brave, but it seems that we are being taken over by another country././. the illegal alien gang bangers,” she said.
A visibly shaken Shaw appeared before lawmakers in an unusual forum that focused on the victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants.
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee arranged the event on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to bring attention to the issue, saying that Americans are being terrorized by illegal immigrant criminals.
The unofficial hearing was decried by immigrant advocates as an attempt to exploit the grief of crime victims to paint all foreigners as criminals in order to further an anti-immigrant political agenda.
The Immigration Policy Center, an advocate group, said that the gathering was “irresponsible and dangerous.”
“It is especially troubling to see lawmakers exploit the pain of the victims of these terrible crimes to promote their political motives,” the group said, in a press release.
Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican, said that the unofficial forum was needed because the Democrats — who control Congress — have refused to have a hearing on the topic.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who chairs the House Judiciary subcommittee that overseas immigration issues, said that was not true.
“I don’t know what is the matter with this guy,” she said of King.
Lofgren said she agreed with King’s request to ask the Government Accountability Office to investigate how many crimes have been committed by illegal immigrants.
Once they get that information, they can have a hearing, she said. “We need facts,” she added.
In addition, she said of the unofficial hearing: “If they want to go through fake proceedings, I guess that’s up to them. The public is going to know it’s just a bunch of baloney.”
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Catholic bishops condemn immigration raids
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said this week that immigration raids destroy families and won’t fix the nation’s broken immigration system.
“The humanitarian costs of these raids are immeasurable and unacceptable in a civilized society,” said Bishop John Wester, chairman of the group. “While we do not question the right and duty of our government to enforce the law, we do question whether worksite enforcement raids are the most effective and humane method for performing this duty, particularly as they are presently being implemented.”
Read the press release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops here.
Read more here
