Clinton vows to block bill criminalizing illegal immigrants

[Bronx33]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--clinton-immigrati0322mar22,0,2312317.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

March 22, 2006, 2:51 PM EST

NEW YORK -- Invoking Biblical themes, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton joined immigration advocates Wednesday to vow and block legislation seeking to criminalize undocumented immigrants.

Clinton, a potential 2008 presidential candidate and relative latecomer to the immigration debate, made her remarks as the Senate prepares to take up the matter next week.


Surrounded by a multicultural coalition of New York immigration advocates, Clinton blasted the House bill as "mean-spirited" and said it flew in the face of Republicans' stated support for faith and values.

"It is certainly not in keeping with my understanding of the Scriptures," Clinton said, "because this bill would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself."

Clinton did not specifically endorse any competing legislation, including a bill co-authored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and another by Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), saying she hoped the Senate Judiciary Committee would produce a compromise incorporating the best elements of all the bills and would remove the harsh penalties contained in the House measure.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has said the Senate will take up his proposal to tighten borders and punish employers who hire illegal immigrants if the Judiciary Committee doesn't complete a broader bill by next week.

Among other things, Clinton said she would support legislation that would strengthen U.S. borders, boost technology to secure the borders, and seek greater cross-border cooperation with Mexico and other neighboring countries.

She also called for new enforcement laws, including penalties for employers who exploit illegal immigrants, as well as a system to allow the roughly 11 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States to earn their citizenship.

Clinton expressed sympathy to representatives of communities along the U.S.-Mexico border that are frustrated by the stress of providing social services to large numbers of undocumented immigrants. But she also said she hoped to send a message that supporters of punitive immigration policy faced significant political risk for doing so.

"We want the outcome to be that they're on the wrong side of the politics as well as the wrong side of history and American values," she said.

President Bush has argued for a guest worker program that would allow undocumented immigrants already in the United States to keep their jobs for up to six years. The effort hasn't gained much momentum, partly due to fierce resistance from others within the GOP.

[epicSocialism4tw]

oh geez. Now Clinton is pandering to Christians. Enough pandering. Let's see some honesty (yeah right).

Well, our government has officially sold us completely down the river. We are no longer a part of what we thought was America, but are now just tools to be used by the spreading New World Order government.

Get ready to see more and more money pulled out of the middle and working class. It's going to be hard for awhile.

[Rascal]

Shut up hillary and go tell Bill to get off his secretary.

[Spider]

The love for Hilary on the left is vastly over rated , LABF said along time ago Hillary was GOP lite ...... I have stated I wont vote for her , but then McCain sold his own áss out as far as Iam concerned .........

[Spider]

Shut up hillary and go tell Bill to get off his secretary.
I never understood this , why worry about what Bill does with his pecker ? seriously I see it as Hilarys problem not mine , I could care less about who Clinton is doing ..........

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Please, God, don't let Hillary run in '08!

:oyvey:

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

I never understood this , why worry about what Bill does with his pecker ? seriously I see it as Hilarys problem not mine , I could care less about who Clinton is doing ..........

An eight-year, $60 million, taxpayer-funded fishing expedition, and this was the best they could do.

[Garcia Bronco]

I think Hillary would be a bigger mistake than Kerry and Edwards.

[Atlas]

oh geez. Now Clinton is pandering to Christians. Enough pandering. Let's see some honesty (yeah right).

Well, our government has officially sold us completely down the river. We are no longer a part of what we thought was America, but are now just tools to be used by the spreading New World Order government.

Get ready to see more and more money pulled out of the middle and working class. It's going to be hard for awhile.

I don't understand this. I mean a huge majority of Americans want the borders tightened yet BOTH democrats and republicans are totally out of touch of whatus the people want. It's redicules.

I guess this is one thing Bush and Hillary have in common and the fact is that they both are wrong.

[Rigs11]

I think Hillary would be a bigger mistake than Kerry and Edwards.
Good one, I needed a laugh. My dog could run this country better than that schmuck you call a president.

[Garcia Bronco]

Good one, I needed a laugh. My dog could run this country better than that schmuck you call a president.


Easy cheesy...put your guns away.

[El Guapo]

something is just wrong hearing hillary speak of Jesus Christ.

[Rascal]

I never understood this , why worry about what Bill does with his pecker ? seriously I see it as Hilarys problem not mine , I could care less about who Clinton is doing ..........

It was a joke.

I could care less about who/what Clinton does.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

I think Hillary would be a bigger mistake than Kerry and Edwards.

Excuse me if I approach this sort of speculation by a guy who twice voted for Disaster Boy with extreme skepticism.

:D

[Rohirrim]

Yeah, I was listening to Harry Reid telling Wolf Blitzer last night how he wanted to make those 12 million illegal immigrants into American citizens. And presumably, the 12 million behind them, and the 12 million behind them. Hey, pretty soon, we'll all be able to work for 8 bucks an hour. Yippee.

I just realized something. I'm no longer a Democrat. I'm an independent. Goodbye Hillary. Have a nice life.

[Garcia Bronco]

Excuse me if I approach this sort of speculation by a guy who twice voted for Disaster Boy with extreme skepticism.

:D


I did not vote for Bush twice. since I became of age I have voted for Clinton, Gore, and GWB.

[baja]

Please, God, don't let Hillary run in '08!

:oyvey:

Problem is she will insure a Republican victory but at this point the right Republican would be welcome, anything to get the insane administration out of power.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

I just realized something. I'm no longer a Democrat. I'm an independent.

That happened to you too, eh? ;)

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

I did not vote for Bush twice. since I became of age I have voted for Clinton, Gore, and GWB.

You voted for Gore? ???

Wow - there is absolutely nothing in any of your posts that would even remotely clue anyone into this.

[Garcia Bronco]

You voted for Gore? ???

Wow - there is absolutely nothing in any of your posts that would even remotely clue anyone into this.


I said it in direct response to many of your posts. I thought he was far and away a better choice than George Bush. Just like I still think that GWb for all his faults is miles away better than John Kerry, Howard Dean, or John Edwards.

These were my choices.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

I said it in direct response to many of your posts. I thought he was far and away a better choice than George Bush.

I don't remember hearing you say this, but it's encouraging to hear nonetheless.

:thumbsup:

Just like I still think that GWb for all his faults is miles away better than John Kerry, Howard Dean, or John Edwards.


A Chia Pet would be an improvement over GeeDubya.

[RMT]

I don't understand this. I mean a huge majority of Americans want the borders tightened yet BOTH democrats and republicans are totally out of touch of whatus the people want. It's redicules.

I guess this is one thing Bush and Hillary have in common and the fact is that they both are wrong.

You're right ... it's as if they are worried they'll lose the illegal immigrant vote in the next election Uhh

[RMT]

Is anyone else as disturbed as I am about the "thousands march for immigration rights" headlines in the news? Seems to me the big uproar is over ILLEGAL immigration rights ... since when do they have any rights? It's bad enough they are perptual lawbreakers by just being here, but when I hear of crimes committed by ILLEGALS against LEGAL U.S. citizens, it just pisses me off to no end.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Is anyone else disturbed as I am about the "thousands march for immigration rights" headlines in the news? Seems to me the big uproar is over ILLEGAL immigration rights ... since when do they have any rights? It's bad enough they are perptual lawbreakers by just being here, but when I hear of crimes committed by ILLEGALS against LEGAL U.S. citizens, it just pisses me off to no end.

Mark your calendar - this is one time when I agree with you 100%.

[RMT]

Mark your calendar - this is one time when I agree with you 100%.

What, you don't ever agree with anything else I post? ;)

[RMT]

Interesting Hillary Clinton quote from 2003, "I am adamantly against illegal immigrants. If we're going to let people in for the work that otherwise would not be done, let's have a system that keeps track of them."

Time to get out the flip-flops again.

[Hogan11]

Anyone who takes Hillary seriously has problems.....nuff said.

The only reason she retains her seat in NY is that they run total, unknown stiffs against her. I'm surprised the state's GOP couldn't come up with anything better...then again, they are too pre-occupied with Spitzer because he's handing their ass to them at every turn......

I really hope John Edwards runs again...he had much more vision and ideas than Kerry ever did.

[ClevelandBronco]

Is anyone else disturbed as I am about the "thousands march for immigration rights" headlines in the news? Seems to me the big uproar is over ILLEGAL immigration rights ...

I'm disturbed about their numbers here. I'm saddened that they have made it tougher for our own citizens to compete for jobs in domestic workforces. Opportunities for our own citizens in the construction industry and the restaurant/hospitality sector (among others) have been radically displaced, and that's a shame.

since when do they have any rights?

There have been several U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have upheld the idea that illegal aliens in the U.S. are protected to some degree by the same rights guaranteed to U.S. citizens under our Constitution. I think that's actually a good thing.

On balance, I don't think it's a good thing they're here, but I think it's a good thing they're treated well under our laws once they are here.

Certainly you're right. If they commit crimes, they should feel the full weight of our justice system descend upon them. But by and large, the illegals I've known are good people desperately looking for a better life. They don't come here to do violence against us.

It's hard for me to blame them. IMO, we should blame our government for letting them in, but we shouldn't blame the illegal aliens for taking advantage of the readily obtainable opportunity our government has given them to come here.

[Rascal]

See I think they should have rights, but that doesn't mean we can't kick their ass out of the country and charge them with _____ for being here illegally.

The same principle applies to those at Guantanamo Bay IMO. They have rights as well.

That should stir up the masses. LOL

[ClevelandBronco]

Mark your calendar - this is one time when I agree with you 100%.

I'm not going to pretend to trap you, because anyone as well-read as you already knows that illegals are protected by certain Constitutional rights as soon as they set foot on U.S. soil.

So, I assume you mean that you agree with the sentiment "100%."

[RMT]

I'm disturbed about their numbers here. I'm saddened that they have made it tougher for our own citizens to compete for jobs in domestic workforces. Opportunities for our own citizens in the construction industry and the restaurant/hospitality sector (among others) have been radically displaced, and that's a shame.



There have been several U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have upheld the idea that illegal aliens in the U.S. are protected to some degree by the same rights guaranteed to U.S. citizens under our Constitution. I think that's actually a good thing.

On balance, I don't think it's a good thing they're here, but I think it's a good thing they're treated well under our laws once they are here.

Certainly you're right. If they commit crimes, they should feel the full weight of our justice system descend upon them. But by and large, the illegals I've known are good people desperately looking for a better life. They don't come here to do violence against us.

It's hard for me to blame them. IMO, we should blame our government for letting them in, but we shouldn't blame the illegal aliens for taking advantage of the readily obtainable opportunity our government has given them to come here.

I agree with much of what you posted. Logically-speaking, though, why is it our government's fault for forgeigners breaking our laws? That would be like me getting in a car accident caused by excessive speeding and then blaming a state patrolman for not stopping me and writing me a ticket. People are consciously breaking the law, which is why there is so much discussion about tightening our borders. And then these same people who are breaking our law are protesting the government for wanting to enforce immigration law to a greater extent.

[RMT]

I'm not going to pretend to trap you, because anyone as well-read as you already knows that illegals are protected by certain Constitutional rights as soon as they set foot on U.S. soil.

So, I assume you mean that you agree with the sentiment "100%."

I'm not saying that don't deserve to have "undeniable" rights but keep in mind that in education finance, each student is worth about $5000.

And current legislation gives a child automatic U.S. citizenship just for being born here, even if one or both of the child's parents are illegals. So, for all of the children of illegal immigrants, taxpayers are paying $5000/child EVERY year that child attends school.

[ClevelandBronco]

I agree with much of what you posted. Logically-speaking, though, why is it our government's fault for forgeigners breaking our laws? That would be like me getting in a car accident caused by excessive speeding and then blaming a state patrolman for not stopping me and writing me a ticket. People are consciously breaking the law, which is why there is so much discussion about tightening our borders. And then these same people who are breaking our law are protesting the government for wanting to enforce immigration law to a greater extent.

Let's say that I have a swimming pool. Your family lives next door and you don't have one. It's a hot summer, you don't have any way to cool off (no one bothered to install air conditioning in your place). Your family has been looking at my swimming pool for about 150 years, and there are folks in your own family who tell you that you actually used to own a good chunk of the land where I built my swimming pool. I just stole it a long time ago from your family.

I haven't bothered to erect a fence, I just assume you'll stay in your yard (unless you have my permission) and I'll stay in mine.

How long will it be before you decide to dive in when I'm not looking?

[ClevelandBronco]

I'm not saying that don't deserve to have "undeniable" rights but keep in mind that in education finance, each student is worth about $5000.

And current legislation gives a child automatic U.S. citizenship just for being born here, even if one or both of the child's parents are illegals. So, for all of the children of illegal immigrants, taxpayers are paying $5000/child EVERY year that child attends school.

If you're talking about K–12 education, I would like to give an education to those children who are here rather than have them try to find something else to do with their time while their parents are working. I think it might cost us more to deal with a large population of underaged kids running free all day. Rather than sentence them to Juvi Hall for the stuff that kids will often do when they're left alone, let's just sentence them to math class instead. $5K a year sounds like a bargain to me.

If the subject is higher education, I know that there have been initiatives to grant in-state tuition rates at state-supported universities to illegal aliens who can prove residence in the state in question. I don't support that.

[RMT]

Let's say that I have a swimming pool. Your family lives next door and you don't have one. It's a hot summer, you don't have any way to cool off (no one bothered to install air conditioning in your place). Your family has been looking at my swimming pool for about 150 years, and there are folks in your own family who tell you that you actually used to own a good chunk of the land where I built my swimming pool. I just stole it a long time ago from your family.

I haven't bothered to erect a fence, I just assume you'll stay in your yard (unless you have my permission) and I'll stay in mine.

How long will it be before you decide to dive in when I'm not looking?

So, you are saying that trespassing is legal and it's my fault someone wants to swim in my pool because I don't put up a fence? Nothing like deflecting the blame.

[RMT]

If you're talking about K–12 education, I would like to give an education to those children who are here rather than have them try to find something else to do with their time while their parents are working. I think it might cost us more to deal with a large population of underaged kids running free all day. Rather than sentence them to Juvi Hall for the stuff that kids will often do when they're left alone, let's just sentence them to math class instead. $5K a year sounds like a bargain to me.

If the subject is higher education, I know that there have been initiatives to grant in-state tuition rates at state-supported universities to illegal aliens who can prove residence in the state in question. I don't support that.

How are the two mutually exclusive other than the age of the students (K-12 vs. College)? So, you'd rather have taxpayers pay $5000/year for an illegal K-12 student to receive an education but not let an illegal save himself/herself $5000/year. In both cases the public is subsidizing the education. The only difference is that the K-12 money is coming out of OUR pocket and the college money is STAYING in the pocket of the person going to college. hmmm...

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

I'm not going to pretend to trap you, because anyone as well-read as you already knows that illegals are protected by certain Constitutional rights as soon as they set foot on U.S. soil.

So, I assume you mean that you agree with the sentiment "100%."

Um, yeah, the post to which I responded was nothing but pure sentiment/opinion, so that would be a pretty simple call.

[Rohirrim]

Looks like the Senate is moving in the direction of amnesty for the 12 to 20 million illegals. The McCain/Kennedy bill has moved out of committee. It gives illegals already working here 6 year work visas with built in extensions, the built-in option of legally bringing up their family members to live with them (I guess the number now goes from 12/20 million to 50/60 million), and a fast track to citizenship status (too bad, all you suckers from other countries who waded through the legal immigration process). Time to get out your wallet, America. YOU will be paying the health care costs. YOU will be paying the education and social services costs.

Write a letter to your Senator. Ask them this question: If 12 to 20 million Americans decided not to pay their taxes this year, would the U.S. government give them amnesty?

The American worker better wake up and start marching in the streets if they want to be heard. We're being sold down the river. If you do decide to march, select whatever flag you think is most appropriate.

[epicSocialism4tw]

The American worker better wake up and start marching in the streets if they want to be heard.

Already done and done, my friend.

We're being sold down the river.

Also already done...long ago. I think we're too far down it to return.