Politicians Grandstand, But Don’t Engage, on Immigration
By Sal Rodriguez
The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (CA), December 23, 2016
Stone, who noted his family included immigrants from Canada, Poland and Russia, emphasized the importance of law and order, the “forgotten souls of this country” who voted for Trump and suggested California could be putting itself in financial harm if it approved the “blunder” of a resolution.
“I can’t support the resolution because I can’t support sanctuary cities,” he said. “How many more Kate Steinles of the world are we going to have?”
His invoking of Steinle — an American woman who was murdered last year by an undocumented immigrant — is nothing new for Stone, who has pitched legislation attempting to require local law enforcement agencies to hold felons for at least 48 hours to give immigration authorities the chance to pick them up from local jails.
But while it’s certainly something worth talking about, the tendency of Republicans like Stone to fixate almost exclusively on immigrants who have done terrible things contributes to polarization over the issue. It must be acknowledged that most undocumented immigrants simply came to the United States for a better life and generally live responsible, law-abiding lives.
In addition to Stone, Morrell took to the Senate floor to note that, since the nation was founded, “there was only one type of person that was supposed to be here and that was an American person.” He continued: “That’s why we have laws, the rule of laws and we don’t want to usurp those rule of laws as our President has … I think we have to restore that rule of law and have orderly immigration.”
Following Morrell was Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, who called himself a “proud anchor baby,” and proceeded to warn any administration that threatened to undo the work of California to assist immigrants: “We are going to fight you in this Legislature, we are going to fight you in our courts and yes, we are going to fight you in the streets. We are going to organize, we are going to mobilize to ensure that we protect our most vulnerable Californians.
This prompted an awkward exchange with Morrell, who asked Lara if this fighting would involve physical confrontations and guns. Lara swept aside the remarks, reiterating his call for organizing.
In a sense, the exchange was a microcosm of much of the national debate over immigration, with little meaningful engagement between opposing sides, and lots of grandstanding. Then again, with politicians in charge, it’s no wonder immigration remains an unsolved problem.
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http://www.dailybulletin.com/opinion/20161223/politicians-grandstand-but-dont-engage-on-immigration-sal-rodriguez
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