The lack cooperation on immigration reform by the majority of House Republicans should come as little surprise to anyone. As a nation, we are faced with a lack of meaningful action to assist the surge of immigrant children crossing our borders from other countries. President Obama has requested and been denied by the Republican Congress the $3.7 billion necessary to help alleviate this crisis. The House majority continues to play a game of political football with issues that impact millions of lives, and then criticizes our president for his use of executive powers to compensate for its inaction.
The Jewish community knows all too well the plight of being immigrants, having fled homelands to escape violence and oppression. We have not forgotten that Jewish immigrants once were not welcome on America’s shores, turned away in their greatest time of need. Torah says that “When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt…” (Leviticus 19: 33–34). The National Jewish Democratic Council’s Women’s Leadership Network respects the wisdom of our tradition.
Sadly, the House leadership’s words and inaction suggest that these pols do not. Several Republican spokespeople have been using a smear and scare campaign directed at these immigrant children. For example, Rep. Michele Bachmann called them “invaders.” In a letter to the Centers for Disease Control, Rep. Phil Gingrey of Georgia made unsubstantiated claims that the immigrant children were infected with the Ebola virus and would contaminate Americans. Arizona state Rep. Adam Kwasman tweeted, mistaking a school bus full of Arizona campers for the immigrant children, “Bus coming in. This is not compassion. This is the abrogation of the rule of law.”
Anti-immigrant protesters claim their movement is growing. Make Them Listen, Overpasses for America, and Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) announced a “National Day of Protesting Against Immigration Reform, Amnesty & Border Surge” back on July 18. The leaders of these groups, including Paul Arnold, William Gheen and Jeff Schwilk, have a history of disturbing rhetoric that borders on bigotry. The protesters are embracing a nationalist agenda that includes a “Not in my backyard” approach while forgetting that they, too, are Americans because their forebears came looking for a better life in America.
Since the passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), debate, discussion, pleas and urging for a more fair and comprehensive national immigration reform law have gained a great deal of attention and consumed a great deal of time. Yet, House Republicans continue to resist taking productive action. A year ago, they rejected the Senate-passed comprehensive immigration reform bill. Now, faced with a serious humanitarian crisis, some House Republicans offer a quick and inadequate fix to a problem that requires a broader, compassionate and wiser view. They are attempting to force inadequate immigration bills through the legislative process before the August recess. Their bills sidestep a fair asylum process for immigrant Central American children fleeing violence and abuse, and they do not provide the president with adequate resources to address this growing crisis. If passed, the House Republican leadership would declare a victory while worsening the situation.
The children from Central America are fleeing beatings, rapes, murder – the worst kind of existence we can imagine for a child. While we cannot take ultimate responsibility for their parents’ desperation, neither can we as Americans and Jews deny these children due process and protections that we have historically granted to others.
America is the land of hope and opportunity, a safe haven for those who were persecuted and tempest-tossed. It is time we reaffirm that legacy.
Barbara Goldberg Goldman and Ann F. Lewis are co-chairs of NJDC’s Women’s Leadership Network.
Very well put article I, agree with the every point made. My parents came here to escape anti-Semitism. These children must not be made a political ploy.
I hope Stephen Frank Editor of California Political News and Views don’t mind but I think Americans should be aware of what is NOT being released by the Obama national media and certainly not this administration, which is entirely to blame for this illegal alien invasion. President Obamas “Catch and Release” program is exactly that? As far as I am concerned in my personal opinion, he has violated our sovereignty. He and he alone, deferred millions of teenagers under his DACA policy from deportability if they joined the military or demonstrated they would stay in school. The US Border Patrol Supervisors had been sent a directive by Homeland Security not to detain illegal aliens. The word resounded around the world and now our Southern border is pummeled by millions of unaccompanied minors, teenagers with ages ranging from 13-18, pregnant females and whole families.
Its almost nine years after terrorists murdered 2,751 people on Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. is still facing a major threat as hundreds of illegal aliens from countries known to support and sponsor terrorism sneak across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2010/05/156441
Incidentally their has been a noticeable arrival rate of illegal aliens from Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan, Cuba, Brazil, Ecuador, China, Russia, Yemen, Albania, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan – all apprehended in the, Rio Grande Valley, South Texas sector alone, causing border chaos. Based on U.S. Border Patrol statistics, there were 30,147 OTMs apprehended in fiscal year 2003; 44, 614 in fiscal years 2004; 165,178 in fiscal year 2005; and 108,025 in fiscal year 2006. Most were caught along the U.S. Southwest border.
The Texas border – specifically the McAllen area – outpaces the rest of the nation in OTMs (other than Mexicans) and aliens from “special-interest countries.”
Mr. Stephen says: A few weeks ago there was an outbreak of TB and chicken pox among the illegal aliens held at the Port Hueneme Naval base. In three weeks those kids will be in class rooms infecting 8,000 children in the local school district—maybe they have already escaped from Obama custody and are at the park, serving burgers, working at a car wash—somewhere in the community infecting us.
Now another holding facility—where kids are disappearing as planned—needs a lock down.
“A few days ago we shared the Washington Times story about a facility in New Mexico being closed due to a Chicken Pox outbreak. However, a little more research into the Artesia, New Mexico, Detainment Center and you can find out a week prior a little-known CDC/DHS inspection found there were 89 (eighty-nine) cases of Tuberculosis identified in the exact same facility.
Barack Obama is afraid that even Democrats would revolt if they knew that besides a financial disaster, an education crisis, he has imported a health care crisis. As the extent of the health crisis caused by the importation of illegal aliens becomes more known, Democrats taking money raised by Obama will be forced to give the money back. The November elections can be a meltdown for the Democrat Party.
If, according to the reporter and city council member, no detainee through 7/22/14 “has been found to have any contagious disease“, then why did the entire facility get quarantined five days after they began screening (x-rays) for “active TB” ?
Think about it.
…And another coincidence. The same day as the media reports the facility was quarantined, President Obama signs an executive order allowing for the detainment and quarantine of those showing signs of acute respiratory disease, ex: Tuberculosis.
On Thursday, Barack Obama signed an executive order that allows for the apprehension, detention, or conditional release of individuals with certain severe acute respiratory diseases, not including influenza. Theexecutive order modifies one signed in 2003 by George Bush that allowed for the detention and quarantine of those with SARS.
“Severe acute respiratory syndromes, which are diseases that are associated with fever and signs and symptoms of pneumonia or other respiratory illness, are capable of being transmitted from person to person, and that either are causing, or have the potential to cause, a pandemic, or, upon infection, are highly likely to cause mortality or serious morbidity if not properly controlled,” the executive order reads. “This subsection does not apply to influenza.” (link)
Our hunch, our reasonable hunch based on empirical evidence, is the quarantine was a direct result of positive x-ray scans for ACTIVE TB.
Further evidenced is available because the CDC, DHS and ICE have been studying TB contagion rates in illegal aliens for several years. And not coincidentally guess which countries have the highest rates of TB virus:
Only candidates of the National TEA PARTY, moderate Conservatism will enforce immigration laws and follow the dictates of the Rule of Law, the Federal Registry and the US Constitution. We need National TEA PARTY candidates who will abide by the oath of allegiance, our sovereignty to honor the Rule of Law and the vision of our founders, the US Constitution. Check this site that has the phone Numbers and Mailing Addresses of Members of Congress at: http://www.contactingthecongress/ to demand an end to illegal immigration and the dismantling of our laws, sovereignty and military, which is protection against our enemies. This is the number for the central switchboard for Congress to address your grievances at 800-224-3121.
We must Block amnesty for illegal aliens, which is entirely up to us—grassroots America—the little vulnerable populace. You can also get alternative—NO SPIN– news about issues at One-America cable TV News http:/www.oann.com/ and TeaPartypatriots.org/ teaparty.org You might also like to try (AliPac) http://www.alipac.us/ Another website worth seeing is http://www.numbersusa.com
We are NOT anti immigrant. We ARE anti ILLEGAL immigrant. There IS a difference!
I am the founder of the National Day of Protesting and I DEMAND a retraction of your lie !