Hispanic lawmakers back off after advisory on Gillibrand ‘pandering to xenophobes’
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- January
- 27
Hispanic lawmakers had planned a news conference in Albany today to call for the defeat of newly appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand when she runs for the office next year. A press release put out by Assemblyman Peter Rivera, a Democrat from the Bronx, said:
In New York, where as many as 1 of every 3 residents is an immigrant or a 2nd and 3rd generation born of immigrant parents, Gillibrand’s pandering to xenophobes has made her persona non-grata in communities across the state.
The group was planning to make the announcement before her swearing-in, and promised to “showcase her campaign literature as evidence of her scapegoating of even legal immigrants to win elected office.”
But the news conference was called off. Joe Spector, from Gannett News Service’s Albany bureau, reports that the leaders decided to wait and get more answers from Gillibrand.
Here is his report:
“It was our contention that she has a questionable immigration background, among other issues,” said Assemblyman Jose Peralta, D-Queens. “We wanted her to answer some questions.”
Peralta said the news advisory was the case of a misunderstanding among aides.
Still, the issue highlights one of the major problems Gillibrand, of the Albany area, will have to overcome to win election, particularly in minority communities where she is unknown. After her selection, the newspaper El Diario La Prensa had the headline “Anti Inmigrante” over a picture of her.
Gillibrand said Monday that she will serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee and will make immigration reform a top priority.
“My view has always been we need to right-size immigration,” she said. “We need to have the right number of visas to accommodate the right number of workers, particularly for this industry.”
A Marist College poll found that 46 percent of New York voters support Gillibrand’s appointment. Twenty-four percent said Gov. David Paterson made the wrong choice in selecting her, while 30 percent said they don’t know.
Gillibrand has more support from upstate voters (55 percent) than New York City (40 percent) and the New York City suburbs (36 percent).
Gov. Paterson praised Gillibrand’s first few days in office, saying that she has recognized where her positions stray from the state’s electorate.
“I think she’s indicated very clearly and seems to be very well received that she’s going to listen to people and in many respects reviewed some of the points of view she has,” Paterson said.
“I think that in the first week she’s demonstrated the kind of determination and hard work that I think will make her an outstanding senator.”
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 6:59 pm by Leah Rae.
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A common tactic employed by immigration proponents is to accuse opponents of racism or xenophobia. They charge that opponents want to deny a new breed of immigrant the chance to become Americans as many of our immigrant forefathers did. They paint a Norman Rockwell-type picture of honest, hard working immigrants, planting gardens, working in fields, doing the work “no Americans want to do.” So, in town after town across the nation the battle rages. And that is really the point. Illegal immigration is not just a border issue. It is a national issue affecting every large city and almost every small town. It must be understood that illegal immigration is not just a matter of some unhappy peasants hoping to seek a better life. It is a $300 billion a year industry, combining the interests of multinational corporations with those of drug cartels and Latino street gangs. Caught in between are American communities and the American way of life. Some cities, especially those along the points of entry at the border have become dangerous no-mans lands, where no property is safe, no American citizen is able to leave their home unarmed and some politicians turn a blind eye as they profit under the table. As a result American civilization is beginning to break down. That is why so many Americans refuse to back down on the issue, continuing to demand a crack down, no matter what name calling these groups now level at Senator Gillibrand.
In his first five years, Bush himself admitted, 6 million aliens were arrested at the border, breaking into this country. One in 12—500,000—had criminal records. Is it anti-immigrant to demand a halt to this invasion, even if it means troops on the border? Is it truly compassionate, or an act of cravenness, to insist that the answer is amnesty for 12 million to 20 million illegals and absolution for the businesses that hired them?
Ed Kowalski
9/11 Families For A Secure America
As far as the Open Borders Lobby is concerned if you are worried about gangs that have been imported into the US from El Salavdor or Mexico you are “anti-immigrant.”
If you believe that all immigrants (like my own father) should be screened to make sure they won’t be a danger to this country you are “anti-immigrant.”
If you believe that the USA could have prevented the 9/11 attacks by making sure that people who come to this country are screened to make sure they aren’t a danger to Americans you are “anti-immigrant.”
In summary, it’s not that Gillibrand is “anti-immigrant,” it’s that La Prense is anti-American.
Peter Gadiel
Pres. 9/11 Families for a Secure America
Father of James,age 23, killed in WTC North Tower 9/11/01