Hillary Clinton has started her 2008 Presidential campaign by criticizing Republican efforts to reform immigration laws:
WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a potential White House candidate in 2008, said Wednesday some Republicans are trying to create a “police state” to round up illegal immigrants.
Clinton, D-N.Y., spoke out on the U.S. immigration policy after largely staying away from an issue that has roiled Congress in recent months and spurred a number of conflicting proposals.
Speaking at a rally of Irish immigrants, Clinton criticized a bill the House passed in December that would impose harsher penalties for undocumented workers.
“Don’t turn your backs on what made this country great,” she said, calling the measure “a rebuke to what America stands for.”
The House measure would make unlawful presence in the United States, which is currently a civil offense, a felony.
Clinton said it would be “an unworkable scheme to try to deport 11 million people, which you have to have a police state to try to do.”
Excuse me, Senator, but illegal immigration is not what made this country great. What made this country great is that people from all over the world who saw America as their last hope for a good life immigrated here legally and built this country from the ground up. America doesn’t stand for the intentional breaking of the law; it stands for the rule of law. No one is against immigration, as long as the immigrants follow the law and do it legally.
She called instead for immigration changes “based on strengthening our borders in order to make us safer from the threat of terrorism.”
The senator also sent a four-page public letter to constituents outlining her views on immigration. In the letter, she shied away from specifics but said she does support allowing at least some of the estimated 11 million undocumented workers to earn citizenship.
Such changes should include “a path to earned citizenship for those who are here, working hard, paying taxes, respecting the law, and willing to meet a high bar for becoming a citizen,” Clinton wrote.
As usual, when it comes to specific proposals, this Democrat has nothing. She has a lot of rhetoric which sounds good and makes people feel good, but with no specifics behind her words they ultimately mean less than nothing. In the end, her bloviations are nothing more than partisan criticism of Republican legislative proposals to deal with this issue. You may or may not agree with what the Republicans are proposing, but at least they are putting forth specific plans aimed at resolving the problem.
