As we celebrate the United States of America, Independence Day, I can’t see anything better than making the people who want to live here and becoming a part of this country. What I can’t seem to comprehend is why the recent bill S. 1348 failed. It was supported by many powerful people including President Bush and business leaders.
According to a man who has made a living talking against immigration, Pat Buchanan claimed victory in the bill’s defeat on his The American Cause website.
“The victory was achieved by a firestorm of public protest, reflected in millions of phone calls and e-mails, and citizens marching to town meetings,” he said.
In other words, the anti-immigrant group did what they were supposed to, call their local senator and tell them to vote no on the bill using the arguments that it would ruin the nation.
Since many anti-immigrant advocates use statistics, I’ll use
some myself. According to a USA Today/Gallop poll, 78% of the country believed that the undocumented should be given a chance at citizenship. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-18-illegal-immigrants_N.htm?csp=34).
78% of the nation is a lot of people; most politicians are not elected with 78% of the vote. I am curious to find out if the 78% of the people in this country who support the immigrants made a simple phone call.
Some may be fearful of trying to explain one’s own position to an elected official but maybe we should look to Spain as a good example of the success in giving immigrants legal status.
Spain, which had an open border policy, is currently having an economic and social revival. According to BusinessWeek, “Spain is Europe’s best performing economy.”
Having the best economy in Europe in my opinion is pretty impressive when you think of other countries in Europe like Germany, England, and France to name a few because of an open border policy.
If Pat Buchanan and the 22% of the nation that agree with him were able to stop the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill from even being voted on, can you imagine what the other 78% of this country can do for the immigrants.
To contact your local Senator call:
In Iowa
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R),
Federal Office: (202) 224-3744
Local office 131 West 3rd Street Suite 180 Davenport, IA 52801.
Phone #: (563) 322-4331 Fax: (563) 322-8552
Sen. Tom Harkin (D)
Federal Office: (202) 224-3254
Local office 1606 Brady Street, Suite 323 Davenport, IA 52803.
Phone #: (563) 322-0417 Fax: (563) 322-0417
In Illinois
Durbin, Richard- (D) (202) 224-2152
NO LOCAL OFFICE
Obama, Barack- (D) (202) 224-2854
Moline Office 1911 52nd Avenue Moline, Illinois 61265
Phone Number: (309) 736-1217 (309)736-1233 fax