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Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Presidential candidates mum on immigration
Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain discussed many things at last night’s presidential debate including the economy, healthcare and whether to bomb Pakistan.
But they offered nary a word on immigration.
Several groups e-mailed reporters in advance with lists of experts on immigration to help analyze the candidates’ statements.
But the topic didn’t come up. At all.
In fact, immigration has been largely absent as a campaign topic mostly because both candidates support an immigration measure that would give illegal immigrants some kind of path to citizenship.
The only place immigration has appeared is in Spanish-langauge ads. Both candidates have been sparring over immigration in the spots, designed to influence Hispanic voters in swing states.
Read a story about the ads here.
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NRA runs anti-Obama ad citing “rapists, drug dealers” crossing the border
The National Rifle Association is airing an anti-Obama television ad in English and Spanish that links illegal immigrant criminals with gun rights.
The ad features Andy Vaquera, identified as a retired Texas police officer.
He says: “Families should be able to defend themselves against rapists, drug dealers and other criminals illegally crossing our borders. But Barack Obama didn’t think we should be allowed to use a firearm for self-defense. He even voted to allow the prosecution of people who used firearms to defend their families in their own homes. That’s just wrong.”
The ad is part of an aggressive NRA campaign against Obama that includes a Web site — http://www.gunbanobama.com.
The site claims that Obama would be the “most anti-gun president in American history.”
Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt recently told the LA Times that “Obama has always believed that the 2nd Amendment protects the individual right to own a firearm.”
See the NRA ad here.
Read an LA Times story about the NRA campaign here.
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ICE arrests hundreds at South Carolina chicken plant
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested about 300 suspected illegal immigrants at a raid at the Columbia Farms poultry processing plant in Greenville, S.C.
“Our office is charged with enforcing the immigration laws against aliens who illegally enter our country, and those who illegally harbor and employ them,” said W. Walter Wilkins, the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. “The execution of this search warrant today marks an important phase of this ongoing investigation into the hiring practices of this employer. Aggressive enforcement and investigative actions are vital to the integrity of our immigration system.”
Read more here.
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Detained illegal immigrants held for weeks, months in Virginia
Illegal immigrants in Virginia who have consented to be deported often stay in U.S. custody weeks and even months because of “a detention and deportation system beset by waste and dysfunction,” the Washington Post reported this week.
Citing lawyers, detainee accounts and observations of courtroom proceedings, the Post said that federal officials regularly misplace files or fail to bring detainees to court hearings resulting in “needless additional jail time at taxpayer expense.”
According to the story, ICE officials reject claims that their operations are strained, saying the agency has made “significant strides.”
Read the story here.
