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February 24, 2006
 Domenici
Disgraces Italian-Americans with WISH Bill
By
Joe Guzzardi
As an
Italian American, I’m angry with
73-year-old Senator
Pete Domenici (R.-New Mexico).
Is he senile? In the pay of the
cheap labor lobby?
Or is just a moron?
Any of those three might explain
Domenici’s proposed
immigration legislation nonsense titled
Welcoming Immigrants to a Secure Homeland (WISH).
One thing is absolutely clear: like
most of the U.S. Senate, Domenici has lost touch
with America’s immigration reality.
Domenici labors under twin
misconceptions about immigration.
- First, even though Domenici
represents
New Mexico, one of the states most beleaguered
by the illegal alien invasion, he prefers to
favorably compare today’s lawbreaking to the legal
immigration of his Italian grandparents a century
ago. To give you an idea how long ago that was, it
was right around the year
New Mexico became a state.
- Second, although Domenici
likes to talk up border security, he has no sincere
interest in addressing the concerns and safety of
his constituents. Domenici prefers instead to go
along with his
Senate colleagues’ pack mentality in pushing for
amnesty.
Tackling point number one:
according to Domenici, WISH is the outgrowth of a
childhood experience he witnessed sixty years ago.
During
World War II Domenici’s mother Alda, a legal U.S.
citizen, was like many other
Italian immigrants arrested during a post-Pearl
Harbor checkup.
Alda Domenici was released on bond
four hours later and returned safely to her home without
further ado. [Senator’s
Experience Reflected in New Bill, James W.
Brosnan, the Albuquerque Tribune, February 18,
2006]
But in a floor statement recalling
the incident, Domenici said:
"I believe that we can, and
must, do our best to prevent situations like this from
occurring in the future."
So, let’s see…based on a four hour event that occurred six decades ago,
which has not a single parallel to today’s
illegal immigration offensive, Domenici proposes his
WISH amnesty that would:
- Give
illegal aliens three years to report to
authorities, to pay a fine, and to obtain a visa that
with renewals would permit them to
remain in the United States for another six years. (Domenici
says the
three years are needed to give immigrants time to
come forward.)
- Provide
the opportunity at the end of the nine-year period to
obtain a different
work visa or leave the United States for at
least three years.
- Permit
500,000 more
guest worker visas a year for aliens outside the
United States. Those guest workers could apply for
permanent legal residence. A provision for additional
guest worker visas would be included.
- Allow
full-time foreign college and graduate students to work
part-time while studying in the United States.
- Allow an
unlimited number of foreign students to remain in
the United States if they graduate with honors and
obtain a job.
Is there anyone on the planet that believes that aliens are going to
"report
to authorities," "pay a fine,"
or—least likely of all—"leave the U.S after nine
years"?
How can anyone
seriously propose a "guestworker"
program without tackling the "anchor
baby" problem?
- the anomaly whereby children born to guestworkers
in the U.S. would automatically be U.S. citizens.
And, while I can’t find an estimate by Domenici of how many new
immigrants his plan would let in, the H-1B and student
provisions alone could mean another couple of million a
year.
As for the second point—the concerns of
New Mexicans—a poll taken by the Albuquerque
Journal in October 2005 found that 71 percent
of the state’s legal residents feel that illegal
immigration is a serious or somewhat serious problem.
They don’t want illegal immigrants to receive many of the benefits
typically available to citizens only such as
food stamps,
driver’s licenses,
college educations and free
health care for their
children.
Furthermore
the poll revealed that most people in New Mexico
feel that illegal immigration
hurts the state’s economy. While a slight majority
favors guest worker programs—generic since the survey
did not spell out the details of any particular
program—a nearly equal number, 51 percent, favors using
the military to
protect the border from illegal alien crossings. [Poll:
Most New Mexicans Believe Illegal Immigration is a
Problem, by Leslie Linthicum, Albuquerque
Journal, October 30, 2005]
The poll kicked off an eight part series run by the Journal
titled "The
Border and Beyond" that included stories whose
titles would lead you to the conclusion that, as
indicated by the survey, illegal immigration is a
growing headache for New Mexicans:
Marijuana, Heroin, Cocaine Keep Pouring Across the
Border,;
With Most Patrol Agents at the Border, Illegal
Immigrants Who Make It North Have Little to Fear,;
Immigrants Most Likely to Seek Help with Childbirth or
For Emergency Treatment,;
Immigrant Students Need Help to Graduate,;
Illegal Immigrants Crush Courts in Overburdened Judicial
System, and
Tension Among Hispanic Groups Erupt in Schools
Apparently, Domenici doesn’t read his local newspaper.
How else could he be so misinformed?
And Domenici must not pay much mind to New Mexico Governor Bill
Richardson.
Richardson, much closer to the local scene than Domenici in his
Washington D.C. ivory tower,
declared New Mexico in "a state of emergency"
during the 2005 summer because of illegal immigration.
But Domenici marches to his own drummer.
In a press release issued on February 17th, he said:
"As a
border state Senator and the son of immigrants, I
have a unique perspective on immigration. I understand
the need to provide a secure homeland for my
constituents who see the problems caused by
illegal entries into our country every day. I also
understand the need to welcome immigrants to our
country, so that America remains a country where
hard working,
entrepreneurial, and
intelligent immigrants can prosper.
"The time is right to fix
our immigration laws, which are not working properly. My
bill strikes a sensible and realistic balance between
cracking down on illegal immigration while encouraging
legal immigration.
Slamming the door on immigration or unilaterally
deporting millions of illegals already in the country is
just unrealistic."
These empty words are nothing but a pack of hurtful lies. And Domenici
knows it.
But even worse is that Domenici cites his Italian heritage to suit his
own treasonous purposes.
That makes me want to pull my hair out.
As an
Italian-American, I am ashamed that Domenici has
disgraced the memory of his grandparents and mine by
comparing them to
brazen lawbreakers.
Like Domenici’s Alda and Cherubino, my grandparents came to America
legally and entered the country through a
port of entry under the watchful eye of the U.S.
government.
They worked hard (without
falsifying documents to get jobs),
learned English, became American citizens and were
loyal first and always to the U.S.
My grandmother, Louisa, on what U.S. citizenship
meant to her:
"The four happiest days of
my life were the days each of my three children were
born and the day I became a U.S. citizen."
With WISH,
Domenici has dishonored Italian-Americans and
embarrassed himself.
Joe Guzzardi [email
him], an instructor in English at the Lodi
Adult School, has been writing a weekly newspaper column
since 1988. This column is exclusive to VDARE.COM. |
