McCain Pretends That He Now Opposes The DREAM Act For ?Humanitarian? Reasons
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on June 13th, 2010 4:39 am by HL
McCain Pretends That He Now Opposes The DREAM Act For ?Humanitarian? Reasons
One of the areas where Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) veer to the far right in his struggle for re-election has been the most apparent is on immigration. In 2003, 2005, and 2007, for example, McCain co-sponsored the DREAM Act, which would provide provide undocumented high school graduates a path to legal residency and the […]
One of the areas where Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) veer to the far right in his struggle for re-election has been the most apparent is on immigration. In 2003, 2005, and 2007, for example, McCain co-sponsored the DREAM Act, which would provide provide undocumented high school graduates a path to legal residency and the chance to attend college.
McCain now opposes the DREAM Act. This shift came while he was running for president. In 2007, he skipped a vote on this legislation, which he had co-sponsored earlier in the year, and said he would probably have voted “against it in its present form.” Yesterday in an interview with KTAR, McCain reiterated his opposition to the DREAM Act, trying to argue that his stance of securing the border first was more “humane” because it would fully address the “human tragedy”:
Q: I take it you’re familiar with the DREAM Act, where do you stand on that?
McCAIN: I think it’s fine, I would take a look at that issue, it’s a heartbreaking issue, to see young people who were separated from their parents and all that, but the way you solve it –
Q: They’re people that were brought here at age two or four, not their own decision necessarily –
McCAIN: Yeah, that’s a heart-rending situation, but if we could secure the border, and make sure that there isn’t going to be a repeat of this kind of human tragedy, we can address that issue, and I think we can address it in a humane, compassionate fashion. But just to pass the DREAM Act now, what’s to prevent further of these humanitarian cases?
Host: Another 10 to 15 to 20 million —
McCain: Exactly.
Listen here:
There is nothing “compassionate” about McCain’s position, and these “humanitarian cases” will get worse without the DREAM Act. Currently, the children of undocumented immigrants — who didn’t make the decision to come to the United States illegally — face a cruel fate: Each year, about 65,000 of these young people graduate from high school and are then denied opportunities to pursue higher education, barred from “in-state tuition rates, state and federal grants and loans, most private scholarships, and the ability to legally work their way through college.”
The DREAM Act, co-sponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN), would give 360,000 undocumented high school graduates with a “legal means to work and attend college,” and provide incentives for another 715,000 children between the ages of five and 17 to finish high school and pursue postsecondary education.
Last month, five immigrants dressed in academic caps and gowns staged a sit-in at Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) Tucson, AZ office and called on him to co-sponsor the DREAM Act. Four of them — including three who were undocumented — were arrested and faced the threat of deportation. Underscoring how necessary the DREAM Act is to address “humanitarian cases,” one of those students, Mohammad Abdollahi, came from Iran with his parents when he was three years old. Now, returning could be deadly since Abdollahi is gay, and Iran is known for putting LGBT individuals to death.
Days After BP Denies Blocking The Media From Covering The Spill, Reporter Is Harrassed On A Public Beach
In response to numerous media reports that BP has been blocking journalists from covering the oil spill and speaking with clean-up workers, BP CEO Doug Suttles issued a letter on Wednesday saying that such reports were “untrue” and reporters should have full access: Recent media reports have suggested that individuals involved in the cleanup operation […]
In response to numerous media reports that BP has been blocking journalists from covering the oil spill and speaking with clean-up workers, BP CEO Doug Suttles issued a letter on Wednesday saying that such reports were “untrue” and reporters should have full access:
Recent media reports have suggested that individuals involved in the cleanup operation have been prohibited from speaking to the media, and this is simply untrue. BP fully supports and defends all individuals rights to share their personal thoughts and experiences with journalists if they so choose.
BP has not and will not prevent anyone working in the cleanup operation from sharing his or her own experiences or opinions.
However, this message isn’t being strictly enforced. Yesterday, WDSU, the NBC affiliate in New Orleans, tried to speak with clean-up crews on an oil-stained portion of Grand Isle, Louisiana. Private security officials confronted reporter Scott Walker and said he couldn’t even have access to the public beach. From the exchange:
OFFICIAL 1: Every single security guard here has given the instructions to every single news crew that you can be outside of 100 yards of the workers or along the boom.
WALKER: And who’s saying that? Because no one can tell me that, unless you’re the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, you’re the Coast Guard, or you’re the military, can you tell me where to go on this public beach.
OFFICIAL 1: I can tell you where to go because I’m employed to keep this beach safe. And right now, those are my instructions. I’d like to keep the workers safe as well.
WALKER: I’m going to try to talk to the worker under the tent. Can I do that?
OFFICIAL 1: No, no.
WALKER: He’s on break.
OFFICIAL 1: You are not allowed to interview any workers.
WALKER: The workers can talk to the media, according to the BP CEO two days ago. Still hasn’t trickled down to you all?
OFFICIAL 2: We already heard that one too.
WALKER: What do you mean you’ve “heard that one”? It’s true.
OFFICIAL 1: The e-mail did not explicitly give you permission to do that.
Watch the confrontation:
Walker was eventually able to go over to the tent after an intervention from an official in the sheriff’s office, but none of the workers would talk to him, since the security official was telling them that they didn’t have to say anything.
