Republicans are preparing an all-out assault against immigrants, readying legislation that would target 2012’s DACA as well as last year’s executive action, and making it clear that what they are after is the mass deportation of all undocumented immigrants.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), who announced yesterday plans to travel around the nation encouraging people to sign up for executive action, slammed Republicans today for their attacks on immigrants:
Only three words describe the Republican approach to immigrants: deportation, deportation, deportation. The ‘deport them all’ contingent in the Republican Party has the pen and the gavel in the House. I know the Republicans will stop at nothing, but I didn’t think they would start with everything.
Rep. Gutierrez made it clear that while Republicans may claim that the intent of their legislation is to oppose President Obama, the actual effect targets immigrants and Latinos:
Republicans want to show their political base they are attacking President Obama, but a lot of innocent young immigrants are going to get caught in the crossfire if they succeed. Republican leaders say even young people raised in this country who have already gone through criminal background checks must be stripped of deportation protection.
The GOP is supposed to be broadening its demographic tent, yet it keeps embracing its extremist wing and reinforcing its image as the party of mass deportations. As Gutierrez concluded:
Republicans want to make a statement that they want to deport every single undocumented immigrant they can get their hands on. They cannot put forward serious proposals that address the immigration issue because of the divisions in their own party, but they are united in opposing anything President Obama does, so if military families, DREAMers, or the entire budget of the Department of Homeland Security are put in harm’s way, that’s apparently OK with Republicans.
The Republicans know this will never become law, which makes it all the more cynical. They are trying to cast doubt and trying to scare immigrants into not coming forward and not going through criminal background checks, so we need to get accurate information out to immigrant communities.
