Today, Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) will announce that he will not return to the U.S. Senate after the August recess. The following is a statement from America’s Voice on this developing story:
“Senator Mel Martinez has been a strong supporter of common-sense, practical and fair solutions to fixing our broken immigration system. He played a pivotal role in moving comprehensive immigration reform forward during the 2006 and 2007 debates in the Senate. His story is the story of America: Martinez came to this nation as an immigrant from Cuba. This nation opened its doors to him and he made the most of it. His immigrant experience helped shape his compassionate approach to immigration reform.
“The Senator has been a voice of reason within his party, recently saying on NBC’s Meet the Press that the very divisive rhetoric of the immigration debate set a very bad tone for our brand as Republicans…there were voices within our party, frankly, which if they continue with that kind of rhetoric, anti-Hispanic rhetoric, that so much of it was heard, we’re going to be relegated to minority status.’
“His voice and his perspective will be missed. We hope whoever replaces him will have the same reasoned approach to immigration reform.
“We expect that whoever Governor Charlie Christ (R-FL) appoints to see out the term will be someone who understands the complexities of our broken immigration system and is willing to stand up for his constituents in a way that is good for their communities, their families and their country.”
http://www.americasvoiceonline.org
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