Yesterday, the Minnesota Supreme Court ended an 8 month legal dispute over who would represent the state of Minnesota in the United States Senate. Incumbent Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) conceded defeat to Democrat Al Franken, giving Democrats in the Senate a filibuster-proof 60 seat majority in the chamber.
But where does the newest member of the Minnesota delegation stand on the issue of immigration? As early as 2006, Al Franken laid out his position on this urgent issue. During an appearance on Scarborough Country on April 3, 2006, Franken stated – “I think these 11 million or 12 million undocumented people who are here, I think it`s un — impractical to expect that we`re going to deport them. Many of them have children who are citizens, and brothers and sisters who are. I think what we have to do is tighten up the border. I think we have to figure out a — a guest-worker program that limits the number of people who come in and that treats them well and treats America — and is fair to American-born workers.”
Additionally, the Minneapolis Star Tribune says of Franken, he “Supports guest worker program and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are working and have no criminal record. Says it’s not practical to deport 12 million illegal immigrants.” Franken’s campaign website stated that he does not “believe in breaking up families. Instead, we should look to bring them out of the shadows and put them on a path to citizenship, providing that they: have been working, have paid taxes, have not committed any crimes since coming to this country, speak, or are learning to speak, English and pay a nominal fine. We should also ensure that those immigrants currently in the process of becoming citizens are not disadvantaged by these reforms.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee, which is responsible for immigration issues, is among the committee assignments that Senator Franken will fill. This is a sign that the issue will be of importance to the Senator and America’s Voice looks forward to working alongside Senator Franken to work towards smart solutions to fix our nation’s immigration system.”
America’s Voice — Harnessing the power of American voices and American values to win common sense immigration reform.
http://www.americasvoiceonline.org/
###
