The alert arrived by e-mail shortly after sunrise on Monday.
“Urgent action needed re: immigration ‘reform’” read the subject line of the advisory sent to those on the electronic tree linking Democratic activists in Snohomish County’s 44th Legislative District.
At that hour in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee was debating Republican-crafted legislation dealing with the fate of 12 million undocumented people in this country, including as many as 700,000 in Washington.
This three-paragraph advisory pointed out that senators were beginning where the House of Representatives left off last year.
The House passed immigration legislation containing a controversial provision to charge anyone caught entering this country illegally with a felony. Today, they face a civil penalty for violating immigration law.
Another proviso in the House bill allows criminal charges to be filed against those who aid undocumented children and adults. The bill doesn’t establish the extensive guest-worker program proposed by President Bush; that idea is routinely trashed by some House members as nothing more than amnesty.
Monday’s e-mail urged Snohomish County Democrats to call senators and ask them to oppose the House bill. Pretty standard political pleading on such a list-serve.
Twelve hours later came a lengthy reply by someone on the list server that wasn’t so standard.
“This is one area where I think the book should be thrown at illegal aliens as well as anyone helping them,” it began.
The writer said the “threshold question” was whether the immigrants are breaking U.S. law, and “they are.”
This reply closed with a bit of counsel:
“Can’t be a bleeding heart for those who break our laws, whether it is our president or an illegal alien.”
This commentary ignited an online fracas that’s roared all week. Interestingly, what’s being expressed in the volley of e-mails by Democrats echoes what’s being said in the flood of speeches by senators.
On one side of the debate are those who want undocumented immigrants jailed and deported and their employers punished. Citizenship must be earned by application, not granted by legislative fiat, they say. And illegal citizens must renounce allegiance to their country of origin before becoming citizens.
On the other side are those who agree that laws are being broken, but trying to lock up all illegals is no solution. A guest-worker program with a path to citizenship is needed, along with greater empathy for and understanding of the economic role they play.
By Friday, senators had begun voting on their vision of reform. The proposal allows up to 6 million undocumented workers now in the country to obtain 6-year guest-worker visas. Many also could pursue legal status if they pay a fine and back taxes, go through a background check and learn English.
Debate on this potent issue didn’t end in Congress on Friday. Nor did the e-mails.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield’: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
