Peter King: So Very Wrong on Immigration

A blog called Dos Centavos has some choice words for House Republicans, Peter King included, and former Republican Heath Shuler. See Peter King and this gang oppose the bipartisan bill under consideration in the Senate, which would provide a means for illegal immigrants to become U.S. citizens.

From The Hill :

Another swipe at the Senate’s compromise came from across the Capitol, where several border-first House Republicans, along with Democratic freshman Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.), released a terse letter to their counterparts in the upper chamber.

“”It’s important that the Senate know that now there is strong opposition in the House of Representatives. It’s bipartisan opposition to amnesty,” Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) told reporters.

Yeah, so I'm not sure a bunch of right-wing Republicans and one former Republican qualify as "bi-partisan", per se.

Regardless, King's position is incredibly short-sighted, as illustrated by a recent study calculating the benefits of Latino immigrants for Long Island's economy:

Some of the nation's most virulent anti-immigrant proposals have erupted from Long Island's elected officials, from Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy to local Congressional Representative Peter King, co-sponsor of the harsh and unworkable immigration bill H.R. 4437...

The report, which is not yet available online, finds that Long Island Hispanics contribute nearly a billion dollars a year in taxes and other revenues to local government, far more than they use in public services, producing a net benefit to the public of $202 million a year. Consumer spending by Hispanics produced an additional $5.7 billion impact on the Long Island economy, creating more than 52,000 jobs.

Even Newsday's conservative columnist Raymond Keating gets the picture:

Locally, it's time for some groups to stop kicking around immigrants, and instead start recognizing the role they play in keeping Long Island's economy afloat. Common-sense economics and basic human decency dictate welcoming immigrants and aiding their assimilation.

Meanwhile, our congressional representatives should be pushing for comprehensive immigration reform. Yes, tighten up the borders for national security purposes, but also expand legal avenues for immigration to keep our economy chugging along. It's clear that immigrants are not an economic burden, but instead a blessing.

What does DMI have to say about the legislation Peter King co-sponsors?

The bill receives a D in this category rather than an even lower grade because of the implausibility that this effort will succeed: the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice do not have the capacity to prosecute, incarcerate, and deport 10 million people, suggesting that a large number will continue to live and work in the United States whether or not this legislation becomes law. The bill's objectives are so impracticable that it could not completely undermine the economic contributions of the undocumented immigrants it targets.

It's time Peter King got real about immigration reform; so far all he has to offer is "Send them all back!" and "Build a fence!". I'm not going to hold my breath on this one, though.