House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently spoke at one of the Familias Unidas events which the Hispanic Congressional Caucus (CHC) is holding across the country. The events are part of a national listening tour at which testimony from families that have been impacted by the nation’s broken immigration system will be heard.
The events are being held in cooperation with the faith-based community groups and the listening tour will take Members of the CHC to various churches and community centers across the nation.
Speaker Pelosi comes under attack by anti-immigrant groups
Speaker Pelosi recent comments were delivered at St. Anthony’s Church in San Francisco, and anti-immigrant groups such as NumbersUSA were quick to pounce on Speaker Pelosi’s comments which were told a group of both legal and illegal immigrants and their families. Pelosi said, “Who in this country would not want to change a policy of kicking in doors in the middle of the night and sending a parent away from their families?” Pelosi added that the immigration raids, were “un-American.”
But the comment that probably sent anti-immigrant groups into a tizzy was when the speaker went not only condemned the raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and also referred to the immigrants as “very, very patriotic.”
The comments solicited this response, “I was embarrassed by what she said,” said Rick Oltman, with Californians for Population Stabilization, an anti-illegal immigrant group. “Exhorting illegal aliens for taking responsibility for our country’s future…. In fact, sitting there in the audience…. I really resented that comment.”
“I think it was pandering to the crowd but also insulting to American citizens who consider themselves to be patriotic, who obey the rule of law,” said Oltman, who shot a video of the rally.
Immigration Detention Centers
Most people don’t know enough about the inner workings of our immigration system and our growing detention centers, but it’s hard to see them and not wonder whether our current approach to solving our immigration problems is un-american.
Breakthrough.tv has produced great videos at the HomelandGitmo.com website that show us what immigrant detention centers are really like and who those centers currently house.
