H.R. 4437. Beyond the heated rhetoric that existed during the debate on that legislation. the bill itself was shortsighted and even meanspirited. Since it makes a felon out of anyone who is here in an undocumented status. it would require the most massive roundup and deportation of people in the history of the world. I believe that is both highly unlikely and impractical on many levels. including due to both the budgetary and economic impact on our Nation and its economy. That bill would also criminalize citizens of the United States. Under the guise of a much broader definition of smuggling. that bill could allow the Government to prosecute almost any American who has regular contact with undocumented immigrants. Under the Sensenbrenner bill. an American citizen who helps an undocumented alien under any of these circumstances would be found guilty: A rape crisis counselor who is assisting a woman who has been raped would be guilty of a crime for "assisting". the church group that provides food aid. shelter. or other assistance to members of its community would be guilty of a crime for "assisting or encouraging": an aid worker who finds an illegal entrant suffering from dehydration in the desert and drives that person to a hospital would be guilty of a crime for "transporting" a counselor who assists a victim of domestic violence and her children would be guilty of a crime for "assisting or encouraging". Catholic Charities or other faithbased groups or ApIVril 4. 2006 152. Pt. 4 4767 lawyers who give advice on immigration procedures would be guilty of a crime. I dont believe any of those provisions are the Christian values we so often hear talked about on the Senate floor. Because of those very troubling provisions.
Keywords matched
undocumented deportation immigrants immigration