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Cynthia McKinney on Immigration
Green Party nominee for President (Former Rep., D, GA-4)
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No skilled worker visas; but no border fence either
Q: Briefly state your position on the following issue: Immigration Policy. A: In 1998, I voted NO on issuing more immigrant visas for skilled workers. In 2001, I voted
YES on extending Immigrant Residency rules. In 2006 I voted NO on building a fence along the Mexican border.
Source: Green Party 2008 Presidential Candidate Questionnaire
Feb 3, 2008
Corporations found scapegoats in “illegal immigrants”
Q: what proposals are you putting forward to address immigration?A: The corporations, the mainstream politicians and their mouthpieces in the media have found scapegoats for their failed policies. They tell us the “illegal immigrants” are responsible
for the massive loss of jobs in this country. This is a bold-faced lie. What is illegal is the way that U.S. economic policies treat workers in this country and throughout the world.
Source: Interview with “Reconstruction Renaissance”
Jan 8, 2008
Illegal immigration shouldn’t be a labor policy
McKinney answered questions from the crowd on issues including illegal immigration. She said she disagreed with the term “illegal immigration” and that the issue is a result of
American economic, military and foreign policy. “Illegal immigration shouldn’t be a labor policy, just as war shouldn’t be an energy policy,” McKinney said.
Source: Codell Rodriguez in The Southern Illinoisian
Dec 8, 2007
Voted NO on building a fence along the Mexican border.
Within 18 months, achieves operational control over U.S. land and maritime borders, including:- systematic border surveillance through more effective use of personnel and technology; and
- physical infrastructure enhancements to prevent unlawful border entry
Defines "operational control" as the prevention of all unlawful U.S. entries, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, narcotics, and other contraband. Proponents support voting YES because:
It is obvious there is no more defining issue in our Nation today than stopping illegal immigration. The most basic obligation of any government is to secure the Nation's borders. One issue in which there appears to be a consensus between the Senate and the House is on the issue of building a secure fence. So rather than wait until comprehensive legislation is enacted, we should move forward on targeted legislation which is effective and meaningful. The legislation today provides over 700 miles of
two-layered reinforced fencing, and for the rest of the border provides a virtual fence, via integrated surveillance technology.
Opponents support voting NO because:
Just to build the fence is going to cost us at least $7 billion. Where is the money coming from to pay for it? How much is it going to cost to maintain this 700-mile fence? Who is going to do it? This bill contains no funding.
This bill also ignores real enforcement measures, like hiring more Border Patrol personnel, and instead builds a Berlin Wall on our southern border. So long as employers need workers in this country, and while our immigration systems impede rather than facilitate timely access of willing workers to those opportunities, undocumented immigration will never be controlled.
Walls, barriers, and military patrols will only force those immigrants to utilize ever more dangerous routes and increase the number of people who die in search of an opportunity to feed and clothe their families.
Reference: Secure Fence Act;
Bill H R 6061
; vote number 2006-446
on Sep 14, 2006
Voted YES on preventing tipping off Mexicans about Minuteman Project.
Voting YES on this amendment supports the Minuteman Project, a group of volunteers who have taken on surveillance of the Mexican border for illegal immigrants. The amendment states that US funds will not be used to tell the Mexican government about the whereabouts of the Minuteman Project volunteers. Proponents of the Minuteman Project say that they are volunteer citizens doing what the federal government SHOULD be doing, but has failed to do. Opponents of the Minuteman Project say that they are vigilantes at best and anti-Mexican racists at worst. The amendment states: None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to provide a foreign government information relating to the activities of an organized volunteer civilian action group, operating in the State of California, Texas, New Mexico, or Arizona, unless required by international treaty.
The amendment's sponsor said on its behalf:- What this amendment does is it clarifies Congress' position on a Border Patrol
practice or a practice of the US Government that tips off illegal immigrants as to where citizen patrols may be located.
- As a response to the lawlessness along the Mexican border, a group has sprung up called the Minutemen Project, and the Minutemen Project is definitely not politically correct in Washington DC. However, they filled a void which the government was unable to fill.
- There are over 7,000 volunteers in the Minutemen organization, and their help has been productive and good.
- What my amendment does is simply says that the U.S. Government cannot tip off the Mexican officials as to where these folks are located. Plain and simple, nothing fancy about it. I am sure the Border Patrol will say, oh, no, we are not doing that, and yet one of the Web pages of the Secretary of Mexico had the information very explicit, and we just do not believe that is a good practice.
Reference: Department of Homeland Security appropriations;
Bill HR 5441 Amendment 968
; vote number 2006-224
on Jun 6, 2006
Voted YES on extending Immigrant Residency rules.
Vote on motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill that would extend by four months a law allowing some immigrants to remain in the country while pursuing legal residency.
Reference: Motion sponsoerd by Gekas, R-PA;
Bill HR1885
; vote number 2001-127
on May 21, 2001
Voted NO on more immigrant visas for skilled workers.
Vote to pass a bill to increase the number of temporary visas granted to highly skilled workers from 65,000 to 115,000 by the year 2000.
Reference: Bill introduced by Smith, R-TX.;
Bill HR 3736
; vote number 1998-460
on Sep 24, 1998
Page last updated: Mar 08, 2011