Immigration "Reform" Change of Heart
29 Jun '11 01:27Food for thought. It's worth the ten minutes it takes to read the whole article on CNN.
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http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/28/immigration.georgia.mayor/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
Paul Bridges leans toward his desk, picks up the phone and punches in a number
with the fast, laser focus of a man on a mission. The mayor of this tiny town in
South Georgia is ready for battle -- and looking for a new weapon.
[...]
"I really don't know what your beliefs are on this issue," he said, "but I'm going to
persuade you."
Bridges wants the federal government to come up with a solution that gives the
millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States a chance to work here legally.
"You get me an invite to that Tea Party meeting and I'm going ... I'd like to give
the contrary viewpoints. Surely one person in the audience is going to be sympathetic."
Bridges is an unlikely soldier on the front lines of the nation's immigration debate.
The 58-year-old native Southerner describes himself as a conservative
Republican. For years, he knew little about immigrants but didn't lack strong
opinions about them: "They were just low-class people," he recalled. "They weren't
even able to speak English."
Bridges is one of more than a dozen plaintiffs suing Georgia and its governor,
trying to stop the state's new immigration law. They won a reprieve Monday when
a federal judge temporarily blocked parts of the law scheduled to go into effect July 1.
One of those sections would criminalize exactly what the mayor of Uvalda does
almost every day: knowingly driving a car with illegal immigrants as passengers.
The judge also put on hold parts of the law that allow police to ask about
immigration status during investigations of criminal violations.
But the legal fight is far from over. It could drag on for months and reach the
chambers of the nation's highest court. It's a struggle that pits Bridges against
many members of his own party and could hurt his political future. But that doesn't
stop the mayor.
In public speeches and opinion articles, he slams state lawmakers for creating an
unfunded mandate that he says will burden police and devastate farmers who
depend on immigrant labor in their onion fields and berry groves.
His words are more than just political talking points. The potentially crippling
economic blow to the region is only one part of his rallying cry.
Bridges is waging a deeply personal battle.
Enforcement of the Georgia law could put him in prison and tear apart the families
of some of his closest friends.
In his City Hall office, just a few feet away from a handbook for Georgia mayors
and council members, he keeps a glass paperweight engraved with a Bible verse.
A family of illegal immigrants gave it to him for Christmas.
"I decided I was going to be the mayor for everybody," [he said].
[...]
Despite the immigration law, he will continue shuttling immigrants to soccer games
and shopping malls. He will still let his friend's undocumented family members stay
in his home during berry-picking season. And he will keep fighting the law, even
though none of the people he's fighting for can vote for him on election day.
[...continued in the article...]
___
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/28/immigration.georgia.mayor/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
Paul Bridges leans toward his desk, picks up the phone and punches in a number
with the fast, laser focus of a man on a mission. The mayor of this tiny town in
South Georgia is ready for battle -- and looking for a new weapon.
[...]
"I really don't know what your beliefs are on this issue," he said, "but I'm going to
persuade you."
Bridges wants the federal government to come up with a solution that gives the
millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States a chance to work here legally.
"You get me an invite to that Tea Party meeting and I'm going ... I'd like to give
the contrary viewpoints. Surely one person in the audience is going to be sympathetic."
Bridges is an unlikely soldier on the front lines of the nation's immigration debate.
The 58-year-old native Southerner describes himself as a conservative
Republican. For years, he knew little about immigrants but didn't lack strong
opinions about them: "They were just low-class people," he recalled. "They weren't
even able to speak English."
Bridges is one of more than a dozen plaintiffs suing Georgia and its governor,
trying to stop the state's new immigration law. They won a reprieve Monday when
a federal judge temporarily blocked parts of the law scheduled to go into effect July 1.
One of those sections would criminalize exactly what the mayor of Uvalda does
almost every day: knowingly driving a car with illegal immigrants as passengers.
The judge also put on hold parts of the law that allow police to ask about
immigration status during investigations of criminal violations.
But the legal fight is far from over. It could drag on for months and reach the
chambers of the nation's highest court. It's a struggle that pits Bridges against
many members of his own party and could hurt his political future. But that doesn't
stop the mayor.
In public speeches and opinion articles, he slams state lawmakers for creating an
unfunded mandate that he says will burden police and devastate farmers who
depend on immigrant labor in their onion fields and berry groves.
His words are more than just political talking points. The potentially crippling
economic blow to the region is only one part of his rallying cry.
Bridges is waging a deeply personal battle.
Enforcement of the Georgia law could put him in prison and tear apart the families
of some of his closest friends.
In his City Hall office, just a few feet away from a handbook for Georgia mayors
and council members, he keeps a glass paperweight engraved with a Bible verse.
A family of illegal immigrants gave it to him for Christmas.
"I decided I was going to be the mayor for everybody," [he said].
[...]
Despite the immigration law, he will continue shuttling immigrants to soccer games
and shopping malls. He will still let his friend's undocumented family members stay
in his home during berry-picking season. And he will keep fighting the law, even
though none of the people he's fighting for can vote for him on election day.
[...continued in the article...]
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