August, 28 2012, 11:16am EDT
The GOP's Anti-Immigrant Agenda is Divisive
Falls woefully short of America’s values of inclusiveness and fairness
WASHINGTON
Amid fierce debate among Republican Party leaders over immigration and Latino voters polling in favor of President Barack Obama, the Republican National Convention is poised to rubber stamp a party platform that embodies anti-immigrant language and continues to uphold the views of hardliners, such as Arizona's SB 1070 author Kris Kobach.
SEIU International Executive Board member Hector Figueroa, who also sits on the Democratic National Convention Platform Committee, responded to the RNC's platform on immigration:
"While the Republicans' action is disappointing, it is no different from what we already know: The Republican Party's anti-immigrant agenda is divisive, shortsighted, and falls woefully short of America's values of inclusiveness and fairness. Time and again, Mitt Romney and his hardliners have proven they are out of touch with values that respect everyone from all walks of life who have enriched and worked hard to strengthen our country.
"While Romney and his cohorts continue to envision extraordinary and expensive forts and fences and a dead-end road leading to 'self-deportation' for the millions of hardworking, aspiring citizens in our nation today, the Latino and immigrant communities stand in disbelief and fall further away from Republican grasp. Poll after polls demonstrates Latino voters' in favor of the DREAM Act and a common sense immigration solution. And most recently, they applauded President Obama's move to grant deferred action to the 1.7 million eligible DREAMers.
"Latino voters and many more who honor America as a nation of immigrants and who believe in the values of diversity and tolerance are neither ignorant nor ambivalent to Mitt Romney's rhetoric and the Republican Party's hardline approach to the immigrant community. The GOP is alienating Latinos and millions of voters who will not forgive or forget the candidates who support "self-deportation," harmful laws like Arizona SB 1070 and Alabama HB 56,, and who would deny young new Americans a roadmap to citizenship.
"The GOP's anti-immigrant platform is in keeping with the rest of the party's agenda that disrespects the rights of workers and women, and lacks understanding of everyday issues facing Americans.
"We will not sit idly by and allow such a platform to win. The choice is clear. President Obama has proven he will stand up not only for Latino voters, but also for our immigrant friends and family."
With 2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers--not just corporations and CEOs--benefit from today's global economy.
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During the Cold War, when nuclear weapons policy was produced, speed was seen as essential to deterrence, according to Jon Wolfsthal, the director of global risk at the Federation of American Scientists, who wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post last year that makes a similar argument to Markey and Lieu.
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A fragment of the munition found at the site of the attack was analyzed by an Amnesty International weapons expert and based upon its size, shape, and the scalloped edges of the heavy metal casing, identified as most likely a MK-80 series aerial bomb, which would mean it was at least a 500-pound bomb. The United States is the primary supplier of these types of munitions to Israel.
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