Churchmen, coyotes, and HR 4437

The WashTimes offers "Churchmen and coyotes":

Few pieces of immigration legislation have been more egregiously distorted than the alien smuggling provisions that were included in H.R. 4437, the immigration reform bill passed by the House of Representatives in September thanks in large part to the diligent efforts of Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin Republican...

...This section of H.R. 4437 is aimed squarely at criminals who attempt to smuggle people into the country for profit while leaving them to die in the desert or suffocate in the back of a truck...

...But unfortunately that is not the case. Church organizations (with the assistance of some know-nothing libertarians who liken H.R.4437's provisions on alien smuggling to the pre-Civil War Fugitive Slave Act) continue to make the unfounded charges the legislation is directed at providers of humanitarian assistance. But, like current law, the bill's provisions apply only to people who act recklessly or knowingly; if someone is not engaged in profit-making activity or thwarting law-enforcement efforts to prevent alien smuggling, Mr. Iglesias points out, they have nothing to worry about under this legislation: The federal government has more important things to do than to waste time prosecuting someone who simply provides basic necessities to an immigrant...

The editorial is paired with the article "Stop alien smuggling" by the United States attorney for the district of New Mexico.

Immigration · Tue, 02/28/2006 - 01:53 · · Importance: 1