Howard Dean: illegal immigration supporter, cheap labor pimp (May Day; against STRIVE Act?)

Laura Wides-Munoz offers this:

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean called the immigration bill currently before Congress "insane" because it would require many of the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants to return home before applying for citizenship.

..."This is a government that can't find a six-foot-four terrorist. How is it going to find 12 million people?" he told a group of more than 100 party supporters at Miami's Parrot Jungle Island. And if all those individuals decided to go home on their own, "imagine what will happen to our economy?" Dean added.

If Wides-Munoz can be trusted - an open question - he's refering to the Flake-Gutierrez STRIVE Act and its "touchback" provisions, not to Bush's scheme. Note that this contrasts with the Peter Prengaman story.

Thus, Dean is coming out against a Democratic scheme backed by, for instance, the House Hispanic Caucus. Obviously, there's not a lot of reporting going on in this report, and if Wides-Munoz had done her job she would have tried to find out what he does support. I can only assume that he supports a very "liberal" scheme somewhat akin to self-service citizenship for all.

Dean was also scheduled to speak to an illegal immigration rally in Florida, but he backed out due to supposed scheduling conflicts.

And, of course, we also get editorializing from the "reporter":

...Roman Catholic Bishop Felipe Estevez also planned to speak. The church is among a number of religious groups that support the latest immigration bill, which would put some illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship but would require hefty penalties, trips back home and long waits. Many conservatives call this proposal overly permissive.

Immigration2007a · Tue, 05/01/2007 - 10:56 · · Importance: 1