Rep. William Lacy Clay: no immigration raids during Census (+Gary Locke)

Hope Yen of the Associated Press says:

(Rep. William Lacy Clay, Democrat of Missouri) said he planned to push the Obama administration to halt raids next year, noting that immigration officials did so during the 2000 census... "It think it should be repeated to tamp down on any fears the immigrant population might have on certain raids, whether they are here legally or not," said Clay, who chairs the House subcommittee overseeing the census.

Further:

Speaking at a Census Bureau training conference, (Department of Commerce secretary Gary Locke and Clay) tried to allay fears in Hispanic and Asian communities where immigrants often mistake census workers for tax collectors or law enforcement officials.

"It is your familiar, trusted voices that will help us succeed in educating residents about the census," Locke, who is Asian-American, said in his first public appearance since taking office.

Without specifically mentioning immigration, Locke stressed that personal information in the census form will remain confidential. Clay went a step further, urging the partnership groups, ranging from the AFL-CIO and Coca-Cola to the NAACP and Vote Latino, to expose any "sinister tricks" to dissuade immigrants from completing their census forms.

Clay is more or less trying to indirectly profit from illegal activity. If he and many other Democratic leaders could get away with it they'd probably try to increase the numbers of illegal aliens in their districts in order to obtain more power.

Mon, 03/30/2009 - 14:51 · Importance: 4