Immigration Legislation Votes Determined By Number of Illegal Immigrants In their Districts

The votes in question are votes on immigration bills such as the horrible and harsh HR 4473 which among other things, would have made felons out of the millions of illegal immigrants already in the country. And that was just the beginning.

This study by the American Immigration Law Foundation found that Congressional Reps in districts with few illegal immigrants in its district were more likely to vote for measures such as HR 4473. And conversely, districts with a sizable illegal immigrant population elected representatives that usually voted against such bills.

So, people with no idea of the impact (negative effects + positive contribution) of illegal immigrants are essentially lecturing those districts that KNOW first hand the effects, on how to treat the illegal immigration problem. That sounds about right?

In December 2005 the House of Representatives chose to ignore the need for comprehensive immigration reform, opting instead for legislation that makes a show of getting tough on undocumented immigrants while utterly ignoring the causes of undocumented immigration and the vital contributions that immigrant workers make to the U.S. economy. Despite the publics demand for a sensible and straightforward response to the ongoing problem of undocumented immigration, the
House passed H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act. This bill would, among other things, make felons of all undocumented immigrants as well as persons who assist them, a group that potentially includes religious workers, social workers, and librarians.

One explanation for why so many congressional representatives would choose to spend precious legislative time on a proposal that offers little hope of actually reducing undocumented immigration might be that the members of Congress with the fewest undocumented immigrants in their districts were the most likely to support the bill. Lawmakers whose constituents experience relatively little impact from undocumented immigration have the luxury of playing politics on the issue rather than confronting it directly.

A hat tip to Migra Matters for posting on the subject and digging this study out with a link. Want a great source of information on immigration, than go to this blog. (The main page is here) I already found another great study from this cite to blog on. Oh joy!! lol