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Bloomberg Wants Arizona to "Get Real" About Immigration
By
Jaya Saxena
Published Apr 29, 2010
Modified Apr 29, 2010
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By
Jaya Saxena
Published Apr 29, 2010
Modified Apr 29, 2010
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Mayor Bloomberg seems as angry as the protesters over the new Arizona immigration law, but is equally upset at the federal government for not implementing widespread immigration reform sooner. He thinks Washington's inadequacy forced Arizonans to take matters into their own hands, and that "This country is committing national suicide."
Bloomberg echoed the sentiments of many, including tea party favorite Marco Rubio, former Bush adviser Karl Rove and President Obama, who worry the law could lead to racial discrimination and harassment. While speaking at the Citizen Now! phone bank yesterday, he said, "We have to get real about the 12 million undocumented here. We're not going to deport them. Give them permanent status. Don't make them citizens unless they can qualify, but give them permanent status and let's get on with this." He also tweeted in both English and Spanish yesterday to call the Citizen Now! hotline for confidential help with immigration issues.
In a city where immigrants hold jobs in nearly every sector (not just construction), Bloomberg wants reform to provide incentive for skilled workers to come to the U.S. He said, "We don't have doctors, and we're not allowing people who want to come here and be doctors to come here. This is just craziness." However, he also said if Arizona happens to be the only state to adopt the policy, the bill could actually be good for New York "because people will come here. We make sure that we protect everybody." And they'll never even have to eat salt again!
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