WASHINGTON, May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Even as he stood before a
Mariachi band Friday to commemorate Cinco de Mayo, President George W. Bush
was orchestrating a behind the scenes assault on immigration reform and
immigrants that the New York Times called a betrayal of family values. As
the New York Times pointed out, negotiators "struggling to draft an
immigration bill in Washington are being pressured by the White House and
Republican leaders to gut the provisions of the law that promote the unity
of immigrant families" and that would "shut out hundreds of thousands of
people who have applied for family visas under current rules and are
patiently waiting because of long backlogs."
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following
statement:
"Cinco de Mayo commemorates the battle at Puebla in 1862 when Mexican
soldiers defeated an invading imperial force more than twice their size. It
was a victory for freedom and liberty. Today, a similarly disproportional
assault is being waged on family values by Republicans in Washington,
including President Bush, who want to derail comprehensive immigration
reform and divide families merely for political gain.
"Over the years, Cinco de Mayo has been embraced and celebrated by
Americans across the nation and the day has been woven into our cultural
heritage as a reminder of our country's great diversity. I challenge the
President on this Cinco de Mayo, and the Republicans in Congress, to stop
their assault on families, to stop standing in the way of comprehensive
immigration reform, and to embrace the diversity that has made America
great."
http://www.democrats.org.