New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Photo By Center For American Progress.
Latin America: Week in Review, United States

Bloomberg Urges Conservatives To Accept Immigration; Repeats Call For Comprehensive Immigration Reform

April 25, 2011 By Staff

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Photo By Center For American Progress.

Today in Latin America

Top Story — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged conservatives to accept immigration as necessary for economic growth, during an interview with Fox on Sunday.

“They came here, they broke the law, and, let me tell you, this country encourgaed them to come here and made sure that we didn’t stop them,” Bloomberg said. “What are you going to do going forward? You can’t deport them.” The New York mayor spoke in support of enacting a pathway to citizenship, saying it would contribute to U.S. economic growth.

Bloomberg is working on a nationwide campaign to support immigration reform.

The billionaire businessman-politician made the comments just days after meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss the possibility of developing bipartisan support for comprehensive immigration reform. Obama says he remains committed to immigration reform, despite the controversy surrounding the issue.

Bloomberg did not speak with reporters after the meeting on April 19, but his policy adviser John Feinblatt said “it was a good discussion,” adding “we need an immigration policy that attracts the best, brightest and hardest-working to our shores to help create jobs and spur growth.”

At least one major conservative appears to moderating his stance on immigration — though without any apparent connection to Bloomberg’s comments. Newt Gingrich, an advocate of tough immigration enforcement, has been taking Spanish lessons and reaching out to the Hispanic community. Though he does not support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, he proposes a reform that would allow legal residence.

While Bloomberg maintains a positive attitude toward immigration, he also favors taking actions to stem the flow of illegal immigration. He said earlier this week that he supports putting fingerprints on social security cards in order to make it harder for undocumented immigrants to get work.

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Image: Center For American Progress @ Flickr.

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8 Comments

andrew says:

The legal immigration of skilled workers that business need during expansion is a totally different issue from family immigration or amnesty for illegal immigrants.

For short term seasonal labor, business requires a flexible H1B qouta based on economic demand. This visa should not be an implicit promise of a path to citizenship (as it is now), because that eliminates the flexibility of business to downsize when required, and increases the input factor cost.

For long term strategic hires (much less in numbers), business needs a merit based fast track procesing of permanent residency (like that in UK or Canada), so that there’s no recurring cost of renewing short term visas every 2-3 years, until the permanent residency is processed in 1 decade!

These 2 are top priorities for business growth, which are relatively easy to develop bipartisan support on.

The more controversial family based and illegal immigration etc. issues could be addressed by bipartisan dialoges separtely without stifling the business growth by mixing all issues in one bill and harm our own economic recovery.

Christian in Austin says:

BLOOMBERG IS 100% CORRECT ON THIS ONE! I applaud him for doing what is best for America, and the American economy. Unfortunately so many Americans remain unaware of all the economical benefits of passing Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Together we need to unite and do what is right for the USA! A nation of immigrants!

Clifford Yeboah says:

If US is able to send some millions of dollars to poor countries and help them economically, Why can’t US stop sending all these millions and help those already in this country so they can support their own family? Most of the dollars US keeps sending to those countries are not reaching the people in need. I just goes to certains individuals’s pocket like politicians. That’s why these people are struggle to risk their lives and come to US to survive. So those who are already here for years without criminal record, let’s reward them and get rid of those with bad record. We have a lot of good illegal immigrants who are contributing for the growth of US economy.

Brittanicus says:

THE LIES ABOUT IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

Since the 1986 Immigration Control and Reform Act, who has ever been in power has lied to the US people? Just enough laws have been passed, to make it seem that President Obama, George Bush back to Ronald Reagan, has promised to secure fully the border, to enforce immigration laws, but truthfully nothing serious as ever been done? All the laws enacted, were made to be broken, underfunded still leaving access to cheap labor for Republicans and more votes for liberals and Democrats; legal or illegal. E-Verify was nearly killed by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and the true 2006 Secure Fence Act, less than a 6 months later Texas Republican Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn pushed for “flexibility to choose other options instead of fencing, if needed.” Politicians adamantly vowed to keep America safe. The law specifically called for “at least 2 layers of reinforced fencing, topped with concertina barbed razor wire with the installation of additional physical barriers, patrol roads, lighting, cameras and sensors” at five exact regions of border totaling approximately 700 miles.

Six months after passage of the Secure Fence Act, the border fence initially planned to be 700 miles, had shrunk to around 370 miles. The so-called Border fence shows utter incompetence or very strong reluctance to keep the border—CLOSED—no matter the consequence to the people? The illegal alien invasion could be cut to a trickle, by constructing the double layer border fences as originally commissioned. Then adding 5000 military of either National Guardsman or US Army along the along the fence perimeter, saving billions of dollars in the interior of America.

RINO SENATOR’S HUTCHISON, CORYN AND OTHER PRO ILLEGAL ALIEN LIARS HAD DESIGNS TO GUT, UNDER FUND THE SECURE FENCE ACT BEFORE IT EVEN PASSED!! IT WAS ALL A PROVEN LIE TO PLACATE VOTERS BEFORE THE 2006 MID TERM ELECTIONS. THE BORDER FENCE IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST LIES PLAYED UPON THE GULLIBLE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

Nothing has changed, just the majority of the people overseeing the border. But we have a choice now. The usual Rino’s and the Arch Liberals, hiding beneath the cloak of Democrats, are not fully in charge anymore. It’s impossible to count the millions of Americans who have turned to the National and local TEA PARTY, hoping to save America from the greed and political power brokers. The criminals are still crossing the border, where there are hundreds of miles of no fence. Open areas of land, where the US Border Patrol are not allowed to enter, without permission from the US government. Packing AK 47, ordinary illegal peons are forced a gunpoint to carry drugs for the Cartels, or are engineering new routes for illegal immigrants to enter our country. Even some of the regions inside America are prohibited land, because of the dangers of confrontation with criminal aliens.

The interior of our nation has become an infestation of foreign nationals, stealing jobs, stealing education from our own children, stealing Medicaid from our own impoverished people. They are stealing hundreds of billions of dollars annually in public entitlements, in unemployment benefits in some states, in workers compensation. They come here ready to conceive their foothold babies, so they can take advantage of citizen subsidies. They cross the border or fly in to take advantage of our mandated health care system. Then we wonder while our national debt of 14.5 trillion dollars is still mounting? Continually–each day we hear of illegal aliens drunk, mowing down pedestrians, homicides, kidnappings, home invasions, assaults, child molestations and other heinous criminal acts. Our jails and prisons are overflowing, because the Dems and Republicans are refusing to seal the border tight and therefore they are to blame for the daily acts of terror happening across America.

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE MUST DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES, IF THEY BELIEVE IN THE SHADOW ADMINISTRATION IN THE US GOVERNMENT, THE LIBERALS PROGRESSIVES AND EXTREMISTS IN ACADEMIA OR THE GROWING MOVEMENT OF THE NATIONAL TEA PARTY AND HUNDREDS OF GRASS ROOT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE PRO-SOVEREIGNTY AND THE ENFORCEMENT TO THE “RULE OF LAW.”

We need a uniform plan to hire the highest skilled, that are not available in this nation’s workforce. These will be skilled newcomers who will not fall upon the US taxpayer, to pay their way. With the terrible gloomy picture of a 14 Trillion deficit bearing down on US taxpayers, with an unceasing movement of economic illegal aliens slipping past our borders, we are in a very poor State of affairs. Foothold families with 14th Amendment citizenship for their children are one of the most expenditure befalling this nation. No real dollar numbers really exist, except for the statement of Los Angeles City manager, Michael Antonovich “Illegal immigration continues to have a catastrophic impact on Los Angeles County taxpayers,”. “The total cost for illegal immigrants to County taxpayers exceeds $1 billion a year – not including the millions of dollars for education.” Any form of Amnesty in no matter what form it comes in, is an automatic magnet for the indigent of foreign countries and this must desist. The TEA PARTY will oppose or rescind any laws, contrary to the “Rule of Law”, which includes Volume Immigration reform, Sanctuary states, Dream Acts and Chain Migration. ITS EASY TO FIND THE NEAREST TEA PARTY WERE YOU RESIDE BY GOING TO http://www.freedomconnector.org/

STATES THAT PANDER TO THE ILLEGAL ALIEN OCCUPATION WILL LEARN THE HARD WAY; JUST AS THE STATES OF CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA HAVE BEEN BRANDED SANCTUARIES. UTAH WILL BE THE THIRD STATE TO GET THIS UNSAVORY LABEL IN THE SOUTHWEST, IF THE DOJ ERIC HOLDER’S IN WASHINGTON REMAIN IN A STARK SILENCE TO UTAH ENACTING AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL GUEST WORKER PROGRAM.

Under Obama’s presidency and his Leftist henchman or the upper echelon of Republican leadership, the push for mass amnesty will continue. Every American who sees this as a threat to over population, absolute insane expenditures, overcrowded schools, health care any number of major problems foreseen in our future should join the TEA PARTY. The TEA PARTY numbers now are in the tens of millions and still climbing. People are seeing this political party as the only possible release from the grip of the Liberals and Rino’s. Its truthful challenge is Limited Federal Government, Our Individual Freedoms, Our Personal Responsibility, Markets that are free, but fair and Returning Political Power to the States and the People.

Attn: Whether in fact billionaire Donald Trump is running, he is bring up some major points of interest to the American people, that other candidates stay clear off? Trump is a bit of an egotist, but he loves his country and owes no favors to lobbyists or criminal money brokers. That if this country, has more oil and natural gas than anywhere on Mother Earth, why are we paying $4.00 or perhaps $6.00 dollars in our near future. Why are we subservient to the environmentalists, which are upset because of the partial border fence that is disrupting wild life, but concealing the hills of debris and filth left behind by decades of illegal aliens crossing onto our soil? This year from our growing massive deficit, we owe China $300 billion dollars in just interest, when once they were the lender? This country must close of the purse to the Lefts Obama administration, no matter how painful as we are currently carrying the financial burden of foreign governments and their people.

NAFTA and CAFTA have been poorly negotiated, just as if our trade representatives instead of working for America were secretly in the employ of China, Mexico, and India and others. Currently we are cutting our own throat by buying cheap inferior products and killing our own industries. Thousands of American companies have moved across the border or abroad and we are buying the tax free goods, with no penalties. In many cases our government has given American firms incentives to move overseas, while companies around the country have closed down, with the loss of millions of jobs. Have you even noticed, it’s almost impossible to buy something Made in the USA? Listen to Donald Trump, because out of the bunch of potential candidates, he is the only one that is telling us the raw truth.

May Observer says:

The H-1B program should be scrapped in a tie of high unemployment. Employers use the program to force legal U.S. citizens to train their foreign replacements before being let go. It’s like forcing someone to dig their own grave.

There are more qualified U.S. workers than the job market can absorb, at every level. There is no job that U.S. workers won’t do. That is a lie repeated over and over. Advertise a job fair at any level and observe how many legal unemployed apply for every job available. When Chipotle got rid of the illegals, there were even people with masters degrees going for these jobs!

U.S. engineers are working as cashiers and plumbers due to not being considered for jobs exclusively reserved for H-1B workers. This is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.

End the H-1B program and let’s get Americans back to work.

mark Allen says:

go bloomber go!!!

steve says:

When did we lose our common sense? Our Government, has allowed the invasion of 30 million criminals in direct violation of Article IV, Section IV of our Constitution. they force American tax payers to pay Billions to provide Welfare, Prison cells, Educate the invaders children, free medical care,massive document fraud, & are destroying our schools, hospitals, communities, culture while Robbing, Raping, Killing & Assaulting American Citizens WAKE UP PEOPLE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9IGKRzdzZ8&feature=player_embedded
.youtube.com/watch?v=tsH8xvjTAlo
.youtube.com/watch?v=Btj6IeOFkis&feature=player_embedded
http://immigrationcounters.com/
.ojjpac.org/memorial.asp
.immigrationshumancost.org/
.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty580.htm
.youtube.com/watch?v=muw22wTePqQ
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/02/immigration-costs-fair-amnesty-educations-costs-reform/
http://www.rense.com/general81/dtli.htm
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=41045
http://www.cairco.org/econ/econ.html
http://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/003335.html
Every Non-representative including obama and holder should be IMPEACHED! for not upholding the oath of office they swore to defend the Constitution! If these clowns were to do their job, this would all be a Moot point!
Anchors and their criminal parents go, period, and cut the phony tears, you knew you were breaking the law when you crossed the border.

Next shut down any business hiring illegal labor. Oh and owners go to jail.
Got a better idea? Lets hear it!

[…] member Jumaane Williams, gesturing at the assembled crowd. Referring to Bloomberg, who has been a vocal supporter of immigration reform, Williams said, “He cannot only talk about this. This is his opportunity to back up all the […]

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