WASHINGTON — Illinois Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez attacked conservative radio host Laura Ingraham at a press conference Friday morning, stressing the urgent need for immigration reform.
“I want to begin showing bipartisanship, and read a tweet today from Laura Ingraham,” Gutierrez kicked off the press conference.
“And Laura Ingraham’s tweet this morning was, ‘When was the last time Rep. Guiterrez helped a native-born American in his district?'”
According to the fiery pro-amnesty Illinois congressman, Ingraham’s tweet embodies “exactly the problem with how the Republican party views immigration.”
“They see immigrants, undocumented immigrates as others. Whose lives are isolated from the rest of us. People like Laura Ingraham see the world as us versus them. When we know that immigrants and undocumented immigrants live in our districts and in our neighborhoods,” he said.
Gutierrez argued that Ingraham’s assertion was wrong, that he does assist native born Americans. Native-born children of illegal immigrants, that is.
“I’d like to say to Laura, 4.5 million American citizen children born here in this country, Laura. To use her term — parents are undocumented — and we help them each and everyday. An estimated 150,000 native-born U.S. citizens lost a parent to deportation in just 2012. It’s not us versus them on immigration, it’s us versus us,” he said.
He further claimed that not only will immigration reform help the economy, working people, and the deficit, but “even Laura Ingraham herself.”
“And the voters who will vote against the party that vilifies immigration and tries to deport the parents of immigrants are already citizens. And we are registering them to vote and we will continue to register them to vote just as quickly as the native born — at the pace of 2,000 a month — turn 18. That’s 65,000 turning eighteen every month and that will continue for the next 30 years,” he said.
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