N.M. governor says grandparents were illegal immigrants

[alp227]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, a Republican who has taken a hard line against illegal immigration in her state, said her own grandparents came to the country illegally.

"I know they arrived without documents, especially my grandfather, my father's father," she said in an interview with the Spanish-language television station KLUZ in Albuquerque on Wednesday.

"In those days, the law was very different," she added, saying many people came to the United States without papers back then.

The governor's comments come as she pushes state lawmakers, in a special session this week, to take up a bill to ban immigrants in the country illegally from getting driver's licenses in the state.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/09/us-governor-grandparents-news-mexico-idUSTRE78861A20110909

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Can anyone say "anchor grandbaby"? And does Martinez advocate eliminating birthright citizenship from the 14th amendment? (Discovered this story from )

[roguevalley]

1. different? Not really. Her gparents came for a better life. too bad

their spawn doesn't grant others the same right. she needs to leave.

[a la izquierda]

2. Depending on when they came...

the laws WERE different. There were no real limits/quotas on Mexicans crossing over to work. They didn't need papers or anything like that. It doesn't mean Mexicans were treated any better than now, but they were in a sort of legal no-man's land.
This, of course, changes after the Depression.

[saras]

3. There were, in general, no immigration restrictions in America until Ellis Island...

...was created by racists and fascists as part of an "Aryans only" immigration policy. Remember, Italians, Irish, Poles - hell, ANYONE from Eastern Europe - were considered undesirables.

[marybourg]

4. You might want to search for

"Chinese Exclusion Act" on Wicki

[saras]

6. That's why I said "in general". The Chinese involved worked in mines under my home town.

...and there's a rumor, unsubstantiated of course, that the mines were flooded, drowning a large number of them, so their employers wouldn't have to pay their way back to China when the coal ran out.

[marybourg]

9. Wouldn't surprise me. nt.

[SnakeEyes]

11. Do you have a source for this?

It simply was not true. 40% of the people in this country trace their family through Ellis. My family did. They were Irish. The first through Ellis was a 15 year old Irish girl.

Mostly criminals and indentured servants were denied along with those that couldn't produce a visa or couldn't prove they had a place to live/work. And one had to have at least $20. Only 2% were denied.

It was future laws that restricted people and which led to the closing of Ellis.

[McCamy Taylor]

5. Under the GOP's plan, that makes her a Mexican citizen.

[Bette Noir]

7. Whether her forebears came here legally or not, whether she's a hypocrite or not,

It's a really bad idea to prevent people from getting drivers' licenses. If they can't get licenses, they have no incentive to learn the rules of the road, and no ability to get insurance. You think that's going to keep them from driving? My husband and I have both been hit, in separate instances, by uninsured motorists whose bosses had required them to drive a company truck. Not good for anyone.

[alp227]

10. yeah this illegal immigrant/driver license thing is a lose-lose situation

If they do NOT have licenses, they'll drive lacking knowledge of the road rules and put others at risk.

If they do, the roads may be a tad bit safer, but who knows if fraud can occur?

Sigh...that's why we need IMMIGRATION REFORM...A PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP for some undoc'd people (and therefore eligibility under most states' rules to get a drivers license), and immediate deportation for those convicted of crimes, and improved border security.

[Warpy]

12. The licenses lack SSNs so they can't be used for voting

or providing ID to access government services. The only fraud is out of staters trying to get legal licenses here, something that usually gets spotted and gets them deported. It's safer and cheaper to get fakes in the states where they live.

[madrchsod]

8. according to many that voted for her she`s not a legal citizen

here`s another interesting little known fact...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Repatriation