— Zach Hudson, NVDEMs spokesperson.
Senator Heller, who talks about “Anchor Babies,” cast his vote yesterday to kill Immigration Executive Action, eagerly hoping to be able to deport thousands of Nevada Immigrants. He, however, voted on the losing side of that argument with the bill being “rejected” when it failed to garner 60 votes for passage.
Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Zach Hudson released the following statement after Senator Dean Heller voted to defund President Obama’s immigration executive action which is intended to keep families together:
“For all the talk of Dean Heller moderating on immigration after nearly losing his Senate race, today we saw the Dean Heller who uses phrases like ‘anchor babies’ and is scared of Sharron Angle’s shadow is still very much alive. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that a politician who wants to bring an Arizona-style immigration law to Nevada and opposes birthright citizenship would vote to defund a program that is preventing countless Nevada families from being torn apart. Nevadans saw today that when it matters most, Dean Heller will put appeasing the anti-immigrant wing of the Republican Party over helping keep families together.”
Heller’s Record on immigration:
Collins Plan Would Repeal President Obama’s Executive Action On Immigration That Granted Deferred Action To Immediate Family Of US Citizens. According to an article by Alexander Bolton of The Hill, “The Collins proposal would repeal Obama’s executive action from November that would grant de facto legal status to the immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, which would affect up to 5 million immigrants.” [The Hill, 2/4/15]
Heller Voted For The Collins Plan. [ S.534, Roll Call Vote 63, 2/27/15]
Heller spoke of “anchor babies” when discussing his previous opposition to comprehensive immigration reform. In October 2007, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported that Heller. “…spoke Saturday of his opposition to comprehensive immigration reform, saying no new laws are needed. ‘I don’t support amnesty. I don’t support benefits for illegals. I don’t support the Dream Act. I don’t support anchor babies. No sanctuary cities and no North American Union,’ he said.” [Reno Gazette-Journal, 10/14/2007]
In May 2011, Heller Said, “Just So You Know If I Was A Legislature In Arizona I Would Have Supported That Arizona Bill.” [Heller Tele-Town Hall, 5/05/11]
Heller Said He Would Support An Immigration Law Like Arizona’s In Nevada. In March 2011, Heller said he would support a policy similar to Arizona’s immigration law in Nevada. He said, “I am talking to members of the Arizona delegation about immigration policy down there. I think we need a similar policy here in NV and I would support a similar policy and I am surprised that this legislature isn’t talking more about immigration reform based on the size of the debt we have.” [Nevada Newsmakers, 3/21/11(video)]
On Deferred Action : The Hill reported that Heller “criticized President Obama for announcing a new policy on deporting young immigrants living in the country illegally rather than working with Congress to craft new immigration legislation.” [The Hill, 6/15/12]
On Birthright Citizenship : Heller reiterated his support for an overhaul of the 14th Amendment, saying the children of illegal immigrants should only receive birthright citizenship if at least one parent is a citizen. “I don’t believe we should be giving benefits to non-United States citizens over United States citizens,” he said. [AP, 1/06/12]
Heller Voted Against The DREAM Act. In 2010, Heller voted against the DREAM Act, which would provide a path to legal residency for hundreds of thousands of young, undocumented immigrants first brought to the United States illegally by their parents. While Republicans criticized the bill as de facto amnesty for undocumented immigrants and payment to Latino voters, Democrats argued the bill was a way to avoid punishing children for the acts of their parents and to strengthen military readiness and national competitiveness. The House measure would apply to adults under 30 who were brought to the U.S. prior to their 16th birthday and who had been in the country for at least five years. The bill would grant conditional legal status to qualifying young adults to completed at least two years of college or military service. It also required background and medical checks and the submission of biometric information. “The DREAM Act is about our nation’s cherished values of equality and opportunity. The DREAM Act would have strengthened our military readiness and national competitiveness. And it is the right thing to do. That is why this legislation passed the House with bipartisan support,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after Senate Republicans blocked the bill’s passage. The bill passed, 216-198. [CQ Today, 12/08/10; Pelosi press release, 12/18/10; HR 5281, Vote #625, 12/08/10]
Heller has caught significant flack after it was found that his campaign web site was “putting out one message on immigration policy in English, and a more forgiving message in Spanish.” Additionally Heller’s Spanish language website “indicated concern over Nevada students whose first language is not English,” even though Heller “has consistently supported limiting or eliminating the ability to conduct government business in any language other than English.” [MSNBC, 5/29/12; Las Vegas Sun, 5/28/12]
Oh … and just so you know, Nevadans are stuck with Senator Heller and can’t do much about his failures to represent Nevadans until the 2018 elections when we can finally replace him with someone who represents all of us … not just his financial benefactors.