Fletcher blasts recommendations by Lexington immigration commission

Gov. Ernie Fletcher on Tuesday criticized the recommendations of a Lexington commission that has been studying immigration issues.

In a statement, Fletcher’s re-election campaign said the commission’s recommendations “would grant license for more uninsured motorists on the road, favor releasing criminal illegal immigrants back into our communities instead of deporting them, provide potential terrorists with the opportunity to receive driver’s licenses, and make it easier for illegals to vote.”

The commission, formed in June by Mayor Jim Newberry to review a number of immigration-related issues, voted on its key recommendations Monday night.

Among them, the commission voted to recommend that the city issue identification cards to undocumented immigrants and that Lexington leaders lobby state legislators to allow immigrants illegally in the country to obtain Kentucky driver’s licenses.

The nine-member commission could deliver its final report to Newberry by the end of the week.

In its eight recommendations, the commission also said that Lexington agencies, including police, should not participate in the 287g program that allows for federal immigration training for state and local officials. The subject of police enforcement of immigration laws dominated many of the public forums held by the commission.

In his statement, Fletcher said the commission’s recommendations would amount to “amnesty” for illegal immigrants.

“Kentucky will not be a sanctuary state on my watch,” Fletcher said in the statement. “Implementing these recommendations would place a greater burden on Kentucky’s taxpayers when we should be working to end illegal immigration.”

For more reaction to the commission’s recommendations, see Wednesday’s Herald-Leader.

UPDATE 4 p.m.: Democrat Steve Beshear's gubernatorial campaign just issued this statement:

The need for the Mayor of Lexington to form a commission advising him and city officials of how to deal with the influx of illegal immigrants in his city underscores the importance of why we need a national response to address the issue of illegal immigration.

Those, like Ernie Fletcher, who served in Congress for years and did not provide a solution to the problem have no business preaching reform. In fact, as a Congressman, Ernie Fletcher voted for legislation that would have provided amnesty for some illegal aliens. We need the federal government to address these issues and stop dumping the burden on states or, in this case, our cities. 

As Steve Beshear has said before, illegal means illegal and illegal immigrants should not be afforded the same rights as legal citizens of this state. He believes we must uphold our laws and he expects everyone in our country to do so as well.

- Herald-Leader Staff Report

Comments

Is there anyone who can actually "think"! Let's just invite every illegal immigrant to come into KY! I might as well quit work and stop paying taxes too....I won't be able to afford them anyway - not after we have to raise them in order to take care of everyone...I might as well be taken care of as well! Why bother....just sit home - collect my check - and let the illegals own KY.... We had better vote Fletcher back in...or we are all in trouble

14 more days and we can say goodbye the village idiot Ernie Fletcher.

Governor Fletcher is against this and Steve Beshear is for it. Vote no November 6, vote for Governor Fletcher.

Mark Nickolas is reporting some interesting info (conveyed to him by a conservative blogger) on former Rep. Ernie Fletcher's vote to provide amnesty for illegal aliens.

It's pretty damning, given today's flip-flop.

When the history of this campaign is written, it will be noted that Fletcher desperately appealed to fears (of casinos, immigrants, gays, etc.) and that Beshear appealed to our better, more hopeful instincts.

It's abundantly clear which strategy will prevail.

Regardless if you are for Fletcher or Beshear - it is good public policy to ship illegal immigrants who have committed crimes back to their home country. While some may argue that illegals do jobs they nobody else wants - if they are in jail - they are not contributing anything and it is costing taxpayers money to keep them there. Wake up America.

I totally agree that illegal immigration is a huge problem. What I find interesting is that this seems to be a last minute act of desperation on the part of fletcher to:

1. raise money

2. try to find some traction

This, as well as our myriad other problems, did not occur overnight and will not be solved in the next few weeks. Where were you ern?

If I was not registered to vote and I read these comments...I would register to vote republician because some of the steve supporters sound like pure idiots

I think we can all agree that illegal immigrants who commit crimes should be deported. But the racist war on immigrants only reinforces "ugly American" stereotypes.

Futurists agree that as our population ages (especially here in Kentucky), we're going to need immigrants -- and plenty of them -- to care for us and help subsidize our retirement benefits.

We're all frustrated with the direction of the country (with the war, the economy, etc.), but we should resist the temptation to scapegoat our problems on people who are fleeing far worse conditions as they seek to build better lives for themselves and their families.

The crackdown on otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants is costing more than it's saving us.

Published Oct. 12, 2007:

Hispanics bolt Smithfield plant

Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times

TAR HEEL, N.C. - In November, immigration officials began a crackdown at Smithfield Foods' giant slaughterhouse here, eventually arresting 21 illegal immigrants at the plant and rousting others from their trailers in the middle of the night.

Since then, more than 1,100 Hispanic workers have left the 5,200-employee hog-butchering plant, the world's largest, leaving it struggling to find, train and keep replacements.

Across the country, the federal effort to flush out illegal immigrants is having major effects on workers and employers. Some companies have reluctantly raised wages to attract new workers after raids at their plants.

Go Fletcher

I have an idea...put some of the welfare recipents in these jobs...then we won't need illegal immigrants! Bash me if you want - but I've seen it all my life - people not wanting their children educated for fear of losing that welfare check...put the healthy ones to work and that will leave enough money for the ones who really need and deserve the welfare benefits....of course the democrats don't want us working or educated - we can't be controlled that way

Control is the key here, politicians want the motor voter deal, so if you have a drivers license you are allowed to vote. Governor Fletcher is against this thus we should vote for him.

Section 502 of the DMV code states that you must have a SSN# in order to be eligible to get a Drivers License. These people do not have a SSN#

All county clerks should stand together and refuse to give any Drivers Licenses out to Illegal aliens.

It is rediculous to make your point on the illegal issue, "nobody else will take the jobs" that is urban legend and is not proved. Besides we have a 100 reasons to the one on why illegals should not be allowed.

4 more years

[Trackmasterscoob]

" As Steve Beshear has said before, illegal means illegal and illegal immigrants should not be afforded the same rights as legal citizens of this state." Even allowing for polspeak, this sure as hell sounds like agreement with Fletcher in condemning Newberry's commission, doesn't it? And 3:17..."Some companies have reluctantly raised wages to attract new workers after raids at their plants." That there is a mouthful, my friend. If only politicians and lawyers and swells could be replaced with illegals, I bet we would get a quicker handle on this little sticky wicket.

Who are we going to hate next week? I lose track of the GOP hate-as-diversion target du jour. Too bad Beshear didn't take the true conservative line and say Lexington has every right to set its own policies and deal with its issues the way it sees fit. Ernie's on the big-time liberal big federal government nanny state bandwagon on the issue of his telling Lexington how to handle its business. Local government right anyone?

[Duty from Boone County]

Have I been in a comma for the last 3 1/2 years. Have the illegals just arrived in Kentucky. This is the first time I have heard Ernie say anything about the illegals in this state. Boy isn't it great that Ernie now realizes there a problem with illegals. Thank God this idoit will be packing his bags in the coming months. I am voting for Steve Beshear

Steve Beshear takes no responsibility. For a Lt. Gov and Attorney General for a state that was dead last in almost every conceivable, he doesn’t have any accomplishments to run a positive campaign.

Where was KY in obesity and smoking when Steve Beshear was in office, LAST.

Where was KY in economic development when Steve Beshear was in office, LAST.

Where was KY in education when Steve Beshear was in office, LAST.

Why in the world would we want his leadership again?

Beshear only wants to make the federal government take care of the problems, and if they don't we just need to MAKE THEM!! I prefer Fletchers stance that WE will protect Ky if the federal government won't!! My GOSH KY, WISEN UP! Beshear is EMPTY!! He is promising us a rose garden, (yes, everyone is going to get raises, no tax increases, he promises us what we want to hear, but he couldn't even do his job as Att Gen or Lt Gov...) Fletcher is not perfect either, but no one can honestly say he hasn't done alot for us!! Vote Fletcher 4 more years!

[Steve Beshear on Everything]

"Folks it's time for a lot of gonna's. Let me tell ya somethin'. We're gonna get a lot of federal funds because we're gonna keep Kentucky in the bottom. That's right. It's time for a change. It's time to change thangs back to the way they wur. I'm gonna put a bunch of hired government folks together that I like and have them study on this for four years, and I'm gonna ask the federal govurnment to pay fur it.

Thank you. Folks it's time that we put Kentucky back on the fast track of more government employees and favors.

Now how am I gonna pay for it? I'm proposing a casino plan that I don't know what the plan is yet because I don't have the money in place to look into it yet. So, folks it's time to put together a plan that I can't pay for, but you will, about how to make a change in frankfort that get's Casino's in here.

I'm Gonna!

2:51
"If I was not registered to vote and I read these comments...I would register to vote republician because some of the steve supporters sound like pure idiots"

I wonder who the idiot is here - In the General Election you don't have to register to vote republican - You just have to register to vote.

Oh snap! Good one - not that they make it any too difficult. Love "rediculous". For the genius who made the claims about KY rankings during Beshear's terms in Constituional offices, I don't suppose you'd care to cite your sources and provide links, would you? Didn't think so. Way too easy.

LMFAO

Ernie has obviously adopted the approach of the monkeys in the movie "Madagascar":

"If you have poo, fling it now!"

I'm guessing that given Ernie's ability to mess up a three-car funeral, he'll fling the poo straight up, and then be amazed when it falls back to earth and lands on him.

Bottle this idiot, and let's hang him around McConnell's neck next year. Mitch has been lately saying how Ernie Fletcher is the greatest governor of Kentucky in his lifetime. Let's make the most of Ernie's stain, and put it firmly on the Republican Party for the next year. We could not only knock off McConnell, but we could also reclaim the state Senate!

[Stahl Mukker]

Why don't some reporters head out to Brereton Jones' hacienda and ask the help what they think about this issue? Helpful suggestion--take an interpreter.

"I wonder who the idiot is here - In the General Election you don't have to register to vote republican - You just have to register to vote."

My point...I would not want my name to associated with the Democrat party...your reply is an example of my point....

Funny how Beshear says illegal immigration is a federal issue and the feds, not he, should enforce it.

He certainly didn't have the same attitude when he was enforcing the federal issue of the Supreme Court decision on the 10 Commandments. He didn't say it was up to the feds, not him, to enforce the ruling.

Hypocrite.

[coleman]

Concerning welfare benefits, we had years of republican control of both the congress and senate along with the presidency, why didn't they clean up the problem? They were to busy promoting corruption, sex scandals, god only knows what else.

coleman, you made me laugh. you wrote, "they (republicans) were to busy promoting corruption, sex scandals, god only knows what else."

HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

As if the democrats are any Fing different? Come on Coleman. um... corruption, Bill Clinton ... sex scandal, Bill Clinton ... god knows what else, Bill Clinton.

look Coleman - I love Bill Clinton - I voted for him twice & would vote for him again in a new york second ... but stop being a hypocrit ... 'k?

"My point...I would not want my name to associated with the Democrat party...your reply is an example of my point...."

Sorry to disappoint you but I am a registered Republican and I think my reply was pretty good. I vote for the policies and the person not for the party...