Cornyn Two-Faced on Dream Act

DREAM Act Vote Shows the Two Faces of John Cornyn

Texas' junior senator votes against college access bill after declaring his support to El Pasoans; Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison votes to continue debate on mainstream measure.

(Houston, TX) – Talking out of one side of his mouth when he visits the border, and another when he votes in Washington, Senator John Cornyn once again voted against the children and the future of Texas yesterday.

During an August visit to El Paso, the junior senator from Texas declared his support for the DREAM Act, the El Paso Times reported.¹ Yet, when faced with a vote yesterday, he failed to join 12 of his Republican colleagues – including Texas' senior Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison – in passing the bill.

"I applaud Senator Hutchison for doing the right thing while John Cornyn was backing away from his promise. The DREAM Act benefits those kids who know no other home, had no say in the matter when their parents brought them to America, and who did what we've asked of them by working hard," Noriega said.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would provide access to college for children brought to the United States illegally, and create a path to citizenship for such children so long as they were enrolled in school or the military.

"The DREAM Act is a statement that Texans believe in education. John Cornyn has chosen to reverse his position for political gain, opting instead to exploit the education of Hispanic children to use as a wedge issue," Noriega said.

State Representative Noriega passed a Texas version of the DREAM Act in 2001, which subsequently has allowed over 10,000 Texas children access to college and set them on the path to becoming educated, productive, and taxpaying Texans.

The federal DREAM Act, which fell short of the necessary 60 votes, 52-44, would have granted conditional legal status to those who entered the country before the age of 16, have lived in the United States more than five years, graduate high school, lack a criminal record, and demonstrate "good moral character." Conditional status would be lifted only after the completion of at least two years of higher education or military service, and citizenship could only be applied for after five years.

Last month, Senator Cornyn voted against a State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) bill, and subsequently opted not to override President Bush's veto.

"Once again, Senator Cornyn voted against the children of Texas and against the future. First, he voted against health insurance for children, and now he's voted against education. In Texas, we value children. We don't try to limit their opportunities based on political calculations," Noriega said.

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Will Latino Evangelicals Stick With The GOP?

A new report from the Dallas Morning News says that the anti-immigration rhetoric from the right side of the isle may cause Latino evangelicals to sit out next year's election, or even go democratic. We've already explored Latino Republicans crossing the party line to support Rick Noriega, but Latino evangelical Protestants voted nearly 7-to-3 in favor of President Bush in 2004.

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez leads the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, a sister organization to the National Association of Evangelicals. He and other Hispanic pastors have been working to pass an immigration bill that secures the borders, creates a guest worker program, and provides a path towards citizenship after paying a fine and proving that they've learned English.

The Bill collapsed, largely due to GOP conservatives like John Cornyn who voted against the immigration acts this that would have provided for a guest worker program, but voting twice in favor of a border fence, and for declaring English as the official national language.

"We were divided on global warming, but not on immigration," says Rodriguez. He thinks Latino evangelicals will likely stay home instead of voting Republican, and Presidential GOP candidates better listen up or risk separating a key component of their voting constituency.

William McKenzie, Dallas Morning News:

The same thing appears true for Republicans like Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who's up for re-election. Based on what I'm hearing, Latino evangelicals will sit out next year's election or go Democratic.

"Xenophobia has triumphed over an appreciation for diversity. They completely abandoned us," says Rodriguez about Republicans with a stance against immigration like Cornyn.

Democratic challenger Rick Noriega calls John Cornyn out on his waffling about the wall: "as he moves to East Texas, he's for the wall, but as he moves to South Texas, he's against the wall...This wall will not work, yet he [Sen. Cornyn] has voted for the wall on two occasions, and he needs to be held accountable for that."

Republican Backed Border Wall May Cut Off Two US College Campuses

According to the Valley Newsline, a Republican-backed wall might only slow down illegal immigrants by as much as five minutes, but would cut off two American college campuses from the mainland. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff seems quite determined to build the wall, and intends on building as soon as this fall. As the Federal Government already owns some land easements in the border region, the Feds would have built on currently owned Federally owned property, cutting off two American college campuses, and the local Mexican Colsulate.



Dr. Antonio N. Zavaleta, Dean of UTBTSC about being seperated by the wall:

"It's inconcievable. I just can't believe that a campus of an American University would be cut off and would be placed on the Mexican side of this wall or this barrier which is intended to be a limitation whether it is good or bad. What that means is they better start working on a budget to have border guards placed at the wall with a gate every single day because over 1,000 people a day come to campus."

Zavaleta proposes that the levee be moved to the south side of the campus to provide more protection to downtown Brownsville, and provide dams to be able to control floods. "It seems to make a lot more sense to invest in infrastructure that protects the communites than building barriers," says Zavaleta.

UPDATE: Cornyn says he is not for the wall, using a lot of prepositions - almost a Green Eggs and Hammy kinda approach. Dr. Seuss would be proud! "No one is suggesting that we're willing to have a 2,000-mile wall placed on our southern border. For one thing, people can come over walls, they can come under walls and they can come through walls if they're not maintained, " said U.S. Sen. Cornyn in a statement according to KFOX.

This is in stark contrast to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who prefers to c0mpare immigration to The Cat in the Hat. From Wikipedia:

In the 110th Congres Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid compared the impasse over a bill to reform immigration with the mess created by the Cat in "The Cat in the Hat." He read lines of the book from the Senate floor, quoting "'That is good,' said the fish. 'He's gone away, yes. But your mother will come. She will find this big mess.'"[5] He then carried forward his analogy hoping the impasse would be straightened out for "If you go back and read Dr. Seuss, the cat manages to clean up the mess."[6] Reid's hopes did not come about for as one analyst put it "the Cat in the Hat did not have to contend with cloture."[5]

Republicans Cross Party Lines to Join Rick Noriega

Massachusetts Governor and Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney announced the formation of a Hispanic Steering Committee, according to Texas Politics. It included key Republican and Hispanic figures, six of them from Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio.

One of the members, former Republican National Hispanic Assembly Chairman Massey Villarreal "caused a stir" by announcing he will not support U.S. Sen. John Cornyn for re-election.

A native of Corpus Christi, Villarreal is one of the top Hispanic Republicans in the country. Bush referred to him as his "friend y Tejano" in a speech in March. Named one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States by Hispanic Business Magazine in 2002, Villarreal served as national Hispanic vice-chairman of the Bush/Cheney for President Campaign. Villarreal served as chairman of the board of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly for four terms.

Villarreal told the Rio Grande Guardian that Cornyn's positions on immigration harmed the Hispanic community and that he would support Democrat Rick Noriega for Senate.

From The Rio Grande Guardian, Villarreal speaks about Republican talking points:

“We are law abiding, we love this country, but if some of the Republican bigots had their way, they would make sure my father went back. They have no compassion. My Dad would be headed back and that’s just wrong.”

“I would like to see Congressman Culberson take a job on a landscaping truck to see what immigrants do for our community,” Villarreal said, referring to U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston.

“There are those rightwing Republicans who don’t represent our interest, don’t represent our vision,” he said. “I’m sorry their constituents elect them because they don’t represent the interests of the whole community.”

“I have decided to support Rick Noriega for U.S. Senate as a Democrat. I just don’t think John Cornyn hears my community,” Villarreal said.

So it appears that even with Cornyn's dismal approval ratings, he's even losing support from Republicans. See Texas Much More PURPLE Than Most People Expect...

Body Mishandled by Mexican Authorities, Cornyn's Office Remains Silent

Last Friday morning, the body of El Paso resident Ernest V. Arroyo was discovered in a shallow pool in the Rio Grande. As the El Paso Fire Department officials were suiting up for the retrieval, Juarez firefighters grabbed the body and pulled it past the understood boundary onto Mexican soil. When the body was discovered, Consulate officials called to relay the information, but shortly afterward, funeral homes began calling.

Anthony Arroyo, The Victim's Brother:

"Right away (the funeral home) demanded a $400 down payment," Arroyo said. "Before all was said and done, the funeral director wanted another $2,100. They went as far as coming to the United States picking up the check and cashing it before they would let us see the body."

Mexican authorities noted that they do not charge fees to claim a body, but that the funeral homes may charge transportation fees for those services. After the frustration with dealing with the Mexican officials, the brother contacted several of his elected officials including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and his state senator in Houston, Mario Gallegos about the issue, and only heard back from Gallegos.

The Victim's body was returned to the family Monday, but had been autopsied without authorization from the family. They were reaching out to their officials for assistance, as the family was not familiar with international procedures concerning retreival of bodies, yet was shrugged off by many of his officials including Cornyn.

"It is upsetting the way that my family has been treated," Arroyo said. "I understand that there are lots of things going on and we are just a small problem in a big world but it is upsetting to know that if this had been handled properly, we would have never had to go through any of this."