Rep. Tom Tancredo's Xenophobic Express roared into Newark, New Jersey on Monday to further step on the bedraggled city's fingers as it desperately tries to keep a tenuous grip on law and order.
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Rep. Tancredo, a Colorado Republican candidate for President, came to Newark, New Jersey to use the recent multiple homicide of three young adults to hammer home his point on our country's immigration policies.
What follows is one of the worst cases of political ambulance-chasing in recent memory.
Two of the six suspects being held on murder charges are in the United States illegally. One had been arrested three times in recent months. At no time was his immigration status checked. He was free on bail at the time of the murders.
The Essex County prosecutor said it was understood that the Immigration and Naturalization Service was to be notified only upon a conviction.
Rep. Tancredo has gone on record to say:
"If the suspects are found guilty, Newark and its political leadership share a degree of responsibility... I encourage the family of the victim to pursue a lawsuit against the city."
Mayor Booker called Tancredo's words "vulgar."
Given Tancredo's recent suggestion that the United States attack some holy Muslim sites as a deterrent against further attacks on us, these new comments come as no surprise. The nutty ides never falls far from the tree.
He offers very little positive suggestions, preferring only to create disorder.
Right now, Newark is in about as bad a shape as a city can be. The murder rate is soaring, unemployment among minorities dwarfs the national average, and the city's infrastructure is still in the process of being rebuilt after the dysfunctional tenure of Mayor Sharpe James.
The new mayor, Cory Booker, is a young African-American man of 38 who is in way over his head at the moment. He is earnest and passionate about bringing Newark back to some semblance of order. There have already been murmurs of a recall by those dissatisfied with his performance.
For a candidate for the highest office to advocate bringing suit against a city is definitely ludicrous, if not entirely irresponsible. What the city needs is better coordination with the federal agencies to come up with a workable policy on incarcerated illegal immigrants. All cities need a strong set of ideas from a candidate with brains. Tancredo is not showing any presidential behavior in this case.
Not surprising is Tancredo's free pass given to the INS, even though the INS had people stationed at the county jail where the man was being held. He'd like Newark to take the full rap for this one.
Why he's choosing to go after Newark seems to be very political in nature. It's a blue city in a blue county in a blue state. Its mayor is a charismatic young Black man with little experience but a lot of charisma (kinda like Barack Obama). This could be a preemptive strike to make sure that this tragedy is always connected with Cory Booker.
Has anyone thought about the repercussions that a series of successful lawsuits could have on a municipality's ability to function properly?