ILLEGALS GAIN POWER by DELEGATE PAT McDONOUGH

ILLEGALS GAIN POWER

By DELEGATE PAT McDONOUGH (Baltimore County)

Maryland continues to become the worst state in the nation in terms of protecting its citizens against the invasion of illegal aliens. It is accurate to characterize Maryland as the Number One “Sanctuary State” in America. The Governor and General Assembly leaders support the legislative agenda of CASA of Maryland and other pro-illegal proponents. Once again, in the 2008 session of the Maryland General Assembly, all of the legislation proposed by lawmakers in opposition to illegal aliens was defeated. Moreover, none of these much needed proposals were allowed to emerge from committee for a full floor vote.

I introduced the Citizens Right Act which many consider to be the centerpiece of any anti-illegals agenda. This initiative would have, for the first time, permitted ordinary citizens to file a complaint against elected officials based on the premise that the official is violating the Federal Immigration Act. The complaint could eventually result in the official being removed from public office.

Another important bill was the Voter Verification and Fairness Act which would require affidavits confirming that an individual is an eligible voter. The bill would prevent illegal aliens from voting, especially the ones that are exploiting the motor-voter law associated with acquiring drivers’ licenses.

I introduced the bill that would mandate English as the official and formal language of Maryland State Government. All of these positive initiatives were defeated by the friends and supporters of illegals that dominate the State Legislature.

I continued my efforts on the floor of the House by attempting to remove a $1 million gift from Governor O’Malley’s budget that was designated as funding for CASA of Maryland. CASA is the 800 pound gorilla in Maryland that supports illegal aliens and appears to exercise unusual control over the Governor and General Assembly. Although the amendment failed, I managed to expose a number of negatives about CASA during the floor debate that helped educate my colleagues and members of the press.

There were nine additional pieces of legislation by other lawmakers that would have assisted our state to fight the battle against illegal aliens and their co-conspirators. The Real ID Act, prohibition of public assistance to illegals, and a ban on sanctuary cities were among the more important initiatives that failed.

The good news is that more bills were introduced on our side and a growing number of legislators participated. There was an increase in the quality of the testimony supporting our legislation and more witnesses travelled to Annapolis to testify.

On the negative side, as was mentioned, all of our legislation was defeated. CASA of Maryland received increased funding, a bill to promote foreign languages, and another piece of legislation that allows CASA to sue or initiate legal actions against employers passed.

Adding insult to injury, a phoney piece of legislation allegedly promoting the idea of studying the impact of immigrants on the State of Maryland was successful. A real and effective bill that was introduced to study the impact of illegal immigration failed. The phoney bill will be used to prove that immigrants are productive and an asset to our state. This study is simply a ploy to justify and move forward the CASA and illegal alien agenda.

Obviously, it was a difficult session. However, we all know that the only way you really fail is when you quit. I am not going to surrender our great state to a group of misguided “lawmakers who support lawbreakers and powerful politicians who are out of touch with the people.”

Thank you for your continued support on this issue. If I may be of any assistance to you or your family in the future, please don’t hesitate to let me know. You may contact me at 410-238-0025.