William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) listed Representative Lou Barletta as being a potential supporter of “amnesty.” Will state and federal officials finally stop listening to Gheen?
Barletta is on the national Board of Advisors for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). As the mayor of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, Barletta spearheaded laws to make English the official language of the town and to prevent undocumented immigrants from renting homes. In court, Hazleton was defended by none other than Kris Kobach, the current Kansas Secretary of State and attorney for the Immigration Reform Law Institute. Needless to say, Gheen labeled one of the most virulently anti-immigrant politicians in the country as being potentially disloyal to his cause. How does FAIR feel about one of their board members being labeled as a potential “amnesty” supporter?
“ALIPAC feels that the group most likely to follow speaker Boehner in joining Obama to legalize the presence of millions of illegal immigrants are in this group,” Gheen said in a blog today. The blog goes on to list 40 of 85 members of Congress who voted in support of the fiscal cliff compromise. The representatives are listed as “unknown on amnesty,” “supports amnesty,” or “opposes any form of amnesty.”
Nice work, Gheen. Barletta’s staff ought to be enjoying lots of harassing calls from ALIPAC supporters right now.