Tancredo wanted bailout bill to fight 'illegal aliens','unscrupulous allies in the finance industry'

[muriel_volestrangler]

Seriously. Via Jon Swift (because satire is the best response to this):

In the midst of the turmoil in our financial markets, we should take pause to reflect on the lessons we have learned in the past few years. With the benefits of that wisdom, we can include the prudent provisions that will close loopholes in any potential “bailout” legislation. One such suggestion is to incorporate safeguards to verify the legal residency and identity of potential homebuyers to ensure that illegal aliens are not obtaining federally backed home loans.

I sent a letter to the Secretary of HUD a year ago about this very concern. I also pressed the agency to disclose the extent to which this type of fraud is contributing to volatility in the mortgage markets. I believe this kind of fraud has contributed to the tumult we are seeing in the headlines daily.
...
I recognize that any infusion of foreign investment – especially now – is a welcome addition to our capital-starved market. But there is a difference between the wealthy foreign real estate investor or financier of a vacation home, and the inherently unreliable illegal aliens who are prone to fraud and may be forced by circumstances to return to their home nation at any point. Certainly, we should seek to differentiate between these two categories of buyer.

Including a mechanism to make sure that taxpayers are not providing any assistance to illegal aliens, or absorbing any bad debts owed to financial institutions (such as mortgages) by illegal aliens is a “must” for any “bailout” legislation. If such protections are not included in the package, I hope you will join me in opposing its passage.

We need to ensure that the ‘American Dream’ remains within reach of American families – and that means enacting some long overdue safeguards that prevent illegal aliens and their unscrupulous allies in the financial industry from undermining its integrity.

Google cache of his Congress website, which has strangely removed this since (too much even for him, on reflection? Or just because of how he voted - see below) (this letter from Tancredo also available on various dodgy-looking RW blogs, but I'm dammed if I'll give them links - Google will find it if you want)

And, as Jon Swift noted, he voted for the bill in the end, despite the lack of rabid RW anti-immigrant stuff that he demanded. But it did get places like Free Republic cheering him for a few days.

You know, there was an even worse choice for McCain's number 2 than Palin: Tancredo. "Rich foreign investors good, working immigrants bad". :eyes: :grr: