Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) AP
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) decried Republican “xenophobia” during a Spanish-language speech at a Tri-Caucus press conference on Capitol Hill, hours before the Senate passed its immigration bill.
But when speaking in English, he only accused House Republicans of being "partisan."
“We have to conclude this job and in the House of Representatives. We need a bipartisan request between Republicans and Democrats so we can lay to rest the xenophobic Republican proposals that have been presented at this moment,” Gutierrez said in comments translated by CNSNews.com.
Elsewhere in his speech, Rep. Gutierrez declared in Spanish that “justice”(justicia) required the legalization of the estimated 11 million illegal aliens now living in the
“For me, this is a moment of great celebration because in a few hours there will be a bill approved in the Senate that will permit millions of people to leave the shadows and finally find a bit of dignity and a bit of justice… so that the people can finally breath freely in this country.”
However, neither comment figured in Gutierrez’s preceding speech in English.
Instead of casting Republican ideas for immigration reform as “xenophobic” (xenófobicas), Gutierrez used the word “partisan” in his English comments, saying, “Look, the proposals that my colleges in the Republican majority are putting forward in the [House] Judiciary Committee are nothing but rehashed, reprinted proposals that they made before November 6th... those are partisan proposals."
Similarly, instead of telling his English listeners that a pathway to citizenship was a matter of “justice” for illegal aliens, Gutierrez limited himself to saying that “those sweaty and toiling in the fields across the country” should be “respected for the work and contributions that they make” to the American economy.