ALIPAC endorses McIntyre, hopes Pantano supporters will follow

Type: Television Broadcast Quoting William Gheen Source: WWAY News Channel 3 Date: 10/3/2012 Author: WWAY

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A political action committee known for its strong stance against illegal immigration is endorsing Rep. Mike McIntyre in his reelection bid.

Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) announced today it will endorse the Democrat seeking his ninth term in the US House due to his opposition to amnesty for illegal aliens. ALIPAC also said endorsing McIntyre is in response to his opponent David Rouzer’s support for amnesty for illegals.

“ALIPAC supports our record of standing strong against illegal immigration,” McIntyre said in a statement. “There is a clear distinction in this election between my record and Senator Rouzer’s on immigration, and this ALIPAC endorsement highlights that clearly!”

In 2010 ALIPAC supported Republican Ilario Pantano in his run against McIntyre. However, Pantano lost the GOP primary this year Rouzer.

“We hope that many of the Republicans who supported Ilario Pantano because of his strong stance against illegal immigration will follow ALIPAC’s lead to vote for Mike McIntyre,” ALIPAC President William Gheen said in a release.

Gheen says McIntyre is a “clear choice” over Rouzer, who ALIPAC says has lobbied members of Congress to pass the AgJOBS Amnesty bill, which the group opposes.

Rouzer’s campaign says McIntyre has voted several times over the years to support amnesty programs for illegal immigrants.

“Our immigration system is broken because for too many years politicians like Congressman McIntyre have been all too happy to talk about securing the border and fixing the problem on the campaign trail, while voting in Washington for programs that make the problem even worse,” Rouzer’s campaign manager Jessica Wood said. “Congressman McIntyre has had 16 years to tackle our immigration problem, but all he’s provided is too much talk and too little action. David Rouzer, on the other hand, has shown he is willing to dive in and solve this problem on behalf of our farms and small businesses, and he is proud of his work. David has been clear that he believes our immigration problem will best be solved by establishing a workable system that will allow farmers and businesses to legally get the labor they need when they need it. David Rouzer understands this is a serious problem and he won’t just talk about it on the campaign trail – he’ll actually work to solve the problem in Washington.”