Jesse Helms Quotes
All Latins are volatile people.
Explaining Mexican protests of U.S. Senate hearings on Mexican corruption that were perceived by Mexicans as insulting, patronizing and discriminatory.
Jesse Helms, 1921-2008, U.S. Senator (Republican, NC), Quoted in Newsweek, June 23, 1986
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Andrew Macdonald
Mrs. Carter, was expecting to be briefed and was prepared to study about the economies, history, politics, and sociology of each of the countries to be visited but was not taken very seriously be either the State Department or the Congress.
The Congressman was a rabid foe of immigration in general and possible illegal immigration in particular (See {614687}). As his colleagues were trying to improve the methods of identifying illegal workers at the job hiring stage, they were very concerned that law enforcment and some employers would make judgments about the likely criminal status of a person based on his/her ethnicity, race or other general superficial characteristics.
He was referring to the fact that the Spaniards had not only explored but settled much of America before the English settlers ever came. When Americans came to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and California, the Hispanics were already there and had been for some time. Spanish was the language of all these states before they were states and of many of the residents after they had become states. When the United States bought New Mexico and Arizona from Mexico, Spanish was the principle language in those territories. Those that would argue that immigrants should not bring new languages to America have little knowledge of history. Spanish was spoken in much of America long before anyone ever said a word in English.
He was a Senator from Pennsylvania when he made this remark.
Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. was an American journalist, media executive, and politician. A leader in the conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001 he had a major voice in foreign policy. Helms helped organize and fund the conservative resurgence in the 1970s, focusing on Ronald Reagan's quest for the White House as well as helping many local and regional candidates.
