And People Wonder Why We Have An Illegal Immigration Problem

It's because we talk the talk, but we don't walk the walk. And it's actually more human of us that we don't walk the walk either. We are willing to get all medieval on illegal immigrants, but only as long as the folks remain faceless. Once there is a face attached to the pain, it's all a different story. So, Joe Wilson may be a hypocrite, but a hypocrite in a humane sense:

The anti-illegal immigration movement is singing Congressman Joe Wilson’s praises, but the lawmaker who was rebuked by the House this week recently helped extend the stay of one of those very “illegals” the activists hope to remove from the country.

...Two months before he heckled Obama, he introduced legislation to keep Sainey Fatty, an illegal immigrant from Gambia, in the country. Fatty came to the U.S. for school in the early ’90s and lived here for seven years while under a deportation order, according to his friend Bill Cook’s blog.

In his bill, Wilson asks Congress to forgive Fatty’s immigration woes, drop the deportation order against Fatty and allow him to remain in the country legally.

Wilson’s communications director Ryan Murphy told Raw Story in an e-mail that “Congressman Wilson does not support illegal immigrants getting access to a government taxpayer funded health insurance program.” He did not respond to questions about what motivated Wilson to keep Fatty in the country or whether Wilson supports Fatty’s ability to receive medical care in the U.S.

...Fatty’s friend Cook says in his blog that Fatty is allegedly a Christian convert who abandoned his Muslim roots. Cook did not respond to Raw Story’s request for comments, and restricted the public’s ability to view his blog after Raw Story left a voice-mail message at his office. Government workers familiar with the process in which members of Congress fight deportation orders say many undocumented people file asylum claims stating they would face violence if they return to their native countries after converting to Christianity.

After South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham followed Wilson’s lead, Fatty gets to stay in the U.S. for at least the next 15 months. Graham introduced legislation similar to Wilson’s in the Senate, which essentially gives Fatty an automatic stay on the deportation order to give the Senate time to act on Graham’s bill. Fatty is now allowed to remain in the U.S. until the 111th session of Congress adjourns.

“By the grace of God, Fatty has been granted a stay on his deportation,” his friend Cook’s blog reported last month. “…Congressman Wilson and others reached out to Senators DeMint and Graham, who were able to secure a temporary stay–word reached Fatty less than 30 minutes before his flight out of the U.S. was slated to leave today. Praise God for His kindness!”

...Fatty did not respond to requests for comment, but the company website for HIS International, a South Carolina group that bills itself as a non-denominational Christian organization, lists him as an employee since 2003.

The group’s website says it helps foreign students with practical matters like getting driver’s licenses and gives these students the “option” of joining them for Bible study sessions and retreats. They also provide help accessing medical care.