For all the speculation about a “surprise” in the 9500Liberty preview screening scheduled for tomorrow night at Casablanca, what I found most compelling was the clarity and precision with which it explained some complicated truths I already suspected, as well as a few I didn’t suspect. There are indeed some surprises. In fact, a few of them were bigger than I was expecting, but no, none of them included Corey Stewart at 7 Eleven with Greg Letiecq. The most striking thing about the film is that, taken as a whole, it depicts the Chairman in battle mode as only his colleagues know him, and as the average citizen has never seen him before.
Some of the scenes inside the BOCS chamber have the feeling of a showdown at high noon, with John Grisham style dramatic tension, only the suspense in this case is not dramatized; it’s real! I don’t want to give anything away. I really recommend you see it for yourself. If you do, I predict you will be on the edge of your seat, squirming with suspense, EVEN if you already know how the story turned out.
By getting perspectives from Board members, the Police Chief, the County Executive and others, the film illustrates the consensus view of recent PWC history, from a fascinating perspective inside the county government. Specifically, it explains what went down behind closed doors, so to speak, during the budgeting process, the long recesses and closed sessions, and how the risk of racial profiling lawsuits, and the high costs of avoiding them, led to the scaling back of the county’s illegal immigration policy.
I felt like Corey Stewart was treated fairly. At times I actually sympathized with the impossible situation he faced as the champion of this unfortunate “experiment” (yes, the word “experiment” comes up again but I won’t spoil it by saying who said it this time).
I know I am being vague, but I am determined not to give too much away. Let me just say THE BEST THING about the film is the inside view it provides us into the Supervisors’ approach to this controversial issue. There were several times when I was shocked at how honest people were being, and how comfortable they were just telling the truth, when we’d lived with so much confusion the past 2 months about what really went on.
There will inevitably be grumbling from the extreme right saying this is not their version of reality. No surprise there. But despite all the confusion, it’s a relief to know there is a consensus about what really happened. And, if you watch this film, it’s very possible you’ll understand it in great detail. If not, you will have a hard time discussing local politics with someone who has.
Casablanca 7:00 p.m.
7911 Centreville Rd
Manassas
Elena, you are such a tease! I’m glad to know it’s not a montage of Red Circle Deputees picking up garbage and saluting Corey Stewart! That would be the last straw for PWC’s crediblity, and we’re already a laughing stock because of The Duecaster Disaster’s videos…
I disagree with the last sentence, Elena. The Hate Bunnies and their mentors have proven time and time again how easy it is to argue in circles from a position of total ignorance.
Will there be enough room @ Casablanca to fulfill the suspense? My question made me think about the old drive in movie near this restaurant. It would have been the perfect venue. 🙂 I know it was for a press meeting today. Will any of it be aired tonight on the local stations?
Elena,
I really admire how tirelessly you pursue improvements in our county or as a friend of mine likes to say, “our stupid silly county.”
I really appreciate this review of the screening. You could have a second career as a film critic. I like what you said at the very end about not being able to discuss county politics with someone who has seen it. It’s true that there are people on this blog and elsewhere so ignorant about the facts that it’s not worth engaging in conversation. Tomorrow is a huge opportunity for many of us to get on the same page.
I’m disappointed that we don’t get to see proof of Corey’s visit to 7-11 so that I get stopped calling a liar. Regardless, I will be there tomorrow. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I look forward to discussing the state of PWC afterwards with fellow residents. I do hope that some of the Supervisors and county employees will be there.
Tomorrow night could be the beginning of a real dialogue in the community. I pray for that. A year of division is enough. Let’s work towards reconciliation in the community and lawmaking based on facts and a truly democratic process. I will come with ideas to share.
Elena, YES! Excellent movie review. Looking forward to see it.
How did they get footage of closed-door sessions? Or did I misunderstand that? If it’s closed-door, doesn’t that mean no media?
Anonfornow, people will call you a liar whether you have proof or not. So don’t worry about it. But it would be nice to have the 7/11 visit on film for other reasons.
Anonfornow,
Please check out what I have to say about Corey Stewart being at the 7-11 on BVBL
http://www.bvbl.net/index.php/2008/07/08/coverstone-7-eleven-cleared-of-day-laborers/
Good review, Elena. It will be nice to know what went on behind the scenes. So often we had no inkling of what transpired between the BOCS recesses and wham – our new policy.
Great post Red Dawn and excellent points regarding fairness in relation to posting this man’s face and license plate info.
Thanks Elena, I said that I would have probably waved too BUT I can see my husband doing the same thing and it just hits HOME. He does not hire illegals but is in the same biz and likes his big gulps 🙂
Elena, I’m not sure I can make it. But you can break the tie between the screening and a previous engagement if you reveal a bit more … give us just a little more info, please! Your writing is elegant as usual but what do we learn from reading your review that bloggers here don’t already know?
oh no! a special screening by the wonderful filmmakers of 9500 liberty at a mexican eating establishment no less. Funny how elena has taken such liking to bashing Corey Stuart..I wont even go there. I’m not saying that the folks over at GL’s blog have all the answers, but neither do the people here. I would say that the gross percentage of folks here support amnesty for illegal aliens if they dont come right out and say it. regardless of any numbers statistics, etc…the majority in the united states do not want illegal aliens here period, the majority want immigration reform and it’s not how you want it, they want LESS of it not MORE of it. And to top it all off, the majority of mexican immigrants (the ones who did it legally) want the illegals gone too! They went through the hassle of coming to the united states and it pains them to see others not do their due diligence in going through the process the way they did. There is a sense of entitlement by the illegal immigrants that they have no right to have, the talk about their rights? what rights? the ones by the constitution that they so hate? you all call GL’s crowd haters, go to a mexican parade…they HATE americans and all they stand for. their goal is to EXPLOIT american and their people. The continue to say this and everyone ignores this…because you got people like elena and crowd looking for a cause to support who say it’s not so. Politicians like Corey Stuart and crowd will continue to be elected, try as you might the majority really lies with him and will continue to do so. Illegal immigration is one item that really ticks off more than you would realize….
9500 liberty is about as centrist as adolph hitler was, in fact I will lump elena in with them as well. Remember hitler led the germans like the pied piper, it’s said on more than one occasion he had extreme magnetism and the people bought it. he was helped by people looking for a cause and by filmmakers (ala’ leni reifenstahl) so make your own analogies here but it’s pretty apparent to me what’s happening…
So, Elvis, I take it you’re turning down 9500 Liberty’s invitation?
And yet you manage to review a film you haven’t, and don’t plan, to see.
Interesting.
Let’s see, if we anoint a “contributor” here as a Hate Bunny when they leave a dropping of 20 to 40 words, what should we call the owner of such a large dump like the one Elvis Bunny just left for us?
Elvis,
Completely disagree with you on almost every point. Have your say, but don’t be claiming all others (or the majority of others) feel as you do. I have a front row seat as the wife of an illegal immigrant and I have yet to meet ANYONE that has treated my husband as though he is a “parasite” and one to be denigrated because he did not come here legally. I’ve had plenty of nasty comments lobbed my way from people who can hide behind a computer screen, but not ONCE has anyone who personally knows our situation voiced the kind of opinions as seen on websites. Just about everyone I know knows our situation and if the unacceptance is as widespread as some would have me believe, we would have run into at least one acquaintance that would decide to speak their mind and unload on one of us.
Elena,
I viewed the screening of the 9500 Liberty film this afternoon at the Manassas Unity Church. You are right on with your acessment of the project. There were some surprises, but not of the kind that some people may have expected. The film primarily clarified what really happened during the County budget process this past spring and what led to the changing of the PWC Resolution. In addition, it carefully detailed the actual effects of the change by cutting through the “spin” we have all been bombarded with and detailing what the changes really mean as far as enforcement of the Resolution. It is well worth seeing, particularly if there is still confusion regarding all the rhetoric the has been swirling around this issue. Some people may come away from the screening with a new attitude toward this matter. Others may find that there are “heroes” in this process that they were not aware of. Still others have already made up their minds and are unable to look at this film objectively.
If Eric or Annabel are reading this, or if anyone else knows, I would really appreciate knowing if the film will be screened at other times/other places.
I thought I read something somewhere about Busboys & Poets having a screening, but maybe I am hallucinating. But I would especially be interested in any weekend screenings or ones accessible by public transportation. Thanks.
WHWN,
Facts were conveyed in a clear, sometimes hilarious, but unmistakable fashion, and in a short enough time span that people didn’t get restless (under an hour).
I’ll give one detail, not one of the major focuses of the film, but one that was very illuminating for me personally because I did not know this before hand. The origin of the ill-fated Probable Cause standard was a development within the government after the Resolution had been delivered to them through John Stirrup by FAIR and HSM. The drafters of the Resolution (our favorite Citizens Time entertainer Robert Duecaster and Mike Hethmon from FAIR) had wanted the Police to check immigration status on anyone and everyone in the county, regardless of race or skin color. But the County Executive Craig Gerhart explains that if they had detained everyone in the county for lengthy immigration checks, the delays would have been enormously frustrating for people who are not undocumented. Under the Duecaster policy, every citizen would have to be detained while police checked. That means extra delays if you get pulled over, or even if an Officer comes to your house to check your well being I guess. This would have been annoying for citizens and also burdensome for the Police force (which does have other duties besides immigration checks). So the Probable Cause standard was added to the Resolution to make the policy even possible, narrowing the field down to just those people who were likely to be “illegal” based on things like language proficiency (but not skin color as we’ve all been assured).
The Probable Cause standard, however, put the county in great jeopardy of being sued for racial profiling. So the Board was forced to budget another 3.2 million dollars for cameras in cruisers to prove that Officers were doing their job lawfully. Then when the economy took a turn for the worse (this cut of the film does not go into how and why the Immigration Resolution contributed to and worsened the economic downturn in PWC) it was just too expensive to maintain such a legally dubious policy as the Probable Cause mandate, and the rest, as you will see tomorrow, is history.
So ironically, FAIR’s original policy, though impractical and too costly, actually would have avoided racial profiling more than the version the BOCS implemented. Interesting.
Is it suitable to bring children to?
I may stop by as well to see what the big secret is about but why the same restaurant all of the time? We have Hispanic restaurants on (and right off of) rt.1 as well.
So TWINAD is the wife of an illegal, interesting. Perhaps we could get some inside info as to how they become educated on the ways of working the system. Most of us are too proud to seek assistance no matter how bad things get, but they seem to flourish and absorb all assistance available with uncanny ability. I’ve often said that there must be an underground university that we have yet to discover that teaches what benefits are available even to non-citizens in this country. I wouldn’t even know how to begin to get help. Of course there aren’t many support organizations for white guys. Name one support organization that has the ethnic reference to caucasian in its name. There aren’t any! Have you ever dealt with anyone at the unemployment office lately? Even if you get unemployment benefits you have to go through tons of effort and constantly prove in writing that you’re looking for work. Others are handed benefits and assistance with no questions asked even if they’re in the country illegally. Hardly seems fair, and I know you all love to be fair!
I’ve read about TWINAD’s situation and I feel for her, I don’t think the situation is from a lack of trying, it’s just difficult situation.
SecondAlamo,
You are quickly losing any credibility that you might once have had and your repeated stereotyping has long lost its effectiveness. And for someone that doesn’t ‘know how to begin to get help’ you sure know a lot about how the unemployment office works.
SA,
My suggestion, go ask the neighbor across the street for a part-time job to earn a little extra cash and stop b!thching about everything.
If the spouse of an American citizen cannot get legal status, how do people who do not have the benefit of a support system possibly cut through all the red tape? Just something to think about.
You wish, it is very appropriate to bring children. Most of us do. The kids all have a good time.
Casa Blanca is owned by a Korean lady. It isn’t a ‘Mexican Restaurant.’
Tom Kopko of the Alamo, undocumented immigrants are statistically less likely to seek out public services than people born to citizenship… They generally steer clear of government services. Nice try though.
And, while I sympathize with your white male identity crisis (who am I where do I fit?), I don’t think it is a sound foundation for a political philosophy, a political party, or a political campaign.
Where do we come up with these guys????
Hello,
The last event was in woodbridge, so maybe that is why Manassas was picked this time.
you wish,
My kids have a great time when we go to these events, they are always family friendly. I can’t make it this time, but I hope that you and others will. You can watch the film, and decide for yourself what your own “review” will be. In fact, I hope that people will share their thoughts after the screening.
SA,
It use to be that you had points to debate, now it seems as though you just want to insult people. Why? Twinad and her husband fell in love, and they got married, and tried, to no avail ,to adjust his status. He runs his own business, pays taxes, and is a good dad, are you so jaded, that even this circumstance reduces you to prejudicial and unkind remarks?
You’re right, illegal immigrants don’t use assistance. They are wealthy by birth, and merely come here to enjoy the friendly atmosphere. This is why they can live next door to those whose income is easily three to four times theirs, and yet their wives can stay at home to care for the children. Just like Ozzie and Harriet. Forgive me for being so naive as to think that our taxes are being used for other than to support only legal citizens. It simply isn’t the case. That free education and the ESOL classes are just rumors dreamed up by the other. The nations news papers are perpetrating a terrible falsehood about the ills of illegal immigration. We should just abandon our legal system and allow people to do what they please since that is the only humane solution to this problem. Yeah RIGHT!
Sorry folks, but you’re right, I have become jaded in that there is no debate remaining on this blog as no one is willing to admit one single negative (and there are many) that has been brought on by illegal immigration. The majority here are steadfast supporting illegal immigration by focusing only on the human aspect, and totally ignoring the effects to the stability of this nation. Mind you there are many many more legal people in this country whose human aspects are also being affected, but are being ignored by you. It is the present day focus on the illegal minority that has caused so much aggravation in the normally complacent majority. Much of your humane compassion could also be applied to any common criminal, and that is what I find misguided. Any criminal could be said to only be trying to better themselves which you find commendable while forgetting the illegal methods used. This is why law exists, and you choose to ignore it!
SA,
Plenty has been debated regarding illegal immigration, stress on localities schools, health care, and communities. You just haven’t been “listening”.
Oh I’ve been listening, and mostly I hear rationalization from this blog. This blog is totally against deportation which is nothing more than the penalty for illegally crossing our border. It’s as if there is a group of teenagers going around stealing ten dollar items, and you feel nothing should be done to them because it is just a bunch of ten dollar items, but if enough groups do the same then we have a major problem. Same with the minor crimes being committed by illegal immigrants. Individually you pass them off as insignificant, but when done by the thousands, then we have a major problem which we do. Admitting that is the first step to understanding the need for law enforcement no matter how minor you feel the crime may be.
Oh SA, why????? Quit projecting your own personal demon onto this blog. No one here says there are no problems associated with illegal immigration.
Tell you what, for the next 24 hours I am going to be very patient with you. I don’t want to hear how things should be in this world. I want you to tell me why you have been personally wronged by illegal immigration. I really want to understand where you are coming from. You have hung out here since the beginning. You must hear something you like or you would have left. Help me understand the real Second Alamo.
Tom “Alamo” Kopko, I think it’s time to find a new issue. You’ve obviously reached your wits’ end on this one. Think about how far this blog has come in a just a few months, the learning that becomes possible when people who may not at first agree begin a conversation without preconceived notions or prepackaged ideas.
Meanwhile, you, Tom, seem to be stuck in the same argument 24 hours a day. What an awful way to spend your time. The same talking points, the same complaints, the same accusations, the same hysteria … all founded upon unproven ills you think you now suffer, when in reality you hadn’t a care in the world how many brown faces were at the bus stop just 3 years ago.
Remember 3 years ago, when Iraq and “fighting terra” were reliable centerpiece issues for your electioneering? Where was your list of complaints and phobias about Hispanic immigrants then?
But this one, immigration, it’s a dead end. No one proves that better than you on this blog.
Alamo, I am going to bore you first. We crossed in the mail. Most people here (anti) want to deport criminals (who are illegal aliens) who have commited serious crimes. Jaywalking no, burglary yes. No one has told me how to deport 12 million people. I only know of 2 people who have been successful at doing that in the last century: He who shall not be named for fear of upsetting the black velvets and Stalin. Actually I think Stalin killed. We will probably never know because the USSR was not an open society. I don’t waste my time thinking about deporting people who haven’t committed crimes.
WHWN,
Sometimes Alamo is fine. We have had a lot of black velvets hanging out this week. He is just being grouchy. He has been here with us since the beginning. I am going to try harder to make him see why sweeping generalizations just don’t describe this blog or the people on it. Since he has been around since the beginning, he is actually …please don’t hit me Alamo, one of us. He just thinks a little differently than some of us. Ying/Yang. Alamo, you can’t be us and then talk smack about yourself.
Ok, I’m awake again. Lets see if I can explain what I was trying to say last night. I used the example of simple crimes in volume as akin to illegal aliens. When I say this blog rationalizes I’m referring to things like the fact that you repeat that crossing our border isn’t a crime but is only a misdemeanor. You defend illegals as only trying to provide a better life for their family, yet deny that there is widespread fraud and identity theft occurring in the illegal community also. No, it’s not talking points or hysteria, but common knowledge and yet some like WHWN simply refuse to believe it. This is what I find so annoying in that no one ever discusses how to solve the ‘minor’ crimes that are having such major impacts, yet want to throw parties to rally around the illegals as if saints.
Are you going to make 9500Liberty available on YouTube?
And Elena…
I have so much respect for what you’re doing, and the way you’re doing it.
Having met and talked with survivors of Auschwitz and read many books on the holocaust I think it’s important that people who are anti immigration – and have that right – should be reminded at every stage that whatever colour people are, however they came to be where they are now, they are people.
To refer to people as ‘aliens’, ‘illegals’ or any terms that removes humanity should not be tolerated – it was the first stage that lead on to women and children being put in gas chambers.
Finally, a piece of writing from 500 years ago – a time when there was no America as you know it – before any of your ancestors (native American’s excepted!) had migrated to your fine country:
“Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heal’d by the same means, warm’d and cool’d by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.”
SA, Elvis – how were your migrant ancestors treated when they arrived in search of a better life? Search your souls and behave with more respect to your fellow human beings in future and if you can’t manage that… shut up; your ignorance and hatred is offensive to intelligent life forms.
UK,
You just made my point! All that is ever talked about is the human aspect. Never mind the law breaking that is occurring when entering the country. As I said, that can be said in support of common criminals just trying to get ahead. And by the way, it’s ILLEGAL immigrants that are the point of discussion. That is the other frustration in that this blog sometimes tries to pin the anti-immigrant moniker on people just for having an opinion.
SA,
The issue I have is you generalize people who are here as without proper documents as common criminals. Do you personally know anyone who is here without proper documentation? Have you ever befriended or heard their life story. You want to make this a black and white issue, easy to reduce to illegality, but it simply cannot be reduced to that level. We are talking about people, living an squalor, wanting to be able to feed and clothe themselves and their families. When my ancestors came here, they came here with nothing, judged simply by the way they looked and sounded. There weren’t quotas, people just got on a boat and were checked in through Ellis Island. Then, anti immigrant movements were formed via the KKK. They wanted to keep out the Jews and the poor europeans, they were diluting the purity of “America”. From that resolve, American immigration quotas were born.
I am not suggesting that we have open borders or that we not have some system to allow people entry into this country, based on security, we have to have a workable system. THIS system is not working, and clearly hasn’t been working for some decades. Like any group of people, you will have bad apples, but those bad apples are not ruining America. Identiy theft is not a phenomenom just among some undocumented immigrants, it happens with home grown Americans too. SA, what happens when some path to required legalization occurs, for many of the undocumented people who will qualify, with your theory? Are these people suddenly, with the waive of pen and immigration reform, now not degenerate criminals? If you choose to look at this issue, minus the human component, than you need to do some soul searching.
UK,
Thank you. Wonderful post, loved the passage you included.
Propoganda made by amateur propogandists … meanwhile in the real world the Post has a good story today about what’s HAPPENING in PWC (experiment? this is reality). And amazingly, HSM has managed to clear the day laborers from the Coverstone 7-11.
I had some friends in from out of town a few weeks ago and we drove past that 7-11 … they were staggered. This is America?
Rick,
It’s interesting, you will positive components of this story, and I will find negative. Reality is in the eyes of the beholder. The issues described in this article, once again, were neighborhood issues, dealt with in much better, cost effective ways. But these alternatives eluded people like Greg and Corey. Did you gloss over the negative economic impacts or the part where, once again, Corey misuses police data, saying crime has diminished because of the resolution. Yet, clearly, crime was declining, since 2004, DURING the influx immigrants into this area. Now that is propoganda. Would I be irritated if someone was growing corn in their front yard, or drilled holes for, OH MY G-D, the inhumanity of it all…..a HAMOCK! Well, no, I mean seriously, talk about elitist! A hamock for g-d’s sake, that is was such a heinous act?
What about leering at your daughter? What about broken beer bottles in parking areas? What about loud music disturbing your ability to relax in your own bed? Do those bother you any more? I dealt with those each day.
Some people actually get raped and murdered, by illegal aliens who we do not attempt to track – CITIZENS who are sex offenders get tracked, but not illegals – I guess you think that should just be “price of doing business”? “They could have been raped and murdered anyway”.
Bottom line I own one thing in the world, a townhouse in the suburbs of Manassas/PWC. When that suburb starts to become an urban area and my family’s quality of life goes down, for no good reason other than because it helps to depress wages and keep the rich richer, I’ll fight it like hell. Maybe if I had more money in the bank I would have just run to some other area to live as other people did. But I’m still here.
Moon-Howler, I’ll take it from you and try to see the “good” in Second Alamo. You are the boss. I’ll explain why I’m so annoyed with him first. Blow-hards like Rick Bentley Who Has Not Thought Things Through don’t get under my skin as much because their motivations are obvious, and their thinking is very simple to decode. But a long time ago, someone outed Second Alamo as Tom Kopko the Republican political strategist. He didn’t deny it (he only denied being Corey Stewart) so I assumed it was true. Now he DOES deny it, but I have carried on with the assumption that he is Tom Kopko, which leads me to interpret his ignorant and angry sounding posts as purposefully misleading about who he is. At one point, he said something really outrageous (I forget) and we all responded and then he said “I didn’t mean it, ha ha, I was just saying that to make my point that you all get mad easily.”
You see, if Second Alamo were truly an ignoramus, I have no problem with him coming here again and again to prove my point that the only people who do not want solutions are people who don’t have the capacity to think things through.
But Second Alamo has demonstrated the ability to see cause and affect, and plan one or two steps ahead. This is unique among the anti-illegal / anti-immigrant crowd. But I’m not complementing him. Because if you’re not truly ignorant, but you come on here to perpetuate ignorance because you see political gain in it … I have less respect for that than I have for Rick Bentley Who Has Not Thought Things Through.
However, if indeed my assumption is wrong, and Second Alamo is not one of the political masterminds who selected illegal immigration as the Republican election issue designed to drown out the public outcry about being lied into the war in Iraq, and distance themselves from an unpopular Republican president, if indeed he is just a regular joe who doesn’t know any better. Then I will lay off him, and I apologize for jumping to conclusions.
Because all the while, beneath my contempt for the man I assumed was a misguided political operative, I saw his humanity even as he sought to deny it to others. Second Alamo and I are cut from the same cloth. I know what it’s like to be discriminated against for being white, and it feels completely unfair, unexpected, and it hurts. As children, we were taught that America essentially belonged to the white race (however dark the path had been to making it that way). But since the Immigration Act of 1965, we have had to slowly confront the fact that this was never true ; always an illusion. Some are clinging to the notion. And lining up behind this issue or that issue as a way of making this sentiment more socially acceptable. (The KKK is soooo 20th century). And, believe it or not, I get that.
If you do it from a stand point of being afraid, anxious and a little misinformed, I get that. I have a lot of family who feel the same way. But if you are one of those who do the misinforming, well, I have less sympathy. So Second Alamo if you’re still reading this, I apologize for assuming something I had no way of confirming. I hope that you and Moon-Howler can work things out so that your contribution to this blog is less contentious. I will do my part by not responding to your posts until we see the result of Moon-Howler’s efforts to find common ground with you.
UK, just ran into this; your thoughts are well-founded:
“Just as the Holocaust started with the hate-filled words of Nazis, hate crimes also often follow hate speech. When the hard drives of criminals who have committed violence against minorities are searched, links to derogatory Internet sites are often found.”
http://www.adl.org/ADL_Opinions/Extremism/20071115-Oped-IHT.htm
Rick,
Nobody wants criminals here. I personally have no problem implementing a nationwide 287(g) program and I would concede that it appears the Democrats are playing politics with this issue by denying line item budget funding and oversight on the construction of the fence.
SecondAlamo,
I, too, have no problem with deportations. Ruben Naverette’s opinion piece that we published a short while back made the suggestion of going back 5 years. I’ve even gone so far as to say, April 2001, since that was when the last major changes took effect, and, which prior to, we permitted adjustment of status without having to leave the country. Meaning if you entered prior to April 2001, ILLEGALLY then you could reasonably expected to become LEGAL through a variety of methods.
Glad to hear you agree on 287(g). Sadly, both parties play politics with something as common-sense as that.
SA,
How my husband has “worked the system” is ridiculous. He (and no one in his family) has ever taken any handout and wouldn’t know if there was an avenue for that anyway. My point is that not ALL illegal immigrants are daylaborers or “work the system”, not by a longshot. I know plenty of undocumented people and they ALL work for a living and receive a check just like I do. I don’t know a single illegal immigrant that gets paid “under the table” or in cash. They work 10-12 hour days and unlike your characterization of “illegals wives”, I have a high paying and stressful job with a ton of responsibility to my clients. Yes, I make quite a bit more money than my husband, but he has his own business that does very well and taxes are paid on his draw and on the business taxes. Something is seriously wrong when the husband of 8 years of an American citizen is unable to adjust their status even though they can show they have a “real” marriage, have paid taxes for the entire time they have been here and have no criminal record. Oh, and we have the nicest yard in our neighborhood…our neighbors come to him for advice on getting their grass as green and weed free as ours and there are no “dirty diapers or Corona bottles” littering our yard! Those bottles get recycled like everything else!
As to the crime statistics, which as I’ve said I don’t put much stock in – there are a myriad of ways in which our community became less safe that aren’t reflected in those statistics.
The teenaged kid I saw tagging the sidewalk a block from my house who ran into bushes when he saw me – no crime logged.
The guys skulking around all hours of night making us afraid to let our daughter walk outside – no crime committed.
The time I woke up and saw that someone detached my garden hose and tried to either bath on my lawn or maybe siphon gas out of my car – didn’t report it, no crime committed.
Whatever they did next door that had a realtor and her client come out of that house recently shaking their head in disgust and asking me “A lot of people lived in there, right?”, that is helping that house remain foreclosed – no crime committed.
The honking horn waking me at 5:30 Am each morning – no crime committed.
The contention over parking spots, the endless traffic. the guy who was in my spot and became indignant when i asked him to move – “I’m just waiting for my wife” (who is stuck in a different boarding hose than me) – no crime committed.
The time I tried to ask my neighbors whether they had mowed my grass, or who mowed theirs and mine, and they couldn’t tell me – they couldn’t speak English and i think didn’t even have any awareness of who mowed their house’s grass – no crime committed.
The endless thumping music through the wall any time the other occupants were out, from the overgrown man-child in the bedroom across the wall from ours – something like 7 or 8 police visits over a span of 9 months, after 4 or 5 attempts to convince him man-to-man to cut it out, but in the end, no crime committed. The time he mumbled stuff at my young daughter and started at her hard enough to frighten her and enrage me – no crime committed.
A neighborhood full of people who don’t respect our rules or laws – no crime committed as far as Zoning was concerned, they were told the people were related, and believed it. Even though it was obviously false.
Watching little kids running wild talking in Spanish in the grocery store and eating candy in the aisles – no crime committed unless and until some citizen tries to make a citizen’s arrest.
Continued dergradation of wages, continued accelartion of the disparity betwen rich and poor – and degradation of standard of living – increased tax burden on me and increased poverty level in my county – no crime committed? Amnesty for all? Comprehensive solution needed?