Thread: 1st Hispanic Town Hall meeting held in Alabama

http://www.al.com

1st Hispanic Town Hall meeting held
Monday, August 22, 2005
LISA OSBURN
News staff writer
Trusting no repercussions would befall them inside Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church, more than 300 Hispanics filled its auditorium on Sunday seeking answers from federal and local officials.

U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Birmingham, spent more than two months coordinating what was being touted as Alabama's first Latino/Hispanic Town Hall Meeting. He assured the Hispanic community that law enforcement officials in attendance would not be there to inquire about immigration status, legal or otherwise.

"I welcome you to live your hopes and find opportunity in the United States," Davis said. "We are not a perfect country, but there is no place that God has made more free and full of opportunity."

Controversy has erupted in Birmingham's growing Hispanic community lately with the possible closure of the Multicultural Resource Center in Hoover and a federal investigation targeting alleged Hispanic gang members.

Davis said he would not spend Sunday's meeting discussing controversy, but would try to address issues facing the immigrant population, both documented and undocumented.


Up to 70,000:


There could be as many as 70,000 Hispanics in Birmingham, although the U.S. Census puts the number under 17,000, officials said.

A panel of law enforcement, health officials and even the district director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was ready Sunday to answer questions and clear up misconceptions.

The ability to obtain a driver license without proper identification and the rights of children born in America to illegal immigrants were the top issues brought up by the crowd, mostly Spanish speaking.

The information relayed by the panel was not always what the crowd wanted to hear.

Alabama state trooper Sgt. Tim Sartain said the state's system was not designed to grant driver licenses to people who were in the country illegally, even with a tax identification card.

Immigration lawyer Klari Tedrow told the crowd that obtaining a work visa or green card for a person entering the country illegally was almost impossible, even if the person had children who were American citizens.

"Right now there is no forgiveness for entering the country illegally," she said.

The panel did want to clear up some misconceptions that have harmed Birmingham's Hispanic population and opened the door for abuse:

Anybody can report a crime without fear that a police officer will automatically inquire about their immigration status.

Everybody has the right to seek health care without worrying that their private medical records will be released to immigration officials.

Any worker, documented or undocumented, has the right to report job-related complaints to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.


Repeats his support:


Davis kept reiterating his support for a proposed bipartisan law that would rewrite the nation's immigration laws, allowing illegal immigrants to obtain legal status as guest workers. That change would address many of the issues brought up during Sunday's meeting, he said.

Ernesto Usma, a local radio disc jockey, said the Town Hall Meeting was welcomed by the Latino population.

"This is the first time something like this has been done in Alabama," he said. "We needed this."

"Right now there is no forgiveness for entering the country illegally," she said.

And there should not be.
I grates the daylights out of me that these border jumping criminals want to bleed more and more services out of the taxpayers. Where is ICE when you really need them?

Originally Posted by dataman

"Right now there is no forgiveness for entering the country illegally," she said.

And there should not be.
I grates the daylights out of me that these border jumping criminals want to bleed more and more services out of the taxpayers. Where is ICE when you really need them?

Umm, ICE was at the meeting telling them not to worry...

I'm having a white person's meeting.