Thread: ICE raid needs absolute certainty

Everyone! Please email this goody two shoes at the Birmingham news and educate her!!!!!!!!!!!! Her email address is at the bottom. The meeting in Hoover was packed! They were there to protest the multicultural center which is nothing more than a pick up point for illegals! go to www.russanddeeonline.com to see the pictures!





ICE raid needs absolute certainty
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Gangs.

Throw that word - dripping with innuendo of drugs and murder - out in connection to a mass arrest of Hispanics, and fear should override any questions about the secret operation.

Officials with the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement seem to be counting on that.

Federal immigration officers swept through Hoover and Shelby County last week, arresting 30 Hispanics. The only comment ICE would make on the Alabama sweep was that it was part of "an ongoing anti-gang enforcement effort." An ICE spokesman in the bureau's regional office in New Orleans was authorized to provide that illuminating tidbit of information.

Police in Hoover, Pelham and Alabaster dutifully referred comment to the federal immigration authorities.The director of Hoover's newly formed Department of Homeland Security and Immigration said he had been out of town before the raid and learned of it after the fact.

The federal immigration officers needed a convenient holding place for the 30 people they arrested, so they held them briefly July 19, the morning of the raid, in the Hoover City Jail. If the 30 names hadn't been entered on the jail log there, we might still have no knowledge of the roundup.

The Hoover jail docket shows 30 people with Hispanic names passed through the jail that morning and were transferred to the Etowah County Jail in Gadsden, where the federal government processes illegal immigrants.

The desired deduction: 30 illegal Hispanic immigrants with possible connection to illegal gang activity were excised from our community by federal authorities.

If agents acted on accurate information and no mistakes of identity were made in the multiple arrests, maybe the Hispanic community and the larger Birmingham-Hoover community should thank the feds for clearing out a criminal element and keeping us all safer.

Problem is, we'll probably never know for sure.

Those arrested won't be brought to court unless authorities charge them with a crime. Since, ostensibly, those picked up were in the U.S. illegally, immigration officials can ship them home following an administrative proceeding.

Some people think that's enough: if they entered our country illegally, send them home, regardless.

Personally, I would feel safer if federal authorities had to show some of the frightening evidence that justifies their roundup. How long can we be certain our society is still free if federal agents can drop one explosive label and answer no more questions about 30 people pulled from the streets, their homes or their jobs and immediately shuffled out of town.

And this word wasn't even "terrorist."

Peggy Sanford edits Hoover news. She can be reached by e-mail at psanford@bhamnews.com.

added to homepage

http://www.alipac.us/article-584-thread-1-0.html

After reading this article I would say ms Peggy Sanford supports illegal immigrants. Hey, Alabama send some emails to that paper.

It is all over the Post Herald today! They are CLOSING the multicultural center (um, I mean pick up for illegals center)! The vote was 6-1!! They had about 200 people show, and they were very vocal about how they feel about illegals! I will try and find the story and post it. The illegals are winging and moaning about what they are going to do now, and how are they going to get work! GO HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you want to work here, come back LEGALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by ohflyingone

It is all over the Post Herald today! They are CLOSING the multicultural center (um, I mean pick up for illegals center)! The vote was 6-1!! They had about 200 people show, and they were very vocal about how they feel about illegals! I will try and find the story and post it. The illegals are winging and moaning about what they are going to do now, and how are they going to get work! GO HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you want to work here, come back LEGALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi, I found a link to this at russanddeeonline. Certainly good news for your area of the country!
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http://www.russanddeeonline.com/

Hoover to consider future of multicultural center
Monday, August 01, 2005
DAWN KENT
News staff writer

The Hoover City Council tonight will consider the future of the Multicultural Resource Center, after recent criticism of the facility that serves a growing population of Hispanics and other immigrants.

Council members may decide to terminate a contract that allows Catholic Family Services to operate the center out of a municipal building, a move that a community advocate calls short-sighted.

"To me, it's about wanting to run people off," said Helen Rivas, who is involved in immigrant issues. "It shows a lack of vision, a lack of understanding and a willingness to exploit without taking any responsibility."

Day-laborer crowds:

At issue is the crowd of day laborers who regularly gather in front of the center, drawing complaints from business owners and residents.

Mayor Tony Petelos and other council members say they have no problem with offering services to immigrants, but the center has strayed from that mission to a day laborer site.

"The city is not interested in getting involved in day laborer pickup services," Petelos said.

Kristin Coombes, who oversees the center in her position as emergency services coordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, declined to comment on the council's pending decision.

She said she expects Catholic Family Services will be represented at tonight's meeting, which begins at 6 at the Hoover Municipal Center.

Part of the Multicultural Resource Center's original mission was to draw the crowd of day laborers from a high-profile location on Lorna Road.

Now, a day-laborer lottery system allows a first-come, first-to-work pickup system in front of the center, while services like English classes, computer training and family counseling are available inside.

Petelos said he wants the city to look to the "faith community" to help offer more services to immigrants.

A recent city survey shows 10 Hoover area churches offer multicultural programs, while six have plans to start multicultural programs and services.

The survey also shows eight churches offer English-as-a-second-language classes, and five have a multicultural pastor.

Rivas said closing the center would send a message that city officials do not welcome immigrants in Hoover, although there are jobs available for them.

"They want them there to do the work, but don't want to see them," she said.

E-mail: dkent@bhamnews.com
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Hoover to close Hispanic center
Council cites its role in getting jobs for day laborers
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
DAWN KENT
News staff writer

The Hoover City Council voted Monday to terminate a contract that allows the Multicultural Resource Center to operate in a municipal building, amid both cheers and jeers from residents who clashed over immigration issues.

More than 200 people packed the council chamber and watched the council vote 6-1 to break the agreement with Catholic Family Services, which opened the center in 2003 to help the city deal with its growing Hispanic population.

The center will close Aug. 15, according to the council resolution.

Councilman Mike Natter, who cast the only dissenting vote, thanked Catholic Family Services for stepping in when the city asked. "You have stayed the course of your mission, even under public scrutiny and, often, public harassment," he said.

Natter said he believes the center's advantages outweigh its disadvantages, and its presence proves Hoover is a progressive city that strives to improve services for immigrants.

Other council members said they have no problem offering services to immigrants, but the center has become more a pickup point for day laborers than a multicultural center.

On Monday, council members cited concerns about illegal immigrants using the center as a place to find work, which poses a legal problem for the city.

"It would be wrong for us to knowingly violate a law, as it relates to our own property," council member Mari Morrison said.

Emotions ran high in the standing-room-only meeting, as audience members sometimes heckled those who addressed the council.

Hoover resident Bettie Stone encouraged the council to close the center immediately, saying that illegal immigration is a drain on government services and infrastructure.

It's a matter of taking responsibility for a problem we have created in this country," she said.

Thomas Lawrimore said he drove from his home in Falkville to the meeting because he is concerned about ineffective immigration policies. "If you want to come to this country and work ... go by the laws of the land," he said.

Other residents supported the center, saying it serves a segment of Hoover's population that needs attention.

Turner Waide of Hoover said the center serves the "least of God's people" and quoted a Scripture passage from Exodus that says not to oppress strangers in any way.

Waide said he understands there is an issue with illegal immigration, but he asked the council to not close the center immediately. "These people are here, and that's reality."

Other speakers also asked for a delay in the council's decision, so Catholic Family Services and other organizations that support the center could regroup and find another way to offer immigrant services in Hoover.

Controversy not new:

But Councilman Trey Lott said the issue was controversial in September, when the previous council voted to extend Catholic Family Services' contract, and the situation has grown worse.

Part of the center's original mission was to draw the crowd of day laborers from a high-profile location on Lorna Road.

Now, a day-laborer lottery system allows a first-come, first-to-work pickup system in front of the center, while services such as English classes, computer training and family counseling are available inside.

Al Manzella, executive director for Catholic Social Services, said the organization is trying to develop a plan to continue offering services to immigrants in the Hoover area.

He said Catholic Family Services, which falls under his organization, was doing exactly what the city asked it to do, but the new administration did not agree with that concept.

Some residents in Monday night's crowd offered observations about the divisive nature of the issue.

"The thing that makes me nervous is when I hear people say `them' and 'us,'" Hoover resident Janet Griffin said.

E-mail: dkent@bhamnews.com