Thread: Black-listing illegals

http://www.news-journalonline.com

July 21, 2006

Black-listing illegals

Towns blight themselves by legalizing discrimination


It's a distasteful trend. States and towns across the country are manipulating the law to go after illegal immigrants. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 57 pieces of legislation have passed in more than two dozen states (out of 500 introduced) to restrict or cut off employment, health, housing and other benefits to illegal immigrants. Towns are rewriting trespassing, rental, code enforcement and permitting ordinances to literally exclude illegal immigrants from town and declare themselves -- as one small Cape Cod, Mass., town did -- "not a sanctuary for illegal aliens."

Next Monday, the City Council in Avon Park, a town half-way between Orlando and Lake Okeechobee, is scheduled to vote on just such a far-reaching ordinance, the culmination of a debate that has triggered national publicity and ugly reactions, none of those flattering to the American ideals of inclusion and fairness. Antagonism against illegal immigrants shrouds itself in righteous language: "They" should play by the rules, "they" are destroying the fabric of American life, "they" are taking jobs away from Americans. But it's racial and ethnic prejudice, an attempt to use legalese to discriminate against the country's growing Latino population, and to use illegal immigrants as the emotional wedge.

Many Americans think to be an illegal immigrant is a crime. It isn't, although if the House of Representatives has its way, it will be. For the moment, being an illegal immigrant in this country is only a civil offense, punishable only by federal rules that apply in limited circumstances. A Border Patrol agent may arrest an illegal immigrant. A police officer pulling over a car of illegal immigrants may detain them until federal agents take over, should they choose to do so. The police officer may not jail them on illegal immigration charges. That's how it's been and how it should be: States and local authorities shouldn't deputize themselves the right to play federal cop. Yet they are doing that and worse.

Last week in Avon Park, Mike Disler, the city attorney, warned that if passed, the town's so-called "Illegal Immigration Relief Act" could cost Avon Park a Wal-Mart Supercenter because its wording is "poorly drafted" and "not constitutional," as he told The Ledger, an area newspaper. Disler played no role in drafting the ordinance. It's the work of Avon Park Mayor Tom Macklin, who was inspired by a similar ordinance from Hazelton, Pa. The ordinance states in part that "any for-profit entity, including acts permitted by its parent company or subsidiaries, that aids and abets illegal aliens or illegal immigration shall be denied approval of a business permit . . . for a period no less than five years from its last offense." That goes for any company meeting that description anywhere in the country. Wal-Mart agreed in March 2005 to pay $11 million in fines in a settlement with the federal government over hiring illegal immigrants.

Disler informed his commission about the ordinance's problematic language. The city and the company were quick to say that the ordinance wouldn't affect building plans, thus raising questions of obvious double standards. Disler was fired days after making his objections known.

The overreaction should not be a surprise: It's of one piece with the disproportionate aim of the ordinance in general, which would also eliminate Spanish from all city documents and phone messages, make English the town's official language and punish those who rent to illegal immigrants.

Avon Park officials speak without shame in the language of the ordinance, which says that allowing illegal immigrants to live and work in town "destroys our neighborhoods and diminishes our overall quality of life." But the shame is on Avon Park. An expected civil rights lawsuit against the city can't come too soon, should the ordinance pass on Monday. Bigoted towns like Avon Park need to hear the message loud and clear: Not in America.

Why do people who have absolutely zero knowledge on a topic attempt to write about it?

Illegal Immigration is a Crime

Under Title 8 Section 1325 of the U.S. Code, "Improper Entry by Alien," any citizen of any country other than the United States who:

Enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers; or

Eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers; or

Attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact;
has committed a federal crime.

Violations are punishable by criminal fines and imprisonment for up to six months. Repeat offenses can bring up to two years in prison. Additional civil fines may be imposed at the discretion of immigration judges, but civil fines do not negate the criminal sanctions or nature of the offense.

See: Unlawful entry a crime since '29 - Rocky Mountain News -- June 11, 2006

Also see the following...........


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Illegal Immigration is a Crime


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Each year the Border Patrol is making more than a million apprehensions of people who flagrantly violate our nation's laws by unlawfully crossing U.S. borders to work and to receive publicly-funded services, often with the aid of fraudulent documents. Such entry is a misdemeanor and, if repeated, becomes punishable as a felony. Over eight million illegal immigrants live in the United States -- some estimate even more.

In addition to sneaking into the country in violation of the immigration law that requires that aliens be documented for legal entry (referred to as "entry without inspection -- EWI"), others enter with legal documentation and then violate the terms on which they have been admitted by taking jobs that are not authorized or overstaying the authorized period of stay in the country. The INS estimated in 1996 that about 60 percent of the then estimated five million illegal immigrants were EWI and 40 percent were overstayers. Both types of illegal immigrants are deportable under Immigration and Nationality Act Section 237 (a)(1)(B) which says:
"Any alien who is present in the United States in violation of this Act or any other law of the United States is deportable."

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IS NOT A VICTIMLESS CRIME
Apologists for illegal immigration like to paint it as a victimless crime. But in fact, illegal immigration causes substantial harm to American citizens and legal immigrants, particularly those in the most vulnerable sectors of our population--the poor, minorities, and children.

Illegal immigration causes an enormous drain on public funds. The seminal study of the costs of immigration by the National Academy of Sciences found that the taxes paid by immigrants do not cover the cost of services received by them. We cannot provide high quality education, health care, and retirement security for our own people if we continue to bring in endless numbers of poor, unskilled immigrants.

Additionally, job competition by waves of illegal immigrants willing to work at substandard wages and working conditions depresses the wages of American workers, hitting hardest at minority workers and those without high school degrees. Ý

Illegal immigration also contributes to the dramatic population growth overwhelming communities across America--crowding school classrooms, consuming already limited affordable housing, and straining precious natural resources like water, energy, and forestland.

BORDER PATROL: NECESSARY BUT NOT SUFFICIENT
The Border Patrol plays a crucial role in combatting illegal immigration, but illegal immigration cannot be controlled solely at the border. About half of the illegal alien population is comprised of visa overstayers--people who entered the country legally, but became illegal aliens by their failure to leave the U.S. upon expiration of their visa. Once entry occurs, there is little chance of detection and virtually no chance of deportation, except for convicted criminals.

WHAT CAN WE DO?
We need a comprehensive program to end illegal immigration; that means ensuring that people who enter illegally or overstay their lawful status will not be able to obtain employment, public assistance benefits, public education, public housing, or any other taxpayer-funded benefit without detection.

The three major components of immigration control--deterrence, apprehension and removal--need to be strengthened by Congress and the Executive Branch if effective control is ever to be reestablished. Controlling illegal immigration requires a balanced approach with a full range of enforcement improvements that go far beyond the border. These include many procedural reforms, beefed up investigation capacity, asylum reform, documents improvements, major improvements in INS detention and deportation procedures, limitations on judicial review, improved intelligence capacity, greatly improved state/federal cooperation, and added resources. See How to Combat Illegal Immigration.

WHAT ABOUT THE COSTS?
Effective control and management of the laws against illegal immigration require adequate resources. But those costs will be more than offset by savings to states, counties, communities, and school districts across the nation.

FAIR, 3/03

Also see: Federal Immigration and Nationality Act Section 8 USC 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv)(b)(iii)
and.... 1996 Brief: 'Illegal Immigration is a Crime'

I hope someone sets the the online journal where this piece is located straight. I tried, but couldn't seem to get the opinions section to come up.

Sent a letter to the editor and enclosed the above article. Whether or not they print it.....

Even the Mexican PANs own Fredo Arias-King writes better than this fool.

http://www.google.com

If you would like to send a comment......

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I suggest to tell them to quit mis-leading the public with his bias and support of criminal behavior. I did as much and maybe more......