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Mayor says immigration protesters show "no respect"

Some in Freehold agree, but others say bias shameful
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/11/06
BY ALESHA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
FREEHOLD — Freehold officials and residents did some rallying of their own at the Borough Council meeting that followed the May 1 immigration protests nationwide and outside borough hall.

Mayor Michael Wilson issued a public statement claiming the nationwide protest was led by "those who have shown no respect for this sovereign nation by crossing our borders illegally."

He said illegal immigrants "place a severe burden on our economy by overcrowding the schools and housing stock," that they "get jobs because they undermine the American worker by undercutting wages and benefits," and that they take advantage of "medical care at hospitals that are reimbursed from the public pocket for this uncovered care."

"Until we can care for our own poor and homeless, people who are willing to work for a decent and legal wage, until we can provide affordable housing for Americans who work full time, we should not entertain any thoughts of legitimizing illegal immigrants," Wilson said.

Other council members and some residents in the audience supported his comments. Freehold is home to one of the largest concentrations of illegal immigrants in the Shore area.

"I think we all fundamentally agree with the mayor," Councilman Kevin Coyne said. "We've been paying the cost (of illegal immigration) for a long time."

"I agree with everything he (the mayor) said, because it's true," said Dorothy Wright, 62, a resident at the meeting.

But Frank Argote-Freyre, a resident who is director of the statewide Latino Leadership Alliance of Monmouth County, said he wasn't surprised by the mayor's comments.

"We've had a long series of run-ins with Mayor Wilson and of all the public officials and mayors in the state of New Jersey. His administration is the most morally deficient of any administration I've dealt with from New Jersey," he said.

Argote-Freyre referred to the federal class-action suit that day-laborer advocates filed two years ago against the borough for shutting down the Throckmorton Street muster zone. The suit alleged the borough embarked on a "deliberate and coordinated campaign to harass Latino day workers" at the open-air labor market.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the borough rescinded an ordinance, which banned loitering on public property, to comply with a state Supreme Court ruling. The suit still is in mediation.

"Mayor Wilson wouldn't know a constitutional right if he tripped over it," Argote-Freyre said. "(Immigration reform) is a federal matter that has to be dealt with on a federal level, not by just someone trying to drive people he doesn't like out of his town."

Steve Richter, 46, a 15-year resident, said the mayor's comments won't deter people from continuing to challenge immigration reform. Richter, a Latino Leadership Alliance member, coordinates a winter sanctuary program that gives day laborers a place to rest and have coffee while they look for work.

"The renaissance in Freehold is in large part due to the immigrant population, not in spite of it," Richter said. "Fifteen years ago, when I moved here, there were empty storefronts all over downtown. Now there's almost none. Many of these businesses are owned, operated and supported by the immigrant community.

"And even most of the undocumented people in Freehold have taxes taken out of their wages," Richter said.

Richter guessed about 3,500 undocumented workers and 200 day laborers are in the borough. That means the rest of the Latino workers likely have taxes withheld from their paychecks.

Many don't file for a return, though, because they don't want to draw attention, he added.

"By and large, the immigrant population pays way more into taxes than they ever get out of services," Richter said. "He (the mayor) is adopting a xenophobic attitude, scapegoating immigrants for the problems of the state of New Jersey."

He said he was pleased with the May 1 rally that drew about 300 workers outside borough hall.

"It was great to see people having a sense of empowerment," Richter said.