Thread: IL: Battle over illegal immigration in McHenry County

McHenry County immigration debate going public
By Charles Keeshan

ckeeshan@dailyherald.com
Posted Monday, August 20, 2007


While the battle over illegal immigration has raged in the streets of Chicago and suburban communities like Carpentersville and Waukegan, McHenry County has managed to avoid heated showdowns over the issue.

That could change Saturday.

That’s when the Illinois Minuteman Project, an anti-illegal immigration organization labeled a hate group by critics, will host a seminar at the Holiday Inn Crystal Lake. It will feature an Ohio sheriff whose efforts to deport people in his county unlawfully has drawn national attention.

At least three groups are planning counter-demonstrations, including one that in a recent pronouncement likened the Minuteman Project to the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi extremists.

Both sides say they want a civil discussion of the immigration issue, but given their passion and a history of minor skirmishes elsewhere, Crystal Lake police say they are taking no chances Saturday.

“We will have enough of a presence to ensure that the safety and the rights of everyone there are guarded,â€

[quote]“The argument (against deportation) is that it’s wrong to separate families, but they’re separating Americans from their families. Nobody is talking about that.â€

This is OUTRAGEOUS!!!!

Minutemen hit police snag

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/0 ... 725672.txt

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=23387&src=2


CRYSTAL LAKE – The Illinois Minuteman Project is looking for another place to hold an immigration forum Saturday after a Crystal Lake hotel told the group that it was unwilling to cover security costs needed to hold the event there, the organization said.


Illinois Minuteman Project Director Rosanna Pulido said Wednesday that an attorney for the Holiday Inn told the organization that it would cost $3,500 to have Crystal Lake police provide security for the event.

Pulido said the hotel had not asked the Minuteman Project to cover the costs, which she said should be passed onto protesters instead.

The McHenry County Peace Group had announced plans to hold a peace vigil outside during the meeting.

“We are a grassroots group,â€

Unbelievable. I heard the main speaker, Sheriff Beck, on the radio this week. An incredible individual; driven, committed, and most of all getting results. The country needs to hear how this Sheriff is getting illegals out of his area under the letter of the law. He said that the ACLU and another group tried to stop him but failed. ACLU set up a website and number for a year asking for anyone that had been profiled -no one called. Sheriff Beck goes after the work sites as well.

Everyone needs a sheriff like this guy.

Must mean they were scared of his message... Rosanna Pulido is tough, she'll find a place for him to speak.

Minutemen were stifled

Local newspaper:


"Regardless of how one feels about the Minutemen, the request by the police department is inappropriate"

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/0 ... 244348.txt