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Dec 2, 2006

Illegal immigration issues are still in the forefront
By Lee Bonorden/Austin Daily Herald


It was first talked about in Austin with whispers.

In 2004, it became a campaign issue in the city elections.

In 2006, everyone was talking about it and candidates from both the Republican and the Democratic parties vowed something must be done.

When one town far away from Austin in Pennsylvania actually tried doing something about it, governments everywhere took notice.

Now, it has come before the Mower County Board of Commissioners.

“Illegal immigrants” is that issue.

Dean Dykeman, a well-known activist against illegal immigrants, appeared before the county commissioners at Tuesday's (Nov. 2 meeting to ask the elected officials for their help.

According to Dykeman, a Hispanic woman attempted to vote in the Tuesday, Nov. 7, general election, at the Woodson school in southeast Austin.

“Arnie Gabrielson was the election judge that day and a Latina woman tried to register to vote,” Dykeman told the commissioners at the public meeting. “She produced a bill from Austin Utilities with $600 worth of credits on it. Then, she produced a Texas drivers license. Both pieces of identification will allow one to register if the information is correct, but there was conflicting information on the Austin Utilities bill and the Texas drivers license: two different names.”

“According to Arnie he asked her about the two different names and because the line was backed up and so many people were trying to vote that day, he just gave up trying to solve the situation and allowed her to vote,” Dykeman said.

“Now, if she is a legal resident, her vote was good, but if she is not a legal resident, her illegal vote canceled out my legal vote - I'm a legal resident - or the legal vote of any other legal resident, Mexican or white,” Dykeman said. “That's not right.”

Dykeman wasn't through with his presentation.

“I think we need to do something about our election judges' training in these matters. Maybe, they need more training,” Dykeman said.

‘Illegals' most

talked about

issue anywhere

Mayor-elect Tom Stiehm was quoted several times, during the campaign for Austin mayor, police routinely encounter Hispanic suspects with multiple IDs.

The retired Austin Police Department detective, who specialized in narcotics investigations, said, “When we arrested a Hispanic, many times they asked us ‘Do you want my work ID or do you want my real name”?

Austin Third Ward City Council member Norman Hecimovich, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Stiehm, had a pledge of things he would do if elected mayor printed in the Austin Daily Herald classified section, during his campaign.

“Norm's 14 Pledges” included “To use all legal means at a city's disposal to only allow immigrant persons, who are law-abiding and have authentic certification to be allowed to live in and hold jobs in our city.”

Ironically, Hecimovich's program was similar to an ordinance enacted by the Hazleton (Pa.) City Council in September that imposed fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and denied business permits to companies that give them jobs. The law empowered the city to investigate written complaints about a person's immigration status, using a federal data base, according to The Associated Press.

Hazleton mayor Lou Barletta was interviewed on CBS' 60 Minutes news show two weeks ago. The leading proponent of the first-of-its-kind law targeting illegal immigrants, denied the law is a “witch hunt.” Instead, Barletta said it was designed to combat drugs, crime and gangs, which were “overwhelming police and municipal budgets.”

Back in Austin, the continued expansion of taxpayers' concerns about illegal immigrants also included a public discussion at the American Association of University Women (AAUW) candidates forum.

Kermit Thomas, also a well-known and outspoken critic of the negative impact of illegal immigrants in the city, asked city, county, state and congressional candidates about a letter he received from Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi in response to an inquiring he made.

At the October forum held at the Mower County Senior Center, Thomas waved the letter he received from Sheriff Amazi in the air and asked the candidates, who was responsible for calling off raids at two local employers by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (formerly Immigration Naturalization Service).

Quoting from the letter, the sheriff told Thomas she was prepared to assist in the raids until a mysterious “call from Washington, D.C.” canceled the raids on suspected employers of illegal immigrants in Austin.

Congressman Gil Gutknecht, the Rochester Republican, who lost to Democrat Tim Walz on Nov. 7, announced to all, “It wasn't me.”

Gutknecht also expressed dismay at how the ICE agency was handling illegal immigration issues and vowed to “look into the mater.”

Thus, allegations of illegal immigration issues hurting Austin, made its way from private kitchen table or coffee shop talk to a campaign issue to a law enforcement issue to a campaign for public office issue and now to the arena of a public meeting before local government.

‘Take complaints

to County Auditor,

Secretary of State'

Craig Oscarson, county coordinator, told the commissioners, questions Dykeman raised about the identification information anyone provides voters are not within the jurisdiction of a county board.

“As far as training for election judges goes, that's something you should take up with Woody Vereide, the County Auditor,” Oscarson told Dykeman. “You should also ask Woody to contact Arnie Gabrielson, too.”

Garry Ellingson, 5th District county commissioner, marveled at the alleged $600 in credits on the Austin Utilities' bill. “That's a lot, but it didn't come from the county. That could have only come from Semcac,” Ellingson said.

The retired former Mower County Sheriff's chief deputy did observe, “Arnie (Gabrielson) should have said ‘No' when the woman presented the IDs and called Woody Vereide immediately to settle the issue right then and there,” Ellingson said.

“The County Auditor is the chief election official in the county,” said Oscarson. “He trains all the judges and knows the voting requirements best.”

“If he can't help you, you would have to file a complaint with the Secretary of State,” Oscarson said.

Present at last Tuesday's meeting was State Senator Dan Sparks (DFL-Austin).

Sparks has been instrumental in pursuing legislation to prevent identify theft.

In the 2006 campaign, Sparks also was vocal on illegal immigration issues.

He told Dykeman he, too, would look into the matter.

(Editor's Note: Mower County Auditor Woody Vereide said no complaint was filed by the Woodson school (City of Austin) voting precinct judges. All election judges receive training in their duties at election time. Gabrielson was a registration judge. Based on the state's voting registration requirements, the female attempting to vote in the instance described by Dykeman with two different identities should have been rejected, according to Vereide. No outcome in the 2006 election was decided by one vote. The Austin City Council Member At Large race was decided 17 vote margin when a recount was made.)