Thread: Irving mayor says students won't get immigration checks

Irving mayor says students won't get immigration checks

Irving ISD: High school meeting comes after 90 withdraw from public schools


12:00 AM CDT on Friday, October 5, 2007
By OCTAVIO RIVERA Al DÃ*a orivera@aldiatx.com

Irving Mayor Herbert Gears assured students at Nimitz High School on Thursday that nobody would be visiting schools to check their immigration status.

"I came to tell you that there is no reason to be afraid to live in this city and to ask you to take this message to everyone you know," the mayor told a crowd of about 100 students.

The meeting came a day after Irving ISD Superintendent Jack Singley said at least 90 students had withdrawn from public schools in the last week because of deportation fears.

Jose Benavides, a member of the Latinos Stand Up Club, which invited Mr. Gears to Nimitz, said the mayor tried to answer questions many parents and students have been asking.

"He said those being deported are people who committed serious crimes," Mr. Benavides said.

But Mr. Benavides, an 11th-grader at Nimitz, said that's only half the truth and that some deportees were simply working to support their families.

"The fear is real," he said.

Irving police last year began using what's called the 24/7 Criminal Alien Program, which provides for around-the-clock communication with federal authorities and is designed to detain illegal immigrants who have been accused of a crime. So far, Irving police have turned over more than 1,600 people to immigration officials.

After his meeting at Nimitz, Mr. Gears made it clear that the city has no plans to change its policy or stop working with federal agencies. "We cooperate with them in many initiatives that have helped our community," he said.

Activist Carlos Quintanilla, who was at the Nimitz meeting with the mayor, said he disagreed with Mr. Gears regarding the goals of the CAP program, which he said is tearing many families apart by allowing the deportation of hardworking people.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 830c6.html

But Mr. Benavides, an 11th-grader at Nimitz, said that's only half the truth and that some deportees were simply working to support their families.

"The fear is real," he said.


Hey, Benavides (who isn't a mister yet), if I were an illegal alien in Mexico, working illegaly, I would be afraid too.

In this situation, fear is a good thing. Hey, if they self-deport, one lest cost.