Thread: Minuteman candidate Bill Greene blasts illegal immigrants

Issue #18.38 :: 04/18/2007 - 04/24/2007
Greene on Greene


Minuteman candidate Bill Greene blasts illegal immigrants at a Greene Street site where there aren’t any

BY COREY PEIN



There’s some mystery as to the nature of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a group that conducts patrols, sometimes armed, along the Mexican border, hoping to catch people crossing north without papers.

The Corps describes itself as “a peaceful, law-abiding and citizen-led” neighborhood watch group. The Augusta Chronicle editorialized that “they deserve the nation’s thanks.”

President George W. Bush calls its members “vigilantes.” Critics, such as the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Mark Potok, say it’s an “extreme nativist organization” that engages in “thuggish harassment.”

Now a card-carrying Minuteman hopes to fill the late Rep. Charlie Norwood’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Georgia’s 10th District.

Bill Greene, founder of rightmarch.com — a right-wing answer to “the socialist wannabe’s [sic] at MoveOn.org” — says illegal immigration “is the most pressing issue we have today.”

Last Friday at 3 p.m. “sharp,” the Republican candidate held a press conference with Minuteman co-founder Chris Simcox outside the Salvation Army on Greene Street. Greene’s campaign called it “a notorious ‘day laborer’ pickup site in Augusta.”

“I didn’t pick this spot,” Greene told reporters. “Local Minutemen picked this spot.”
“We know what’s going on. We know what’s happening here,” he said. “We need to secure our borders now. We can’t afford amnesty.”

The site is indeed a gathering point for casual laborers. But they are there with the blessing of the Salvation Army, which posts contact information for day-labor employers on its front door. Those who wait for work by the railroad tracks every morning are, by and large, black American men.

When the Metro Spirit pointed this out, and noted the day-to-day absence of apparent immigrants at the site, Simcox said that only 55 percent of illegal immigrants are Hispanic. Many, he said, are Chinese.

Do the Minutemen have any proof, then, that illegal immigrants use the site?

“The proof that we have is from the people that live here,” Simcox said.

He told the Metro Spirit that the information came from local laborers. “They’re saying, ‘This is our place, and all of a sudden people are showing up who don’t speak English, and taking jobs,” Simcox said.

“You might want to follow up,” he said.

About 20 yards away from the press conference, James Cooper of Augusta, sat in the shade of a Salvation Army trailer.

“That’s a lie,” Cooper said, when told of the Minutemen’s claims about the site.

“I’ve been here since March and I ain’t never seen no Mexicans out there,” he said. “No Mexicans even come here into the shelter.”

This would not be the first time the Minutemen have made claims that don’t withstand scrutiny.

“Chris Simcox has gotten a haircut and a shave and a new suit, but this is the same man who claims he saw the Chinese military performing military maneuvers on the U.S.-Mexican border,” said Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group.

Though immigration — legal and otherwise — from Central and South America is rising throughout southern states in general, the trend has not been as strong in the Augusta area. U.S. Census Bureau estimates for 2005 show that 2.5 percent of Augusta-Richmond County claims Hispanic ethnicity, compared to 14.5 percent nationwide.

No accurate count of illegal immigrants exists. But hard evidence has never been central to the discussion.

As America’s manufacturing base has eroded and good jobs for people without college degrees have grown scarce, politicians have found that blaming the problem on illegal immigrants plays well among voters both black and white.

It’s debatable whether most American citizens are competing for the same jobs as most illegal immigrants. After federal immigration agents raided a poultry factory in Stillmore, Ga., and deported some workers, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that their positions were filled with paroled felons and even some men who’d been staying at the Garden City Rescue Mission in Augusta.

Greene may take the most extreme stand against illegal immigration of any of the 10th District candidates, but he is not the only one to highlight the issue.

Democratic candidate Terry Holley’s platform echoes many Minuteman positions. Holley favors a mass registration campaign of illegal immigrants and deportation for those deemed “undesirable.” His Web site claims that “the current estimate is that there are between 10 million and 30 million illegal immigrants in this country.” This figure is far higher than most credible estimates, though Minutemen have cited it on CNN.

The 30 million figure, if true, would mean that one in every 10 people in the U.S. was a foreigner living here without papers.
http://metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=12 ... 4074433858

The 30 million figure, if true, would mean that one in every 10 people in the U.S. was a foreigner living here without papers.

This is certainly true in Los Angeles County and surrounding areas.

Whether 30 million, 12 million or ONE...they are illegal! We have immigration laws already on the books that have served this country well... they should be enforced. Immigrants assimilated into this country and made it their home. They became loyal to ONE country...America.

These illegals coming here by a massive invasion for the last 20 years are arrogant, do not want to be American...but in fact want this country to be the one they left...easier to make demands on the US than to make demands of their own corrupt leaders and country!