Thread: Osceola schools candidate blasts illegal migrants

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/loc ... es-osceola

Osceola schools candidate blasts illegal migrants
VICtor Manuel Ramos
Sentinel Staff Writer

June 14, 2006

An Osceola County School Board candidate seeking to represent a district that includes parts of largely Hispanic neighborhoods blames illegal immigrants for everything from homicides, the spread of AIDS and drug abuse to epidemic diseases and prostitution.

The candidate, expressing his opinion in a letter that he submitted to a weekly publication, said that those immigrants "constitute an attack force from the Third World against America."

But the words that some Hispanic activists see as offensive -- and embarrassing -- didn't come from a U.S.-born candidate complaining about an alien invasion.

They came from a candidate born in Venezuela who says he is courting the vote of Hispanics.

Eduardo Montalvo, a real-estate sales agent who is a first-time candidate for the Osceola School Board, said he meant the letter as a declaration in favor of legal immigrants and not as a statement of his policies should he gain a seat on the board.

"This subversive attack from the Third World is bringing its products to America: poverty, violence, crime and prostitution," Montalvo, 46, went on to say in the piece that appeared as a letter in The Reporter, a Four Corners area weekly. ". . . I want to get rid of these Third World people who really do not benefit our country."

Montalvo said he is not saying anything new, referring to comments he has made in the past about immigrants needing to learn English and assimilate to be successful.

"I have been writing the same for the last six years, so some people will like my ideas, some won't," said Montalvo, who has written columns for Spanish-language newspapers.

The episode is reminiscent of the controversy sparked last year when then-Orange County schoolteacher Jan Hall wrote a letter to a member of Congress in which she said that Puerto Ricans, Mexicans and immigrants in general were burdening the area's schools and services.

At the time, parents, teachers and community leaders were outraged when that leaked letter was published in the Spanish-language media. The teacher eventually resigned.

"That letter he wrote is worse than the teacher's," said Armando Ramirez, who is running for an Osceola County Commission seat against another candidate. "He put all the immigrants together, and he portrayed them as subversives from Third World nations, carrying infectious diseases . . . and as people who engage in violent criminal acts. I have never read anything, not even from George Wallace, that is so offensive."

This time around, the letter has been making its rounds in the community through e-mail, photocopies and word-of-mouth, prompting other Hispanic activists who are seeking elective office to condemn Montalvo. The majority of immigrants in the United States, legal or otherwise, come from Latin America, though most of Metro Orlando's Hispanics are U.S. citizens.

"I am angry," said Carlos Cayasso, 55, a Poinciana ninth-grade teacher who is running for a different School Board seat. "This letter sort of reminded me of the kind of statements Hitler would have made decades ago to get into office. He is picking on a group to generate a lot of hatred and ride their backs to office."

John Cortes, a candidate for Kissimmee mayor who works with foster children, said the comments are "a slap in the face" to all immigrants and Hispanics, not just those in the country illegally.

Leaders of the Parent Leadership Council, a group of parents of bilingual and immigrant children with district chapters in Orange and Osceola counties, had similar reactions to Montalvo's words.

"It's hurtful," said Elizabeth Castillo, co-chair of the group's Osceola chapter. "Those problems are not the fault of immigrants, but of people like [Montalvo] who complain about everything instead of helping and saying, 'Let's unite to improve and move forward as a community.' "

Montalvo, who said he wrote the letter to raise his profile, seemed surprised at the reactions, even though he is running in a district where 35 percent of voters are of Hispanic ancestry.

Besides, Montalvo said, he researched the subject well by reading newspaper stories, Web logs and studies about immigrants posted on Web pages.

"I am Hispanic," Montalvo said. "I [migrated] to this country 10 years ago, so I'm not saying what I'm saying because I'm not Hispanic or against Hispanics. . . . If you have nothing to do with criminality, prostitution or epidemics, then you have no reason to be offended."

Montalvo is running for the School Board seat of incumbent Jay Wheeler in Osceola's District 1 -- an area that includes not only Montalvo's Celebration neighborhood, but also some of the schools with the largest Hispanic populations, in Kissimmee and Buenaventura Lakes.

Wheeler, who read the letter online, said he is sitting out this controversy.

"Honestly, I'm focused on making sure kids can read and write and that we can pay teachers enough money," Wheeler said. "I am not going to ask if a little boy comes in to a classroom whether he is illegal, Canadian or American."

Victor Manuel Ramos can be reached at vramos@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6186.

First off... YAHOO a good person from Florida. That never happens.

Second of all. Good for him for standing up for what he believes and being a Patriot.

Thirdly, why did the article have only quotes from people who disagree with him. I am sure without too much searching they could have found a few folks who agree with him.

I think this is just the beginning of the backlash - people are fed up with illegal aliens draining this country and wanting more.

I truly love it when a person who understands American ideals says the truth and is not beleagered by roots of a culture that is backward. Being an American whether you were born here or came from Mexico, China or anywhere in between means you understand the nature of our laws and what it takes to keep a healthy society going.

http://www.wftv.com/news/9371143/detail.html

Man Running For Office Says "Get Rid Of" Illegal Immigrants

POSTED: 4:56 pm EDT June 14, 2006
UPDATED: 4:58 pm EDT June 14, 2006

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- A letter published in an Osceola County newspaper advocating the government "get rid of these Third World people" is drawing fire amongst Hispanic parents and others in Osceola County, but the author is himself Hispanic and running for public office.


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READ: Controversial Letter On Illegal Immigration
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"I don't care if he have a Spanish name. I’m Hispanic. He's not right," said Kissimmee parent Berkis Guerra.

Guerra is referring to Osceola County real estate agent Eduardo Montalvo. Decals on his car show his plan to run for a seat on the Osceola County School Board.

Montalvo wrote the letter to raise his community profile. He argues illegal aliens constitute an attack force against America, importing the products of violence and prostitution and wrote they are a “heavy burden for our communities.”

It's a position Guerra, a mother of four and wedding shop owner, can't fathom. She said all immigrants deserve a shot at learning English and living the American dream.

"He has to learn more about what it is to be an immigrant here and why they are here," she said.

Montalvo wasn't home when Channel 9 knocked on his apartment door in Celebration, but he's reported as saying that he researched the article before putting pen to paper.

But a Kissimmee city council hopeful, John Cortes, said Montalvo's controversial position can only hurt his chances with school board voters.

"He's supposed to be Hispanic. Political suicide," Cortes said.

Montalvo said readers have no reason to be offended if they're law-abiding citizens. Meanwhile, he has until July 21 to officially qualify for the school board seat. One way to do that is to secure 1,295 names on a petition of support.

Montalvo is planning to run against incumbent Jay Wheeler.

The election for the Osceola County School Board is one of three such races that voters decide September 5.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... 7653725520

Published Thursday, June 1, 2006
Thursday, June 1, 2006

Two Opposing Views on Illegal Immigration
RE: "We Oppose Illegal Immigration To This Country," letters to the editor, May 18.

One of the things that I love about our country is the First Amendment to the Constitution. I quote it here for those of us who have forgotten the words: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Unfortunately, nowhere does the First Amendment address the impact of free speech on the minds of the people, and the implied responsibility to adhere to facts. Hence, I read with dismay the characterization of immigrants in a recent letter to your paper, with the use of terms such as "these people," "lead a horse to water," "smugglers, gang members, assassins," "many of them are also bad people." I chafe at these terms because I know all too well, as a member of a minority group, the implication of these words.

They are said with such force and wrath as to sway others to believe that members of the Hispanic population deserve these aspersions cast on them. They are said with such venom as to frame all immigrants, legal or not, as enemies of the U.S.

To lend some balance to the views presented by the author, I would like to point out just a few things.

First, illegal immigrants (and I am no expert on immigration) do not tend to live in the more affluent neighborhoods. More than likely, they would seek out neighborhoods in which others would speak their language and maintain their culture. If they are illegal, it stands to reason that they do not have the same access and opportunities as the legal immigrant -- much less the American citizen.

If they have no such opportunities, they cannot adapt. Since they cannot adapt, it would be reasonable to assume that they must remain outside the mainstream of America, immersed in their language and culture.

If they remain outside the mainstream of America, then they must create their own subculture with its supporting system of values.

Chances are, these value systems will run counter to the values of middle America, with 2.5 children, a suburban home, two cars and good prospects for the future of their children.

When these values run counter to our established laws and system of values, then problems arise which now become the concern of every American.

I would think that one of the motivating factors for coming to America is the opportunity that is afforded for work. Unless I miss the mark here, illegal immigrants are a source of cheap labor, if you wish to dignify sub-minimum wages as "cheap."

As a former investigator for the New York State Department of Labor, I had the opportunity to witness -- and help prosecute -- employers that hired illegal immigrants, paying them well below minimum wage. The conditions under which they worked in the sweat shops and restaurants were horrible. Yet they rarely complained. The vast majority were reluctant to even sign their names to affidavits to help the Labor Department prosecute and recover their lost minimum wage.

To my recollection and experience, not one illegal immigrant I interviewed during my years at the Labor Department wanted to go back to his or her country. Most times they moved from one place to another, in fear of being apprehended by immigration officials. So no, they don't run back to their country and laugh at us after having made money here. What money, anyway? They fell prey to innumerable hyenas of greed who would prey on their fear of apprehension.

I am not expressing an opinion in favor of or against the immigration policy of our government; I merely ask that before we render judgment, cast aspersions and engage in vituperative attacks on any group, look at the background against which an issue is framed.

I am certainly not sleeping better at night knowing that I have benefited from much of the cheap labor afforded by illegal immigrants.

CARLOS CAYASSO

Poinciana

The greatest myth in America today is that illegal aliens are beneficial for our country. This is a fallacy! Despite the unlikely benefits that illegal immigrants may be bringing to us, the reality is that they constitute an attack force from the Third World against America.

If you don't believe me, take a look at the statistics:

Illegal immigrants are on the top of the charts of criminality, homicides, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, suicides, drug abuse, incarceration and gangs.

They also have the highest rate of newborns, epidemic diseases, HIV/AIDS, TB and birth defects.

On top of all of these, illegal aliens are first on the list of illiteracy. These are ingredients to a dangerous formula that could result in catastrophic consequences for all of us.

This subversive attack from the Third World is bringing its products to America: poverty, violence, crime and prostitution. This creates a subclass of people without an identity.

The vast majority of illegal aliens who crossed the border don't have an education. They did not go to school in their own countries or they did not graduate.

This means that we can expect nothing or little from them in terms of learning English and assimilating.

Learning English is the first requisite in being capable to assimilate to our culture, but many of the illegal aliens cannot even speak their own language, and many others speak indigenous dialects that no one understands. This situation prevents them from becoming a part of our society. We want legal immigrants; we welcome people who are willing to conform to our country. We do not need outcasts isolated by their own incapacities living among us. This is unfair to them and hazardous to us.

I want to get rid of these Third World people who really do not benefit our country. They are a heavy burden for our communities, schools and social services.

Americans, don't be fooled. Illegal immigration is not the solution; it is the problem.

EDUARDO MONTALVO

Celebration