Thread: PA-Rally cries against treatment of illegal immigrants

Rally cries against treatment of illegal immigrants
By Margaret Gibbons, Special to The Mercury08/08/2008
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NORRISTOWN - Shame! Shame! Shame on ABM!




This chant in both English and Spanish echoed outside on the steps of the Montgomery County Court House as some 150 people rallied in support of 42 workers arrested last week by federal agents for immigration violations.

The workers, employed by the King of Prussia janitorial services company of ABM Industries Inc., are charged with entering the United States illegally or violating the terms of their immigration status by remaining longer than they were authorized.

Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, which represents the janitorial workers and which sponsored the rally, is irate because of alleged "lies" made by ABM to the workers. The company turned in the illegal immigrants in cooperation with agents from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
ABM officials last week directed their employees to report to Plymouth Township for what was billed as a mandatory training meeting, according to union shop steward Rob Houston.

Once everyone had gathered in a large room, ABM personnel left the room and ICE officers walked in, he said.

Houston, who is white, and several others were allowed to leave.

He maintains the enforcement action was racially motivated.

Outside the room, Houston said, he heard an ICE agent allegedly telling someone that Houston and others who were allowed to leave were "not it."

"I guess if you have a Hispanic name, you are not a human being but an 'it,'" said Houston.

"I was once proud to be an American and still am, but somehow that has been diminished, tarnished a bit," said Houston, a Vietnam War veteran.

"We find that ABM's decision to leave their workers, the people they profit from, after leading them into that room under false pretenses, we find that deplorable," said SEIU Mid-Atlantic Area Director Wayne MacManiman.

"These tactics are not just morally unjust, they do nothing to deal with the problem of a broken immigration system," said MacManiman.

Sources claim ICE gave ABM two options: gather the employees at one location or agents would pull them off the jobs at their work site.

Local 32BJ Vice President Valarie Long said that "ripping parents from children" and "lying to workers" is not the answer.

"These raids do not fix a broken immigration system," she said.

Many of those attending the rally were union members including members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776; however, there was one man clad in a black T-shirt and claiming to be a Teamster union member who was not there in support of the action.

"They are illegal," he shouted, briefly breaking up the speeches in support of the workers. "They do not belong here."


http://www.pottsmerc.com/site/news.cfm? ... 8041&rfi=6

"These raids do not fix a broken immigration system," she said.

And these endless marches aren't doing anything either.

I will never, never understand why these people think they have rights in the U.S. that are not availble to them in Mexico. Besides, they're clueless in not understanding that every time American citizens hear "we demand, we demand" we become more and more determined to herd them out and slam the door behind them.

"They are illegal," he shouted, briefly breaking up the speeches in support of the workers. "They do not belong here."

Amen!

Most of the IA "protesters" were those who profit from illegal aliens and from out of town. No advance noticeof the "protest" was advertised. They just bus people in to make it look like the town is against the raid. The majority of the townspeople are against illegal immigration.

Local 32BJ Vice President Valarie Long said that "ripping parents from children" and "lying to workers" is not the answer.

HAHAHAHAHAHA nice try, Miss IA lover with an agenda! We don't take their kids away, the illegal alien parents ABANDON them rather than take them with them when they're deported. So I suppose it was ok for the IA's to LIE to get the jobs that belonged to Americans?

Take note - many of the Americans who formerly had those jobs were black. Norristown has a large black population, so these illegals are taking their jobs away and those jobs used to pay very well.

DEPORTATION is the answer Valarie, those jobs belong to AMERICANS!

The SEIU in the Philly area was invited by St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Norristown,PA to have a recruitment/membership fair...you see, a great majority of the parishioners of St. Pat's are illegal aliens from Mexico, specifically from Puebla and work in these janitorial firms making on average $15.00 an hour cleaning fancy office buildings and high-rises...not back-breaking labor at all. The illegal alien SEIU janitorial workers in this story were working at the Montgomery County Courthouse....how embarrassing for the Montco. Commissioners.....this firm had just been re-awarded a $250,000 public taxpayer paid contract to clean County Courthouse offices. BTW, one of the county commissioners, Jim Matthews is the brother of Chris Matthews, from MSNBC. Nice.