Thread: MN-Immigration discussion asks participants to ponder questi

Immigration discussion asks participants to ponder questions

Posted: 9/14/2009
By Jim Troyer
Post-Bulletin, Austin MN

Four hours of presentations, discussions, small group activities and a quiz came down to a single question Saturday afternoon.

Do undocumented immigrants have rights?

"Yes, they do," said Madeline Lohman and Anna Donnelly in their Immigration 101 approach to the country's troubled system. Lohman cited the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, U.S. immigration law and the International Treaty on Human Rights.

"They don't have any rights," shouted Sam Johnson, Austin's energetic spokesman for the National Socialist Movement in southeast Minnesota.

Immigration workshop

The clash of minds took place at Austin Public Library during an immigration workshop presented by the Minneapolis-based Resource Center of the Americas. It included testimony from immigrant workers in the nation legally and others who are perhaps not. They told their stories in Spanish, their words repeated in English by the sponsoring organization's interpreter.

"I came to this country to work," said Enrique. "I work hard for my family.

"I was a student in Mexico," said Patricio, "but I wanted to help my family so I came here. I want to learn English, but it is very difficult."

Both made it clear that the prospects for work in Mexico are dismal. Jobs pay $3 to $6 per day, and those jobs are hard to find.

"When my kids come home from school here, they are smiling and happy," Enrique said. "In Mexico, they were always hungry."

Questions covered

The workshop agenda covered many of the questions that come up in the debate over immigration.

"Why don't these people (undocumented immigrants) just get in line?"

"Because there isn't any line," answered Kathleen Gambley, of the University of Minnesota.

"There are only 5,000 openings per year for unskilled workers to enter the country under current immigration policy," she noted, "but an estimated 500,000 unskilled jobs are available. That's what brings them," she said.

"It used to be just men who came over, she said. Now, because of the walls and increased border patrols, they can't go back and forth. That's why they bring their families, walking three days through the desert.

The program hit hard at the immigrant cost question, offering information from studies that they say show:

• Each immigrant pays between $20,000 and $80,000 more in taxes than he or she consumes in services.

• Immigrants contribute billions to Social Security, which is helping to fund the program as the native-born population ages.

• Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for any public benefits except emergency medical care.

• In 2005 (U.S. Census study) immigrant households and businesses paid approximately $300 billion in federal, state and local taxes.

Austin City Council member Janet Anderson thanked the resource center representatives for the visit and told them, "I would like to see more action to dispel myths and encourage dialogue."

The Resource Center for the Americas was created in 1983. Its mission is to inform, educate and organize to promote human rights, economic justice, democratic participation and cross-cultural understanding. The center's building at 3019 Minnehaha Ave. is also known for its Mural of the Americas, a Minneapolis showpiece.

Jim Troyer is a freelance writer in Austin.

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager ... 8&a=416031

They used the typical terms to confuse the issue. So we can't take the discussion seriously.


Why don't these people (undocumented immigrants) just get in line?"

"Because there isn't any line,"


So that gives them the right to push everyone else in line out of the way to suit their purposes. Why do they think they are more entitled to be in our country than people that took the legal route? illegals as a population are arrogant and self-serving. What other group has ever come into our country illegally and got free health care, education, job opportunites and social services and march in our streets demanding we give them amnesty and speak their language? That's brazen.

Do undocumented immigrants have rights?

"Yes, they do," said Madeline Lohman and Anna Donnelly in their Immigration 101 approach to the country's troubled system. Lohman cited the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, U.S. immigration law and the International Treaty on Human Rights.

No, they are not guaranteed the same rights and benefits as legal citizens. She probably took the parts of the law out of context to achieve her goal.

Try pulling this stunt in Mexico and see where it gets you.




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