http://today.reuters.com

Click Here to Watch Video

Related articles "'Riverside is going to be ours'

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... =riverside

N.Jersey protestors clash over illegal immigration
Sun Aug 20, 2006 5:49 PM ET


By Jon Hurdle



RIVERSIDE, New Jersey (Reuters) - Opponents of a local law cracking down on illegal immigrants clashed on Sunday with residents chanting "go home" as both sides proclaimed their loyalty to the United States.

An estimated 300 to 400 people gathered outside the town hall to protest a recently passed ordinance that bans hiring or renting to illegal immigrants, who are accused of overburdening local services such as schools and hospitals without paying taxes.

The protesters, representing the largely Brazilian immigrant community of Riverside, were heckled by about 500 counter-demonstrators kept at bay by police on the other side of the town's main intersection.

As immigration supporters accused the town's council of racism, opponents chanted "USA, USA" and waved placards saying "Scram" and "Stop Illegal Immigration." A passing pickup truck drew loud cheers by flying a Confederate flag with the motto "The South Will Rise Again."

Riverside, with a population of about 8,000, is the latest community to pass local regulations on illegal immigration in the absence of a federal law that would address the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States.

U.S. lawmakers are trying to reconcile a bill in the House of Representatives that emphasizes stronger border controls and stiff penalties, with that of the Senate, which seeks a path to citizenship for eligible immigrants.

A similar law was adopted by the Pennsylvania town of Hazleton in July. Both Hazleton and Riverside, about 20 miles from Philadelphia, are being sued on the grounds that only the federal government has legal authority over immigration.

Rev. Miguel Rivera, president of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, called the Riverside law "racist." He criticized Mayor Charles Hilton by saying his initiative in passing the law was equivalent to the Confederate flag being flown by the counter-demonstrators.

Across the street, several people held placards with pictures of Rivera, accusing him of racism and saying "Take Your Trash Elsewhere."

Opponents' chants of "go home" were countered by calls of "we are home" from immigrants' supporters. Demonstrators on both sides waved the U.S. flag and claimed their allegiance to the United States.

Larry Mourey, 52, who said he had lived all his life in Riverside, denied there was any racism in his support for the town's ordinance. He said he had no problem with immigrants as long as they were legal but objected to paying taxes to support illegal ones.

Lindsey Sickler, 19, said she supported the ordinance because the illegal immigrants were using local services without paying taxes, and their children are driving down school test scores because they can't speak English.

"If we were in their country and doing the same thing, they would be trying to get us out," she said.