Thread: Riverside shot may be only the first

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news ... 153518.htm

Posted on Sun, Jul. 30, 2006


Monica Yant Kinney | Riverside shot may be only the first

By Monica Yant Kinney
Inquirer Columnist

Somewhere between the allegations that dirty Brazilians breed cockroaches and that landlords renting to illegal immigrants are harboring rapists, I started feeling sorry for the world-weary residents of Riverside.

They're so beaten down that they actually believe passing an ordinance beating up on illegal immigrants will soothe them. If only the townspeople realized this feel-good measure is destined to inflict more pain.

Who had time to reflect, with all the excitement over the grand plan to brand Riverside's unwanted arrivals with a unique scarlet letter? I for illegal? B for Brazilian? It's a tough call.

Deciding to join Hazleton, Pa., in a small-town stand? That was easy.

The vote was 5-0 in favor of the ordinance that will fine employers and landlords $1,000 for hiring or housing illegal immigrants.

Officially, Riverside is home to about 8,000 residents. Unofficially, the population hovers near 11,000, thanks to a flood of undocumented Brazilians lured by construction jobs.

Mayor Charles Hilton and the Township Council believe that they're acting in the best interest of taxpaying, law-abiding locals who are fed up with illegals draining the blue-collar community's meager resources.

The sentiment is widespread. The complaints - especially those about overcrowded rentals - are legitimate.

What Hilton left out is that the lawsuits to come will make residents long for the day when hiring ESL teachers was the chief cost of the crisis.

If residents gripe about their property taxes now, just wait until the town gets the legal bills from a fight Riverside may be destined to lose.

Someone is going to have to pay, and it won't be the immigrants and businesspeople who were driven away.

I'd been warned to expect the worst Wednesday night, and the scowling, seething crowd did not disappoint. In English and en Espanol.

All that was missing was Jerry Springer and his big bald bouncer.

So many people turned out that the meeting had to be moved to the high school auditorium. All the better to facilitate segregation.

The angry white men (and women) sat up front, clutching American flags, American children and American outrage.

The dark-skinned "others" sat in back, wearing pink ribbons intended to signify unity.

Most weren't Brazilian. Many weren't even from Riverside.

Instead, the seats were filled with out-of-town Latinos who hissed when the white folks hollered, "Speak English!"

You know it's a tough crowd when a minister gets booed. But the protesters, while impolite, had a point:

The Spanish-speaking pastor needed a translator to tell Riverside to be more understanding.

As the temperature rose from all the hot air, a few ugly truths emerged.

Riverside residents seem to be channeling a variety of modern-day anxieties into hatred of a common enemy: illegal immigrants.

The locals are so mad that they are threatening to enforce the ordinance themselves if the town's 15-member police department and two code enforcement officers can't handle it.

"I'll do it. Call me," Steve Edwards eagerly volunteered.

"Give me a badge and gun, I'm there," said Marsha Whitworth.

The loudmouths who badgered accented speakers to state their addresses more clearly acted as if they were compiling some kind of enemies list.

And when a lifelong resident broke rank and said her beef was with "the white guy going around my neighborhood offering lawn services, then breaking into our houses," immigrants in the audience gave her a standing ovation.

After a few hours, I left, fearing for the future, convinced that the effort to tame tempers will only inflame them.

There's a reason the federal government is dragging its feet on illegal immigration. It's a wildly expensive and complicated problem with the potential to erupt in a race war.

Towns such as Hazleton and Riverside have fired the first shots. All in the name of restoring the peace.


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Contact Monica Yant Kinney at 856-779-3914 or myant@phillynews.com. Read her recent work at http://go.philly.com/yantkinney.

Someone is going to have to pay, and it won't be the immigrants and businesspeople who were driven away.

Look at it this way folks, someone is going to have to pay regardless of whatever happens. Its inevitable.
So as long as the taxpayer is paying the bill, then let's focus on doing what is right THE FIRST TIME, so we only have to pay for it once.

I fear we are becoming "Israel" and "they" are our Hezbollah!!
Until Fed., State and Local governments stand together on this, it's just going to get worse!

They need proper congressional representation. And they need to put an utlimatum on the FEDS. Enforce the law, or it reverts back to states..

PERIOD...

The race card is the only card they have and they know it.

I am not 100% white and I dont see any racism whatsoever.

[Mod Edit]

Kudos for these little towns for standing up and saying enough is
enough.

Well seeing as we the american taxpayers are paying either way, we should have a say in it. Enforce our laws and deport these freeloaders