Cleveland meeting to discuss illegal aliens
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 -

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By Randall Higgins and Perla Trevizo
Staff Writers

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Illegal aliens are becoming more numerous and a threat to public safety, according to a woman who has organized a town hall meeting here Thursday.

"They have invaded my country. They do not come to assimilate. They do not care to become American citizens," Noella Oberlin said.

"When they are called immigrants, it is a slap in the face to me. I am a legal immigrant and a U.S. veteran," said Ms. Oberlin, a New Zealand native. "People are scared they will be called racist or anti-immigrant. I'm an immigrant. That's how silly it is."

But José Minay, assistant professor of Spanish at Lee University, said immigrants receive misplaced blame.

"They blame immigrants for everything, but they don't recognize all the positive contributions they make," he said in Spanish. "I see there is a very anti-Hispanic feeling in the community, and forums such as this worsen the situation."

Ms. Oberlin said she called the town hall meeting to give an open microphone to citizens. She said she and others have been ignored by most local officials when they bring up the topic.

While Cleveland and Bradley County are not officially declared as such, "we are calling it a sanctuary city," she said. That refers to a local government with a formal or informal policy of not notifying federal authorities of the presence of illegals.

Meeting organizers pointed to a local slaying last year by what police said were members of the MS-13 Latino gang. In a more recent case, organizers said, an illegal resident drove through a fence around a man's yard.

Ms. Oberlin said she is concerned that tougher immigration laws in Georgia are pushing more illegal aliens into Bradley County. And she is concerned about the triple murder in Newark, N.J., recently for which an illegal alien was arrested.

Local pastor Andres Miranda said immigrants are not all criminals.

"There are criminals within the Hispanic community just as there are criminals within any other community," Mr. Miranda, pastor of the Church of God, said in Spanish.

He said a false image has been created of Hispanic immigrants.

"The media has contributed significantly to the image that all Hispanic immigrants are criminals, but I think it's important they (the Bradley community) learn about our culture and know they can trust us," he said.

Sheriff Tim Gobble said illegals and the county budget have been the major topics at two recent town hall meetings he sponsored.

Mr. Gobble told residents he asked the county to fund two new detectives to investigate gangs and to become certified with a federal government program known as 287g. That program allows officers to check to a federal database to find out whether people under arrest are illegals, and to transport illegal aliens to a federal facility for deportation hearings.

Mr. Gobble said he's "very hopeful" he'll get more money at some point.

Meanwhile, he said, "I feel like at this point we are doing as much as we can. The primary responsibility rests with the federal government."

County Commissioner Jeff Yarber said he worries that more illegals may be crossing from Whitfield County, Ga., into Bradley County as Georgia laws become tougher.

And DiAnna Stanich, also a local activist on illegal aliens, wrote a public letter to Mr. Gobble earlier this month and volunteered to be part of the 287g program.

She said officials look the other way when illegal aliens are involved in crimes.

"We are sending a very profound message that crime pays to these illegal aliens," she said.

Mr. Minay and Mr. Miranda said more Hispanics should attend these meetings, especially those who are more prepared and are in the country legally, to show that not all immigrants are criminals.

"We should all try to attend this type of events so people can get to know us and so we can start constructing a communication bridge," Mr. Miranda said. "It's important that we all learn how to live together."


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