Thread: Town that banned illegal immigrants could teach lesson

Town that banned illegal immigrants could teach lesson
June 28, 2010

BY ESTHER CEPEDA
When I consider the illegal immigration dilemma in this country, I always come back to the feeling that we just don't have enough good data on which to base sound policy decisions.

I find no bipartisan or nonpartisan authoritative reports that include a good quantified estimate of the impact of the wide variety of anti-illegal immigrant measures that have been floated either by national legislators or local governments -- all those proposed alternatives to a federal government that just hasn't gotten around to dealing with it themselves.

So here's a thought. Let's for a moment set aside any outrage or disgust that might well up when you think about the recent ban on illegal immigrants in Fremont, Neb., and consider the opportunity this presents.

Last week the townsfolk of that burg voted to banish illegal immigrants from town by requiring landlords to deny rental property to those who can't prove they are legal residents and by requiring city businesses to run database checks to catch illegal immigrants.

The Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and a raft of other immigrant and refugee rights groups have pledged to file costly lawsuits to block the decision. They fear the new laws will create an environment ripe for every type of discriminatory mischief against anyone who merely looks like an illegal alien.

The people of this deeply divided town freely admit that the expense of defending their community against the lawsuits would cause great hardship to all its resident -- legal and illegal alike.

So why not do this, all you civil liberties groups: Stand down.

As painful and contrary to instinct as it might be, stand down. Don't file a single lawsuit, just sit back and watch.

Instead of deploying eager, fresh-faced lawyers to fight the new local laws, send in eager, fresh-faced sociologists to observe the laws' impact with a scientific eye.

What might they see?

If you're from the "illegal immigrants are helpless and downtrodden" school of thought -- which imagines that the same people who risked everything to travel from a crummy town south of the border all the way to Nebraska won't get out of Dodge and move on to the next opportunity -- then you might anticipate mass violations of civil liberties against indigent, terrorized victims who will be herded away to some scary immigration gulag never to be seen again.

But if you're like me and happen to think that illegal immigrants may be monolingual but aren't stupid, you might anticipate a mass exodus from a town that doesn't want them to some other town that might, in fact, welcome warm bodies to work at whatever jobs are available and spend their money at local businesses.

It might be a place where immigrants are assimilated and made proud Americans, regardless of their legal status, because there is hope that someday the federal government will find a way to ship back the losers and hold on tight to the stars.

That would be the beauty of rolling with Fremont's plan: We'd get to see what would really happen.

Would Fremont become a thriving, citizens-only zone that offers legal residents a safe, clean place to live and work, enjoying unburdened schools and social service agencies? A sort of present-day Mayberry, where you could take a walk at sunset without feeling threatened by unfamiliar people?

Or, would Fremont become a shadow of its former self -- a quiet town where stores close every week because there just aren't enough people to keep business going? A place where the Metropolitan Community College is no longer bursting at the seams with English-language learners, but there really aren't many students of any kind around anymore.

Or might Fremont find some bizarre but natural equilibrium, some balance in between?

I don't know, but I'd sure like to.

Let the lawyers stand down.

Send in the sociologists.

So all small towns in America will die if we don't let illegals into them.....

lawyers are part of the problem ...

When I consider the illegal immigration dilemma in this country, I always come back to the feeling that we just don't have enough good data on which to base sound policy decisions.

Collecting such data has basically been "outlawed" because the government KNOWS if the truth were ever to be told actual Americans would rise up in mass revolt!

Just today this was in the NY Post:

Going hack to school
HS kids' info bared

By REBECCA HARSHBARGER and YOAV GONEN

Last Updated: 9:43 AM, June 28, 2010

Posted: 3:08 AM, June 28, 2010

It was a technical foul.

Hackers accessed the personal information of more than 2,400 Brooklyn Tech HS students and posted it on the school's Web site, The Post has learned.

The startling security breach put students' names, addresses and birth dates -- and,in many cases, their Social Security numbers and citizenship status -- in the public domain, Department of Education officials said.

It was at least the third hack attack this year on the Fort Greene school's Web site but the first to expose students to potential harm.

"It's more serious because it has to do with our Social Security numbers and identity theft," said 17-year-old Jessica Tan, a junior. "I think it crosses the line. Students are more creeped out than think it's funny."

Education officials said that, in January, an assistant principal uploaded students' PSAT scores -- along with their personal information -- to a Web site that is used by teachers in the English department and not password protected.

Someone accessed the data and posted it to the regular school Web site.

The posted data comprised 2,416 names, 2,416 home addresses and 103 Social Security numbers.

No one is sure how long the information had been on the site before the breach was reported two weeks ago by a student.

"What happened is illegal. The police should be involved, and the students should be expelled, and the students should get more than a night in jail," said Simon Yousoufov, an 18-year-old senior.

"I'm definitely going to be more careful in giving information to the school."

Education officials put the blame squarely on the assistant principal, who has since received federal privacy-act training.

They declined to reveal her identity.

"The assistant principal made a serious error in judgment, undermining the trust between students and school officials," said DOE spokesman Matthew Mittenthal. "We fully understand the anxiety this disclosure has caused for students and families."

Earlier this year, a hacker posing as a school administrator posted a letter on the school's site saying school was canceled the next day.

A subsequent prank left Lil' Wayne lyrics and other silly items on an internal school Web site.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/broo ... z0sCtoTyNf

My oldest son attended this school. I had to have a SS# for him before he was a year old so I could claim him as a dependent on my taxes. Now how is it that only 103 out of 2416 students had a SS#?

Though Brooklyn Tech is a public school it is akin to a private school that would charge as much as 20 grand a year if not more. I have written before how each MS in Brooklyn can set aside 15 seats to this school for students who: 1) Have lived in the USA 2 years or less. 2) Speak English as a second language. So out of 1000 freshmen each year at least 350 seats are given to such kids even though they didn't score better than others who get denied.

so when do american citizens who support the rule of law sue the ACLU and demand justice