Thread: La Fiesta del Pueblo 2008,Raleigh, NC FairgroundsSept 6-7th

Any Raleigh folks want to join me while I sample some South American cuisine, while I wear my ALIPAC t-shirt and Border Patrol cap?
It shouldn't be a problem as only legal citizens should be attending a public event and we are a country of laws...right?

http://www(.)elpueblo(DOT))org/english/events/lafiesta.html

I wish I could go with you, I'd gladly do it. I live a good distance from NC. Maybe you can get someone to take pictures of you in your shirt with a few Um legal citizens you mentioned...I'd love to see the expressions on their face when they see you! Look forwrd to the pic's, we alipacers will enjoy it! Smile.

Yeah it shouldn't be a problem........... If you were surrounded by law abiding american citizens...

Do what you feel is right and Pick your Battles Carefully!!!

MbikerNC, wish I could join you but I have no time to drive to Raleigh, nor do I have an ALIPAC T-shirt but I would gladly shell out some bucks to augment my wardrobe.
I have no problem with any ethnic festival, but what makes me insane is they are doing a voter registration drive, and who knows if they will even ask if the people are legal as if they care.
Eat well!! I wish I could get my hands on some breadfruit, which I haven't seen since Jamaica.

Every year on these SAME dates, my Brazilian friend and I attend a "Dia da Independecia do Brasil" festival in Dallas, commemorating the anniversary of Brazil's declaration of independence in 1822.

I'm glad you posted this so I know to avoid the fairgrounds that wknd.

I can't believe they are doing a voter registration drive. I guess they just need their matricula card to register, right?

My husband loves these type of events because he's a sucker for Mexican food. I never go with him because I feel like in doing so I support illegal immigration even if the people involved in the event are legal immigrants.

Now take the Denver Convention Swat Teams and put them at the NC Fairground with ICE out back behind the building to check everyone's ID and numbering the people.

Oh dear! Best of Luck at these Gatherings.

Sounds so simple doesn't it? MOD EDIT.

Just go to a construction site or farm or manufacturing facility or just drive around town and it's obvious but those in power don't have the will because "they are people too" or "they are God's children" (McCain).
You know the drill. We're (ALIPAC and patriot's) not mean hatemonger's. We just want our immigrants to follow the law, not go to the front of the line, not allow untracked, undocumented, unknown criminals, drug lords and rapists enter the country and not cost the US taxpayers dearly in taxes, infrastructure costs, free healthcare and receive a free education while they overcrowd our schools while we can't build their free schools fast enough and our property taxes raise exponentially.
My son is currently writing a paper concerning "PRO" HR 4437 (border and immigration enforcement bill). I'm so proud! I just wish he were closer to voting age, although it doesn't seem to matter who you vote for any more, as it's all about getting re-elected, Parisian politics and we're fast becoming more of a Socialist society like Europe.
At least there's still the 1st Amendment (and the 2nd Amendment unless Obama gets elected) and I can freely wear my pro law and order, pro border enforcement garb openly and "fighting" for my country in this way simply makes me feel better, although I know it's an uphill battle.

I found the event interesting and beneficial, mainly due the ability to talk with several attendees/organizers at the event. I went in thinking about how far we've sunk that we can hold a public event where illegal, law-breaking aliaens could attend without fear of arrest or fear of our laws. In my mind, it's like thousand's of rapist's attending a public event as law enforcement stand by and do nothing. The problem is, there was of course no way of knowing who was legal or not and if folks were screened then there would be ACLU (of yes, they were there also) and civil liberties law suits in abundance...but I digress.

I chatted with a woman from the Raleigh Republican Party who was there representing McCain, Dole and others and pickup up some free yard signs and other material. I chatted with several Sheriff's about illegal's and the gang problem and gangs in our public schools.

I talked with a volunteer from Wake County Gang Prevention. We debated on how a solution is needed from the Feds and of course disagreed on the right method, although we did agree on securing our borders and knowing who's here so we can track the criminals but tended to disagree on Amnesty and the illegal's already here and on the impact to our economy if we didn't have Latino workers.

I chatted with 1 rep about a visit from 3 of our congressional reps and a discussion concerning illegal immigration/amnesty and they stated they can't do anything as it's an election year, can't do anything in 2010 because blahh, blahh, can't do anything, repeat, repeat... Seems it's too much of a political hot potato, what a surprise! Maybe if we ignore the problem it will go away? He nicely labeled me a hard-liner and I graciously agreed and stated that I believed in the rule of law and someone had to come to the event with the conservative perspective and I seemed to be it! We did have an interesting chat and agreed that the gang problem needed to be addressed.

I chatted for a while with the Director of El Pueblo and another El Pueblo Coordinator about the intent of the event to share culture, etc. They were signing up many to vote and I of course asked how they
verified they had legal identification and not fake ID's. She stated they look for official proof and documentation and they wouldn't risk a felony which would prevent becoming a legal citizen one day. Well,
she sounded sincere anyway. The director was a very personable man and we shared perspectives and did seem to agree that the amount of immigration needs to be controlled somewhere between the million or so
per year that's been the norm and the 20,000 or so that come to the US legally. Supposedly, Canada is 2nd (makes sense geographically) also has many illegal's moving here but they blend in better?
He talked about having an official ID, not a Drivers License but something that could identify a non-citizen so at least we knew who they were and the authorities could check for any criminal record. I
mentioned free emergency room healthcare, free education and having to build school after school raising our taxes and increasing our infrastructure costs as illegal's don't pay taxes and are often paid
"under the table" sending a majority of their wages back to Mexico. He rebutted that most do pay the emergency rooms fees through payment plans and many pay Social Security tax and will never receive
benefits....well, it was a good discussion anyway and its always beneficial to get different perspectives.

This leads me to 1 question. Why don't any conservative talk show hosts or ALIPAC for that matter reserve a slot/table at an event such as this?
Why not represent the anti-illegal immigration viewpoint?
It seems our views could have been represented and our visiting congressmen could have seen our stance and concerns represented.
What's wrong with an organization who simply wants our laws enforced making our presence known?
Law enforcement was well represented so what's wrong with a legitimate group attending?
Maybe if we were present and other groups could see that we were law-abiding, decent, well-spoken, reasonable American citizens who are only concerned with the well-being of our country and it's citizens, they wouldn't stare when I walk in with my ALIPAC t-shirt and US Border Patrol cap like I was an extremist, violent hatemonger?
I thought that I had the First Amendment right to free expression.
What would be so different if I wore a LAPD cap instead of a Border Patrol hat? Are Border Patrol agents criminals? I though they were simply another branch of law enforcement to protect our country?
It would be different if I had racist or death threats on my t-shirt or hat.

It also seems to me that we could more easily attend a weekend event like this, rather than the noon events held in Raleigh during the week when everyone is working and can't attend. As I was told, If El Pueblo truly wants to support the fight against illegal aliens who repeatedly break the law and give good, hard working Latino's a bad name and support 287g, maybe they wouldn't mind out attendance and we'd get more public exposure?
Then again, maybe there are better reasons not to attend that I don't recognize.

Finally, special thanks to Officer Martinez who followed me around the entire time after I first entered the event and I nicely said Hello. 2 hours later I was still obviously being "tailed", even after several friendly, thoughtful conversations with the Republican Party rep, at least 2 sheriff's and even after openly signing my name for the gang prevention group. I guess he still thought I was a threat somehow or maybe didn't like my politics? I didn't see anyone following the kids with "Education for illegal's, they're humans too" when they were openly touting illegal rights and I'm treated like the criminal. Honestly, I didn't see any other pro-illegal garb or pro-immigration material, discounting the businesses such as BB&T and BofA who openly invite and provide services to anyone, legal or not.