Thread: I now know I have heard it all

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/ ... 3-15-46-37

New twist given in defense of illegal immigrants

By RON JENKINS
Associated Press Writer


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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Two Catholic priests are comparing illegal immigrants to Oklahoma's early settlers in a new twist to arguments against deporting the illegals to Mexico and other countries.

After all, the priests say, the original "Sooners" broke the rules when they slipped into the state early to claim free land on April 22, 1889, ahead of the "Boomers," who stayed at the border until signaled across.

The Rev. Michael Chapman and the Rev. Don Wolf evoked Oklahoma history as they spoke to hundreds of mostly Hispanic legal and illegal immigrants who gathered at the Capitol on Thursday to protest the immigration law's implementation.

"You are beginning a new page in the 100-year Boomer-Sooner legacy," said Chapman, pastor of the Holy Angels Catholic Church in Oklahoma City. "We are so proud of our legal-illegal heritage. We've got to find a way to incorporate that into our laws in Oklahoma."

Oklahoma "defines itself by those who settled here illegally," said Wolf, pastor of mostly Spanish-speaking parishes in Duncan.

Years before that 1889 Land Run, Boomer leader David Payne was arrested several times in his bid to open the Unassigned Lands in Indian Territory for white settlers. Indian Territory was later combined with Oklahoma Territory to form the 46th state in 1907.

The acts of Payne and the Sooners were civil matters, just as illegal immigrants are defying civil law by entering the country without papers. The penalty is deportation.

Both the Oklahoma settlers and the mostly Hispanic illegal immigrants of today had in common a quest for "economic freedom," Wolf said at the Capitol rally.

"Obviously, it was the Sooner who came across before the Land Run of 1889 and staked out claims in the cover of night," Chapman said later in an interview.

"That was not following the rules. But we haven't forgotten them and we certainly haven't accused them."

While the "Sooner" tag carried a negative connotation in the state's early days, that did not stop the University of Oklahoma from adopting it as the name of their athletic teams.

With time, according to the OU official Web site, Sooner became a synonym of "progressivism" and a Sooner was known as "an energetic individual who travels ahead of the human procession. He was a prosperous, ambitious, can-do individual.

"And Oklahoma was the Sooner State, the land of opportunity, enterprise and economic expansion, very much in the progressive spirit that engulfed the old South in the 1920s."

Chapman said the Hispanic immigrants are comparable to "people leaving Ireland or the eastern United States and coming west with the promise of finding a way to make a living.

"They made some great sacrifices and faced many obstacles and some of those obstacles were legal obstacles."

He said many of today's illegal immigrants are good people who "did one wrong thing. Since they got here, they have established a home and a job and raised kids. They've been good de facto citizens."

Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, who introduced the anti-immigration measure, said the priests are historically accurate, "but we're not the same country and we're not the same state as we were then."

"There are no vast expanses of land in need of settlement and technological advances have made dissolution of old allegiances more difficult," the lawmaker said.

Some churches and charity groups that work with Hispanics say the law has created a lot of fear, leading thousands of immigrants to flee the state. They said they would continue providing services to immigrants, despite a section in the new law making it a felony to harbor or transport an illegal immigrant.

Terrill said having illegal immigrants leave Oklahoma "is the intended purpose of the bill."

As far as arguments of the priests that the bill in inhumane, he said: "I don't want to engage in a religious debate with these folks. I understand their point of view. I just disagree profoundly with them."

Some say the law will present hardships for families by forcing breadwinners to abandon spouses and children, who are legal residents.

Terrill said negative consequences always affect families of law breakers. "They have no one to blame but themselves," he said.

He vowed not to be put on the defensive on the issue and said he planned to make the law "even tougher" next legislative session.

Terrill is considering proposals to permit the seizure of assets tied to harboring or transporting an illegal immigrant and to give law enforcement agencies incentives to join a federal program whereby officers are given training by federal immigration authorities.

The Tulsa County Sheriff's Department had 30 deputies trained under the program. The result: 735 arrests of people suspected of being illegal immigrants since July 1, according to Sheriff Stanley Glanz.

Other sheriffs departments have not joined the program, with some officials saying they have all they can handle fighting serious crime in their counties.

Under the new law, all local enforcement agencies now have the authority to detain illegal immigrants for federal authorities if the illegals are charged with DUI or a felony.

blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblabh

They're reaching

Terrill said negative consequences always affect families of law breakers. "They have no one to blame but themselves," he said.

He vowed not to be put on the defensive on the issue and said he planned to make the law "even tougher" next legislative session.

Thank you, Rep. Terrill.

Being a true leader and representative of the American people means having the intelligence to recognize when a problem of this magnitude exists, the courage not to give in to it and the determination to do what it takes to solve it.

That's called leadership.

I guess we forget what "leadership" looks like. What a good example!

With time, according to the OU official Web site, Sooner became a synonym of "progressivism" and a Sooner was known as "an energetic individual who travels ahead of the human procession. He was a prosperous, ambitious, can-do individual.

And thats why we want to be the first to show the illegals the door!!!

Some churches and charity groups that work with Hispanics say the law has created a lot of fear, leading thousands of immigrants to flee the state. They said they would continue providing services to immigrants, despite a section in the new law making it a felony to harbor or transport an illegal immigrant.

They insist on referring to these illegal invaders as "immigrants." Immigrants entered our country "legally" and are welcome. Their persistent use of euphemisms will never change the fact that they are illegal, and have no right to be in our country, let alone make demands or file lawsuits.

They are not immigrants, undocumented, day laborers, or migrant workers. They are ILLEGAL ALIENS, period!

"He vowed not to be put on the defensive on the issue and said he planned to make the law "even tougher" next legislative session.

Terrill is considering proposals to permit the seizure of assets tied to harboring or transporting an illegal immigrant and to give law enforcement agencies incentives to join a federal program whereby officers are given training by federal immigration authorities."

IT SURE IS NICE TO REMEMBER HISTORICAL EVENTS. BUT WHEN DEALING WITH CURRENT PROBLEMS IT IS IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT THE YEAR IS 2007. WE HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT OUR COUNTRY BASED ON WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW. THIS REACHING BACK INTO HISTORY IS A DIVERSION. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW.

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Original article:

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-89288.html