This is the kind of bullcrap that the citizens and workers of South Carolina are forced to put up with because of our state leaders' failure to insure that our laws are enforced. And South Carolina's workers are bearing the brunt of that failure. The illegal aliens in this state are not undocumented as this reporter likes to say, they are simply criminals who decided to break our laws. They decided, knowingly, to come into our country without being invited. They are responsible for forcing thousands of us out of our jobs and businesses, illegally. Like myself. And if they are paying taxes in the jobs that they have stolen from us then it is because they are using fraudulent documents which is another crime.

And I am not an immigrant, I am a native born American citizen whose forefathers came to this state in the late 1700's. My wife happens to be a legal immigrant from the Philippines. Her and our daughter came here legally, they did not break any laws in the process.
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http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/feb ... ical31192/

Latino leader upset over change in political tide
By Yvonne Wenger (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, February 20, 2008




COLUMBIA — Diana Salazar hopes that when folks try to come up with ways to force illegal aliens out of South Carolina they stop to remember they're talking about human beings.
"We're here to voice an opinion to our legislators and the whole state of South Carolina to please touch your hearts and reconsider these laws," Salazar, president of the Latino Association of Charleston, said Tuesday in the Statehouse lobby.
She brought about a dozen immigrants, several of whom did not speak English, to weigh in on pending state legislation on the matter.

Diana Salazar (left) president of the Latino Association of Charleston, discusses her group's position on immigration reform during a news conference in the Statehouse lobby in Columbia on Tuesday.
The House and Senate are expected to begin negotiations shortly on the two final versions of the legislation that attempts to rein in hiring practices of public and private employers and ask the federal g overnment for authority to enforce immigration laws such as deportation, along with many other provisions
"Undocumented — not aliens because they are not from Mars," Salazar said. "They were not the cause of our terrorist attacks. They are not criminals. They just want to keep their families together."
Rep. Seth Whipper, D-North Charleston, said it is not too late for the Hispanic community to weigh in on the debate and he is anxious to hear their suggestions
"We really need to find out how that community feels about the matter and where they see conflict," Whipper said.
Sen. Randy Scott, R-Summerville, said he wouldn't be swayed by the Latino Association recounting the plight of illegal immigrants.
"They're clearly breaking the law," he said.
"Why should they be able to break the law and get away with it? They need to come here legally, pay taxes, speak and read English, and be willing to bear arms for this country."

Salazar, who is a third-generation American of Mexican heritage, said the issue of illegal immigration should be debated at the federal level. She said the state has many other issues to care for, and sees the change in tide after so many years of apparent indifference as "hypocritical."
"How many years have we Americans turned our face like this and let the flood come in? Have we seen that? Now, we're being hypocritical," Salazar said. "We're tying things up for our own benefit, for our chair, for our next election."
Many illegal immigrants want to be given the right to be issued South Carolina driver's licenses, and she wants to continue to see the state driver's manual offered in Spanish despite legislative efforts to print it and other state material in English only.
"For those who violate the law you have an address, you hav e an identity, you have a picture and they can be prosecuted as you and I can," Salazar said.
She also said that if the legislation becomes law it will dry up jobs for immigrants and hurt the state's economy because of the long hours they work for low pay. They contribute to the tax base through wage withholdings but do not claim income tax returns, she added.
"So where's the money going?" Salazar said.
Still, while Salazar said she does not disregard that illegal immigrants have violated the law, the United States was built on immigration and "it will continue to be a country of immigrants."
"We've got to understand these people are humans," Salazar said. "They just want a better life. It is not their fault that the Mexican government doesn't (offer) what you and I have."
Alejandro Dominguez of North Charleston, who crossed the Texas border illegally in 1986 and was later granted citizenship through amnesty, said the illegal immigrants he knows are not taking jobs f rom Americans, nor are they doing harm to them.
He is scared of what the legislation could do if it became law.
"I have a lot of friends and family I could lose," Dominguez said. "They're not criminals."
Dominguez said living in the United States offers immigrants a chance at a better life.
"It's like a dream for every Latino," he said.
Rep. Wallace Scarborough, R-James Island, said the legislation is not about treating people in an inhumane way. It's about abiding by the law.
"I am all for them being treated like their human beings — I also want them to be here legally," Scarborough said.
Reach Yvonne Wenger at (803) 799-9051 or ywenger@postandcourier.com.






(The Latino Association of Charleston formed about two years ago in response to organizers' concerns that the Hispanic community was being "blamed" for the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The group, based in North Charleston, serves as an advocate for Hispanics.
For more information or to get help, call Diana Salazar, association president, at 530-8131. )