Get the facts straight about immigration
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Lisa Johnson-Firth
Published: May 6, 2008
In light of Mr. Stewart’s recent actions to solicit support from the public for his “rule of law” resolution, I would like to encourage the board to be vigilant about getting the facts concerning immigrants in Prince William County. For instance, there has not been a decrease in serious crime because most of the immigrants detained were picked up for minor traffic violations.
It does not take a two-year study to see that the resolution has already had a drastically negative impact on the county and the rule of law under the Constitution. We now have ghost neighborhoods, school and ESL classes down in attendance, increased community fear and home foreclosures, 40 to 80 percent business drop-offs for some business owners, increased hate-speech rhetoric, police due process violations, anecdotal evidence of profiling and the building of negative perceptions.
There are also new family issues to grapple with.
For those of us raising children, it becomes challenging to teach the concept of “love your neighbor as yourself” when the next door neighbor is being deported or is fearfully fleeing.
Even at this early stage, it should be evident to the board that the resolution was ill-guided and must be rescinded or, at the least, suspended, while the board conducts hearings and solicits expert testimony and studies. An easy solution would be to recognize current federal and state laws supporting immigration enforcement, including the recent 287(g) agreements between ICE and the Prince William County police and sheriff’s office, and the Prince William-Manassas Adult Detention Center.
LISA JOHNSON-FIRTH
Immigration & Human Rights Law Group, PLLC
Manassas
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( phdee ) on May 11, 2008 at 2:40 pm
barnum: you haven’t the foggiest idea where I stand. I responded to a racist - outsider - who alleged there were a million sex offenders among the illegals. That’s out of an estimated 12 million. Isn’t that hilarious - and false? You obviously love lies to fit your hate, racism, etc. I don’t stand for ANYONE who commits such sex actions - and that includes Americans. I feel if someone wants to present statistice on this or other topics, then the poster should be fair and objective and present stats PERIOD. Being in the US illegally hasn’t got one thing to do with sex crimes. The sex crime isn’t committed because they are illegal.
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Posted by ( RonCharest ) on May 11, 2008 at 8:31 am
It’s apparent that no one bothered to read the article I linked to prior to “rebutting” me. Here is the money quote I want folks on this thread to read:
“[...snip…]Of the arrests and convictions related to immigration violations [Nationwide], some 98% are against immigrants working and living in the U.S. illegally and only 2% are against employers engaged in illegal hiring. [...snip…]“
So much for following the law, the whole law, and nothing but the law.
I had a letter published last month calling the “Illegal is Illegal” crowd hypocrites for going after the immigrant workers and leaving the employers alone. The fact that ONE local person (who happened to be Hispanic) was prosecuted for hiring undocumented workers several days after my letter was published does not negate the truth of what I wrote.
By all means, enforce the law. Go after the Americans HIRING illegally. Then the problem of “Illegal Immigration” Will go away.
Here is the final quote from the article I reference:
“Americans are sooner or later going to have to come to terms with the choice we face: deporting 12 million people, or making citizens of them. The former choice, as we are now seeing, is likely to produce an America that is more police state than open democracy. If we pursue that course, it will be an America we will no longer recognize.“
Ref: http://firedoglake.com/2008/05/08/immigration-raids-getting-tough-or-just-official-terror
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Posted by ( barnun ) on May 10, 2008 at 5:50 pm
phdee, give it a rest. you’re already defending people who have broken many laws and now you stand up for child molestors too ? At least we all know where you stand.
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Posted by ( RonCharest ) on May 10, 2008 at 9:54 am
It’s apparent that no one bothered to read the article I linked to prior to “rebutting” me. Here is the money quote I want folks on this thread to read:
[...snip…]Of the arrests and convictions related to immigration violations [Nationwide], some 98% are against immigrants working and living in the U.S. illegally and only 2% are against employers engaged in illegal hiring. [...snip…]
So much for following the law, the whole law, and nothing but the law.
I had a letter published last month calling the “Illegal is Illegal” crowd hypocrites for going after the immigrant workers and leaving the employers alone. The fact that ONE local person (who happened to be Hispanic) was prosecuted for hiring undocumented workers several days after my letter was published does not negate the truth of what I wrote.
By all means, enforce the law. Go after the Americans HIRING illegally, and the problem of “Illegal Immigration” goes away.
Here is the final quote from the article I will end my thread with:
Americans are sooner or later going to have to come to terms with the choice we face: deporting 12 million people, or making citizens of them. The former choice, as we are now seeing, is likely to produce an America that is more police state than open democracy. If we pursue that course, it will be an America we will no longer recognize.
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Posted by ( phdee ) on May 09, 2008 at 8:37 pm
cgenwuiz, why don’t you publish some articles about Americans who commit rapes, murdxers, etc. There are lots out there. Why the Catholic church has been rocked with pedophilia, in case you forgot. Criminals are in all races, color, and creed. Not just Hispanic. Since youmare not PWC resident, why don’t you mind your own businessz. We don’t need outside agitators, racists, bigots, hatemongers, etc. - We have plenty here as is.
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Posted by ( RonCharest ) on May 09, 2008 at 5:06 pm
It’s apparent that no one bothered to read the article I linked to prior to “rebutting” me. Here is the money quotes I want people to read:
[...snip…]Of the arrests and convictions related to immigration violations, some 98% are against immigrants working and living in the U.S. illegally and only 2% are against employers engaged in illegal hiring. [...snip…]
I had a letter published last month calling the “Illegal is Illegal” crowd hypocrites for going after the immigrant workers and leaving the employers alone. The fact that ONE local person, several days after my letter was published (who happened to be Hispanic himself), was prosecuted for hiring undocumented workers does not negate the truth of what I wrote then - and it is still true now as describer in this article. Go after the people hiring illegally, and the problem of “Illegal Immigration” goes away.
Here is the final quote from the article I will end my thread with:
<i>Americans are sooner or later going to have to come to terms with the choice we face: deporting 12 million people, or making citizens of them. The former choice, as we are now seeing, is likely to produce an America that is more police state than open democracy. If we pursue that course, it will be an America we will no longer recognize.
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Posted by ( barnun ) on May 09, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Ray,I wouldn’t say to anyone to “rely” on the resolution. I do think the resolution is one tool towards dealing with the issue. I’ve always agreed the one true resolution lies with the federal government. That includes border control and border process improvement.
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Posted by ( barnun ) on May 09, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Ron,
I’ve lived in PWC for 25 yrs. I dont think PWC residents ever really had an issue with immigrants until recent years when it became obvious that our county is getting swamped with illegal immigrants. I think this has created an attitude that is unfair to the legal immigrants. I also happen to think this is why the legal immigrants from all nations should stand AGAINST illegal immigration instead of ceating groups like mexican without borders, and participating in public marches etc. Now, in all fairness, immigration reform has to take place in congress. Reagan made a deal with congress. since that time democratically controlled congress as well as republican controlled congress has failed miserably on this issue. Blaming one side or the other only lets the problem continue. I think this is why politics gets polarized, it gives the politicians an excuse to accomplish nothing. I have met some very nice illegal immigrants but I remain pro law, it’s what is supposed to hold our country together and until the federal laws are changed or restructured, they should be enforced at every level. I’m sorry your wife was treated poorly, that’s not right. That kind of attitude was not Created by the citizens or local politicians, it is felt by the citizens and some local politicians. If there were no “illegals” there would be no arguements.
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Posted by ( Chemwiz ) on May 09, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Ron,
First of all, thank you for serving our country. Regarding your trip to the DMV, I’m familiar with it. I’ve been through it with my wife too…several trips and several $$.
I can’t explain what the deal is in PWC and I’m sorry that honest, law-obeying citizens like you and your wife are treated this way. I happen to live in FL and I don’t seem to notice it as much here. BUT, that is no excuse to break the law. Your reasoning is weak at best. It’s like giving a reason for robbing someone because you didn’t feel like going to work tomorrow. This country has rules and they NEED to be enforced. The process is long and difficult, but living in the U.S. is the payoff for the efforts. Had it not been worth it, you may have just stayed in your wife’s native country?
I agree that the system is broken, but cracking down is the best thing we can do now. By giving illegals “free passes” and a slap on the wrists, we are only encouraging the greater problem. Our country needs to take away the illegal immigrants incentives for coming here in the first place and that would solve many problems. If they didn’t get free health care for themselves and their anchor babies, if they didn’t get free food assistance and fee education for primary and secondary ages, then they may begin to think twice about coming here. As it stands, they have no reason to stop sneaking in – WE NEED TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM AGGRESSIVELY.
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Posted by ( Chemwiz ) on May 09, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Thurs. May 8th 2008
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho — A suspected illegal immigrant has been charged with raping a 10-year-old girl who later gave birth in eastern Idaho.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354529,00.html
http://search.cnn.com/search.jsp?query=ilegal allien rapes 10 year old&type=web&sortBy=date&intl=false
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