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Even at this early stage, it should be evident to the board that the resolution was ill-guided and must be rescinded or, at the least, suspended, while the board conducts hearings and solicits expert testimony and studies.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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Posted by ( mmarin ) on May 07, 2008 at 11:29 am
Very good article. For those that continue to believe that it’s legal to abuse police and governmental problems to ‘solve’ the immigration issue you are flat wrong and as un-american as you claim ‘pro-immigration’ people are.
As American’s we are to provide constant checks against our government to assure that they don’t overstep the powers that we as citizens grant them. While we do have a federal immigration policy and that policy is constitutional we have to make sure that we enforce it in a way that’s consistant with the constituion. And, violation of the 4th and 14th Amendments.
A real american would see those violations as what they are; government run amok and requiring us, the citizens of this nation, to rise up and take on a tyrannical government.
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Posted by ( cobra ) on May 07, 2008 at 9:54 am
Heres what you can tell your children Ms Firth. The United States as a sovereign nation has the right to control who and what comes into this country. They have a right to detain and deport those that come here illegally regardless of their story. The very title of your organization is very misleading. It makes people think that Immigrants receive no human rights when in this Country which is totally absurd. There is no other nation on earth including Mexico that treats immigrants better then we do. They come here illegally and have children who are American Citizens just for being born here. Those children receive free health care, WIC Assistance, Food Stamps, Free Education in their own language and free lunch and breakfast while there. Illegal immigrants are free to walk into any emergency room in the US and receive care. Illegal immigrants can go to their local consulate and receive a valid id that is accepted by many banking institutions. Before 911, Illegal Immigrants could get a drivers license in a majority of the States. Until recently, Illegal Immigrants could commit crimes and no one checked their status. They were released back out on the street to commit more crimes. Illegal Immigrants stand in the open each day at almost every 7-11 in PW County waiting to work for wages under the table. Illegal Immigrants openly march in out streets demanding that we accept them. Boy it’s tough being illegal in the US. So again, why all this Human Rights rhetoric? Why don’t you take your organization down to Mexico and ask those from Guatemala and El Salvador how they are treated when detained in Mexico? You and your open borders apologist can continue to blame the Counties budget woes on this resolution. Many including my neighbor left as there is no work in the Construction Business. Yes a few may have left as they have illegal family members and did not want to subject them to the possibility of being deported but that is their cause and not ours. And your comment about having fear of being deported is just ridiculous. The very intention of law’s is just that, to make people fearful so they won’t commit crimes. But this kind of article is what we expect from organizations such as yours. There has been story after story about immigration lawyers being prosecuted for fraud. How about taking up for Americans once in a while?
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Posted by ( T Dawg ) on May 07, 2008 at 9:47 am
According to a document that was prepared by the majority staff of the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Investigations it was pointed out that a significant amount of illegal activity on the Texas-Mexican border is related to drugs. It further stated that according to the El Paso Intelligience Center (EPIC) that in FY-2005 the following drug seizures were made by DHS, DEA, FBI, Coast Guard, and other Federal agencies.
489,970 pounds of Cocaine
2,557,519 pounds of Marijuana
12,034 pounds of Methamphetamines
During subcommittee testimony on August 21, 2006, Federal Law Enforcement personnel estimated that only 10 percent to 20 percent of drugs are actually seized.
The document further states, “During 2005, Border Patrol apprehended approximately 1.2 million illegal aliens; of those 165,000 were from countries other than Mexico. Of the non-Mexican aliens, approximately 650 were from special interest countries. Special interest countries are those “designated by the intelligence community as countries that could export individuals that could bring harm to our country in the way of terrorism.”
Federal law enforcement personnel estimate that only 10 percent to 30 percent of illegal aliens are actually apprehended.
It is not enforcement of the law that is having a negative impact on Prince William County and these United States but rather the willful ignoring of the law.
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Posted by ( ejben ) on May 07, 2008 at 9:19 am
It appears that it’s people like Ms. Firth, who wants to down grade our community. Her likes are self motivated as her and her allies make money off of these unsuspecting illegals.
They like to put it all under the heading of Immigation and put fear into everyone.
They should give guidance but then they wouldn’t recieve money.
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Posted by ( barnun ) on May 07, 2008 at 8:47 am
foreclosures and ghost neighborhoods are based on the economy, not on the resolution. Would it be improper to teach your children to obey the law ? Illegal entry is against the law whether it is into the country or into someone’s house. Lisa, there are millions of people around the world that would like to come to the US. Do you suggest that we just let them all come at will ? And then what ? do we create esol classes for every individual language in the world ? Do we give all of them the benefits of all of our social programs ? Or do we just put up a challenge. If you can break in, we’ll then give you the red carpet ride. The rule of law applies to everyone, world wide, that is from anywhere outside the US borders, regardless of race or place of origin. Most countries have immigration laws and they are enforced. You, being an upstanding, educated, law abiding US citizen cannot just move to any country you choose at will. Many that sneak into the US are poor, uneducated and unskilled. Yes it is sad. Should we round up all of the worlds poor and bring them to the US, feed them, educate them and support them in hopes that they will eventually be able to stand on their own ? To narrow your arguement down to just your neighbors is unfair to the rest of the world. In theory, we do not make seperate laws for different classifications of people. We have one set of laws that are supposed to apply equally to everyone. This includes our immigration laws and the way they apply to the billions of people from outside of our borders.
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Posted by ( T Dawg ) on May 07, 2008 at 8:13 am
Ahhh yes, just looking for a better life ... uh huh!!! Here is your facts answered by your illegals ... love your neighbor? Not in your wildest dreams Lisa J hypenenated F
http://flickr.com/photos/thewatchdog/sets/72157604911991669/show/
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Posted by ( Grant Gary Jacobsen ) on May 07, 2008 at 7:19 am
According to the PWC police department, crime has been in a downward trend for at least the past five years, even while the immigrant population was increasing. So let’s stop saying the “resolution” is needed as a law-and-order measure. It is nothing of the kind.
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Posted by ( Dime ) on May 07, 2008 at 7:04 am
Ms. Firth,
Please tell us the other illegal activites you and your “Law?“ group support besides “ILLEGAL” immigration. Robbery, Driving without license, and or Gang activities?
“It does not take a two-year study to see that the resolution has already had a drastically positive impact on the county and the rule of law under the Constitution. We now have quiet neighborhoods, school and ESL classes down in attendance, increased community involvement and less home foreclosures, 40 to 80 percent business growth for some business owners, less hate-speech rhetoric from special interest groups, few police due process violations, no evidence of profiling and the building of positive perceptions.
For those of us raising children, it becomes easier to teach the concept of “love your neighbor as yourself” when the next door neighbor has immigrated legally, works hard, and raise his/her family without fear of being deported or is fearfully fleeing.“
There is no need for more talk or studies. The proof is in the increased quality of life that has returned to PWC and Manassas City. You are correct that we should reconize the current federal and state laws supporting immigration enforcement. Thanks goes out to PWC and Manassas for doing just that.
Dime
Manassas City Homeowner
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Posted by ( PWCMom ) on May 07, 2008 at 6:57 am
Ms. Firth has conveniently forgotten to include the other statistics in her letter. For instance, are ghost neighborhoods the result of illegal immigrants? Where are the statistics that supports that? Are foreclosures solely limited to illegal immigrants? Which businesses are suffering “drop-offs”? Who are the owned by, and what are their statistics?
ESOL classes are down, and are saving the county 6 million dollars (according to the Potomac News). And this a bad thing?
The whole issue revolves around ECONOMICS, Ms. Firth, and the demand of illegal immigrants to receive benefits that legal citizens enjoy and pay for (and not just by a few selected taxes).
Regarding the allegations of profiling and due process violations, where are your facts? Seems to me that you are engaging in mud-slinging behavior just like the other pro-illegal groups that mask the real bottom line issue-why can’t their constituents FOLLOW THE LAW like everyone else and come here legally or GET LEGAL? That is the REAL issue here. As an attorney, perhaps you and your constituents could volunteer your time and resources to make that happen and there would not be any issue? THAT would be a constructive idea.
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Posted by ( BTAR ) on May 07, 2008 at 4:42 am
The rule of law in the constitution? Where in the constitution does it say we will not protect our borders and if you come in illegally we will not deport you? Does you teaching of “love you neighbor as yourself” (did you make this up?) also teach Love thy law breakers as thyself? Or is it only some law breakers? Those laws that you disagree with? Not just the newly enacted illegal immigrant position that the county is enforcing is contributing to your “ghost neighborhoods” but the fact that construction jobs are few and far between is also a factor. But please tell me which laws you don’t believe in, because there are other people out there who also feel some laws are unfair and should be broken. For instance, smoking pot should be legal, they find nothing wrong with it and they should be allowed to smoke it grow it and share it with your children you are trying to teach. Should we all ignore that law?
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