The situation has not abated and according to Irving ISD has prompted the withdrawal of 90 children from Irving schools. Whether the threat is real or not, the fear sure is.
Speaking of whether it's real or not (story):
In a meeting held Wednesday, a group of Hispanic pastors said the Irving city manager told them 300 of the 1,600 deported individuals were only stopped for traffic violations.
300 people taken to jail for traffic violations? I'm really not sure if that figure is too high or not for 10 months' time. It sounds too high, but it's still too early to accuse anybody without knowing whether the proportion of Hispanics taken to jail for traffic violations was higher than that of any other racial or ethnic group. Generally though, even if you're driving without a license the police don't take you to jail. There's usually little interest in hauling people in for a civil offense like driving without a license or running a red light or speeding. So I'd have to say it seems a bit suspicious.
I'd like to say that the City Manager will be fair and impartial no matter what the council wants. The City Manager is a man named Tommy Gonzalez, and while he does work for the City, he's not elected so he doen't have to worry about what the voters think. And given that there are a lot of older white folk in Irving, that's saying quite a bit.
Never fear though, the Hispanic community of Dallas will respond. Lest you think the fireworks are over, leaders in the community are only now starting to really get together and make plans.
Garcia says he plans in the coming days to demand an injunction halting the national Criminal Alien Program that allows police to hand illegal immigrants over to federal authorities.
“We gotta get our evidence together,” Garcia says. “We’ve had six or seven people -- legal U.S. residents or citizens -- who have come forward and said they’ve been asked for their immigration status.”
Expect more fireworks to go off soon. I never thought I would say this, but it sure is an interesting time to live in Irving.
24 comments:
Just quit fooling around and close the damn border. They can be stopped!!
All I know is that this state was called Tejas before it was called Texas.
I am a LEGAL immigrant. I can see how many americans assume that people who "look mexican" are "probably illegal"...that is hatefull and offensive. Any illigal immigrant should be subject to deportation BUT there should be more realistic humanitarian and business friendly immigration laws...The reason there aren't any, is the hatefull environment...Think about that
Driving without a license, committing a traffic offense, AND no proof of identification, insurance, etc. will USUALLY get you a trip to your local police station until they can establish your identification. It is outright WRONG to mislead people and say that it won't. How is a police officer suppose to give you a ticket if he can't establish your identification? If this was the case, anyone who was pulled over for a traffic violation would just refuse to identify themselves and give a bogus name. Inferring that someone who commits a misdeamenor can just walk off without clearly identifying themself is just misleading.
How much more realistic can immigration laws be? You are either here legally or illegally. Compare it with drug laws. Both are federal laws. Do you ignore immigration laws and apply drug laws? No. We are a nation of laws. Those who don't follow the laws, whether it be immigration or drug laws, are arrested and face the consequences. It is about time this illegal invasion from Mexico was stopped. Now maybe jobs at a living wage for Americans will open up for the citizens who belong here - no matter what their skin color!!
Well, ppasa316, that particular arguement was settled over 100 years ago. If you want to be integrated into another culture and therefore enjoy the benefits of it, you should step into reality. ONCE AGAIN, all Americans applaud legal immigrants, at some point up or down the generations we or our ancestors were immigrants too. I am sorry there are a few rich folks taking advantage and using illegals to make themselves richer, and giving false security to you who are breaking the law. But most of us are just poor folk who see our meager chance of making it on the Social Security we worked for our whole lives swirling down the crapper along with any hope of affording medical care or for that matter, groceries. I've got an aunt with a heart condition, she can't go to the doctor literally if her life depends on it. Illegals can get WIC and health care and jobs. My whole life, I've seen people who work hard, but make just enough to pay the bills, but too much for WIC, free health care, housing, free post secondary education, and so we do without. We just can't afford to lose another damn thing.
Pretty simple. Want to live here? Get your paperwork in order. Don't whine and complain that you have lived here for 16+ years and don't want to be booted out. You have had 16+ years to get your citizenship in order, or at least get it started! We are a nation created by motivated peoples who follow the laws they create. Pretty offensive to have our country have to put employee information in spanish as well as our native language of English just because you are too lazy to learn the language of the country you want to live it! GET IT TOGETHER, THEN YOU WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN!
Mexico is one of the richest countries in the world. Mexicans should not have to come to U.S. to find work. Mexico needs another revolution to stop the Elite class from starving a quarter of its population.
Mexico was also part of Spain too. Should Spain take them again ppasa316
100% support for Irving cracking down on criminal immigrants. My family was a migrant family from a generation of law abiding forigners,respectful of this nation sovereignty and the rule of law. Coming from countries with endemic corruption these illegal immigrants believe they can break, ignore and trash the the laws of USA. What are the other Texas cities waiting to take action.?
Its about time. I thought I was the only one in this country wishing our elected officials would wake up. Yes if you want to immigrate to this country legally please do so. I have no problem with anyone of any race wanting to make better for themselves and or family. Just do it the right and legal way. When you get to this country, do as our ancestors and work hard to assimilate into THIS culture. Don't come here and park 10 cars on your front lawn, and then have to have an interpreter come with code enforcement to tell you that you can't park 10 cars on your lawn in this country. I don't want to have my tax dollars pay for your kids education and Doctor bills. I want YOUR tax dollars and mine to pay for a Good Public education system in this country again. Not one that just process My kids (interested in getting a good education) along with yours like cattle so NO CHILD GETS LEFT BEHIND. I could go on. The list of why Illegal Immigration to this country is such a burden is as long as how long we have looked the other way. We have to stop the BLEEDING now...
anonymous 1,
"Driving without a license, committing a traffic offense, AND no proof of identification, insurance, etc. will USUALLY get you a trip to your local police station until they can establish your identification. It is outright WRONG to mislead people and say that it won't."
But is it wrong to say that perhaps police take people of color to jail a little more often than whites? We know, for certain, that that at least has been the case in other cities. As far as I know, no one has done a study to see if racism is evident in the Irving police force. Until we know that for sure, we can't say for a fact that laws are being enforced equally among all races. Illegal immigrants in Texas are mostly Hispanic, so that means mostly Hispanics should be deported. But that doesn't mean that more Hispanics should be pulled over than whites or arrested more often. That's the issue here.
anonymous 2,
"We are a nation created by motivated peoples who follow the laws they create."
What, so Rush isn't right about welfare queens having children just to get food stamps? Seriously, have you looked at the number of people in jail today?
Laws aren't always right. It was once legal to own slaves and illegal to help them escape. It was once illegal for women to vote. Let's not use the excuse that they're wrong because they break the law. You have to have some better reason than that.
"100% support for Irving cracking down on criminal immigrants. My family was a migrant family from a generation of law abiding forigners,respectful of this nation sovereignty and the rule of law. Coming from countries with endemic corruption these illegal immigrants believe they can break, ignore and trash the the laws of USA. What are the other Texas cities waiting to take action.?"
Well kudos to you, but you know it wasn't until about 90 years ago that it was illegal for anybody to come over here. There was no "legal vs. illegal", since it wasn't an issue. That doesn't change the fact that the pre-existing Americans reacted with nativist hatred for immigrants, or that they were brought over for business purposes against the will of those Americans. Wow, sounds familiar doesn't it? How about this: when immigrants came over, they use to set up their own little communities of people of the same ethnicity. Italians, Irish, Poles, Czechs, Germans, and Chinese. All of them did it. Yet how common is it to hear any of those languages today?
My point is, quit acting like illegal immigrants are a threat. They're not. They take jobs we don't want and are happy to pay someone else crappy wages to do. By the third generation, (second for some), you can't tell their kids apart from ours except they have darker skin.
"Americans applaud legal immigrants". No. Here in Texas there is much resentment of immigrants, both legal and illegal. It's not based on anyone's legal status, it's based on either racism or nativism. Just as it was when the first white settlers moved to Texas. I seriously doubt these sentiments are restricted to Texans, as some comments by Oklahomans betray them too.
Don't try to cover up the ugly side of anti-immigrant sentiment. If you don't feel that way yourself, great, but then why are you so passionate about saying they need to go home.
You know why you can't get good help from the government? It's almost certainly because you vote Republican. I'll put up a post later about how Americans are crossing the border to get cheaper dental care in Mexico.
"When you get to this country, do as our ancestors and work hard to assimilate into THIS culture."
I already addressed that, but let me make this point: the first americans did no such thing. They brought their cultures with them and killed the natives. They forced their language, religion, and culture on natives and were unapologetic about it. Evidently they still are.
Nat Wu, you simply need to PAY your taxes, be a LEGAL citizen, have to PAY for your LEGAL child's lunch at school, PAY for YOUR OWN medical care, and be curtious enough to learn the language. No profiling, no whining, plain and simple. Imagine what this country could accomplish if illegals weren't bleeding it dry. Spend some time in a local hospital, or any of the government help offices, and let's see how many are legal. Yeah, that is a challenge. Be a REAL eye opener for such a closed minded person.
Uh, again NAT WU.... Your comment of:
Nat-Wu said ... (10/12/07 5:43 PM) :
"When you get to this country, do as our ancestors and work hard to assimilate into THIS culture."
I already addressed that, but let me make this point: the first americans did no such thing. They brought their cultures with them and killed the natives. They forced their language, religion, and culture on natives and were unapologetic about it. Evidently they still are.
Makes no sense. The illegals are the "invaders" and want us to change. Make up your mind!
To laughingdragyn, re: 1st comment
If you were shown the numbers which prove illegal immigrants put more into the system than they get out of it, including your apocryphal charges of free government services, would you then not be against them? Most economists agree that there is not sufficient evidence to show that illegal immigrants are a drain on the economy or resources of local governments. I happent to work for one, you know, and that really doesn't have anything to do with the amount of money in our coffers.
In Texas, there is no income tax. There is a state sales tax, which means if you buy something, you pay tax. Same for cities. Surely then, you acknowledge the logical fact that since immigrants live here, they must at least pay living expenses for housing and food to live here, money which goes into city and state taxes which provide services to those citizens. Furthermore, most illegal workers use fake social security numbers which means that not only are they paying taxes to the federal government, they're not entitled to receive any of them. That means they give more than they take. That's not even including their economic contribution of making profits for American businesses while taking away so little in pay (and don't even begin to deny that they work).
That means they pay their taxes, which means if they're getting government aid, it's only what they deserve, just like the rest of us.
As far as learning the language, how many children do you know that don't speak English? I happen to meet quite a few in my job, and let me tell you, by the time they've been here 5 years they speak English like natives.
So...now what's your argument?
What's bleeding this country dry has nothing to do with illegals. Reference our post on the IRS reporting that the rich are getting richer while the poor continue to get poorer. It's not that there's not enough wealth to go around. It's that Republican policies actually help the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. That's what they want, and it's a policy they've long followed. Look up who President Bush's tax cuts helped the most, for example.
To laughindragyn, re: 2nd comment
"Makes no sense. The illegals are the "invaders" and want us to change. Make up your mind!"
Actually, that's just your side's made-up argument. They come here to work jobs and they try to learn enough English to get by. If you don't believe that, check out any ESL class offered by a church, library, or college in your area and find out how many Spanish-speakers are in it.
No, these immigrants are nowhere near as arrogant as the first batch.
Tsk Tsk NAT WU. You and I both know it is not just Texas that is at stake. You also know darn well that taxes collected from purchases do not even come close to what does NOT get put into the system by people not paying taxes. FEDERAL taxes. Lots of states don't have state income tax. That is not the issue. What is just plain incredible to witness, and yes, I witnessed it twice in a year, is an illegal coming to our country, CO to be specific to have her baby. She then comes back to the hospital, or on her way out has someone interperting for her asking how she and her EXTENDED FAMILY OF ILLEGAL ALIENS can get on the program that gives free food, housing, electricity and all of life's bountry for FREE because she just had a US born baby. Dispicable. Mind boggling. And bleeding us dry.
End of story.
What else is at stake, Michigan? They could use some more colored people up there, in my opinion. White English-speaking people seem to have forgotten that this is a nation of immigrants, and they really need to be reminded.
I already adressed the tax issue. Most workers need a social security number. They use a real number with their name and pay federal income tax on their earnings.
Yes, anyone borne here is a citizen. You should be grateful for that or you would possibly not be a citizen. The only reason you are is that that has always been US law and your ancestors came here. Do you have some right to be an American that a foreigner doesn't? Ok, kick the parents out but the baby got here legally!
When you can find me a program that pays a person's complete living expenses, I'll find you a pink unicorn. What, do all the homeless people make too much money to qualify? Or is it that they're not eligible because they speak English?
If the only way you can defend your point of view is with false allegations, it just might be time for you to reconsider how you think and feel about this issue.
But guess what, even if your arguments were true, do you know what would fix them? Making all the illegals legal. Yes, that's right. Make them legal so they can work legally and get taxed legally. Or do you think they would try to work illegally if they could so as to avoid taxes? And if Americans, no matter how low our income, don't qualify for these mythical programs of yours, well, guess what, we made the illegals Americans and now they don't qualify! Wow, problem solved!
The United States of America is a nation of laws. Illigal immigrants need to return to their home countries, obey the law, and enter this great country like all law abiding immigrants. Americans are not racist because we believe in the enforcement of our laws. The Immigrant activists have done more harm to their faction than good.
No, nobody's racist because they believe in enforcement of the laws. Except these are people who believe in the enforcement of laws until they tell them they can't speed, do marijuana, shoot fireworks off in their backyards, etc. That line is a convenient excuse and nothing more. Why do laws exist in the first place that limit the number of legal immigrants? Why is it so difficult for them to pursue the process?
It's another convenient excuse to say it's got nothing to do with race when most of the anti-immigrant people I know are opposed to any and all immigrants speaking a different language and opening businesses that have signs in that language. English happens not to be the native language of this continent, you know, so why do I hear that brought up all the time? Basically it's because Americans are more than a little xenophobic.
That's truly how it is and I really am tired of people pretending otherwise.
I will admit that the legal immigration process is broken, but most of these illegals don't even apply for citizenship. Those are the ones that should be deported. I work at a hospital and I see many illegals come in on Medicare and they recieve the healthcare that I as a citizen cannot afford to recieve. There is something VERY wrong with this country.
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