About That High Fence
"I can be persuaded to have sympathy for people. I can't have sympathy for anyone who breaks the law."
Those are the words of John D. Jenkins, a Democrat, who sits on the Board of Supervisors for Prince William County, Virginia about his vote - along with every, single other member - to deny some services to illegal immigrants and ramp up police enforcement of immigration laws. The Washington Post article looks at the difference in organizational styles of the pro-illegal immigration advocates and those opposed to the lawbreaking. But there is more, I think, to this article.
Opponents of Prince William County's plan to target illegal immigrants tried marches, a boycott and a one-day strike. They organized protest caravans with hundreds of cars and turned out ever-larger crowds for county board meetings. When the plan went before supervisors for a final vote Oct. 16, scores of mostly Hispanic residents lined up to deliver tearful, urgent testimony during a 12-hour public comment period.
The result?
All the supervisors — six Republicans and two Democrats — voted to push ahead with the measures anyway.
The clash over illegal immigration in Prince William has placed several cultural differences on display in recent months. But perhaps none was as stark as the two competing political strategies that drove the debate and shaped public perception, one rooted in a tradition of street protests, the other largely invisible and electronic.
The strategies were deployed by the two organizations that channeled the fears and frustrations of divided county residents to emerge with the loudest voices: Help Save Manassas, which helped draft the county's anti-illegal immigrant policy and applied steady pressure for its adoption, and Mexicans Without Borders, an immigrant advocacy group that deemed the measures racist and took to the streets to say so.
Later in the article there is this, unintended, irony:
Following the defeat, Mexicans Without Borders coordinator Ricardo Juarez stood by his group's tactics, saying they were chosen democratically through community assemblies held after plans for the crackdown were announced. He rejected the idea that marches, protests and other measures were ill-suited for Prince William politics, even though the group's boycott and the one-day strike had scant effect on the local economy.
"The American people express themselves by marching," he said in Spanish. "I've seen a lot of marches in Washington, D.C., that have had nothing to do with immigrants."
"He said in Spanish." He and his group also routinely charge racism is at work. Which is the smear attempted on anyone who opposes illegal immigration these days. That's why I made it quite clear in my post yesterday where I stand. The outcome in Prince William County proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a belief in a high fence, a wide gate and a hearty welcome for people who play by the rules is a political winner.
We do not need a permanent, unassimilated underclass in this nation. We need Americans. It does not matter where they or their ancestors came from originally. It does not matter what their physical attributes are. If they come here, legally, to be Americans then they are welcome. If they are here illegally, they do not belong here. As simple as that.
The Help Save Manassas website is here.
Immigration Reform | Gaius Sunday, 4 November , 2007
By FedUp, Sunday, 4 November , 2007 @ 1:54 pm
I have a big problem with people demanding rights that they are not entitled to - and in a foreign language. they need to go home and come in the front door - ready to become Americans, and not just foreigners who happen to be partaking of the fruits that Americans have labored to produce. Funny… if people want to wave the Mexican flag and protest in Spanish - that’s ok. But, if I object, then I’m a racist! Morons!
By mockinbird, Monday, 5 November , 2007 @ 3:14 pm
How hard is it-
Legal puerta.