-------------------------------------------------- REMINDER: Only 2 Posts Per Day Per Person -------------------------------------------------- Hiya all,
This might be moot as the Council has already approved the Ordinance 6-1 yesterday (woohoo!), but nobody's saying that immigrants shouldn't have to carry proper identification. The ordinance states that local law enforcement shouldn't have to enforce federal immigration law. I attended the police chief candidate finalists community forum on Tuesday, where the candidates *unanimously* supported the INS separation ordinance. I thought that John Harrington was the most articulate in his reasons for supporting it. He said that he supported it because, from a local law enforcement perspective-- 1. In the Cities local law enforcement enforcing national immigration law was tried (he specifically cited LA and NYC), it wasn't effective in identifying, starting more investigations, or ultimately enforcing national immigration law, 2. It increased the number of profiling complaints, and increased distrust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement, and 3. It was essentially an unfunded mandate. The Department doesn't have extra money for the training it would require, and doesn't have enough officers for the tasks the Department is already committed to. He specifically said that local law enforcment enforcing federal immigration law was "bad practice." Of course, those were just John Harrington's comments. There were more excellent comments made at the public hearing--about people afraid to call the fire department to report fires because of fear of being reported, fearing to report domestic violence to police, fearing to go to the emergency room for servere burns. By the way, nobody testified against the ordinance. In the spirit of not understanding this particular part of government, a question: how does one avoid paying property taxes? My understanding was that the county keeps records/assessments of these sorts of things, and certainly the MN Dept of Revenue and the IRS would be interested in this. If illegal immigrants are renting, then they're paying the property tax through the rent---but don't have access to that renter's rebate that we get. So, if anything, they're paying more than their fair share. But hey, you probably know something that I don't. There are a good many large *white* families in this state, too, Brett. Perhaps we should go after them as well. You know, as my coworker puts it---I want to know why illegal immigrants think they can come into this country (or this city---hi Tim!) and steal my dream of being an illegal immigrant farmworker. Or an illegal immigrant meatpacker. Or janitor, or cook. Or Wal-"we didn't KNOW they were illegal"-Mart midnight stocker. You said it, Brett---just WHO do these illegal immigrants think they are, anyway? My $.02, Erin Stojan Dayton's Bluff --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > Do You Have Any Questions About St. Paul > Government or Politics? Please Post Them Here. > -------------------------------------------------- > > > Right now there is a case being heard by the US > Supreme Court which will > bear on whether or not Americans must provide their > "papers" i.e. > identification cards and drivers license, upon > demand by the police (local, state, and > federal). This is an important case because it > reminds us of how communist > Russia and the Eastern Block nation, not to mention > Nazi Germany, controlled the > movements of their populations. > > The case has made it to the Supreme Court, but > it looks like Americans > will have to carry "proper identification" and > provide it at all times. So my > question is, why should illegal immigrants be given > rights that the citizens of > this country do not currently enjoy? > > Contrary to popular myth, illegal immigrants > provide very little in the > way of tax money, since they habitually underreport > their incomes. Many have > large families and pay little or no property taxes, > which puts an unfair burden > on our overstretched civil service system and our > schools, which are hurting > for money. > > I am sorry that they have chosen to immigrate to > this country illegally, > but I do not feel that giving them rights that > Americans do not enjoy is much > of a solution. > > Brett Sprangel > East Side > _____________________________________________ > NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your > password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ ===== ----------------------------------------- There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!--- Mario Savio ------------------------------------------ Erin Stojan North End, Ward 5 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/careermakeover _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
