Posted on 12/11/2004 7:21:33 PM PST by occutegirl
Protesters with signs and American flags stunned a Temecula Wells Fargo bank when more than 40 protesters greeted arriving customers Saturday, December 11.
Protesters were posted on either side of the entrance/exit driveway and spilled out along the length of the sidewalk.
Signs and flags waved. Signs read:
*The Wells Fargo stagecoach is running across the border, illegally
*Did you know illegals bank here?
*Terrorists open accounts at Wells Fargo (the man with this sign dressed in a Middle Eastern costume)
Bank-goers gawked. Passing motorists honked. The Well Fargo management fumed.
Many Wells Fargo customers spoke to we protesters.
The banks that DO NOT accept the Matricula Consular ID, were listed on a flyer we had printed up, which we distributed. We spoke to customers, who approached us, about illegal aliens' usage of the Matricula Consular ID.
In short, we had the opportunity to educate the general public.
One bank manager frequently stood on the stoop of the bank, arms folded, scowling. A seasoned security guard eventually stood at attention at the bank doors.
We think it is safe to assume Wells Fargo was abuzz with talk of the protest!
Wells Fargo called the police.
An officer walked among us and told us to remain on the sidewalk, which we were, of course, doing. We were polite and courteous to the officer and told her we would comply with all laws. We thanked her.
Fifteen minutes later, Wells Fargo had another police officer come upon the scene. He too walked among us and told us we must remain on the sidewalk. And, again, we assured the officer we would follow all laws. We thanked him.
Our numbers were large enough that we fanned out and covered both sides of the street, as a Bank of America is across the street from Wells Fargo. So we were able to also protest in front of Bank of America too.
Eventually, five counter protests showed up with homemade signs. It was a local, fourth generation Mexican American family, a mother and her adult children, and two Non-Hispanic college students.
We protesters swarmed the counter protesters.
Interestingly enough, as the two groups mixed and calmed down and talked, we discovered we had much in common. The Hispanic family does not approve of MECHA. The Hispanic family, just like we protesters, stated American employers are promoting illegal immigration. The Hispanic family and we protesters agreed that both the Mexican and U.S. governments are to blame for illegal immigration.
The Hispanic family and we protesters found common ground and we ended up on friendly terms!
The protest was a great success. We will be holding future bank protests and will keep you posted on dates and locations. Hope you can join us!
I don't know. I didn't say Davis was helped by being recalled.
$12 Billion (US) left the United States last year headed for Mexican citizens south of the border. 12 Billion dollars that did not get reinvested in the American economy. 12 Billion dollars that did not trickle down to you. And Wells Fargo bank is one of the biggest facilitators of that drain.
I'll grant you that not all of that comes from illegal labor. But a huge chunk does. And your cheap fees at Wells Fargo are a direct result of that lawbreaking - Wells Fargo is an accessory after the fact of broken immigration laws.
To give you an idea of how bad this really is...do you recall President Clinton bailing out the economy of Mexico, preventing the total devaluation of the peso, about 10 years ago? Do you recall what the amount of the bailout, what the emergency foreign aid package amounted to?
It was $450 Million. That's right. Less than 1/24th of what Mexican immigrants, legal and illegal, send home to Mexico every year. Why do you suppose President Fox, the consummate businesman, supports sending workers to the US? Do you realize that remissions to Mexico from her workers abroad are the second largest source of foreign income in Mexico? The only source larger is oil income.
And Wells Fargo, and the Bank of America, are the corporate giants facilitating that drain on the US economy. They're part of the problem.
And you propose what? Putting IRS agents on the border with Tijuana to prevent the tourists from bringing back their jumping beans and copper pots? That $12 billion goes to fund factories and workers that produce goods and services that eventually return here to the USA at fair and affordable prices. Trade with Mexico is a win win situation for us all.
They may not have entered illegally, but the general concept is the same: The enforcement of our immigration laws is a joke, and left us extremely vulnerable on 9/11. The denial of this fact at every level of leadership in this country is indirectly responsible for the deaths of thousands.
I actually doubt your hypothesis.
The published reports that I've seen indicate that the money is used to rebuild local economies in Mexico.
I'd like to see the US gain control of its borders and institute a fair system that could include guest workers...workers who are in the system, who pay their fair share of taxes, who don't become a drain on public welfare, who pay for medical insurance instead of skipping out on hospital bills, who are not going to become members of criminal street gangs...
You've identified another flaw in our current immigration system. What to do with those that arrive legally but let their status lapse. I would say you're not going to address this problem with border enforcement. It's not unlike the old saying about locking the barn after the horse escapes.
I'm sorry, but you're dead wrong. The $12 Billion is remittances. That's money in dribs and drabs sent by immigrants by wire to relatives in Mexico. If you'd like me to do the research, I'll go find the article that was posted here on FR early this year with the gub'mint numbers...
What if we solve the visa overstay problem? What good does it do when we have people who didn't even bother to acquire visas to get here? Must the next batch of successful terrorists show us that our borders can be exploited just as easily as our visa process before we do something about it? Probably--after all, we haven't even done anything significant about the visa overstay problem.
ICE has set up teams of enforcement officers with warrants for immigrants who are known to have overstayed their visas. This type of illegal is being rounded up and deported just as fast as the teams can find them.
One of the major problems is in the sheer number of people who are wanted for these violations compared to the relatively small number of enforcement teams. I believe there are in the neighborhood of 450,000 illegals in this category and only about 40 teams.
Again, the info has been posted on FR but I don't have the numbers at hand...
Well, lets do the numbers. Lets presume that each team can "catch" 3 people per day. I think that's probably more than they really do, but we'll say 3 per day. That means the 40 teams are catching 120 per day. 450,000 divided by 120 = 3750 days to catch them all. 3750/365 days in a year = 10+ years to catch them all. That's assuming that the total number doesn't increase. Can you say 'finger in the dyke'?
Please do. I would also like to know what our total trade deficit is with Mexico. You'll have to show me how these 'transfers' are defined.
It's called setting your priorities. Who is worse in your mind? Those that are here or those that might arrive. One of the problems I have in dealing with the anti-immigrant crowd is they are completely unrealistic in their expectations of our government. We've got our best soldiers in Iraq and they're having a hell of a time ridding one city of terrorists and there they can go house to house. Any step up in border enforcement in this country is going to pale in comparison to their efforts, so you know the results are going to be even less successful.
Thank you for making my point. Indeed, I made that very analogy on a thread at the end of last week.
Until we gain control of the border, no amount of reform will work...in fact, no reform will be worth the paper it is written on if we don't first stem the tide of illegals pouring through my back yard.
And for those who don't know...I mean that literally.
Here ya go. I was wrong. This last year the remittances totalled more than $13 Billion. Now then, why don't you do the research for us on trade deficits?
Link: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1201433/posts (Posted 8/26/04)
Source: Financial Times
Remittances from Mexican migrant labourers are on course to set another record this year, according to the Bank of Mexico. Total second-quarter remittances reached $4.5bn (€3.7bn, £2.5bn) - an increase of 29.1 per cent over the second quarter 2003, according to a report by the bank.
The numbers are likely to intensify competition among US banks for a share of the remittance market, which is seen as the best way to improve their marketing to Hispanics.
Total remittances for the first half of the year were up 25.9 per cent to $7.87bn, equivalent to 2.4 per cent of gross domestic product - more than the country makes from tourism. Last year, official figures showed remittances of $13.3bn for the full year. John Authers, Mexico City
I love your use of political correct liberal terminology.
The fact is, very few, as you would say, “let their status lapse.” The vast majority never had any intention on leaving and lied about their intentions when they entered. So, now then have committed two crimes.
The problem I have with your data is it doesn't appear to break it out for the US. I'll have to check the link to Finanical Times to verify that.
I guess that's why you're the 'inspector' eh? You have this uncanny ability to read minds.
I can't access the link to Financial Times :(
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/059cedf2-f6fc-11d8-a879-00000
Probably need to hit their archives, the article is what - 16 weeks old?
As for breakout in the article...? Well, the source of remittances is Mexican migrant labourers, the data is from the National Bank of Mexico, and the author is reporting from Mexico City.
Clear enough to me who they're talking about.
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