Rep. Kolbe (RINO-AZ) Sierra Vista Town Hall Met With Protests Against Amnesty (FReeper Organized)

16 January 2004 | Spiff

[Spiff]

U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe and his district aide, Bernadette Polley, walk passed a mannequin dressed as a U.S. Border Patrol agent with a knife in his back on their way to the council chambers at Sierra Vista City Hall on Thursday evening. Kolbe spoke with concerned local residents about several issues, including the guest-worker proposals that he and President Bush have put forward. (Mark Levy-Herald/Review)

Area residents make views known to congressman

By Nate Searing
Sierra Vista Herald/Review
16 January 2004

SIERRA VISTA, AZ -- Congressman Jim Kolbe was met by a crowd of jeering protesters outside his town hall meeting at the Sierra Vista City Hall Thursday, directed into the building through a collection of illegal immigrant garbage strewn about the walkways to demonstrate anger over the local impacts of a porous U.S.-Mexico border.

About 20 protesters were on hand for the event, carrying signs that called Kolbe's and President Bush's guest-worker proposal a reward for illegal activity and an incentive for terrorists to come across Mexico into the United States.

"He (Kolbe) has turned his back on America," said protester Todd Evans, president of the Southeast Arizona Republicans Club. And while Evans said he was not protesting in his official capacity as president, he added, "Many of us believe he (Kolbe) doesn't deserve to be a Republican. We have been betrayed by his ideas."

Among the protesters were about a dozen members of local citizen border patrolling groups, including participants in American Border Patrol, Civil Homeland Defense and Ranch Rescue, each calling upon Kolbe to abandon his guest-worker proposal, jointly authored by Kolbe, Sen. John McCain and U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake. All are from Arizona.

In addition to waiving signs and display illegal immigrant garbage left on private property throughout the county, protesters, which included several children, displayed a mock-up of a U.S. Border Patrol agent with a knife through his back, with the words "Kolbe Amnesty" on the blade, as well as baby doll nailed to a crucifix.

"These policies, letting millions of aliens in America with their drugs, it is just like crucifying our children, destroying our future," said protester Cindy Kolb as she held the mock cross.

After Kolbe's arrival, the protesters spilled in council chambers for the meeting, adding to the more than 150 people already inside.

The meeting was marred by several interruptions from the crowd, including an eruption of applause when American Border Patrol President Glenn Spencer caught Kolbe mid-sentence during an explanation of the guest-worker program to inform him that his citizen patrollers had just located a group of 20 illegal immigrants crossing the border.

Kolbe appeared mildly agitated by the outbursts, but called the public response to the guest-worker proposal "the kind of discussion needed to stir constructive debate in the halls of Congress."

REPORTER Nate Searing can be reached at 515-4680.

[DumpsterDiver]

Great job, Spiff!

[Texas_Jarhead]

Voices in the wilderness. Great job to all involved.

[MadMoo]

Great report! Thanks much.

[Cyber Liberty]

Link To Your Reportage

[calawah98]

Not only did the Border Patrol love it, we all do, you did one heck of a job.

Also, contacting the tv stations, newspapers, radio, and letting them know when you are holding a protest is the way to go. When we were fighting the enviros, I did the same thing.
You will have to contact I think (it has been over 20 years ago) it is the news editor. As a rule they send out reporters, especially if it is a hot topic in your town, or state.

[My2Cents]

Kindly take me off your ping list.

[Dante3]

bttt

[janetgreen]

A HUGE round of applause from invaded California!!!

[healey22]

Excellent! Wish I could of been there.

[hedgetrimmer]

We gave him hell!

Good for you. Its time for Congressmen to represent Americans and not the international lobbies and illegal immigration pressure groups.

[Spiff]

On the Front Lines

On Thursday, January 15, 2004, I went to a Town Hall meeting held by Rep. Jim Kolbe -R, to meet with his constituents and discuss our concerns. It was held in the Sierra Vista Town Council Chambers, and there were plenty of police on hand to protect Mr. Kolbe from his constituents.

There was so much anger in the room, I could feel the tension-the people there were ready to explode. One issue was on their minds-border control and the hordes of illegal "immigrants" that invade SE Arizona on a daily basis. Those who don't live here don't understand this battle that we are fighting, and how important private property rights are to those landowners whose sovereignty is daily disregarded by illegals entering from Mexico.

On the way in, Kolbe was careful to take an alternate entrance, so that he could avoid coming into close contact with the protesters who had come from American Border Patrol, Ranch Rescue, and Civilian Homeland Defense. Strewn all over the sidewalk was the trash that the illegals leave behind at their campsites after they have been picked up by their coyote's van or truck: clothing of every kind (including underwear), medicine, water bottles, backpacks, soiled toilet paper (but thankfully, not the items that soiled them), and other sundries that any clandestine traveler might need. The sides of the sidewalk were FILLED with this stuff. One protestor said all of it had come from ONE CAMPSITE in a wash near her house. (In fact, a group associated with some of these organizations had previously delivered a load of illegal aliens' trash to the doorstep of one of Kolbe's offices in an attempt to make their point.)

The protestors shouted, "No more amnesty!" "Control our border!" and other such things. One woman had brought a doll nailed to a cross to emphasize that lax government enforcement is crucifying our children. She says her children can't even walk to the bus stop because the illegals hiding from the Border Patrol are scaring them by being picked up at the same location.

Once inside the Council Chambers, I looked at the sea of angry faces. A majority of them were over 50 years of age, and they were angry-not about Medicare, but about border control, or as I put it, border uncontrol. The meeting wasn't as raucous as I was used to when the protestors were left-wingers, but Kolbe's remarks were punctuated by uncomfortable questions regarding WHEN the U.S. is planning to control the border, and by cries of "Hear, hear!" as one of the attendees said something the others liked. This was primarily an older group, and pretty well mannered, considering the hostility they felt toward Kolbe.

Kolbe explained the advantages of the guest worker program by claiming that what we were doing wasn't working, so why not try something else? Yep, might as well re-arrange the deck chairs on the Titanic while it's sinking-it might give the ship some ballast! Repeatedly, those in attendance called for more enforcement, and the use of already existing technology to capture the illegals. Glenn Spencer, of American Border Patrol, said the technology to apprehend them already exists in many forms. We have FLIR, night vision, ground sensors, and unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV's), to do the job. While Kolbe was speaking, Spencer got a call on his cell phone. "We just got a group of 20 illegals coming through!" he said. Kolbe admonished him not to interrupt.

Several in the group questioned whether or not Kolbe was really trying to help control the border, since they had been asking him to do something for 10 years about the problem. All of his opposition was well spoken and had done their homework regarding the economic consequences of illegal immigration, the failure of guest worker programs in Europe, and the uncaring management of the INS that returns illegals to our society. Several gentlemen were retired Border Patrol and INS officers who spoke about problems with the system. Many attendees called for the U.S. military to patrol the border, and Kolbe replied that they are already there, doing "maneuvers" which he claimed is a deterrent. Kolbe specifically mentioned National Guard and Reserve, none of which I have ever seen in this area.

Many attendees complained that Kolbe lives in an alternate universe, and he has no understanding or comprehension of the problems at the border. He claims, for example, that 60% of all illegal aliens in the U.S. didn't come across the Mexican border, but are simply people who overstayed their visas. While surveys have shown 70-90% of Americans are opposed to illegal immigration and amnesty, Kolbe claims that the United States will continue to NEED immigrants in future years because so many baby boomers are retiring. I wonder, will the immigrants of the guest worker program take over the jobs baby boomers are retiring from? Do you think any of our guest workers will come from industrialized nations and understand technology, so that they can do those kinds of jobs? Meanwhile, I have a statistic for Rep. Kolbe: 50% of all illegal border crossers come through Cochise County, where I live. What is the government going to DO about it?

I think it's fairly clear that the government wants to make merely a show of controlling illegals, but not really a sincere effort. Employers want cheap labor, and illegals and "guest workers" will provide it. Never mind that your local American dental hygienist is afraid her job will be taken over by a Pakistani, or that the IRS is sending some of its forms to Pakistan for processing! We are told that Globalization is the new trend, and we must accept it. I sometimes wonder what would happen if the Libertarian Party idea of open borders were implemented. I think 90% of Mexico would come here, and then who would the upper class of Mexico use to perform their domestic duties? Perhaps poor Americans whose wages have fallen so low due to "globalization" that they have been reduced to working for Third World wages.

Copyright Laine Lawless 2004

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

Way to go!

[truthkeeper]

Good for you!!!

[calawah98]

Did you or Glen spencer send those pictures to Lou Dobbs?
He just might use them on his program on illegals, worth a try any way. Along with the story!

[SandRat]

Great Job but as usual the Herald glossed over the good details.

Hope he went home very angry and had indigestion from it.

Now to just someone to run against him and really make him worry.

[tgslTakoma]

Pinging some other folks to this report...

Excellent report on a most excellent and successful protest, Spiff and everyone else who participated!

Lining the sidewalk with some of the trash and debris that had been left on individuals' private property by illegal border-crossers was a great"visual" IMO; and I know the Border Patrol mannequin with a knife in its back was also a big hit - the news photo is proof of that.

I like you folks' style!

[hedgetrimmer]

Thanks for the detailed report. Its important to inform people about how their elected officials interface with the electorate.

[JackelopeBreeder]

Glenn put the video up from last night's festivities on americanpatrol.com.

Kolbe didn't know the video camera was on...bwahahahaha!

[Spiff]

Kolbe didn't know the video camera was on...bwahahahaha!

Haha! Glenn really stuck it to Kolbe. It was a great evening. I wonder if Kolbe will ever come back to Cochise County again. He gets torn up at all of his town hall meetings down here. I heard a report on the radio that he was even protested at his Tucson town halls this time. I don't understand how that loser keeps getting elected.