Posted on 07/09/2005 1:08:39 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The local Catholic archbishop and immigrant rights activists want to roll up the welcome mat before the Minutemen arrive to patrol for illegal immigrants in Houston.
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, an organization working to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, announced this week that it would send observers to watch day laborers in Houston beginning in October. Previous plans called for placing patrols only along the Mexican border.
But Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza said the Minutemen would not be welcome in Houston.
"We stand against any attempts of outsiders to come into Houston to abuse and intimidate our immigrant communities," Fiorenza said in a statement issued Friday.
Separately, immigrant rights organizations announced that they would fight fire with fire by forming an organization to counteract the Minutemen.
"For every Minuteman patrolling, we will have at least 10 people patrolling them," said Maria Jimenez, a longtime local activist now associated with the Central American Resource Center, or CRECEN.
Jimenez and CRECEN leader Teodoro Aguiluz threatened to file a lawsuit if they observe the Minutemen doing anything illegal.
"We will respond to your organization with our organization," Jimenez said to the Minutemen. "We're not shy about it."
The advocates have called on the city to officially "disinvite" the Minutemen, but city leaders say that is unlikely. The mayor has said he does not see the need to pass an official resolution on the subject, and City Councilman Adrian Garcia said it would be hard to promote such a measure without mayoral support.
Jimenez estimated that there are 50 informal labor markets in Houston where day laborers gather looking for work from contractors. She said pro-immigrant groups would have at least 10 observers at each site.
One of the sites is just down the street from the CRECEN office, at the corner of Bellaire and Hillcroft, where dozens of workers gather every morning looking for work.
A city-funded day labor site is in the area, but the vast majority of workers prefer to seek work in the streets.
Some of those workers said Friday that they worry about the Minutemen.
"It's like racism," said one, who identified himself only as Juan. "All we want is a chance to survive."
Drawing some support
Business owners in the area say they might welcome some effort to get the day laborers off the streets.
"They mess up the surroundings with their trash, and they are very aggressive, which scares the customers," said Mohammed Uddin, an immigrant from Bangladesh who owns the Citgo station at Hillcroft and Bellaire. "It's bad for business."
Some of the immigrants say they worry about the potential for violence. At the CRECEN news conference, representatives noted that many Latin Americans have had bad experiences with vigilantes back home, and they drew direct parallels with the Minutemen.
"In the countries we come from, these groups outside the law are known as death squads" or paramilitaries, Aguiluz said.
But Bill Parmley, who heads the Minutemen in Texas, dismissed the comparison to Central American death squads as absurd.
"The only thing we're going to be carrying is a video camera," Parmley said. "That's the difference between their country and our country."
There were no reports of violence during the initial patrols the Minutemen held in Arizona last April. But some law officials have expressed a concern about the potential for vigilante violence.
The Minutemen in Texas originated out of a series of meetings this year in Goliad County, where landowners have become alarmed by the illegal immigrants being smuggled along the area's rural roads. Ranchers and other owners began holding meetings, and area law officers attended.
Bee County Sheriff Carlos Carrizales said he attended the first two meetings but stopped going after becoming concerned by the tone.
"During the second meeting, someone in the back shouted: 'Can't we just shoot 'em,' " in reference to illegal immigrants, Carrizales recalls. "Then others started to feed on that."
Checking backgrounds
Parmley concedes that the statement was made, but he disputes the sheriff's contention that others joined in. The Minuteman leader said those who want to join his organization must go through an extensive background check, which includes looking not only for criminal history but also for things like white-supremacist tendencies.
Parmley is the official Texas leader of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, the group that was formed in Arizona. He said the campaign in Houston will be led by volunteers who live in Houston.
A separate group, which calls itself the Texas Minutemen, has been formed out of the Dallas area and plans to patrol near El Paso in October.
edward.hegstrom@chron.com
Funny how you forget to include the word ILLEGAL.
Are still we a nation of laws, if our govt turns a blind eye to an invasion of 10-20 million ILLEGAL criminal aliens?
Or just a banana republic in the making, where both entrenched "incumbent parties" ignore the clear will of 80+% of the electorate?
You are so funny, it is to laugh.
As if the only danger to our national security today is some new General Santa Ana leading Mexican armored columns.
Here's a clue: 9-11, Beslan, Madrid, Bali, London etc did not involve an invasion by a hostile army in pretty uniforms.
Perhaps you should google up a dozen or so definitions of "invasion."
Only a very dim bulb, or a Quisling, tries to pretend that an invasion is only synonymous with Normandy or Iwo Jima. Let me help you out:
Invasion: \In*va"sion\, n. [L. invasio: cf. F. invasion. See Invade.] [1913 Webster]
1. The act of invading; the act of encroaching upon the rights or possessions of another; encroachment; trespass.
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,
You know, I don't even know why I bothered with that reply. I knew in advance that discourse was impossible. In the end, in your book, I'm either as dumb as box of rocks or a traitor. It's like trying to reason with an inquisitioner.
Perhaps you might care to point out to us examples of other bilingual and bi-cultural nations which were happy and successful over the long term?
In particular, I want to hear about happy and successful nations which were invaded by a second language and cultural group, which did not assimilate, but set up enclaves?
Please point out a few examples, so we may all see the light.
You said it, not me. But please don't run away from the discussion, I will be civil. Unless you know you can't argue any of the points logically. In that case, I will understand if you run away.
Switzerland comes readily to mind. It's a developed nation, it's bilingual, it's thriving, and I suppose it's happy, if a nation can be happy.
Well, I'm not a Catholic myself, but in defense of Catholics, I don't think conquest is high on their agenda.
An iconoclastic alpine nation at that, where every man is armed with a govt provided assault rifle, where the borders are VERY well defended, and where illegal aliens are immediately deported.
First you want examples, then you belittle them for "making cuckoo clocks". And you wonder why I chuckle and say I don't know why I bothered? lol
Besides, you only addressed half of my point: bilingual and bicultural.
Despite being tri-lingual, the Swiss have a very strong and cohesive national identity.
So let's try again with examples of successful LARGE bilingual and bicultural nations.
The conquest is like a frog in a kettle of cold water that doesn't know it is being cooked until it is done.
The conquest is by repopulation of real believers.
Why did you "forget" that little word ILLEGAL in your discussion of the wonders of immigration? Our discussion is about ILLEGAL immigration.
Do you not see any difference between legal and ILLEGAL
immigration?
It's really not important anyway. In the end, you and I differ on same very basic issues, the real brass tacks.
1) The real debate here isn't about illegal vs legal. If we agreed that those who come here illegally should be sent back, we wouldn't really be any closer. In the end, the the disagreement is over who should be allowed to enter legally, and who should not. You and I both know that we're worlds apart there.
2) Hispanic, Latino, or whatever you want to call it is very much a part of American culture, and has been in some parts of the country since before we were a nation. I've lived in the South West all my life, and I'm a great respecter of that culture. You are not, you think it's unamerican. We'll never bridge that gap, it can't be done.
3)You're obviously a proponent of a homogeneous culture with little or no variety. I simply put, am not, and never will be. Unlike you, I don't think diversity is a dirty word.
I hope the Minutemen will protect the illegals by documenting their working and by forwarding the documentation to the proper authorities to make sure that the contractors are paying their fair share of Social Security for the illegals.
Also, OSHA will be interested in anything less than proper working conditions.
If Juan doesn't have legal permission to enter the United States, then yes, I want Juan to stay in Mexico. On the other hand, if Juan does have legal permission to enter the United States, then he is more than welcome to come here. The same reasoning applies to Werner from Germany, Ivan from Russia, Diego from Argentina, Jiang from China, Enrico from Italy, and Abdullah from Ethiopia.
Now please put away your Race Card and quit embarrassing yourself.
And you attempt to erase the distintion between legal and illegal immigration let's us all understand your goal: the erasing of American sovereignty.
47% of Latino voters voted in favor of the anti-illegal immigration measure Prop 200 in Arizona in 2004. I guess these Latino voters don't want illegal aliens, most of them Latino, to ruin the homogeneous culture that we have here in the United States.
Diversity is fine, as long as it is achieved in a legal manner and over a period of time that allows assimilation into the "melting pot" American culture.
You need to get rid of this romanticized outlook on illegals and instead get a grip on the reality of this very serious situation and it's potential to tear this country apart. First off, if we cannot control the borders how many vicious criminals are we letting come across scott-free to inflict all kinds of damage on unsuspecting Americans?
We're also seeing a rising number of businesses letting go of American workers and hiring illegals.......why?, it's obvious they're doing so in order to EVADE numous payroll taxes as well as decreasing payroll expense because they know full well that the living expenses of their new employees will be forced on the taxpayers. This is a slap in the face to honest businessowners and as this becomes more prevalent the result will be this country becoming more of a banana republic vs. a constitutional republic.
Do some research on "Aztlan" and "reconquista" and you'll see there's more driving this than just a "few scared, huddling immigrants just looking for a better life" or whatever cover story the MSM comes up with to explain this idiocy.
Anyway, nice talking to you. Best of luck to you and your, God bless. I'm done.
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