Posted on 01/04/2006 2:16:21 PM PST by LurkedLongEnough
Anti-illegal immigrant group plans 'Stop the Invasion' protest in Danbury
DANBURY — A controversial anti-illegal immigrant group is planning a "Stop the Invasion" demonstration Saturday at Kennedy Park.
Latino day laborers gather each morning around Kennedy Park, between Kennedy Avenue and Elm Street, hoping to be hired by contractors.
"Hiring illegals at Kennedy Park is a criminal activity. It is against the law," said Paul Streitz, a founding member of Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Control.
Streitz' group wants the United States to close its borders, enforce existing immigration laws — and to send undocumented immigrants back to their homelands. Streitz lives in Darien but held the group's inaugural meeting last April in Danbury.
"Danbury is where the illegal problem is the worst," Streitz said.
The Kennedy Park protest is one of several planned for Saturday across the country by groups that want to reform the nation's immigration laws.
Information about the protests has been transferred via immigration reform message boards on the Internet.
Weather shouldn't be a problem. Forecasts call for sunny skies with a high of 36 degrees. However, just how many people will show up in Danbury is anybody's guess.
The leader of the local immigration reform group doesn't want any part of Saturday's demonstration.
Elise Marciano is a founding member of U.S. Citizens for Immigration Law Enforcement, a Danbury group that meets regularly. The group once was associated with Streitz' group, but changed its name to distance itself from Streitz.
Marciano said Streitz craves media attention more than implementing change.
Marciano said a few individuals from her group may go to Kennedy Park on Saturday, but her group isn't supporting the demonstration.
"I don't know why he's doing it now in Danbury. There is nobody at Kennedy Park this time of year. On Saturday morning, nobody is going to be there," she said.
Marciano said her group is writing letters to state and national elected officials to pressure them to do something about illegal immigration. A low-key approach is more effective, Marciano said.
Streitz said he and Marciano have different approaches to achieve the same goal.
Maria-Cinta Lowe, executive director of the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury, said members of Streitz' group are troublemakers who should be ignored.
"They are racist. They are bigots. They are ignorant. We do not need people like them in Danbury, and we do not need them in Connecticut," Lowe said.
Mayor Mark Boughton, meanwhile, said Danbury police would be advised of Saturday's protest.
He said a local protest won't do much other than upset people.
"We certainly do not condone this activity. The only way illegal immigration is going to be addressed is through a national policy change," Boughton said. "Congress people are not going to change the policy because a few people are standing on the corner of Kennedy Park with signs."
While Boughton garnered national media attention for his complaints to the federal government about illegal immigration — including forming a national group of municipal leaders — Streitz said the mayor hasn't done enough.
"People in Danbury are upset because they are living with the problem," Streitz said. "That's why we focus on Danbury. It's a blue-collar town where people buy or rent, and all of the sudden the house next door has 25 illegals living in it."
Saturday's demonstration is scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. and end at 9:30 a.m.
The home town of the "controversial anti-illegal immigrant group" organizer is, ironically, the small town of Darien, a New York City bedroom community. Darien and Danbury have the following socioeconomic profiles, which obscure the real point, which is that illegal immigration is illegal, and nothing is being done about it in Danbury. Note the comment in the story about single-family houses with 25 people. This fact was brought out in a drivers license scam investigation, whereas housing authorities apparently saw no problem with it.
DARIEN
Est. population in July 2004: 20,508
Median household income: $146,755 (year 2000)
Median house value: $711,000 (year 2000)
White Non-Hispanic (94.1%)
Graduate or professional degree: 30.3%
10.0% Foreign born
DANBURY
Est. population in July 2004: 78,263
Median household income: $53,664 (year 2000)
Median house value: $186,500 (year 2000)
White Non-Hispanic (68.1%)
Graduate or professional degree: 9.7%
27.0% Foreign born
Thanks for the post. I'm curious, though, about the housing authorities. Are you saying that overcrowded conditions in single-family homes are ignored by housing authorities or are zoning laws unenforced? I may be wrong, but I thought the Mayor of Danbury was on a segment of NY talk radio sometime in '05 concerned about the issue of a significant population increase in Danbury.
I'm a little surprised that Darien would let anyone get away with loading up a house like that. Fairfield County is a checkerboard of very swish neighborhoods alternating with slums, and I shouldn't think the town of Darien would want to risk turning into one of the slums.
Danbury is a lower-income neighborhood in the middle of a bunch of high-price bedroom communities. My kids used to over there sometimes to play travel soccer. I think they played on a field right next to where the contract workers are hanging out.
ping
Sounds like they don't want what has happened in northeast CT to happen in the southwest .
This is an outrage! The working families of Greenwich and
New Canaan will be without nannies and landscapers without
"undocumented workers".
I guess he advocates a do-nothing policy at the local level.
"Congress people are not going to change the policy because a few people are standing on the corner of Kennedy Park with signs around at the border reporting illegal aliens to the Border Patrol."
An altogether accurate summary of Fairfield County!
Other than Bridgeport,what "slums"?
I probably used the word too loosely. The value of real estate is mainly based on the schools. For that reason, people tend to be wary of Stamford (in spite of all the new corporate HQs), Norwalk, Danbury. Bridgeport is certainly the worst. But Connecticut tends to have trouble with its cities, and (outside Fairfield County) you risk getting mugged in places like New Haven or Hartford.
Typical non argument from the OBL. Funny thing is, a bigot, a racist, or just somebody who isn't all that smart but is an American citizen has every right to be here and to voice their opinion unlike Ms. Lowe's illegal alien criminal pets.
"Hiring illegals at Kennedy Park is a criminal activity. It is against the law," said Paul Streitz, a founding member of Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Control.
…
The Kennedy Park protest is one of several planned for Saturday across the country by groups that want to reform the nation's immigration laws.
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Support our Minutemen Patriots!
Be Ever Vigilant ~ Bump!
"Marciano said her group is writing letters to state and national elected officials to pressure them to do something about illegal immigration. A low-key approach is more effective, Marciano said. "
Low key approach is useless. In your face anger from Boston to L.A. just might work.
Deport all criminal invaders ~ Bump!
Lowe = TRAITOR.
"The working families of Greenwich and
New Canaan will be without nannies and landscapers without
"undocumented workers"."
Uh no, the SOB's will have to pay market rates for their labor.
Maybe someone should give her papers a once over. Blackbird.
~~ or, Hang 'em High ~ Bump!
Maybe so!
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