Posted on 03/26/2006 5:54:35 PM PST by EternalVigilance
Blaring car horns, racist slurs and angry fisticuffs punctuated a volatile encounter of protesters and counter-protesters Saturday morning outside Bank Calumet.
"God bless America! Stay out of our business!" yelled members of the locally based Indiana Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement.
"Go home (expletive) Nazi racists!" yelled members of an opposing group of circling counterprotesters.
The federation, a public interest organization advocating what it calls immigration policies with an impact, demonstrated against bank loans for undocumented aliens, echoing six similar previous local protests.
Several members of the Chicago Minuteman Project joined the federation, hoisting protest signs to passing motorists and exchanging verbal jabs with visibly angry counterprotesters.
"We're not racists, we're LEGAL Americans," Minuteman members yelled under American flags whipping in a fierce wind. "Those people are Communists."
The counterprotesters -- some from the Progressive Labor Party of Chicago, others from Purdue University Calumet or there on their own -- chanted in bilingual defiance: "¡Obreros unidos jamas seran vencidos!" or, "Workers united will never be defeated!"
Susana Findley, a Gary native whose parents were born in Mexico, said illegal immigrant workers arrived here for the same reason federation members' ancestors arrived: To find work and a better life.
"But those racist immigrants forget about that," said Findley, nodding toward the federation's camp.
Several counterprotesters arrived earlier than the scheduled 10 a.m. federation protest, setting up shop at the corner of Calumet Avenue and Ridge Road.
When 63-year-old Chicago Minuteman member Rick Biesada arrived and pulled out his protest sign, he claimed that two counterprotesters yanked it from him. When he yanked it back, the men assaulted him, knocking him to the ground, he said.
The Lindenhurst, Ill., resident was treated by paramedics at the scene for a gash over his eye and dizziness, spending a few minutes inside an ambulance before returning to the protest.
"I wished he fell to the ground harder," Findley said.
Munster police Sgt. Nick Hudak, one of several officers showing up to stand between the opposing groups, said no arrests were made and no other injuries occurred.
Protesters on both sides said the escalating debate over U.S. House Bill 4437, the so-called Border Security bill, may have inflamed the controversy of offering bank loans to illegal aliens.
The bill, which would strengthen enforcement of existing immigration laws and enhance border security, has already passed the House and could be voted on by the Senate as early as this week.
Federation co-founder and Valparaiso resident Cheree Calabro, while passing out fliers to motorists, said similar demonstrations at Bank Calumet had no such problems with counterprotesters.
"I think they're feeling more emboldened with all the national protests (supporting illegal immigration)," said Calabro, whose group is the Indiana chapter of the national Minuteman Project.
or Judges.....my guess is that there arent even 50 votes for 4437.....I'd be happy if reform died, at least there wouldnt be amnesty
she said shell block it and Reid said he will filibuster.
www.allanfavish.com/insurance_illegals.htm
Regards,
Allan J. Favish
http://www.allanfavish.com
Michelle Malkin is one of those outstanding individuals that the worthless pseudo-conservative phonies in Washington should be emulating, not denigrating.
The numbskulls over at Redstate.com who've been excoriating her for having the temerity to stand by her principles should be ashamed of themselves right now.
If that boobosie is what constitutes the "right" in today's America, then I don't want to have any association with it, and am glad I let my brief membership in that website lapse.
i am not sure why youd call me that?
The protesters know as the rest of us do, that the Senate is nothing more than a knotted wet noodle loop pretending to be a creditable link in the chain of government. Saturday's protest was intended to dissolve the wimpy self serving Senate noodle into pure mushy and musky stink bait.
Before the Senate ever even meets to discuss this bill, we know what their putrid and cowardly decision will be.
The Senate is the poison that will cause the death of America. The only but albeit lethal mistake our founding fathers ever made.
Absolutely. Our laws, in their mind, do not apply to them.
This is an out and out assault on our land and laws, and our congress critters will hear about it.
I'll be bringing up the voter fraud issue as well in my letters. I believe it is important for every American to make their voices heard loud and clear to their perspective State Reps and Senators.
Right now, they don't have the numbers to beat us. The hispanic population is a small percentage of the US population but growing. Another reason all this crap needs to be stopped right now.
Those twits haven't seen anything yet. They want to see overwhelming numbers? Their little tantrums in this past week will have stirred a backlash like they've never seen....
ANARCHY .
I pray you are right and that there are enough loyal Americans who can motivate themselves to action. It's desperately needed right now.
Yep.
Come on, Dane... fess up.
georgia2006 is just you alternate screen name, isn't it.
PING
He's the perfect illustration of how clueless this nation's political class is.
Oh no, we can't be associated with the dreaded Pete Wilson! He's the evil, xenophobic devil that's going to destroy this robust CA Republican Party of ours, which all of those illegal aliens are going to flock to once we give them enough incentives. As long as we denounce Prop. 187 vehemently enough we'll be safe.
Ha.
Ditto that in San Bernardino County.
The sheer numbers that turned out, coast to coast and all points in between, should be a wake up call.
If the average, ill informed US citizen didn't have much of an opinion on the issue of illegal immigration before, they should now.
They can steal a few rust-belt dems on this one. My guess is McCain will abstain if he's anything like serious about making a run in 2008. That's the nice thing about RiNO's. They tend to duck when they're on the wrong side of a 70/30 issue. McCain's nuts, but he's not suicidal.
Why does this have to be repeated 10 million times? This is not the issue!
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