Immigrants Safe Haven (Giuliani - 1996)

The Record (via LexisNexis) ^ | October 16, 1996 | Miguel Perez

[Ultra Sonic 007]

It was a great idea in 1985, when former New York Mayor Ed Koch issued an executive order forbidding city employees from reporting illegal immigrants to federal authorities.

But in 1996, the year when new laws turn municipal workers into spies for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, it is a daring, commendable act of defiance by the Jersey City Council against the anti-immigrant forces that have driven this country into a needless state of paranoia.

Last Wednesday, the council passed a resolution declaring Jersey City a"safe haven"for all immigrants, legal or otherwise. It declared that"no municipal resources will be used to identify, persecute, apprehend, or deport any non-citizen resident, and called on the federal government"to address this problem with more humanity."

Two days later, as if not to be left behind, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has upheld Koch's executive order, took it one step further. He filed a lawsuit against the federal government, challenging provisions of the new welfare and immigration laws that call for city employees to blow the whistle on illegal immigrants who seek police protection, health care, or other services. He called the provisions unconstitutional, a violation of the 10th Amendment, which gives states those powers not expressly delegated to the federal government.

Giuliani said the city's estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants, fearing city workers would report them to immigration agents, would stop reporting crimes and seeking treatment for contagious diseases. He said the power to protect people's health and safety"is uniquely granted by the Constitution to state and local governments."

The potential "draconian impact"on the lives of immigrants and even American citizens who may be the victims of unreported crimes and contagious diseases is what motivated Jersey City Councilman Jaime Vazquez to introduce the safe-haven resolution.

"In Jersey City, we have over 70 different ethnic groups," Vazquez said."It's a city of immigrants. It's un-American to have people living in fear because some social worker is going to report them to immigration. That's almost Gestapo-ish. Some people say that's an extreme comparison. OK, maybe. But the Nazis started somewhere."

His resolution says the current anti-immigrant movement is beginning to resemble the actions of the early Nazi regime, which blamed all of Germany's economic and socio-political problems on immigrants.

"Somebody has to draw the line and say we're not going to accept this anymore,"Vazquez said."It started with the issue of illegal aliens, which had some merits, but now it has spilled over to legal residents, who are going to lose food stamps and other benefits."

Vazquez said he'll now urge Jersey City to join the New York lawsuit, and Giuliani has said he will welcome co-plaintiffs.

At a large rally of Latinos in Washington on Saturday, Vazquez encouraged activists from other parts of the country to follow the lead of New York and Jersey City.

"It's a shame that we have to do it city by city,"he said, "because the entire United States should be a safe haven for the world, which is the image that we've had throughout our history."He said he favors controlling illegal immigration at the borders, and by tracking down tourists who overstay their visas. But he believes amnesty should be granted to those who are already here, except for convicted criminals.

"It's doesn't bother me if they send the criminals back,"he said.

"But honest, hard-working people should be given an opportunity to become citizens.

"I recognize that throughout history, whenever we've had waves of immigration, whether it was from Italy, Ireland, or Poland, there were always people who said, Close the door. There were always people who said, They're taking our jobs. There were always people who said, There is no room in this country for any more people. As far as I'm concerned, those are just excuses. I think we have to continue to remind people that this is a nation of immigrants."

[Ultra Sonic 007]

All candidates will emphasize "border security," but once elected there will be little if any change in policy. All politicians will pay lip service to it, but that will be it.

Duncan Hunter made Bill Clinton build the border fence at the San Diego-Tijuana border. He coauthored the Secure Fence Act 2006 that would extend that fence for over 800 miles.

"Lip service" my fanny.

[pissant]

Actually, GWB does not have the same policy. They have been deporting many thousands and thousands of illegals for no other crime than being here.