Posted on 10/02/2007 8:17:23 AM PDT by fweingart
OUR OPINION: LOCAL LAWS ARE NO SUBSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL REMEDY
Riverside, a small New Jersey town, got more than it bargained for after passing a get-tough immigration law last year. Proponents of the law blamed newcomers from Latin America for crowding, scarce parking, increased crime and strained public services. Although it never was enforced, the law worked anyway.
Influx of strangers
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Brazilians and other immigrants fled. Now the town has other woes: a deserted downtown, economic malaise and lingering resentment. Two weeks ago, Riverside repealed the law in the face of mounting legal bills and lawsuits likely to be lost.
Riverside's dynamics were predictable. Wary of strangers who spoke a different language and brought different customs, many residents rebelled. They feared the sudden influx of strangers: Why can't they speak English? They are taking our jobs.
Ironically, Riverside had experienced many immigrant waves before. Portuguese settled there in the 1960s and built businesses. This made the town attractive to Brazilians, who began arriving in 2000. How many of the new arrivals had legal status is unknown. But they revived the local economy.
Then came the new law. It mandated fines, jail time and possible loss of business licenses for anyone who knowingly rented housing or employed an undocumented immigrant. Soon after the law passed, many newcomers left. Along with them went the prosperity that their work and earnings pumped into the town.
Sad to say, Riverside's experience is quintessentially American. It reflects the love-hate relationship with immigrants that has existed since before our nation's founding. In the 1750s, Benjamin Franklin railed against German immigrants and their presumed threat to the English language. But our language and system of government survived the Germans, along with succeeding waves of Irish, Chinese, Italian, Polish, Mexican and Cuban immigrants. And the United States thrived.
Sensible solutions
Those groups arriving during eras of highest immigration were key to building U.S. industrial and economic power. The current wave, marked by immigrants from the Southern hemisphere, is no different.
Amid this wave, Riverside blamed undocumented immigrants for its woes, as did many of the 30 towns nationwide that enacted similar laws. Congress shares much of the blame for this. For years, the immigration system hasn't worked in the nation's best interest. Lawmakers with sensible solutions have been outflanked by a resilient minority. Municipalities would be better off lobbying Congress. Self-defeating local laws are no substitute for comprehensive immigration reform.
Lawmakers with sensible solutions have been outflanked by a resilient minority.
I wonder what the writer meant by that? That the citizens of this country flooded the switchboard to stop the amnesty bill? That, IMHO is NOT being a resilient minority.
I have only seen two lawmakers with 'sensible solutions', and the MSM tries to keep them (and their solutions) out of the public eye: Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo.
What happened here is what happens when ILLEGAL INVADERS go away. They all can;t go away fast enough for me.
If we need more immigrants - and that is for the U.S. and its people to decide, not Mexico or some other power - we should expedite the process for allowing legal IMMIGRANTS into the U.S. and revisit the quotas.
In any case, the deliberate efforts of the left-wing drive by media to confuse IMMIGRANT with ILLEGAL INVADER is a transparent attempt to cloud the issue. The issue is people who are here illegally don’t belong here and should be made to leave. Period. Immigration is an entirely different issue.
He said his biggest problem is that he cannot make them care about washing their hands. He writes them up, they get fired, and then show up working at another restaurant.
They scratch their heads, pick their ears, cough into their hands, rub their nose, and use the restroom - all without washing. And, no matter what he does, he cannot get them to care.
I would gladly pay double, to eat out, in a sanitary restaurant, and am looking forward to January, when illegals cannot be employed in AZ.
We welcome immigrants with open arms. Illegal aliens, who are interested in leaching from the USA and nothing more, we do not welcome.
They are bringing in Iraqis by the thousands along with obscure African tribes then shoving them down the throats of cities and towns across America.
Too bad these two haven't a chance.
Rudy, the candidate that told UK audiences that he is one of the five best known men in America, will pull a Bob Dole and grab the nomination.
Were they trying to claim New Jersey as a colony of Portugal?
Your two cents worth is worth far more than you may think.
Better yet, what happens when illegal aliens go away. Let’s try that...and soon.
People begin to take notice when the influx rises to millions and they bleed the local resources dry, rape, murder, fill up the jails and in general become a monumental mess.
These illegals must be rounded up (ala Eisenhour administration in the 1950’s) and shoved back across a secure border.
A nation has completely lost its idenity when he allows its population to become adulterated with the castoffs of another nation’s populace.
Let’s cut our own grass or give the neighborhood kid a job. Get him off his duff.
Perfect remarks......Congrats
True, but how is that different from Newark, Camden, JC, etc. before the recent immigration influx. ;-)
Just trying to provide a regional perspective, although I do agree with you 100%.
Think about this - in the food business food is money. No businessman throws aways money and makes a profit - get my drift? I worked in the food industry for several years - I know.
As for your points otherwise - they are well taken.
“Our lousy government is deciding who gets to enter the USA.”
But WE get to decide who enters OUR government.
REMEMBER: JulieAnnie is SOFT on illegals, so is Juan McCainez. Hunter and Thompson are best on those issues - as well as Tancredo. If I HAVE to have a social feel-good liberal in the White House, I’d rather it be from the other party not my own, and I CERTAINLY don’t want someone to the LEFT of Jorge El Segundo on this issue.
“Our lousy government is deciding who gets to enter the USA.”
But WE get to decide who enters OUR government.
REMEMBER: JulieAnnie is SOFT on illegals, so is Juan McCainez. Hunter and Thompson are best on those issues - as well as Tancredo. If I HAVE to have a social feel-good liberal in the White House, I’d rather it be from the other party not my own, and I CERTAINLY don’t want someone to the LEFT of Jorge El Segundo on this issue.
“I have only seen two lawmakers with ‘sensible solutions’, and the MSM tries to keep them (and their solutions) out of the public eye: Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo.”
Unofficially banned.
” It reflects the love-hate relationship with immigrants that has existed since before our nation’s founding”
Uh, these are not immigrants!
Americans built the place.
But you are exactly right about whats going on now - colonization.
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