To Be Announced...

A while back, I mentioned the undies-in-a-bunch crowd boo-hooing the latest news for Iowa's census figures. See Post: Senseless Census

In it, I explained the reason for the "loss" of population in the state and the implications it has on our Congressional representation.

Quick Civics 101 - Each state's US representation in Congress is made up of two Senators and a number of Representatives calculated by dividing the population of the state and it's "priority value" as determined by Congress. It's very confusing, but there's a mathematical formula they use...see US Census info here.

Anyway...this is a big deal because each state gets one electoral vote per member of Congress. Iowa gets 7 electoral college votes that determine the Presidency, 5 Representatives and 2 Senators. IF, as expected, Iowa loses a member of Congress because we're not keeping up with other states in population growth - well...I think you know where I'm going with this.

To date, this is the first mention in the mainstream media that I have found that mentions the fact the US Census INCLUDES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS in the population count every ten years. The year 2000 was the first census to do so.

Census Bureau: Big Metro Areas Would Shrink Without Immigration

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Without immigrants pouring into the nation's big metro areas, places such as New York, Los Angeles and Boston would be shrinking as native-born Americans move farther out.

Many smaller areas, including Battle Creek, Mich., Ames, Iowa, and Corvallis, Ore., would shrink as well, according to population estimates to be released Thursday by the Census Bureau.

"Immigrants are filling the void as domestic migrants are seeking opportunities in other places," said Mark Mather, a demographer at the Population Reference Bureau, a private research organization.

In the newspeak of the day, "immigrants" of course truly means "illegal immigrants"...about a third of these numbers are illegal...maybe more. But still...

The New York metro area, which includes the suburbs, added 1 million immigrants from 2000 to 2006. Without those immigrants, the region would have lost nearly 600,000 people.

Minus 9 after that fire a while ago...

Without immigration, the Los Angeles metro area would have lost more than 200,000, the San Francisco area would have lost 188,000 and the Boston area would have lost 101,000.

By the way, this is bad news according to the tone of the story. Without illegal immigrants, those cities would have less population - that's the angle on the story they're taking.

There are about 36 million immigrants in the U.S. About one-third are in the country illegally. The Census Bureau, however, does not distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants.

The White House floated a plan last month that would grant work visas to illegal immigrants, but they would have to return home and pay hefty fines to become legal U.S. residents.

As I said earlier...the census counts the number of "residents"...not citizens. Without counting illegal immigrants, California would have 5 fewer members of Congress...therefore, 5 fewer electoral college votes. And Iowa...might have six Representatives instead of 5.

Certainly, the state of Wyoming would have more than just the ONE they have now.


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Labels: illegal aliens

The NY Times has a story linked to day at Land & Landscape (don't ask) involving an update on the Swift raid of a few months ago. Not much new information, but a few observations.

As you know, many of the illegal aliens were immediately deported...others (148 of them) are being charged with identity theft. Someone found the real person attached to the phoney documents these "undocumented immigrants" used to get jobs. It's a very long piece and you should read the whole thing, but here are some highlights:

Illegal Worker, Troubled Citizen and Stolen Name

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — The two women named Violeta Blanco have never met. But for a long time they shared not only a name, but the same birth date and the same Social Security number.

One is an illegal immigrant from Mexico (Eloisa Nunez Galeana) who went to work slicing pork in a meat-packing plant here after her husband left her with three children. The other is a single American mother in California (Violeta Blanco) who has never held a job, struggles with drug addiction and is fighting to keep the state from taking her children.

...the Mexican worker admitted that she had used the California woman's identity to get her job. Now she is in jail on felony charges of identity theft, her trial set to begin in Des Moines on March 26.

Interviewed in jail in Des Moines, Nuñez said she used Ms. Blanco's documents — which she had purchased from a woman she did not know — in 2003 to apply for her job at Swift, but that she never used them again.

She had hoped to work at the plant for many years, she said, perhaps long enough to see her children, who range in age from 2 to 15, graduate from high school (two were born in Iowa and are American citizens).

That alone says everything you need to know about the lack of immigration enforcement in the United States. An illegal alien almost expects to work illegally in the United States long enough for her children to graduate.

"What's the harm," I hear illegal immigrant advocates say. They didn't use the illegal documents to raid bank accounts, apply for credit cards or anything. All they did was pay taxes and never file...

Still, Matthew C. Allen, the senior investigations official at Immigration and Custom Enforcement, said that 326 Americans had reported financial complications and tax liabilities from having their identities used at Swift. "The victims have suffered very real consequences," Allen said.

148 charged with identity theft from the Swift raid...but 326 Americans affected. I'm assuming there were duplicates of duplicate Social Security numbers.

Complications in this case, like being on disability and having the Social Security Administration cut off your aid because the records show the person attached to the SS number is making payments through a job. And the IRS showing income, but nobody filing for taxes. Anyone want to say that illegal aliens are still harmless?

Nuñez said she was reluctant to use identity documents that did not belong to her, but she said she did not know that she could be committing a federal offense, since buying documents was routine among illegal immigrants here.

Routine. She apparently didn't think entering the country illegally would be a problem either. That's become fairly routine too.

At the mention of her children during an interview in Des Moines, Nuñez, hunched in a gray-and-white striped jail uniform, began to cry.

"I risked everything so they could grow up in the United States," she said. "I'm only asking for permission to do honest work."

Try doing honest work honestly. You never asked permission to begin with. Sorry...but I don't feel a bit sorry for you or your children.

Nuñez and several other immigrant women detained in the Iowa raid who have children who are American citizens say they have resolved to fight the charges against them rather than make a deal with prosecutors that would lead to their deportation with no chance of legal return.

"She's a mother who cut my pork chops and gave Social Security a lot of money," said Michael H. Said, a lawyer representing Nuñez. "She deserves a medal, not an indictment."

Yeah. A medal for screwing up someone elses life? Sadly, the article doesn't say in the actual American victim of this sad affair has a lawyer helping her clean up the mess created by Nunez...

Waving a file of wrinkled papers that she keeps in a cellophane bag, she said thatNuñez's employment under her name was only a small part of problems she attributed to identity theft.

She said she had difficulty renewing her driver's license because someone else using her identity had taken out a license in Arkansas. A bank where she tried to open an account told her that it already had one in her name in another state — not Iowa.

"I know that when I get ready, I'm going to get everything all filed up, and I'm going to try to take care of it," Blanco said. "I don't know how, but I'm going to try."

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Labels: illegal aliens, swift

I was a bit surprised to see this in the headline. At least they didn't call them "undocumented immigrants"...emphasis added by me...

I haven't seen the article linked at the Des Moines Register, but when I do - I bet I don't see the words illegal immigrant in that one.

Trooper nabs illegal immigrant driver

A man was arrested this morning who is suspected to be the driver of a van stopped in Iowa County yesterday containing 16 suspected illegal immigrants.

When trooper Tom Kinze made the initial stop, Williams said Kinze found 16 illegal immigrants in the van. Five fled, including the driver whom Williams picked up this morning. Williams said one suspect was found hiding in a dumpster behind a Kum N Go gas station at the Marengo interchange. Two others were picked up at the Tangier Outlet Mall in Williamsburg.

Williams said Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained the suspects. There is still one suspect at large.

Does anyone still think Mayor John Nieland in Marion has the wrong idea about training a police officer to investigate immigration crimes?

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Labels: illegal aliens, marion

The reviews are in on the Marshalltown Immigration Summit...and they're mixed.

Oops. Better make that mixed diverse.

That travesty of a newspaper, Marshalltown Times-Republican is first...

Conversation is diverse at immigration summit

Paul Gregoire, vice president of global human resources at Fisher Controls...said of raids such as the one at Swift & Co., that some companies probably bring it on themselves, while some do not.

Still, he echoed what others during the morning had said: Iowa is going to be losing much of its work force in the coming years, making it imperative that the country accept and train and keep workers, regardless of how it happens.

Regardless of how it happens, eh?

How is that any different than a guy keeping the money from a wallet he found on the street?

It's a good thing he isn't in charge of ethics at Fisher Controls.

Outside of that little exciting piece of info, the rest of the story was pretty boring. Strangely, the Marshalltown version didn't include some of the diversity of the Des Moines Register's version...

Immigration expert: Raids to continue

Marcy Forman, director of investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told the group...

"We're still going to enforce the law," Forman said. "Yes, it will continue. People will see raids on small, medium and large companies who are egregious immigration law violators."

Paul Gregoire, vice president of global human resources for the Fisher Division of Emerson Process Management in Marshalltown, said the raids have made area employers nervous.

"My company in this area is working very hard to integrate the Hispanic population into our work force. The Swift (raid) threw a wrench into this," he said.

Good. That "wrench" is the flashlight of ethics shining on your antics.

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Labels: illegal aliens, swift

Oh, I know you're curious...and probably ready to be offended...but that's the name the women in Mexico have come up with. Not me.

See for yourself: Wetback Wives, Wetback Widows, Wetback Orphans of Tecapulco Mexico

And contrary to what many of the guilty white liberals would have you believe...it seems the women of Mexico do in fact want their families back together...but in Mexico, not the US:

Mexican wives want U.S. to return husbands

The women of Tecalpulco, Mexico, want the U.S. government to enforce its immigration laws because they want to force their husbands to come back home from working illegally in the United States.

They have created an English-language Web page where they identify themselves as the "wetback wives" and broadcast their pleas, both to their men and to the U.S. government.

"To the United States government -- close the border, send our men home to us, even if you must deport them (only treat them in a humane manner -- please do not hurt them)," it reads.

The website link above is in English mostly...

This runs counter to many who claim that it is our immigration policy that forces these families to remain apart. Usually, it's guilty white liberals who seem to be able to speak for them without actually listening to them...

No doubt you'll hear that in the coming days from those attending the Marshalltown Summit put on by that disgrace of a newspaper, the Marshalltown Times-Republican...especially considering their pre-summit sob piece published today (earlier blog post):

Times-Republican Publisher Mike Schlesinger, “This would also give those leaders a chance to hear from those who are directly impacted by the kind of ill-advised raids like was done here and what they hear could help formulate an immigration policy that would stop splitting families, provide workers for businesses and implement a procedure for workers who are here without proper documents to arrange for some type of retribution but still be able to obtain necessary documents through legal means that ultimately leads to citizenship.”

One of the best formulations of immigration policy that would stop splitting families - might be to send them home to their wives, eh? Do what the women of Mexico want.

In Mexico:

More than 10 million Mexican-born people, or nearly one out of every 10, was living in the United States in 2005. And as a percentage of the work force it's even higher: One in seven, or 14 percent, were here, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The institute said 77 percent of Mexican workers in the U.S. were younger than 45, and 70 percent were men.

Villages devoid of men between 20 and 50 are common in many parts of the country. The stories of single mothers struggling to raise their children are just as frequent.

Mexico is the third leading supplier of oil imports...and apparently workers. Which is why banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and others are so willing to supply them with credit cards and home mortgages.

Yes, we get cheap labor...but Mexico gets the cash.

In 2006, Mexican workers in the United States sent $23 billion back to their families in Mexico, an amount that rivals Mexico's foreign income from oil sales.

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Labels: illegal aliens

Make no mistake, the newspaper has an agenda here. As the managing editor earlier stated:

Marshalltown editor: immigrations raids don't work

“We want to do two things — to make sure the higher officials we invite can walk away educated knowing that we’ve been doing immigration raids for how many decades, and the population continues to rise, so (the raids) are not working,” Larson said.

This is the Cedar Rapids Gazette version of the story on the summit:

Marshalltown plans immigration summit

MARSHALLTOWN (AP) — A meeting that is billed as a National Summit on Immigration is scheduled today in Marshalltown, and organizers say they hope it sparks a national grass-roots discussion on reform.

Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, has agreed to attend the forum, and Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Chuck Grassley, D-Iowa, may have representatives attend. The event will include sessions on the rights and responsibilities of individuals and employers, and immigration enforcement and policy. It is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Dejarden Hall at Marshalltown Community College. Community leaders say local opinion on immigration varies.

Marshalltown Police Chief Lon Walker said he received a flood of calls from people after the raid saying it was about time someone did something about illegal immigration.

He said people are afraid to go public with their thoughts out of fear of being labeled a bigot or to have their business boycotted.

Ken Anderson, president of the Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce, was part of a group that traveled to Mexico where many of the illegal immigrants came from. He said the group found a bleak educational system with little opportunity for people to improve their lives.

Remember, that visit in 2001 was not only to see where they came from, but to solidify a better relationship with their "sister city" and help bring more to Marshalltown. See Cato Institute story link below:

(then) Marshalltown Mayor Harthun was eager to learn more about them — in part, because he wanted them to stay. “I was being self-serving,” he admits. “We need people.”

Get your tissues ready...Now, for the "softer side" of the story from the Marshalltown paper (with comments in bold-italics inserted by yours truly):

Immigration Summit to look at federal policies

It happened Dec. 12, 2006.

It was a typical day for early December. Cold and wet, trying to decide whether it wanted to rain or snow.

Fog shrouded the countryside and protruded into the city. Kids went to school, saying goodbye to Mommy or Daddy — never knowing that some of those parents would never return home that night.

("It was a dark and stormy night..." - Snoopy)

No more than an hour later, some of those very same children were yanked out of school by concerned relatives, fearing that the children would share the fate of their parents, perhaps both of their parents.

That fate was detainment by federal officials.

(Yanked out of school. Fear. Fate. Uncertainty. Concern. Better get some more tissues. The objective, fair, and balanced coverage continues...)

The morning of Dec. 12, 2006 was the morning much changed in Marshalltown for many families. It was the day federal officials with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement decided to raid the Swift and Company facility in Marshalltown, along with a handful of others across the nation.

The scene of the fog against the gray backdrop of the Swift plant created an eerie monochrome as federal agents escorted workers out of the building in small groups.

Some of those detained were later charged with criminal offenses as part of a large-scale identity theft operation. Others were charged with a civil offense, working and being in the country without the proper documentation.

(Otherwise known as BREAKING THE LAW. If I sell drugs on the street, can I be an undocumented pharmacist? Selling drugs...just not with the proper documentation)

All were taken to Camp Dodge near Des Moines and then later transferred to other facilities around the country.

For many who read about the incident or saw it on the evening news, that was the end of the story. But not for the families involved.

School teachers and other district officials note that it has taken time for some of the children to feel safe enough to return to classes. Others still have not returned.

Hundreds of families locally were thrown into crisis mode, because of something the federal government did.

(Al Capone felt the same way. Have you gotten the message yet? No wonder Tom Harkin isn't going to be there. He doesn't need to be there. He's got the newspaper serving as a representative of his views. What's the point?)

In the wake of that, the editorial board at the Times-Republican felt the time had come for a serious look at the federal policy on immigration and the thought of an immigration summit with federal officials here in Marshalltown was conceived.

(And I guess you already know some of their other "feelings" on the issue. No agenda here...move along, nothing to see here people.)

“Having key decision makers here and having them listen to what the Hispanic community, city/county government, the schools, the hospital, the business community, the chamber, MEDIC and other agencies have to say about immigration should prove to be valuable for those making policy,” said Times-Republican Publisher Mike Schlesinger. “This would also give those leaders a chance to hear from those who are directly impacted by the kind of ill-advised raids like was done here and what they hear could help formulate an immigration policy that would stop splitting families, provide workers for businesses and implement a procedure for workers who are here without proper documents to arrange for some type of retribution but still be able to obtain necessary documents through legal means that ultimately leads to citizenship.”

(Ill-advised raids, huh? What was "ill-advised" about it? Are they supposed to consult with objective journalists like you guys first?)

So Monday the event takes place. Beginning Tuesday, the Times-Republican will review the highlights of all the major sessions and relay the thoughts from those who were in attendance.

(Fair and balanced...of course.)

Wow.

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Labels: illegal aliens, swift

After taking the stance he did, I can't say I'm not too surprised...

Cedar Rapids Gazette Online (subscription required): Nieland won't seek re-election

MARION — Mayor John Nieland has decided not to seek re-election in November. Nieland, who noted that he turns 67 on March 2, said Wednesday that by year’s end he will have done his ‘‘civic duty,’’ a run at City Hall that started with six years on the council followed by a four-year mayoral term.

Nieland is well known for speaking his mind, and his decision not to seek re-election comes two weeks after his State of the City address in which he talked about ridding the city of illegal immigrants and the unscrupulous employers in the trades who hire them as carpenters, roofers and drywallers.

Lee Clancey, Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce president/CEO, wondered at the time if Nieland’s message would hurt the effort intended to attract a diverse work force to the Corridor communities in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City metro areas.

Stepping down at the end of the year will show that he is pursuing the illegal immigration problem because he is concerned about it, and not as a vehicle to further ‘‘political ambitions,’’ he said.

Why is it that "political courage" always comes at or near the end of a term in office?

See Previous Post: Nieland WILL Flinch

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Labels: illegal aliens, marion

Hoo-boy...where to begin?

I have to imagine that if we were talking about importing or allowing black people into the country illegally just so they could do our dirty work for a pittance of wages, not allow them to vote, and allow them to live 15-at-a-time in a 2 bedroom apartment...we'd be taking up our muskets and cannons again...

Expert Says Iowa Needs Immigrants

CEDAR RAPIDS - An expert says the state needs immigrants -- legal and illegal -- to keep Iowa growing.

Immigrants are working in Iowa factories, sending their kids to Iowa schools and spending money at Iowa stores. But getting rid of those here illegally could cost the state more than manpower.

The issue of illegal immigration came to light after the feds arrested 90 workers at the meatpacking plant in Marshalltown back in December. Some of the workers were deported- others sent to detention facilities.

"I feel so sad for those people who come here illegally because they are afraid the whole time," said Damaris Mulcahey, a legal immigrant from Panama.

Yeah, and if you're legal and went through the hassle of applying for a visa, filling out the forms, waiting on the State Department to approve them, got your green card (legally), and did all the other stuff legally - how do you truly feel about those that did the exact opposite of you and would be entitled to the same respect and opportunities under the many proposals floated in Congress to provide amnesty for illegals?

Legal immigrants at the Catherine McAuley Center in Cedar Rapids don't have to live with that fear. They have legal status because they are refugees, on a work visa, or married to an American.

Legal citizens at the McAuley Center are studying to pursue their citizenship; something illegal immigrants aren’t allowed to do.

You forgot to add the word, "Yet..." at the end there.

I just find it totally ironic that if I'm found to be driving without a license, I'm given a ticket...and those that are here illegally, we want to give them licenses. (See Des Moines Register Editorial: Allow driver's licenses for illegal immigrants)

We're a weird country, man...

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Labels: illegal aliens

Swift receives several applicants for vacant positions

DES MOINES, Iowa - Swift and Company says it's recovering from huge job vacancies and financial losses after immigration raids in December at its meatpacking plants in six states, including Iowa.

Spokesman Sean McHugh says the company is filling positions. Swift lost nearly 13-hundred employees and about 30 (m) million dollars after the raids.

McHugh says the company hasn't changed hiring practices.

So either they're still recruiting and/or hiring illegals...or there ARE jobs Americans will still do.

Although the story doesn't say just how many they've re-hired, the words "several applicants" make it sound like no big deal...that there's less than 10 people applying for "vacant positions"...

See Previous Post: Jobs Americans "Won't do"

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Labels: illegal aliens

I guess I'm not too surprised that the story of Marion Mayor John Nieland hasn't made it much further beyond the Cedar Rapids Gazette and our local TV stations. It's still troubling to me.

I've been searching for any reference to the story and haven't seen a peep in the state's largest newspaper, the Des Moines Register (search results).

Lunby applauds mayor's plan to round up illegal immigrants

DES MOINES - Sen. Mary Lundby applauded Marion Mayor John Nieland’s plan to round up illegal immigrants who, he said, are taking jobs away from community residents.

Nieland, who is up for re-election this year, said Tuesday he will ask other mayors in the Technology Corridor to join him in ridding their communities of illegal workers.

“I applaud Mayor Nieland for getting out there - even though it's not popular - and saying that Marion is a safe community and now we want to make it a fair community for people who want a job,” Lundby, the Senate Republican leader, whose district includes Marion, said today. “Illegal immigrants shouldn’t be here. Period. They're breaking the law and we have an obligation to uphold the law.”

The support of the Senate Republican leader should give the news item a bit of a boost. I'll keep checking.

Immigration is a federal issue, so Nieland decided to have a Marion police officer train with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement so the officer can handle immigration issues.

Marion’s officer will be the first such local law enforcement officer in Iowa to team up with ICE, Nieland said.

I can understand the major press not being all that giddy over his stance on illegal immigrants, but surely a completely objective press would see the value in mentioning that Marion with be the first city in Iowa to have an officer team up with the ICE (formerly INS) is big news.

If it were the first city in Iowa to ban sex offenders from their city limits...

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Labels: illegal aliens, marion

Funnily enough, while we're on the topic of illegal immigration...The Marshalltown Times-Republican is planning on conducting a "summit" on immigration issues following the Swift raid a while back...

Tickets will be required for immigration summit

Those wishing to attend the National Summit on Immigration taking place in Marshalltown Feb. 26 will need a ticket to do so.

Because of very limited space and extremely high interest, the Times-Republican is instituting a ticket policy. Tickets are free and on a first come, first served basis.

Requests for tickets will only be accepted through the U.S. Mail. This means absolutely no tickets will be granted over the phone or via e-mail.

Each ticket request needs to include a name, address and phone number and a self-addressed, return stamped envelope. Those without the self-addressed, stamped envelope will not be considered.

Requests should also include whether the person seeking tickets will be coming as an independent party or will be representing a group or organization.

Do you think I could send one in a phoney name, address and phone number and call myself an UNDOCUMENTED Marshalltownian? It sounds a little like an attempt to limit speech. I'm naturally suspicious especially considering the editor's words recently:

Marshalltown editor: immigrations raids don't work

Ken Larson, the managing editor of the Marshalltown Times-Rebublican, said a summit is scheduled for Feb. 26 at Dejarden Hall at Marshalltown Community College.

“We want to do two things — to make sure the higher officials we invite can walk away educated knowing that we’ve been doing immigration raids for how many decades, and the population continues to rise, so (the raids) are not working,”

And that last part about having to identify myself as an individual or part of a group or organization...if I'm a member of the Minuteman Project, do you think they'll give me a ticket?

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Labels: illegal aliens, swift

Mayor John Nieland...meet Mayor Lou Barletta.

These two guys should get together and have a chat. Mayor Lou Barletta is the mayor of Hazelton, Pennsylvania. He's the guy that started the ball rolling against illegal immigration among cities last year. Barletta drew national attention last summer when he introduced the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which seeks to punish landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and employers who hire them. The ordinance would also make English the official language of Hazleton.

As far as I know, Mayor John Nieland of Marion isn't proposing anything like that...he just wants to train a police officer to help enforce the law against illegal immigrants. He hasn't proposed any type of ordinance banning anything...or even close to what Mayor Lou Barletta is attempting.

I say attempting because opponents of the crackdowns have fought back, mounting a half-dozen legal challenges in places like Hazleton and some of the other 27 cities that have tried the same thing.

Recently, Mayor Lou Barletta spoke out on his "controversial" ordinance:

"If you pass an ordinance like this, you're going to be called names like you've never been called in your life," Barletta said. "There were not many elected officials who were willing to stand by my side when I first did this. It was very difficult to get any high-level official to support what I was doing."

Hazleton's ordinance has been blocked by a federal judge and is pending court challenge. Barletta said the case, which has been challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union, could go before the U.S. Supreme Court. Among the biggest legal problems for Hazleton, he said, is that courts have refused to disclose the names of plaintiffs pressing charges against the city. Some of the plaintiffs are believed to be illegal immigrants.

"The judge is not even allowing us to appeal that decision. Plaintiffs that are suing us, most of them have gone under the name of John and Jane Does," Barletta said. "Surprisingly, they're not even showing up for their depositions."

Can you imagine defending yourself and fighting a lawsuit and not being allowed to know the names of the people accusing you?

To help raise donations for legal fees, Barletta said Hazleton officials have organized a City of Hazleton Legal Defense Fund through its Small Town Defenders campaign. So far, Barletta said, the fund has generated about $80,000 in donations.

"Illegal is illegal. There's no race in illegal," Barletta said. "A lot of people probably assumed that our little town would back down and roll over. Well, some things are worth fighting for, and we will never back down."

I hope Mayor Nieland DOESN'T back down. He's in pretty good company...

Northern Arizona town to consider radical immigration proposal

PHOENIX (AP) - Leaders in a northern Arizona town hope to discourage illegal immigrants from living in their community through a proposal that would strip employers and landlords of their business licenses if they hire or rent to illegal border-crossers.

Missouri bill would block illegal immigrants in hiring, renting

JEFFERSON CITY — A bipartisan bill filed Tuesday would set up a new state agency to discourage businesses from hiring illegal immigrants or renting housing to them. Under the bill, the state would establish a Division of Immigration Compliance under Secretary of State Robin Carnahan. That office was the logical enforcer because the secretary of state oversees business registrations and licenses, which could be pulled if violations occurred.

Maybe somebody should start working on a legal defense fund for Marion.

From the Mayor's office website: Mayor John Nieland, maybe just send him an email of thanks and support.

mayor@cityofmarion.org

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Labels: illegal aliens, marion

I commend him...I think it's pretty cool...but my prediction is that eventually Marion Mayor John Nieland WILL flinch.

He's already got two strikes against him. The press...and Lee Clancy, President of the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce.

First...the press doesn't like harsh things unless they create them themselves. Take the tone of this story in the Cedar Rapids Gazette this morning. The sub-headline...

Nieland: ‘Criminals’ swipe jobs; Clancey questions plan’s signal

Criminals in quotation marks? Are they not criminals? Read on...

MARION — Mayor John Nieland unapologetically devoted most of his annual State of the City speech Tuesday to his plans to rid the city of illegal immigrants.

His talk was not without reaction.

Nieland told a luncheon audience of about 250 at the Longbranch Convention Center that Marion was a long way from the Mexican border but that illegal immigrants and the contractors and subcontractors who hire them for low pay and no taxes are hurting the area’s middle class.

Illegal immigrants, he said, are taking roofing, drywalling, concrete and other construction jobs from legal workers and contractors.

Nieland called illegal immigrants ‘‘criminals’’ and added, ‘‘I’m not going to flinch on this. They are.’’

I personally don't think there's anything he should be apologetic about. And his point about illegals working for contractors and subcontractors is true. They pay no taxes, no liability insurance, no workmans compensation, no medicare, no social security. They pick them up at the Home Depot every morning and shuttle them around to job sites. Then pay them in cash and drop them off.

This is not that hard to understand. Being in the construction business now, I've seen it time and time again. Insurance companies will not issue liability insurance to illegal citizens. If they get injured in any way on the job, the property owner is liable for the damages...not the contractor. Anyone doubt whether or not that might lead to more of a problem than just "lack of diversity?"

After pounding away at the issue for about 20 minutes, Nieland invited questions from the audience, and the first came from Lee Clancey, president/ CEO of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce and former threeterm mayor of Cedar Rapids.

This is the same organization who recently opposed tougher sanctions on companies that hire illegal aliens. See To Be Announced Post

And he words "pounding away" don't sound too objective, do they?

Clancey noted that the same communities along the corridor from which Nieland said he will seek support have invested heavily in an initiative called Diversity Focus as a way to encourage immigrants to move here and work.

"I have some concerns about jeopardizing the effort that is being done up and down the corridor with many, many organizations and many, many businesses," Clancey told Nieland. "How are you going to implement this plan without jeopardizing that important work that is being done to change our culture really in the corridor to a more welcoming one?"

Well, if you want your corridor built with a bunch of illegals providing the workmanship, go ahead. Maybe Lee Clancy can go to Mexico like the mayor of Marshalltown did and welcome anyone and everyone to our town..(see: A Marshalltown Plan for Immigration)

He better follow through with the plan soon...or the pressure will be too much for him and he'll end up flinching. He'll need a lot of support for that not to happen.

Nieland decided to have a Marion police officer train and then work with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency much like local law enforcement officers do with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

Marion’s officer will be the first such local law enforcement officer in Iowa to team up with ICE, Nieland said.

So far, no other newspaper outlet has picked up the story. Hmmm...wonder why that is?

Meanwhile on TV, the coverage wasn't much better.

KCRG (owned by the Gazette): Marion's Mayor Wants to Crack Down on Illegal Workers

MARION - Marion Mayor John Nieland used his state of the city address to say Marion's making plans to tackle immigration issues, but the idea definitely kicked up some controversy on Tuesday.

Nieland says Marion's particular problem with undocumented workers involves workers in some construction trades. He wants the city to hire a new police officer.

First of all, he's not tackling immigration issues. How in the world we ever got confused about the difference between immigration and criminals sneaking into our country is beyond me. Nevertheless, KCRG also won't call them what they are...but uses the term "undocumented workers."

• I wonder if they would have the same viewpoint if I started a TV station without a license...I could be an UNDOCUMENTED Broadcaster...

• Or if I started selling drugs on the street...I could be an UNDOCUMENTED Pharmacist

• Hey, can I start a restaurant without a food prep license? I could serve UNDOCUMENTED Entrees

• As long as we're talking about the construction industry...would anyone like to hire an UNDOCUMENTED Architect and have UNDOCUMENTED Contractors working for you?

Oh, yeah...we already do, but we call it "welcoming"...

Did I leave some ideas out? Add your own...

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Labels: illegal aliens

I saw this story in the Sunday Gazette yesterday and just about choked on my coffee as I was reading it.

Note about the Gazette: In some cases, the Cedar Rapids Gazette requires you to log in and view their digital version of the newspaper. It may or may not require a subscription. Therefore, I cannot be entirely certain the link included below will function properly.

Marion mayor to announce crackdown on illegal hiring

You can understand why I just about spit the coffee in my mouth onto the paper when you read the segments I posted below. I almost ran to the phone to call everyone I knew to tell them about it. Too bad the story was on the inside lower left page 2. It should have been on the front page. This is virtually unheard of and is sure to rattle a few cages in the area.

MARION — Mayor John Nieland will use his annual Mayor’s State of the City address this year to also announce a crackdown involving undocumented workers.

Nieland will announce that Marion’s Police Department will work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants in the city

‘‘The mayor got some reports from local labor unions that this is a problem’’ of sorts in Marion, Daugherty said, adding some union representatives may attend the address. He said the union reports will be checked out. The chief said past crackdowns on illegal immigrants have resulted in the arrest of offenders.

Plans are to train a Marion police officer for five weeks who would then be deputized as a U.S. Marshal, Daugherty said.

It's also a little strange considering the heads-up came from a local labor union.

I've always suspected that local labor unions are quite a bit different than their national counterparts. Most are hard working good folks who want to do right by themselves and their families. It's the national unions that keep sucking up their union dues to pay their $330,000 dollar salaries so they can court lawmakers in Washington and oppose efforts to stop illegal immigration.

And it's doubly strange considering what Marshalltown has done in the past...

In Marshalltown, the mayor and city council members visited the village in Mexico where a large proportion of Hispanic immigrants come from, and met their families.

You'll have to read far into the article to find the tidbit about Marshalltown's former mayor Floyd Harthun and gang traveling to Villachuato, Mexico to see if they could learn something about Marshalltown’s newest workers and taxpayers.

Here's a better link to the Cato Institute story about the trip.

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Labels: illegal aliens

You know, I sent a letter to the Marshalltown Times-Republican outlining my viewpoint on illegal immigrants. After following up on why it wasn't published, I was told by a source that the reason it wasn't was because the Editor thought it was a little too harsh. Figures...

Marshalltown editor: immigrations raids don't work

The Dec. 12 raid at the Swift & Co plant in Marshalltown has left immigrants in the central Iowa town with a lingering sense of uncertainty and fear, said an official with a statewide Hispanic group.

The fallout from the raid has also prompted the local newspaper to organize a community summit to address immigration issues.

I don't know about you, but when I find myself somewhere I don't necessarily belong (which is rare), I would expect to have a little uncertainty and fear. You should when you break the law. When my drivers license or vehicle registration sometimes goes beyond the expiration date, I have a legitimate sense of uncertainty and fear that I will get pulled over. Shouldn't they? They're breaking the law. Why is it that is so hard to understand?

Ken Larson, the managing editor of the Marshalltown Times-Rebublican, said a summit is scheduled for Feb. 26 at Dejarden Hall at Marshalltown Community College.

“We want to do two things — to make sure the higher officials we invite can walk away educated knowing that we’ve been doing immigration raids for how many decades, and the population continues to rise, so (the raids) are not working,”

As you well know, Ken...they worked in Marshalltown. So let's just give up, eh?

Meanwhile, that "uncertainty and fear" might be contagious..

Swift & Co. considers selling out

Swift & Co., the nation’s third largest meatpacker, is considering selling its $9 billion worldwide operation after receiving several unsolicited inquiries in the past six months.

Swift, who has one operation in Marshalltown, came under fire recently after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided six Swift meatpacking plants in December based on a number of illegal immigrant claims. The raids are thought to have damaged the name of the company and the products it produces.

Smithfield Foods, the nation’s largest meatpacker, has expressed interest in owning a portion of the company.

I think we all know that Smithfield Foods wouldn't possibly carry on the tradition of hiring illegals to work at meatpacking plant.

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Labels: illegal aliens, swift

This just kind of frosts me...

Sanctions for hiring illegal immigrants worry businesses

WASHINGTON (AP) — Business lobbyists believe lawmakers will ultimately strip from Senate minimum wage legislation any sanctions against companies caught hiring illegal immigrants.

Under the provision, offered by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., companies caught hiring illegal workers while on a federal contract would be banned from government work for 10 years. Other companies discovered with illegal workers would be prohibited from getting federal contracts for seven years.

That seems to make sense to me. You break the law, you should suffer the consequences. Now, what kind of whack-job would oppose such common sense provisions?

“The Sessions amendments are comparable to using the nuclear option for a paperwork violation,” Jeffrey D. Shoaf of the Associated General Contractors of America wrote to senators in a last ditch attempt to kill the immigration provision. “These amendments will have ramifications well beyond immigration law, and would open the floodgates to using the procurement system as an enforcement mechanism for even first time paperwork violations.”

Others voicing opposition were the American Meat Institute, whose meat packing members have been frequent targets of immigration raids. Others who signed on to a letter of opposition included the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Homebuilders and the Associated Builders and Contractors.

Fine upstanding organizations all. Holy smokes...if you can't trust the US Chamber of Commerce, who can you trust? I guess we should continue to expect contractors to unload a bunch of illegals in an unmarked van whenever you want work done on your house.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, a co-sponsor of the Sessions amendment, sent a letter Wednesday to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff questioning whether the government required its contractors and subcontractors to participate in the employment verification system.

“If they skirt the rules by hiring illegal aliens, they should face the consequences,” Grassley said.

Yeah. What he said.

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Labels: illegal aliens