To Be Announced...

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

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

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

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