Arkansas Blog

"The coalition will argue that immigration is a federal issue and that state and local money should not be wasted to fix a problem that is ultimately a federal responsibility."

I applaud you. However it's a bit late to make the above argument since Benton County, Rogers, Springdale, and Washington County all have ICE agreements-memorandums signed and are actively
enforcing.

I was gone over the weekend and since you mentioned Wendell Griffen in the post hasn't he recently announced for his re election?
.

I noticed a lack of Pentecostal (fundie) preachers on the list. Many of the Marshallese and Mexican churches springing up in Chickenopolis are pentecostal.

>>>Rogers is already doing its part, by making the inability to speak English probable cause to check immigration status.<<<

And your proof of that is where?

A LULAC or MALDEF talking point by chance?

I was happy to join this group. I look forward to joining in the effort to guarantee humane treatment for other human beings. Fort Baptist is having a devil of a time wrestling with certain people who believe our new Hispanic neighbors are pond scum and have no basic rights. Apparently we're all born with hate in our hearts and, but some of us fail to evolve and cannot feel good about themselves unless they are trashing others.

Our leaders play a game of pretending to want our borders closed, while at the same time urging the masses over in order to provide cheap and abuseable labor to further line the pockets of the rich. A child knows that illegal immigration could be stopped tomorrow if the powers that be were willing to arrest every business owner knowingly ( and buddy, they know) employing illegal workers across our nation. So it's a big game, but a game where the Mexicans get hurt, rarely the business owners. Making it worse are people who suck up the cheap labor at the same time bitching about them being here. How hypocritical can you be? An unwritten rule of manhood says it's low class to bad mouth the whore you just left.......

So like Lying Bill O' Lying Liar, I'm calling out the haters. To get to my Mexican neighbors, you're going to have to come through me. There won't be any Crystal Night in my neighborhood. You better learn to be nice to our current slave labor. When Wal-Mart fattened China takes over in 20 years it will be our turn to be on the low rung of the ladder.

"And your proof of that is where?"

I'm thinking it consists of drawing breath and NOT having your head buried up the Republibaptist's ass!! Where have you been, Red - too much time in church? Of course that would only be the "right" church, unlike all those listed in the text...

I've said it before and I'll say it again...where is the Little Rock's Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission? What? We're paying six figures a year (plus) for the group and they can't even sign up to join a voluntary coalition! What good are they?

>>>"And your proof of that is where?"

I'm thinking it consists of drawing breath and NOT having your head buried up the Republibaptist's ass!! Where have you been, Red - too much time in church? Of course that would only be the "right" church, unlike all those listed in the text...<<<

It has nothing to do with your perception of where my cranium is located.

I was asking about Mr. Brantley's assertion regarding the Rogers Police Department. I would assume, as a journalist, he would have the documentation to make said assertion.

ARK. BLOG: I do indeed.

Well, just think. When Steve Womack runs for President, you can be relevant again.

ARK. BLOG: La Chingada

Listen here, Arkansas inbRed--what makes you think Rogers isn't as interesting as the rest of the state? You sound like some creepy old money Fayetteville elitist.

It's an advocacy group that will work against punitive state and local laws that target immigrants.
********
This sounds like a pretty deceptive statement to me. That's like saying supporters of laws that penalize identity thieves are bad because they target credit card users.

The laws don't target immigrants - they target ILLEGAL immigrants. Laws against identity thieves don't target "credit card users"; they target those using credit cards ILLEGALLY.

If we are going to go easy on penalties that impair the illegal immigrant or innocent family members of illegal immigrants, then we need to go easy on penalties that impair the identity thief or innocent family members of identity thieves. Perish the thought that there should be consequences for the family members of a criminal for his/her illegal behavior. These folks are taking advantage of the philosophy that, "its easier to ask for (and get) forgiveness than it is to ask for permission".

We are all descendants of immigrants - some more recent than others - and mostly legal ones (I assume). We don't need more laws - just fairly enforce the ones we have and welcome immigrants that want to be here so much that they will join us legally.

Don Keyhotay,

I don't have a problem with aid to immigrants, legally here or not. What I have a problem with is illegal employers. Those are the people who keep down wages and make the profits from doing so.

John AA:
An illegal employer can't "keep down" wages without an illegal employee.

If you have a problem with one, you should have a problem with the other.

John A., it appears the potentially fatal flaw in this group (and one that is a little troubling given the positions AT has taken ) is that the funding and the financial vested interests behind this seem to be some of those very employers...

Persecution of Hispanics has reached horrible levels. My kid is 25% Hispanic, and she faces other six graders asking her if she's illegal. Don, you can talk about legal and illegal all you want, but the bottom line is that people like you contribute to that attitude. It makes me ashamed to be an American and live in a nation filled with hate at those who are less fortunate. I'd trade 10 Arkansas rednecks for 1 illegal alien any day.

Don Kehotay,

My opinion is that committing illegal immigration on the part of someone who wants a job is different from taking advantage of illegal immigration to keep down wages (including those of immigrants).

Theodosius,

Similar thoughts went through my mind. I also pondered on the lefties lined up with local business interests. Then I thought about the depth of my feelings, some good and some bad, about members of the board and the interests they represent.

Before we know it the illegals will be demanding equal pay for the work they do..... and some die hard liberals who hates this country, damn right, hates the United States of American, will be helping them to do just that.
You are forever saying your neighbors are bigots I got news for you just read the first paragraph again. YOU ARE THE HATEFULL against your own people!
You need to be deported before any illegal is.

Sorry if I sounded too extreme but I always want the best for all of us and our neighbors. I know something can be done to help those citizens of Mexico but their government can not or does not care.
Mexico I don't believe is a poor country with all the oil and other things they have down there.

Two different notes in one post here, with different audiences:

Chasv, to your first post - I have to say that when you post in this manner you just hurt your cause. Even on the shades of your position that I can agree on, I find myself questioning if I could be right at all to overlap with anything that sounds so hate filled.

Now - to ALL of us *including* Chasv - !!!!! - My compliments and recognition of a red-letter day where Chas has humbled himself and apologized for his tone. I DO NOT SAY THIS SARACASTICLY. (Shouting intentional.) Chas, I'm proud of you. If you can hold to strong positions but learn to articulate them with control (and without animus) you can contribute to healthy dialogue (a lesson for us all).

"Before we know it the illegals will be demanding equal pay for the work they do"

Forgetting the tone of the post.....exactly when is it OK to pay someone an unequal amount for their labor? Don't pork chops cost an illegal worker the same as it costs the rest of us? Do the children of illegal workers eat less or cheaper than my kids? Pretending another human is less than you are leads directly to the ovens of Germany.

Oh please most merciful father...please rid chasv's soul of all KKK urges and desires. If he can ever get rid of the desire to burn a cross in someone else's yard, he'll be such a good person and a real asset to the Kingdom of the blood stained throne. Let him drop his hate for Mexicans and homosexuals and be nicer to his grandchildren in the future. Burn him not later, but reform him now in your precious name I pray. Amen

dbi just reread your first post and see that I said exactly what you were saying only in a different tone...
I think what you wrote was good.
It is a fact the gov of mex is not and does not give a hoot and will not do anything for it's own people.
Why don't you all address that fact?
Don't you have a skip in your brain waves when you forget they are here for the purpose of cheap labor. That's the only reason for justifing them being here in the first place.

Chas, Hispanics (and any other immigrants) don't come here for the purpose of being cheap labor. Can you imagine anyone sitting at home saying "let's go work for less than we're worth."? They come here for the purpose of opportunity and *better* wages - where "better" happens to be defined by what they are making at home. It's just that when they get here they go through a period of being a) less marketable, or b) less knowledgeable -either of which means an employer offers them less. The first is real economics and is not a threat to a more valuable worker. The second is exploitation, in at least some sense.

Can't disagree at all on Mexico's government.

A little bit of a tangential thought, but as an economy, we are actually better off paying Mexican citizens 20% less to work here where they pay taxes and consume other goods than to "pay" them 40% less (or more) to work at home in Mexico by buying imports made with labor there.

Theo I did get that sentence mixed up. I should have said the american business wants them here for cheap labor and for work no american wants to do. The Mexicans wants a paying job and they will come here to establish themselves as citizens of some sort somehow someway.
Of course no one can blame them. It is available and it makes sence to swim, walk or crawl to get here. But they are breaking our immigration laws.
Oh, well the bible said in the last days there'll be one world govenment.
I may say again that we should annex mexico.

A few things to address.

Chasv, do some research. I think you will find the Mexican population agrees with you that it SHOULD be a rich nation. Ask an indigenous Chiapan.... Nevertheless, due to corrupt fomer administrations, the loan's on the oil reserves (if memory serves me) have only put the Mexican government further in debt because the cronies of the corrupt administrations used the revenue to enrich themselves. And just remember, not all "brown Spanish speakers" are Mexican. Not all immigrants are Mexican. It is a nationality, not a race. Consequently, many Mexicans are quite Anglo.... but I digress.

Deathbyinches.... while in general I love your posts and constantly scan to read about your perspective of a particular issue I have to respectfully disagree with you regarding your blanket statement of "knowing." An employer can do everything within the confines of the law to make certain it has a legal workforce and still employ an undocumented, unauthorized worker (who, consequently, in turn pays MC, Social Security from which he or she will never draw benefit, income taxes, etc). This includes employers who use government databases to cross-check information supplied by the employee; the failure rate of this "tool" is unacceptable. The government offers little to no training or guidance materials of value to spot fraudulent identity documents and employment eligibility documents. You cannot ask employees to present specific documents, he or she decides, and the range of acceptable ones numerous and the frauds can be amazingly accurate. As long as documents presented appear to be facially valid, the employer must accept the documents. And, assuming I have gained some knowledge of your perspective, I could logically assume you would never ask an employer to conduct screening based on an individual's attested authorization status or by looking or sounding foriegn which the law, thankfully, will not allow any employer to do.

We've got to stop polarizing on this issue and recognize that blaming the employer buys into a blame shift for the inability to secure the border. I used to agree with the idea of "blaming the employer" and then I was educated on the impossible burden of which the government is placing on employers. Let's find a logical, fair resolution to this and please do so soon.

Our reality is that we are dependent on the workforce currently here. We must give employers better tools to check work authorization, not disrupt our current manufacturing, hospitality or agricultural capacity, and actually fund the federal government's efforts of enforcing immigration law fairly and consistently (ideally, fixing the broken system in the process).