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Trib live-blogs another immigration rally
Wednesday, Jul 19, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller So far, it looks like they’re doing a good job. Monitor the rally’s progress here. But as I pointed out below, turnout isn’t expected to be huge this time, mainly because most of the big groups that helped put together the last rallies sat this one out.. By 9 a.m., the appointed time to start gathering at Union Park, it was becoming apparent that the turnout would be dramatically less than the previous two marches.
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- Gregor - Wednesday, Jul 19, 06 @ 11:23 am:
I’ll just get this out of the way: we need to come down hard on employers who hire undocumented workers, and to fine the corporations that allow this to happen. That will dramatically reduce the flow of border-crossing illegals.
Those undocumenteds that are already here need to legitimize themselves immediately. We should facilitate that process, but I do not believe in just granting a general amnesty to every economic opportunist when we make political refugees go thu all manner of hoops to live in a free land.
- Ron Burgundy - Wednesday, Jul 19, 06 @ 11:36 am:
It’s kind of a you-had-me-then-you-lost-me thing with me as well. While generally sympathetic to their plight, you lose me when you start talking general amnesty with no consequences to allow illegals to shortcut the onerous process that immigrants following established legal means have had to go through.
- Jimbo - Wednesday, Jul 19, 06 @ 11:55 am:
Who cares…the first rally got everyone’s attention…this one is just a waste of time and energy.
- Ron Burgundy - Wednesday, Jul 19, 06 @ 1:59 pm:
Not a big showing, seeing reports of only a few thousand. If the organizers can’t draw significantly better than that for these follow-up marches, what’s the point? If anything it makes it look like they are losing steam.
- blue - Wednesday, Jul 19, 06 @ 2:30 pm:
Immigration laws are a complete joke. We need these people to keep the economy going. Good grief, we’re becoming a nation of senior citizens and don’t even have the manpower to keep the economy afloat.
There needs to be a way of getting the labor we need yet still have a reasonable degree of control over who comes into the country. Since we force almost all Mexican immigrants to enter illegally there’s no way we can even ask if any of them are violent felons. We need something closer to a 30-day visit pass, than return and process papers that will allow you to enter long-term if you have a verifiable job and a sponsor waiting for you.
- I was born here, so screw everyone else - Wednesday, Jul 19, 06 @ 5:09 pm:
Rich - I love your blog. But it also gets my blood boiling when I read comments by people who seem to have a “self entitled” way of looking at society. Its the same problem with Bush and his pack of wahoos who treat the world and other people like its their oyster (Iraq, Global Warming) and then think a nice shoulder rub on the prime minister or slap on the back will make everyone feel better. What happened to the Compassionate conservatives?
- Tomorrow we vote! - Wednesday, Jul 19, 06 @ 9:11 pm:
The marches, big and small, will continue.
But heavy, serious, political work is being done by groups like the Illinois Immigrant Rights Coalition on voter registration and citizenship to change the electorate. Like it or not, demographics is destiny. The parents may not be voters, but those kids walking out of school are all citizens!
Immigrants swung it for Bean, are causing the suburbs to trend blue, and are putting Hyde’s seat within the reach of the D’s.
Meanwhile Hastert pursues an “Eat the Illegals” strategy that is pushing Latinos straight into the arms of the Dems nationally… and making Ill. a magnificent, deep deep shade of blue.
dum-da-dum-dum!
- The Conservative - Thursday, Jul 20, 06 @ 8:43 am:
This just shows what little support for ILLEGAL immigrants there is. Without outsiders coming in there is little support. The Illegal immigrant situation needs to be dealt with strong legislation and punitive action against those that choose to violate the laws. If not then just open the gates of out prisons. All they did was kill someone or rob someone. Illegals are robing and stealing from the public, it is a crime to enter this country illegally, to forge papers, to claim benefits they are not supposed to receive. Take the glasses of, we need enforcement. Close the borders before we have a Nuke carred accross the open border.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jul 20, 06 @ 9:10 am:
National immigration reform is dead until November at least.
And even if the Dems win big, as they say they will, do they really want to take the chance of supporting massive increases in legal and illegal immigration, mainly from South and Central America, just before what promises to be a hotly contested national election. Too risky. I predict a border security bill, no more, prior to 2009.
- NW burbs - Thursday, Jul 20, 06 @ 9:58 am:
Gregor opines, “we need to come down hard on employers who hire undocumented workers […] That will dramatically reduce the flow of border-crossing illegals.”
Yes and no. We ought to be enforcing our labor laws. But that’s not going to stop people who have already risked their lives walking for a week through the desert to get here. They’re willing to die for jobs paying half-minimum wage and no benefits (and no job security).
They’ll just go from the big, easy to crack-down on employers to smaller, onesy-twosy harder to track employers. You can’t squeeze Jell-O and keep it all in one place — it squirts out and goes every which way.
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Anonymous writes, “National immigration reform is dead until November at least.
And even if the Dems win big, as they say they will, do they really want to take the chance of supporting massive increases in legal and illegal immigration, mainly from South and Central America, just before what promises to be a hotly contested national election. Too risky. I predict a border security bill, no more, prior to 2009. ”
While I agree any sort of reform is dead for this session of Congress — competing Republican dog-and-pony shows notwithstanding — it’s a the definition of an opportunity lost considering a bipartisan majority of the House would support the bill the Senate passed (which the President has said he would sign, and which a majority of Americans agree with).
It is extremist conservatives in the House that are blocking realistic, comprehensive reform. If Speaker Hastert would get over his majority-of-the-majority obstinance America could have this problem solved.
And, to your point about Latin America, many, many, many of the illegal aliens living and working in the US right now are from Ireland, Poland, Czech Republic, etc.
Anonymous Poster, why aren’t you concerned about white illegal immigrants from Europe?
- The Conservative - Thursday, Jul 20, 06 @ 1:33 pm:
I am concerned with any ILLEGAL that is stealing from the American public. That is working here ILLEGALLY. getting medical they are not supposed to get, not having car insurance or ignoring any other law they see fit. This is nothing more than law breakers. Thank GOD for a man such as Speaker Hastert. He is forcing us to see a little clearer and slow down the rush to back the horrible Senate bill. Those caught working here as an ILLEGAL should be hit with severe financial penalty the same as not paying your taxes. They need to go to the back of the line and enter this country correctly. Those that do it correctly should be welcomed with open arms. We need to take another look at when a child becomes a citizen as well, this should not be automatically after entering this country, there should be a better way.We need to have the will and not be black mailed by a few.
- blue - Thursday, Jul 20, 06 @ 2:27 pm:
Would be curious to learn from “Conservative” what specifically has been stolen from him.
- The Conservative - Thursday, Jul 20, 06 @ 2:39 pm:
Blue:
Tax dollars, un paid medical bills causing our insurance to go up. no car insurance to cause the company to charge us more. Having to pay higher taxes because of the cost to educate the children of illegals. The cost of just having documents printed in Spanish causes all taxes to go up. You name it and there is a cause and effect. Perhaps the union people might like to see something like the WPA created and we wouldn’t need all those union jobs, we could fix roads, build houses so much cheaper, I am sure the unions would support that. There is no justification for allowing ILLEGALS in. They are not here because they are in danger. I could see it if they would be shot if they stayed, that isn’t the case. How do you justufy breaking the law for them and not for someone caught robing another, it is the same.
- The Conservative - Friday, Jul 21, 06 @ 7:24 am:
If we have the resolve, the border can be policed today. We have the military and we are at war. Place large signs, “Do not attempt to enter the US without going through check point. This is Government property you will be shot” I bet things stop!