HSM Goes National
By Greg L | 11 July 2007 | National Politics, Illegal Aliens | 45 Comments
UPDATE: MSNBC interviews shifted to 2PM and 4:30PM, although something may still happen at 1:30. Supervisor John Stirrup will appear on MSNBC at 1PM.
In the aftermath of our victory in Prince William County, Help Save Manassas is exploding onto the national scene. Tomorrow I am going to the MSNBC studios to do a couple of interviews which will be aired sometime around 1:30PM and 2:00PM. I also was contacted by the Press Secretary for the Tom Tancredo for President campaign, asking if there’s anything the congressman can do to assist our efforts.
I can think of a few things Tom Tancredo can do, and of course he’s already done one of the major things we’d be looking for with his proposed legislation which would significantly improve the ability for state and local law enforcement to play a more effective role in helping to reduce the number of illegal aliens in our communities. I also told his staff that it might help to have Tom Tancredo visit Manassas and speak to our membership. Part of the inspiration I drew on to start Help Save Manassas was his speech at CPAC this year, and the inspiration I’m sure he would provide would certainly help it grow. I don’t know of the scheduling can be worked out, as there’s a lot of things the congressman is doing elsewhere, but we might be able to make this happen.
I guess all it takes to start showing up on the national radar screen is to be successful on this issue at the same time the membership of a large portion of the United States Senate is so abysmally wrong and dedicated to destroying our country. Are these traitors going to start listening, finally? Or is it going to take the citizens embracing Ron Maxwell’s intriguing idea of testing federal law enforcement’s claimed inability to enforce the law by engaging in a nationwide tax protest? I’m not sure that’s the best way to demonstrate our outrage, but it certainly would be a threat that federal elected officials would be very concerned about.
The opinions expressed here are solely the views of the author, and not representative of the position of any organization, political party, doughnut shop, knitting guild, or waste recycling facility, but may be correctly attributed to the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. If anything in the above article has offended you, please click here to receive an immediate apology.
You can follow the discussion through the Comments feed.
45 Comments
Views: 1659
Loading ...
Greg,
I wrote this in my June 8th Lingamfelter report…it is still true…
Here are some concrete steps Congress must take now.
First, secure the border. Period. It’s like this. If your boat has a hole in it, plug the hole. Bailing frantically may give you a sense of accomplishment, but eventually you will sink. So plug the holes on our borders. Stop telling us how hard it is. Stop telling us it can’t be done. Just do it. Now.
Second, the Congress must remove the harmful preemption they established that ties the hands of states in dealing with those who knowingly hire illegal aliens.
Current Virginia law (Code Section 40.1-11.1) makes it unlawful for an employer to hire any person who cannot provide documents indicating that he or she is legally eligible for employment in the United States. A violation of this law is a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $2500 fine. This section was enacted in 1977, and amended in 1979.
However, Virginia’s law appears to be preempted by 8 U.S.C. 1324a (h) (2), which states:
“The provisions of this section preempt any State or local law imposing civil or criminal sanctions (other than through licensing and similar laws) upon those who employ, or recruit or refer for a fee for employment, unauthorized aliens.”
This Federal provision was adopted as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). As a result, state laws that employ sanctions on employers that hire illegal aliens are preempted by the language of this Federal law.
Congress must repeal this harmful provision now.
Scott
I caught a report on NBC 4 this morning, in the 6 AM hour. Terasita “La Fea” Jacinta says that the Woodbridge Workers have filed a lawsuit. She also said that Virginia’s history is “steeped in racist policies”.
THis woman, and her organization needs to be closely watched. Any information regarding her past and present activities, her past and current associations, etc. should be forwarded to Greg. This woman needs to be exposed for what she is, a socialist agitator for criminals. She needs to be completely discredited.
Nice coverage on the aftermath here:
http://www.nbc4.com/politics/13665020/detail.html
But aren’t other states of late taking steps to enforce their laws against employers who hire illegals?
Does this mean the USC is being challenged, and can VA do that as well?
Yes, other states ARE taking steps to enforce laws against hiring illegals — Georgia, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma…
see http://www.thedustininmansociety.com/blog/?p=178 for the text of what Georgia has done that went into effect July 1, The Georgia Immigration and Security Compliance Act.
Scott:
Any federal law on any subject pre-empts state law. It does not need a provision stating that. The provision you quoted is a tautology, probably placed there as a result of political haggling.
Having said that, what the law does leave open for states (and municipalities like PWC and the cities therein), to do is to revoke licenses of businesses that hire illegals. The law you cited makes that option perfectly clear, and the failure of our state and local politicians to make use of that option is another good indication of their total abdication and avoidance of their responibilities to the citizens they”ve sworn to serve. If I hear that pretty boy state AG McConnell do a Freddy Prinz “It’s not my job” imitation one more time I’m going to hit him with a rotten tomato (picked by an Illegal).
The state and counties should be raiding Wall Marts, Home Depots, 7-11’s, etc., and revoking their licenses to do business if they can’t show compliance with 8 USC 1324a. This was a good law that just has not been enforced by the feds, nor implemented by the states and localities. We, the citizenry, have been sold out at every level by our elected and appointed representatives, except for John Stirrup.
We had Tom Tancredo last year be the featured speaker at our Gala for the Republican committee. He was amazing, he knows his subject, is an amazing and motivating speaker. I am glad he is getting national coverage now and is running for president. He is actually my favorite candidate since I know that his anti illegal immigration stance is real and not politically motivated. When he speaks you can feel the passion of his words. I feel if we could get him to speak here, it would pack the house and the membership would grow exponentially. When I look at what happened when we shot down the amnesty bill, if we could find a national spokesman and it looks like Greg might just shoot up along with John Stirrup, we might get a real revolt against those who will not enforce our laws. It is time we stood against the ACLU and its ilk. Also if some kind of coalition could be formed with the states that are enforcing the laws now, we would be stronger and as the populace hears what is going on will demand the same for their states. I am personally amazed at what Greg has done in so short a time. All I could do before was refuse to give any money to the National Republican committee until they changed their stance on immigration. Greg is incredibly effective both as a speaker and leader. I find it exciting to see how this ball is rolling downhill and gathering steam. The opposition is going to become far more obvious and this is a good thing. We need for people to see who their enemies are. The hate America crowd were certainly in evidence at the BOCS meeting. Listening to them will have the effect of knocking some people off the fence. I believe there is a very sinister reason why there are so many here in this country and when you read about the North American Union taking place, it becomes clear. Again, I am so proud to live in this county with courageous leaders who are willing to do what is right for our country.
Advocator is right. I think Phase 2 should be PWC putting all businesses on notice that it will revoke the licenses of ANY businesses that hire illegal aliens.
Riley:
That should be phase III. We need to address the flop houses first.
And maybe define “cousins” and how many a home can legally hold.
Advocator
The flop houses, should be first. Right now, four open storm doors out of 30 houses on my block. These “slum lords”, must be delt with. I’m going to try to find the article, in Milford, MA, they are trying to get a law passed addressing “slum lords”. They want individuals that rent properties, to get a permit to rent the house(not owner occupied). I think this might be some kind of start. When, we knew a house was clearly being rented out, we could then call Zoning or Property Code Enforcement, and if the Rental Permit had not be issued, then they’re in violation. This is certainly something for us in PWC, to think about.
Lafayette:
Any solution must be consistent with Virginia law and the existing PWC code. The People’s Republic of Mass is not a “Dillon Rule” state, and consequently the municipalities have much greater lee-way in what they can promulgate. I and others in HSM are working the issue. I’d appreciate any references to other jurisdictions’ efforts for ideas.
Advocator
Thanks, I didn’t know Mass wasn’t a “Dillon Rule” state.
Where can I get more info on the “Dillon Rule”? I’ll keep my eyes out for other efforts.
In fact very few states are Dillon Rule states, and it is perhaps time to start questioning whether Virginia should be one.
Lafayette:
Wikipedia has a pretty good explanation of it. Basically, it’s a method of interpreting legislation and municipal ordinances that says municipalities cannot do anything unless there’s an express grant of authority on the subject by the state. It pretty much hamstrings local bodies like the BOCS, but there are ways to accomplish our objectives by shoehorning them into areas that already have an express grant of authority, like nuisance ordinances.
k. o’toole- Manassas City tried the family thing and it didn’t work. Anything that has to do with “family” is a no-no right now.
What we need to do is what Layfette is suggesting, permiting rental properties
Chairman Corey Stewart being intereviewed NOW on MSNBC.
For Dillow Rule info go to www.baconsrebellion.com
All above…
I received my information on “federal preemption” from our own legislative services who help us draft bills, etc…they are very knowledgeable attorneys.
That said, I plan to press on this issue to see if in fact federal preemption is a real problem. Again, I am told it is. And IF it is, it MUST be dealt with…that’s my point.
Don’t get me wrong, there are thing we can and should do. One example is to deny in-state tuition to illegal aliens. The House passed this bill, but the Senate killed it. Preemption doesn’t impact this sort of thing.
Here is one we passed in 2005 that nobody talks about.
HB 1798 Illegal aliens; eligibility for state and local public benefits.
Summary as passed:
Public benefits; proof of legal presence. Provides that no person who is not a U.S. citizen or legally present in the United States is eligible for any state or local public benefits. The bill defines state and local public benefits, and sets forth a series of exceptions to this eligibility rule. The bill also requires applicants for state or local assistance to provide proof of legal presence in the United States and establishes a process for temporary receipt of benefits when applicants cannot provide such proof. This bill is identical to SB 1143.
So we have in fact been working on things like this. It would be curious to me if our localities are actually following this law now.
Scott
You’ve all read me in this blog on overdevelopment. It is at the root of our problems with illegal aliens (hiring illegals at sub-poverty level wages and letting taxpayers subsidize public services for them), congestion (too much development too fast to keep up with building new roads), rising taxes (residential development that does not raise enough tax revenue to pay for a constant level of public services for the occupants of the new developments), declining quality of life (not enough schools to accommodate the population influx), etc. It is also the cause of the Virginia’s continuing to be a Dillon Rule state.
The development industry knows that if Virginia were no longer a Dillon Rule state, localities, such as Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park, would be able to enact their own legislation to deal with their problems. This includes impact fees and other measures to offset and deal with the costs and problems of overdevelopment. As long as Virginia is a Dillon Rule state the developers need only deal with Richmond. If we were not a Dillon Rule state, the development industry would have to carry their fights to every jurisdiction that tried to act in the best interests of their citizens and taxpayers.
Developers and their allies will bear extreme expenses to maintain the status quo, because the status quo is so profitable for them. Look at the following data on political contributions by industry from www.vpap.org as of today:
Political
$2,636,811
Real Estate/Construction
$2,095,705
Law
$1,524,927
Technology, Communication
$1,156,256
Finance, Insurance
$1,153,358
Miscellaneous
$1,118,450
Health Care
$942,745
Business - Retail, Services
$834,990
Energy, Natural Resources
$677,861
Transportation
$576,904
Public Employees
$558,906
Agriculture
$321,358
Single-Issue Groups
$282,250
Defense
$245,330
Undetermined
$215,599
Organized Labor
$139,710
Manufacturing
$136,164
These data represent contributions in Virginia to state and local candidates just this year alone. Even these data do not clearly reveal the entire story because many contributors classified as Political (i.e., developer-friendly PACs), Law (i.e., land use attorneys), Finance (i.e., mortgage finance companies), and Transportation (i.e., road builders) share the same goals as those in the Real Estate/Construction category.
Keep in mind that the development industry and its allies do not support us on controlling the illegal alien problem. Illegal aliens provide a huge part of the labor they use. If developers and associated industries were limited to hiring people legally eligible to work in our country their costs would escalate dramatically hitting their bottom lines hard. Of course, the standard of living of those American workers would rise as well.
There is no such thing as “work Americans won’t do.” There is only work Americans won’t do for poverty-level, third-world wages. That includes in the development industry. Through the myriad of subsidies (corporate welfare) the development industry receives from tax payers, the direct cost of development to them drops. Everyone knows that if you subsidize something you get more of it, and if you tax something, you get less of it. Turning a blind eye on our immigration laws provides subsidized labor to developers at our expense and reduces thousands of legal Americans and their families to a poverty-level existence.
Fighting Dillon Rule status in Virginia and pushing for statewide legislation to deal with the illegal alien problem is worth the effort. However, you must remember that the enemy in Richmond is not just the open-borders, pro-illegal alien crowd. It is a powerful, well-funded business lobby.
mo - i guess my point is that when the zoning person would attempt to determine if the inhabitants were family, the inhabitants claimed to be “cousins”. i thought that was part of the problem as it stands. we definitely need to control through permits as in the pushcarts.
“Don’t get me wrong, there are thing we can and should do. One example is to deny in-state tuition to illegal aliens. The House passed this bill, but the Senate killed it. Preemption doesn’t impact this sort of thing.”
I have a radical idea, they don’t get to attend our colleges OR schools regardless of age.
Also, be careful of the police dept. A few years back a lady at my church in Fairfax County called the police about a house next door to her that had a shack built in the back yard with plumbing taken out to it from the main house. Multiple trucks parked on the front yard, etc.
Well, Fairfax’s finest sent A HISPANIC COP who showed up, said he did not see any violations and after speaking to the residents in Spanish, told her that the people were “just visiting.”
Can’t happen in PWC??? Think again. I have had dealings with the men in Howard Johnson blue and have to say that I have come away throughly unimpressed. The ONLY time I have seen them arrive quickly to a scene was when I was rear-ended by one of their own. The ONLY thing missing THAT day was the helicopters and the SWAT team doing an Air Assault Operation - lol.
In today’s MJM, Keith Walker writes, “Prince William Police Chief Charlie T. Deane said his department will continue its current immigration policy until a new one is in place.
“We run wanted checks on individuals that we stop regardless of what the violation is and our officers will notify ICE if they have reason to believe someone is a serious violator and is a serious criminal and an illegal immigrant,” Deane said.
The chief said he and his staff will be working with the commonwealth and county attorneys to determine what constitutes probable cause as it is related to immigration law.”
My humble opionion is that Chief Deane is an idiot and needs to retire. Notice all the “and(s)”??? If he had said “or”, then it would mean that if the perp was an illegal, they would be reported. With the word “and” it means that all those actions need to take place, so, if a person is illegal but the perp is NOT a “serious violator”, ICE will NOT be notified.
I believe that one of the things that has not been pointed out in this debate is that the real problem with regard to illegal alien employment, particularly in the construction industry, is the “cash” pay received by the vast majority of them. They are not paid “Third World” wages…they’re just paid in cash, or by check as casual labor and issued 1099’s. The advantage to the employer is payroll taxes, Workman’s Comp, health insurance and other benefits they might be required to offer full-time employees, etc. The savings to the business is enormous! Workman’s Comp and payroll taxes alone represent a HUGE percentage of overhead, particularly for service companies (construction, cleaning, lawncare/landscaping, etc.).
In this, companies really ARE breaking the law…and can potentially gain the ire, and very unwanted attention of the feared IRS and other Federal agencies. THIS would be a very effective means of bringing them down…and helping AMERICAN, often family-owned and run, businesses compete once more in the construction market. Maybe we won’t see so many poorly constructed, “ticky-tacky houses (including “McMansions”) all in a row.”
Greg was just on PMSNBC. He had his HSM sticker on his lapel. They didn’t give him too much time - got to answer four questions, which took about two minutes. He did a good job. They have had a segment on the resolution about every 1/2 hour and have interviewed Corey Stewart, John Stirrup, and Terasita Jacinta from the Woodbridge Workers. I expect them to trot out some more xenophobia screamers in the next few segments.
You’re right on the money, concerned. The development industry is the biggest backer of continued out of control immigration, not just for the cheap exploitable labor, but also for the continued demand for housing. The large builders are all publicly traded now, and they have to keep expanding indefinitely to keep the gravy train rolling for the execs.
What can be done about Deane? Does he have a contract with the BOS? Can they move to terminate it early?
Hey, I’ve been advocating dumping the Dillon Rule for quite some time now.
http://virginiavirtucon.wordpress.com/2006/12/05/down-with-dillon/
http://virginiavirtucon.wordpress.com/2006/12/06/moratorium-on-rezoning-wont-halt-construction/
http://virginiavirtucon.wordpress.com/2006/12/28/bringing-va-into-the-21st-century/
Judge Dillon was an elitist moron and his 1865 thinking should go the way of the Dodo Bird.
Perhaps there is no better example of why the Dillon rule is outdated today than Judge John Forest Dillon’s very own reasoning 150 years ago:
“Those best fitted by their intelligence, business experience, capacity and moral character” usually do not hold local office, Justice Dillon suggested, and conduct of municipal affairs generally was “unwise and extravagant.” So in Clark v. City of Des Moines in 1865, Dillon ruled that local governments were creations of the state and, therefore, had only those powers granted by the state. That state governments might discover their own ways of being unresponsive and ineffective apparently did not occur to the justice. (from “Bacon’s Rebellion”)
Dillon had it exactly backwards. Municipalities are not in essence creations of the state. It is the state that derives its power from the governed and the closest representatives to the citizens are their locally elected leaders. If one is to trust the people to make the best decisions for themselves, then one must reject the very premise of Dillon.
The Dillon rule acts as a sort of anti-10th Amendment:
The Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that, “[t]he powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
In Virginia, local governments (or “municipalities”) include towns, cities, and counties. Current law regards municipalities as “creatures of the state” and dictates that municipalities must look to the state constitution, the municipal charter, or state laws for authorization to exercise powers. Consequently, a municipality has no powers whatsoever unless the state decides to give the municipality power. (From “MadisonMatters.com”)
This is no longer a workable system in today’s day and age as we witnessed county after county submit lists last December to their delegations to the General Assembly in preparation for the 2007 session, hoping that the state will grant them the authority to do the simplest of things. It is time to bring the Commonwealth into the 21st century in this regard, kicking and screaming if we have to.
http://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/002384.html
Contact your Congressman now to support Birthright Citizenship Act of 2007 (HR 1940) Has 57 Co-Sponsors Bug Your Congressman To Sign On
To get a better understanding of this problem, we need to step back and see the big picture. Illegal immigration serves the low-cost labor needs of corporations that can’t outsource or move operations overseas. Dell can shift their support operations to India. Manufacturers can move operations to China. Much of the junk Wal-Mart sells is slapped together there and shipped here. Our government did nothing about tainted Chinese food products until pets and people were actually dying or getting sick. Bill Gates continues to complain about the “shortage” of skilled American software workers.
At the same time, inflation-adjusted wages and incomes in the U.S. are falling. The gap between those at the high end of the income spectrum and the low end is widening, and our middle-class is struggling for survival. The current generation is the first in U.S. history expected to have a lower standard of living than their parents.
Shortages occur when prices are kept artificially low. The oil companies tell us all the time that to avoid gasoline shortages and long lines at the pumps we need to let the “free market” determine prices. Then there will be plenty of gas for everyone! The same should apply to skilled jobs. Our government subsidizes corporations through countless programs to send jobs overseas. This artificially depresses wages here at home. Where is the incentive for an American to work and study hard to earn a degree and develop skills when they know that employers have an eager pool of workers in developing countries willing to work for a fraction of the wages needed to continue living as generations of Americans who have gone before them?
Some jobs can’t be exported. You can’t build a McMansion in China and ship it to Manassas. The solution for them is to ignore our immigration and labor laws and bring the third-world labor here. As long as we have a president and other political leaders who are beholden to corporate interests above those of the middle-class, this system works.
The result is an America becoming something we won’t recognize. Our workers and middle class are suffering declining real wages and a plummeting quality of life as, among other things, our neighborhoods are turned into barrios filled with boarding houses for the illegal aliens who provide the cheap labor.
I am concerned and discouraged in many ways. However, the citizen uprising that killed “comprehensive immigration reform” in the Senate and got a unanimous vote for John Stirrup’s resolution this week has given me reason for encouragement.
We should all now dispel ourselves of any illusions that we can sit by idly and trust our government to act in our best interests. That was possible for previous generations whose leaders were connected to and cared about those who elected them. Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy come to mind. However, great public servants such as them are not at the helm of our government any more.
I, personally, am fortunate economically and will likely never worry about enjoying a comfortable standard of living. However, I have children and don’t want them to grow up in “corporate America” competing with the third world for jobs. I see also other Americans (citizens and legal residents) who are not as fortunate as I am being denied their American dream by those who would ship it overseas or give it to people coming here illegally to steal it.
We can win but it will take effort on the part of all of us. I can’t adequately express how proud I am of the work John Stirrup and Greg Letiecq have been doing recently, and of those in Congress who opposed “comprehensive immigration reform” from the beginning. They can’t do it alone, however.
You are right on the infamous DILLON rule being bass-ackwards….
I think it’s time to consider the motto: Better to ask forgiveness, than permission!!
What EXACTLY is the risk in declaring a state of emergency locally and suspending that asinine rule??
Did our founding fathers continue to ask the tyrant for permission to breathe??
Be BOLD!!
Here is an interesting article on what other states are doing:
http://www.governing.com/articles/7immig.htm
Greg - Nice shirt…
This maybe on or off subject.
I am just speaking from the heart. I am a Christian and have no problem in saying so.
I just am speaking from the HEART with what I am about to say.
I have stated on here before, that I am NEW to this blog thing and getting involved with talking to others ( strangers !) about my opinons, beliefs, doing something, other than voting, etc, …but SOMETHING IS OUT OF CONTROL AND NEEDS TO BE DONE.
I am trying to keep up with what is going on as far as EVERTYTHING from crime, illegal aliens, taxes, TO WHAT I SAW ON TV TONIGHT ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING AND COWS GIVING OFF GAS AND NOW THEY HAVE TO LOOK INTO CHANGING THE GRASS THE COWS EAT! ( I think this is why I haven’t done so in the past……..
I don’t know how you all do this! ( I mean this in a good way!)
I don’t know if it is beacuse I am middle class, HANGNING ON BY A THREAD( My faults, as other’s and the cards that I have been delt with…….as I hear so many people are, EVERYONE HAS A STORY)
I don’t know what exactly to focus on but doing the right thing and that is why I and my family, friends have joined in HSM. I FEEL IN MY HEART this is the right thing, it is NOT about RACISM, ETC……illegal, is illegal and I have seen first hand the destruction of what is going on around me with out having to turn on the news, etc.
I just keep going back to the Bible, just like I always do, to keep things in check.(BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT TO BE THE TRUTH and once you know the truth….you cannot hide from it) ( my belief)
I beleive in Jesus, the son of God, and I believe he died on the cross for us. John 3:16. I belive in the word of the Bible .
I see the “end times”- signs of him coming back. This I do have no doubt about. I see how everything, daily, is in place for his return.
The “one world nation,” etc…. BARE with me, these are my convictions of what I believe to be the truth.
I HONESTLY, don’t know what to do , but to do the right thing and it confuses me to try and be active when so much is going on.
It seems to drive me crazy, trying to figure this or that out, and agree with this or that and trying (to be who I am )to see it from the other person’s point of veiw.( trying to be fair and not opininated and jump on a bandwagon, when I am just a baby educating myself about what is going on around me, because, everything changes and it seems like everything is OUT OF CONTROL, AND I MEAN OUR GOVERNMENT TOO, ALOT OF RED TAPE ALOT OF BULL)
I know something has to be done.
Again, my statement above, I don’t know how you/ anyone does it.
It takes time to find out what is going on, the FACTS.
I do try to live my life with that statement my grandfather told me : believe not what you hear and half of what you see.
I have to ask America, what happened to ” One nation under God” or what is printed on OUR money, “In God we trust”?
Why has God been taken out of school? Out of Christmas? ( i.e) Xmas…now we can’t say Merry Christmas, you have to say Happy Holidays, to not offend anyone.
I want to know, what has America become? Politically correct, trying to make EVERYTHING / EVERYONE acceptable, , THAT WE FORGET what we were founded on?
I think these are vaild questions , that I am BLESSED to have the right to ask in America.
And I am sorry Mrs. Blauvelt ( SJHS english teacher, back in the 80’s) you always told me I had a problem with RUN ON PARAGRAPHS, ETC……
SEE , EVEN TODAY, I JUST HAVE SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH TO SAY
Greg,
Excellent job on MSNBC!!!
FYI-the link provided by Batson above has this incorrect statement in the article. Supervisor Stirrup did not say the following:
John Stirrup, a member of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, said he authored the immigration resolution because about 20 percent of the county’s population is foreign born.
“Home rule” will make mob rule problems worse, not better. For an example look at the problems of the patchwork of conflicting gun laws prior to statewide preemption. If municipalities require additional powers from Richmond efforts should be focused on those, instead of embracing a framework that will increase the volatility of law.
Regardless, the problems here are not the result of insufficiency of laws but of enforcement.
Let’s all get a grip here before celebrating too much. Here is the reality.
1. The BOCS basically did a CYA on this resolution. By taking the citizen right to sue out of the resolution they removed all its teeth. Since they now won’t be doing anything until after the November election, it is unlikely anything truly will get done. This was a ploy to lock in our votes by those who have opponents. To think Barg and Jenkins listened to us is ridiculous. This vote was easy for them with the right to sue taken out. After all, Barg is not running again and Jenkins doesn’t have an opponent. If the BOCS really wanted to end the illegal immigration problem they would have gone ahead with the proffer increase we wanted. Yes, the housing market is in bad shape, but that is the industry that supports the largest chunk of these illegals. Bottom line is that the BOCS is pushing this off until after the elections for the benefit of their developer buddies.
2. Be careful what you wish for on eliminating the Dillon rule. This is what Virginia Democrats like Gerry Connolly have been wanting for a long time. Thankfully, members of our state delegation like Scott Lingamfelter have been able to prevent it. If the Dillon Rule goes away our local government will be able to do all kinds of things, including potentially taxing us on our income like counties do in Maryland. Local politics is so corrupted by interest groups like developers that if we give up protection at the state level we are likely to get hosed.
3. Tancredo — please. That guy is a one trick pony who doesn’t have a chance to win the presidency. I realize now that we are hot on the immigration thing he seems attractive, but let’s work to nominate someone who can win or we will have a lot bigger problems than just immigration on our hands. After all, we’ve had the Republican congress we’ve wanted for a long time and they have seriously let us down on immigration in order to kowtow to their corporate buddies. Okay, maybe that’s an argument for Tancredo.
4. If we want HSM to grow we need to change the name. People in Woodbridge are not going to sign up in droves for a group named “Help Save Manassas.”
5. If we want HSM to grow beyond its base of people who live around neighborhoods that have had an influx of illegal immigrants then we are going to have to do something about the racism thing. It’s not racist for us to want to enforce immigration laws. Some of our critics just use the racism lable because it’s easy. But let’s be real, from some of the comments I’ve seen posted, we definitely have some racists among us. Even those who clearly are not racist miss the point that is going to be critical in court challenges. There is no way county employees and police are going to be able to stop and check everybody (BTW, I don’t get Deane at all, but he does have stones; illegals can’t vote for him and he had to know we were going to call for his head) so Hispanics will get inordinately stopped and we will get slammed in courts as a result because when it comes to discrimination on this basis, it is not intent, but impact that is important. I don’t know that there is a solution to this problem, which is one reason I think that the BOCS will never do anything about this.
6. So where does that leave us. I, for one, think we should spend less time trying to get our faces on television and in the newspaper (in fact, I’m starting to worry some of our people are a little more interested in the limelight than getting their hands dirty on the ground) and more working on ground level grass roots efforts. Lafayette is one of the people who has had the best suggestions in my opinion. We need to harass county offices on all the enforcement things that have nothing to do with race and therefore are above challenge. We should be reporting trash in the streets, cars being fixed in the streets, overcrowded homes, loose animals, broken windows. In other words, all the petty-seeming neglect or potentially criminal activity that is taking place in areas we know are dominated by illegals. This is what Giuliani did in New York and it had a real effect on crime. Even if the police cannot deal directly with overcrowding, if the police or inspectors make a big splash in a neighborhood periodically then illegals will get the message.
7. Most importantly, we need to keep the pressure on the BOCS about proffers and overdevelopment. They all caved by putting off the proffer issue. If the housing industry is in a slump we do not want more houses built. The proffers should go up now and continue the slump until the glut on the market corrects. This will cut off the spigot that is drawing the illegals here. The only reason it is not being done is that wealthy developers want to keep feeding at the trough and, I fear, all of our supervisors are in their pockets.
8. I forget who it was who said this on an earlier post, but the Vikings were not here before the American Indians. Hopefully the person who said that was joking, or if not, is not part of our leadership group. lol
John Stirrup’s leadership has demonstrated that he is a man among men!
Let’s set some realistic expections:
1. There is a federal mandate that all children in this country are entitled to attend our public school system. No relief for over crowding in schools or reimbursement to tax payers from the federal government.
2. Prince William does not have the authority to grant hospitals the right to deny emergency medical services to anyone. More overcrowding and abusive health care cost as we all shoulder the cost of this.
3. Anchor babies are eligible for food stamps, medicaid, and all other services in our county because they are citizens.
4. The county already denies services to illegal alien adults for food stamps, medicaid, housing assistance, etc.
5. When 5 families live in a home, the burden of proof that they are not related is on the county. Furthermore, the county is restricted by the Dillon Rule from entering the home to enforce ordinances.
The only thing we can legally do in addition to what the county already claims to do be doing, is deny illegal aliens use of our libraries and recreaction centers.
The Dillon Rule denies our county Board authority because the intent behind the rule is to prevent local government from competing against private and/or public businesses for profit. Yet, our county owns and operates for PROFIT:
a. Dale City and Chinn Center offer a gym, personal trainers, massage, yoga, pilates, swim lessons, a public pool, summer camps, party room rentals, racquet ball, and until recently day care.
b. Public golf courses, golf lessons, snack bar
c. SplashDown Water Park and Ben Lomond Park
So the debate begins about the Dillon Rule….should it stay or go?
Just as our federal government fails it’s citizens by not enforcing illegal immigration, our state government is failing us by not enforcing the Dillon Rule. The Dillon Rule is used as an easy out when it is convenient for our local government. This rule has never been enforced.
I say we enforce the Dillon Rule and make the county comply. For years I have been asking Marty Nohe to initiate an effort to sell our rec centers to a YMCA. The reason no action has been taken is because the county relies on the PROFITS to operate.
We’re clearly competing with Golds Gym, Bally’s, MinnieLand, Sport and Health Clubs, yoga and pilates studios, massage and wellness clinics, and other private businesses which clearly violates the law of Dillon Rule.
I am in full agreement with Anonymous, until we’re sure this resolution has teeth, we need to let the media attention die down, and decide what the next step needs to be.
Phase 2 The need for better laws.
Stop businesses in the Comonwealth from hiring illegals. They said the come here for jobs, right?
Decide whether to enforce the Dillon Rule, or abolish / reform. I vote to enforce it!
All state colleges and universities need mandates that require tighter controls of student visa’s and failure to comply results in denial of state funding.
Stiffer penalties on those convicted of providing false identification to illegals.
Churches cannot be safe houses for illegals
Redawn, i don’t know how anyone without faith could handle this seemingly overwhelming mess, but anchored in His Word, we continue to “pray like it all depends on God, and work like it all depends on us.”
What if HSM became “Help Save America”?
In the end, aren’t we really saying that our very history, culture, and way of life are at stake here?
Is this something our Founders wanted to see? No way. Help Save America….
anon 12:33
Put off or deferred until November:
1. Implementation of the resolution
2. Proffers
3. Numerous rezoning applications
Expires in November:
1. Moratorium on rezonings (not that they have lived up to it so far)
Getting the picture, a number of our supervisors take us for complete idiots and judging by the fact that most of them are running unopposed, or virtually so, they may be right.
Mom,
Yes, but what has been most fascinating is watching the cream rise to the top. Our cream of the crop politicians Supervisor John Stirrup, Del. Bob Marshall and Del. Jeff Frederick have clearly demonstrated their commitment to no one other than their constituents and upholding the law of the land.
Optimizing Visa Entry Rules and Demanding Uniformed Enforcement (OVERDUE) Immigration Bill – Highlights
• Restoring America’s immigration system to more traditional numbers and encourages the assimilation of America’s most recent great wave in prioritizing nuclear family admissions, tightening the investor immigrant criteria, and tightening the employment-based green card category to ensure that prospective immigrants who will uniquely contribute to American society are admitted.
• Eliminates “chain migration” in accordance with the recommendations of the Jordan Commission.
• Eliminates the “visa lottery” in accordance with the recommendations of the Jordan Commission.
• Ensures that automatic birthright citizenship accrues to children born in the U.S. only if at least one parent is a citizen or lawful permanent resident.
• Makes voting in a foreign election a basis for potential loss of citizenship.
• Suspends the Visa Waiver Program until DHS makes certain certifications to the Congress.
• Prohibits states from granting in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens on the basis of graduation from a U.S. high school (in addition to residence) unless they offer the same rate to all U.S. citizens.
• Affirms the inherent authority of State and local law enforcement officers to enforce the immigration laws of the United States; requires Federal immigration authorities to respond to requests for assistance from State and local authorities.
• Appropriates funds necessary to fully reimburse providers of federally mandated emergency medical treatment of illegal aliens, but only if the individual provider collects and reports to DHS all citizenship information and other non-clinical information concerning each illegal alien treated.
http://www.teamtancredo.com/OVERDUE_immigration.asp
Check this out:
“TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - While attention is focused on the U.S. battle to stem the tide of illegal immigrants from Mexico, a federal effort to crack down on Hondurans is threatening the Honduran economy and sparking a crisis in U.S.-Honduran relations.
Honduran President Manuel Zelaya visited Washington on Monday to lobby Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for a moratorium on what he called “massive and selective” deportations of Hondurans in the U.S. illegally. He promised that the Honduran government would strenuously defend the rights of Honduran immigrants, without elaborating.
Deportations of Hondurans are expected to reach 40,000 this year if the current pace holds, a sharp increase since 2005, when fewer than 19,000 were deported.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency estimates that 70 percent of the roughly 1 million Hondurans in the United States are here illegally, making them the second-largest illegal population behind Mexicans. Federal statistics indicate that a Honduran national tries to slip into the country illegally about every 15 minutes.
Hondurans have become a significant part of the U.S. workforce, taking low-paying manual labor jobs that many Americans find unattractive. About 20 percent of Honduran immigrants live below the poverty line, according to census figures, but that is an improvement over their lives in Honduras, where half the population earns less than $3 a day.
Once here, they send most of their income back home to support their families, money that is vital to the Honduran economy.
The Honduran Foreign Ministry says legal and illegal immigrants in the United States are expected to send a record $2.8 billion this year — more than a quarter of Honduras’ gross domestic product.
More deportations means less money flows in from the United States, a blow officials in Honduras and other Central American countries say their economies are not equipped to absorb.
“Remittances are like an addiction,” said Juan Jose Garcia, a remittances consultant in San Salvador, El Salvador. “Remittances feed consumption, the banking system and the stability of society.”
In Honduras, “the situation is dramatic,” said Ramon Valladares, director of consular affairs for the Honduran Foreign Ministry. “We hope the number of deportations is not sustained, because America is sending at least 200 of our people home every day.”
But Zelaya also hoped to convince Rice that kicking out thousands of illegal Honduran immigrants would be bad for the U.S. economy, as well.
His argument is in line with a report issued this week in Tegucigalpa by the Central American Council of Human Rights Ombudsmen, which criticized he “illogic” of U.S. policies that target for expulsion the immigrants it needs to sustain its workforce.
Hondurans are a major part of the U.S. labor pool in vital industries like agriculture, construction, food service and transportation, and cracking down even harder could lead to labor shortages in cities where Hondurans are most prominent, activists said.
Some cities would be especially hard-hit, statistics suggest. Research by the Center for the Study of Urban Poverty at the University of California-Los Angeles found that Honduran immigrants, as many as 80 percent of them in the country illegally, make up nearly 3 percent of the day labor pool in Los Angeles.
Honduran workers are also an important part of the labor pool in Washington, New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Houston and Omaha, Neb.
But signs are not promising that Zelaya will get his way. Thursday, three days after he made his plea, U.S. authorities flew two plane loads of illegal Honduran immigrants, more than 100 in all, back to Tegucigalpa.”