I am encouraged by the Charlotte Observer article that was published in my home state of North Carolina today. As I posted earlier this week, North Carolina is a state caught in the middle of the raging immigration debate.
Senator Elizabeth Dole is using this anti-immigrant video as the linchpin of her Senatorial bid during the upcoming elections.
Mecklenberg County (home to Charlotte) has signed onto legislation aimed at coordinated local enforcement of federal immigration laws (a 287(g) agreement).
And William Gheen, of ALIPAC has all but declared war on immigrants in the state:
“We have a destructive human tsunami headed our way,” said William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration, a political action committee based in Raleigh that pushes anti-immigrant legislation. “N.C. lawmakers must act now to protect American jobs, tax resources and lives. Our state must … batten down the hatches immediately.”
I am fearful for my home state and feel disconnected from the debate from my current residence in Washington, DC. So I am relieved and hopeful to hear a voice of humanity and reason coming from the Charlotte Observer.
Friday, June 6, 2008
I am not a murderous racist that would harm immigrants or minorities in any way as Mary Schulken has depicted me in the Charlotte Observer on June 5, 2008.
I hope that the readers of the Charlotte Observer never have to learn what it feels like to wake up to the phone ringing because friends and family members from Western NC are calling to inform them that Mary Schulken just used her position as an Editor of the paper to compare them with a fictional Hollywood character that called people “niggers” and enjoyed assaulting or murdering immigrants.
It is my firm opinion that Mary Schulken still bears malice towards me because the last time we met in political battle the results were the removal from office of many of her extremely liberal friends on the Greenville City Council. Furthermore, she knows that I’m no “Bill the Butcher” from Gangs of New York and that I used to work to elect some of the first minorities and women to office in certain parts of this state.
What a shame it is that the Charlotte Observer is allowing Schulken to abuse her position, in order to pursue her personal vendetta and radical pro-illegal alien agenda, by attempting to mislead readers about who I am, and what I stand for.
While she misleads readers and ignores the fact that I, and my organization ALIPAC, fervently work with Black and Hispanic Americans, as well as legal immigrants and the fact that I share nothing in common with the fictional racist and murderous “Bill The Butcher”.
I hope that the Black and Hispanic supporters of ALIPAC, as well as our legal immigrants will come to my defense against this terrible injustice, perpetrated by Mary Schulken and the Charlotte Observer.
Not only is Schulken lying to readers, but she is defaming my character to such a degree that a reader that did not know better might feel that I would want to physically harm someone because of their race, thus creating a Clear and Present danger for me and my family as candidates for assault and possibly lethal violence.
The Charlotte Observer should take immediate action to correct this situation and issue a retraction and apology, and tell readers the truth about me. Mary Schulken should be terminated from her position for intentionally lying to your readers, abusing her position, and defaming my character to a degree that puts me at risk of physical harm.
William Gheen
President, Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC)
http://www.alipac.us
Post Office Box 30966, Raleigh, NC 27622-0966
Tel: (919) 787-6009 Toll Free: (866) 703-0864
FEC ID: C00405878
William,
You were not the only person mentioned in this article. The article states you called these human beings a “tsuami.” Do you deny that? If it’s true you and all of us know that your irresponsible rhetoric is only meant to demonize these people.
You seem to get quite offended when others besmerch your ‘good name’; yet, you have no problem making villians out of people searching for a better life.
Your movement is based on oppression and you should be ashamed of yourself.
Dear Mr. Gheen,
While I understand the desire to uphold your “reputation” for the readers of the Charlotte Observer, I do find your comments misguided and rather ironic.
As Symsess noted above, you were not the only person directly quoted in the article. There was never any direct reference to you as being Bill the Butcher. I believe that is a conclusion you drew on your own.
Second, I find it ironic that you feel that this might pose a threat to your safety. You said that “NC must batten down the hatches against” what you termed a “destructive human tsunami” (i’m assuming of “illegal” immigrants). You make it sounds as though these people are about to inflict mass amounts of physical harm on the people of NC. Does this not also create a “Clear and Present danger” to the immigrants of the communities of NC and their families?
Finally, I believe Ms. Schulken’s main point was that people must take a step back and stop letting fear dictate both actions and legislation. I believe that your above comment proves that fear is continuing to dictate your reaction to the situation. Not only fear of the “human tsunami” of immigrants, but even the fear of a short newspaper article’s ability to potentially harm your anti-immigrant message.
Señor Gheen,
You need to weed out a lot of users and statements from your alipac.us site if you want me to take this letter of yours seriously. And I mean regular users and regular sentiments. You make your business on the wrong side of this immigration debate; you make your business pushing nativist ideology and racist sentiment and nobody can tell me different because I spent an hour or so with your site the other day. Perhaps it’s not always blatant, but your users know what it’s all about. Commenters above have brought up just one example. Meanness? Please. You make your bed every day, now lie in it.
I understand. You support her lies and underhanded tactics because she supports your agenda. Thanks for letting us all know that you have no morals or ethics whatsoever regarding the pursuit of your agenda.
Yes, the new wave of illegals coming in SC will cost NC taxes, school and medical resource quality levels, more jammed roads, more stolen identities, more stolen jobs, more lost North Carolinian lives.
Oh my goodness, I used the word ‘wave’ as a metaphor. How dehumanizing is that, I guess I should pick out a better word for tens of thousands of people entering the state quickly. Otherwise, I might be just like a movie character that calls people racial names and likes to carry guns to murder immigrants.
The truth is that you people, you illegal alien supporters, are responsible for the murders and deaths or North Carolinians at the hands of illegals. Your advocacy for non enforcement of our laws and your lies and attacks on those of us trying to stand up and save lives, makes you accomplices to the theft of our monies, our jobs, our lands, and the deaths of our loved ones.
That is the truth we are going to be talking about. Your attempts at deception will not absolve you of that truth.
William Gheen
Mr. Green,
I still don’t quite understand why you would feel offended? You regularly distort facts to fit your agenda. All of this fuels nativist and racist sentiment. You may not be making any racist remarks, but you know full well that your words and your organization give power to those that have these beliefs.
You have in the past associated immigrants with diseases and crime, when study after study have shown that this is not case. Don’t you think its a bit irresponsible on your part to continue to push these “facts” when reputable sources have shown them to be false?
Its ironic that you would equate support for immigration reform with murder. So by that logic is it fair for me to say that you are directly responsible for the rise in hate crimes against Latinos in the US?
Actually Gheen it was knives. But you don’t need knives, guns or bombs because you have words and we all know that propaganda is more powerful than any weapon.
Your deception and remolding of the truth in an effort to deflect our desire for compassion is your angry blade.
You know what you’re doing – you have to live with you own heart; though I’m sure there isn’t much room in there.
I also hope that Mr. Gheen would explain his associations with white supremacist organizations.
I have no associations with white supremacist organizations. The only association one might consider is our fervent directives for them to stay clear of our events and operations. Considering that over 1 out of 5 ALIPAC supporters is a minority and considering my extensive background in civil rights campaigns, and considering my extensive personal relationships with people of all races, well the only association would be the lies coming out of illegal alien supporting mouths.
W
Mr. Gheen,
Here is documented evidence of your hate-mongering, race-baiting and bigotry:
http://www.galleons.org/documents/alipac_greatest_hits.pdf
1. You state that placing a bounty on “illegal aliens” is a HUMOROUS idea.
2. Over here, you talk about how white Americans are facing extinction while other ethnic populations are expanding. What were you insinuating Mr. Gheen?
http://tinyurl.com/2ehtun
Don’t bother. ALIPAC.us is a hate-group and its activities are being well-documented.
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You can protest all you like, William Gheen. Your own words damn you. You are speaking of human beings — and all you have to say about them is they are all criminals and murderers. That is a lie and you know it.
Your day is done. Americans are waking up to the human rights abuses now happening to undocumented workers and they are horrified. It is folks like you who have twisted our American values so that this has come to pass, who have stopped common sense immigration reform legislation with your lies and hatred so that we now see good human beings treated worse than animals. No, there is no justification for this whatsoever.
I found the column to be mild, quite frankly. What you are doing is not good for America. And the American people will repudiate your hateful message. You will no longer be allowed to spew out your hateful message unopposed.
I truly hope that one day you will be judged as you have judged others.
Judge this…
I’ve never said all illegal aliens are murderers.
That makes you a the liar and me the one that is telling the truth.
W
Gheen,
You may have never said that they were murderers, but the implication is there. And this implication does much to distort the reality that immigrants are much less likely than native born Americans to be criminals.
Americans that want immigration reform do not have blood on their hands. We recognize that the system is broken and needs an overhaul. Its shameful that groups like yours exploit tragic events like drunk driving accidents to further you agenda of hate.
I don’t have to judge you, William. You will be judged in the same fashion you have judged.
It’s sad to see all you have left is to parse words. And continue to lie. Lord have mercy, you can’t even remember what you wrote only a few comments up!
Your words, William:
Your day is over. Your hateful actions will no longer be accepted quietly.
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Oh goodness, bro, you lie. What you said was TSUNAMI. And for you now to edit while you try to defend a lie shows how you feel about what you said. You know your true feeling, and that’s why you lie now about what word you used. To try and obscure your true meaning. A tsunami is a danger, it takes lives, just as you say in other places about migrants.
Coward. You cannot even stand behind your true feelings.
Your site and advocacy feeds anti-latino hate and violence and thus, is responsible for much damage to both lives as well as the dialogue we need to be having, and believe me when I say I do hold you responsible, my friend.
The constant drumbeat for censorship of opposing views disseminated by advocates of illegal aliens shows the truly fascist nature of their cause, which is the imposition of foreign nationals to support the ethnocentist agendas to further their political goals by mechanistically acceleratimg the natural increase in Hispanic demographics through illegal immigration. These advocates, not satisfied with promoting guest worker programs have shown their true nature in their absolute demands for a path to citizenship, when it has been clear for some time now. Despite the fact that few illegal aliens have ever been interested in this option, advocates condescendingly insist upon it. In this they do a disservice to their constituencies, because, rather than promote reform and expansion of the current visa guest worker programs, which do not provide for such a pathway, they’d rather losing the possibility of any guestworker program by their greed. If this optionless ploy were delivered to illegal aliens in a court adjudicating this, the lawyers would be dismissed for incompetance.
Horace,
No one is calling for censorship. Accurate information is the key here. The same way you accuse Americans in favor of immigration reform of having an “ethnocentric” agenda, it could easily be said that groups like Mr. Gheen’s promote a nativist one.
PS.
Please go easy on the thesaurus!
Horace, I have no constituency. I’m an American citizen who does not want my taxpayer dollars going to corporations like Halliburton who get money from no-bid contracts to build family prisons. I don’t want my tax dollars going to fund ICE raids in local communities where families are ripped apart and neighborhood traumatized. I don’t want my tax dollars going towards abusese of human rights so terrible that more folks die because they weren’t allowed to take their medicine. These practices have no place in American society.
Rhetoric such as yours and William’s promotes that kind of inherent human rights abuse.
We can do better than that. Your day is done, Horace, where you can throw a lot of words out that try to mask advocacy for practices that inherently cause human rights abuses.
Americans are catching on. You and William and those like you will no longer get a free pass to promote a cause which serves nothing except fear, hatred and abuse.
What human rights abuse? There has been no convention to which the U.S. is signnatory that has open borders as a human right. No nation on this planet permits as much immigration as ours or acquiesces to the violation of its borders without arrest and deportation as the outcome for the elegal entrants.
Immigration advocacy groups resort to shameless hyperbole and outright lies to demonize our government agencies. If you advocates for illegal aliens wish to actually accomplish something, you should work to bring countries like Mexico to the commissions on human rights, because it is their actions that drive their citizens to flee their homelands. Don’t blame NAFTA, because Mexico signed that agreement in good faith, and you’d only be condescending if you let their democratically elected government unaccountable for its actions.
If this type of migration was being done by U.S. citizens, you’d no doubt be marching in Washington, and a new revolutionary war would be underway. Yet, instead of taking your case to the people who could actually solve the problem, the sending nations, you choose to abuse your own government, and impose the burden of millions of illiterate and potential welfare users on your fellow citizens. The poor have never paid their own way in this country, as they’ve always been subsidized by the middle and upper class, yet you would except it as policy to accept 10 million or so semi-literate as citizens. As if we don’t already have enough high school dropouts and poor to care for. I’ve always understood it to be an unwritten policy for our country to become competitive by way of promoting a literate nation. What you propose is destructively contrary to that.
There are millions of Latin Americans born into poverty every year. Your so-called immigration reform could hardly provide sufficient jobs for all those who would be guestworkers. Once the quotas for your guestworker program are filled after so-called comprehensive immigration reform is instituted, illegal immigration across the Mexican border would continue, as new migrants would continue to ignore our laws. And don’t count on us having the necessary resources to counter this. Your Hispanic advocacy groups will continue to harass our ICE folks that are doing their duty to the best of their ability. I have faith that you will continue to undermine our enforcement efforts even after your so-called guestworker program is established. The situation will worsen until even you bleeding heart leftists, and the amnestied illegal aliens have finally come to say that enough is enough. Then once again, the only efficient way to remove those who have violated our laws will be to deport the new illegal entrant, and you’ll once again whine about breaking up families, and you’ll never muster the courage to promote the necessary agressive enforcement procedures to accomplish the task. Such short-sighted people as yourselves are more dangerous to this nation than anything I can imagine.
Three more issues:
1. The idiotic argument that the mere establishment of local communities and state efforts to reinforce federal enforcement of immigration laws amounts to promoting racial profiling. First of all, none of the proposed laws refers to race or ethnicity. Secondly, such arguments could be used by any ethnic or racial group to convince the judiciary that any law is unjust based upon the fact that it will disproportionately affect them, even though the law is constitutional. As an example, imagine the hayday of organized crime, when racketeering was almost the sole province of the Italian-American Mafia. Imagine again the Italian-American community objecting to such laws because of a fear that they’d be ethnically profiled. Imagine again a judge by the name of Munley in Pennsylvania, agreeing with such a thought process and nullifying laws which are constitutionally the prerogative of states and local communities. It was such an argument that was made today by the Hispanic community in the case of Hazleton v John and Jane Doe. Judges are currently nullifying constitutionally enacted law because of the “possibility”, however remote that a law could be abused. Liberal judges are making too many pre-emptive rulings without foundation in constitutional authority (called activism by many). These are essentually usurpations of the legislative prerogative and a violation of the separation of powers. Such judical rulings have been applauded by the ACLU, who should know better.
2. The argument that the federal government has sole authority over immigration is a myth. I challenge anyone to cite where in the Constitution the federal government has been given such exclusive authority. The closest one may come is the passage which gives the feds the sole authority to establish uniform naturalization rules. There’s a chasm between immigration and naturalization that’s difficult for illegal immigration advocates to overcome. And since the federal government was never given such powers over immigration, and the such powers are not explicitly denied to the states by the Constitution, such power defaults to the states and the people, as provided for in that document, the actual practicality of which is nothwithstanding. The Supremacy Clause cannot be invoked in this case, because to do so would have the affect of denying states rights entirely. The federal government would essentially have the authority to pass laws that pre-empt prerogatives defaulted to the states under the Constitution.
Make that two more issues in lieu of three.
Oh Horace, such a lot of words to hide the truth.
It’s been in all of the papers. Folks are beginning to realize what is going on.
The ACLU sued Chertoff for the vile conditions at the Hutto Detention Center. They won. Why would that be?
Human rights were being abused.
And you are trying to deny it? Are you denying people have died in ICE custody? Have not received the medicine they need? That families have not been ripped apart in raids where parents were taken away and their children were left abandoned?
You use so many words. But what you are saying is a lie. And people are now, finally, beginning to realize that.
So no, I don’t want my taxpayer dollars going to build family prisons or help to abuse the human rights of human beings. We can and will do better.
As I said, Horace, your day is done. No longer will people like you be able to con folks into believing lies. You will no longer get a free pass for spreading hatred and fear. You can throw the whole dictionary at me, but it won’t change that.
It’s not the “government” I am “abusing,” Horace. I am opposed to you and folks like you — a vocal minority who have taken advantage of the ignorance of most Americans about what is really going on to spread hatred and distort good American values to serve that hatred, who have made a concerted effort to wreck any real immigration reform legislation. You won’t be able to do that any longer without opposition.
Kitty,
None of what you’ve said comes close to refuting my points. I agree that abuses at contracted immigrant holding facilities should be corrected and immigrants should be treated humanely before they are deported. Arrest and detention can be done without traumatizing anyone. ICE arrests tens of thousands of illegal immigrants every year, some with chronic illnesses and some who will die even though given all the medical treatment they need. The death rate at immigration facilities is no worse than in our prison system, yet illegal alien advocates capitalize on every instance to demonize the government in its efforts. There agenda is not fairness, but to destroy our immigration laws and legal system to their own ends.
State after state has enacted legislation supportive of federal efforts to enforce our constitutionally enacted laws. State government is much closer to its constituency than the Congress. One only has to look at the pathetic approval rating of the House and Senate to realize it. No, Kitty, there will be no amnesty, only continued enforcement of our laws, both at state and federal level. This nation cannot survive as a sovereign state, answerable to the citizens and not to ethocentic fascists and invading foreigners, if the will of the voter’s wishes are not heeded. Yes, a new day has come, but not the one you foresee.
Horace,
If this is true that none of the ordinances promoted racial profiling, why did Prince William County have to revise their original law? Also why did their Chief of Police have to ask for 3 million dollars to install cameras in the patrol cars to protect against racial profiling lawsuits? Seems like they wouldn’t have had to do this if it wasn’t an issue.
As for who has the right to enact immigration laws, that is what the Supremacy Clause is all about. What are the supreme laws of the land? Have you read Article VI?
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
What are the “Laws of the United States”? Could they be federal laws? And since immigration law is federal law, the states don’t have the authority to make their own. Case after case the federal courts have struck down these attempts.
You say that there will be no amnesty, only enforcement. But what is happening in Arizona? Why are they trying to enact their own guest-worker program? Could it be because their shortsightedness has caused their economy to tank? Why has almost every chamber of commerce in the US supported immigration reform? They recognize the fact that enforcement only will never work.
Sorry, Horace, I won’t buy into your framing.
The enforcement-only policy that has been promulgated by folks like you, that has been put into place under the unwitting blindness of the general public inherently leads to human rights abuses. The employers get off scott free and the undocumented workers have their families torn apart. There is no humane way to deport 12 million people. Treating hard working families as hardened criminals is not the answer.
This is not about immigration. I’m happy for there to be a real national discussion about labor laws and our own actions in other countries and fair immigration policy.
But I do not want my taxpayer dollars going towards family prisons and raids of entire communities and families being torn apart. That cannot be “fixed” by saying you’re all for “humane” treatment while deporting human beings. The reality is far different than your theories. The fact you try to excuse the deaths of people under ICE detention betrays your own indifference to those human rights.
As I said, your time is done. Your deceptive theoretical nonsense will no longer go unchallenged and unchecked. And your equally deceptive framing of this issue will no longer be fed into.
“This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
What are the “Laws of the United States”? Could they be federal laws? And since immigration law is federal law, the states don’t have the authority to make their own. Case after case the federal courts have struck down these attempts.”
Actually, the Supreme Court has never adjudicated on the legallity of states involvement in assisting the federal government in enforcing immigration law. Just because the federal government makes a law and a lower court federal judge agrees with it, doesn’t make it constitutionally valid. I suspect that we are nearing the point at which our Supreme Court will take this issue up. Until the, don’t expect anti-illegal immigrant forces to concede.
The treaties your reference applies to are between the U.S. and foreign powers, so I don’t know why you cite that clause of the Constitution. It’s evident that you people do not understand the very Constitution that you cite. For example, the Tenth Amendment, also known as the reserved powers clause states that “The Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respictively, or to the people.” The federal government cannot take rights away from the states that are inherently theirs according to the Constitution, no matter what our Congress may think or do. Although the federal government may make law, it cannot invoke the Supremacy Clause by enacting laws that remove these rights, else the states have effectively no real rights at all, being vulnerable to eliminatin at will by Congress, without regard to constitutionally inherent authority.
——————————————————————————–
“You say that there will be no amnesty, only enforcement. But what is happening in Arizona? Why are they trying to enact their own guest-worker program? Could it be because their shortsightedness has caused their economy to tank? Why has almost every chamber of commerce in the US supported immigration reform? They recognize the fact that enforcement only will never work.”
What’s happening in Arizona is the attempt to do the job that the federal government won’t do, enforce our immigration laws and set up a program whereby legal migrants can enter the country. It is not intended to give permanent residency or rewared recent law breakers with a pathway to citizenship. I don’t agree with it for reasons that I will expound on, later in this comment. The very people who have broken our laws, the members of the Chamber of Commerce are fighting the enforcement of our laws simply because they don not want to be prosecuted for engaging in the hiring of illegal aliens. If they had been sincere and honest, they would have promoted the use of the already establish guest worker programs. Don’t look to these pirates for moral guidance, as they are nothing but unscrupulous and greedy pigs who want to keep on exploiting cheap labor. What evidence can you cite that Arizona’s economy may tank? Maybe underground economies in that state my tank, or one’s that profit off of illegal immigrants, but they are not entitled to profit by illegal enterprises, are they?
Enforcement has never been tried, as criminal empolyers have lobbied against providing law enforcement with the necessary resources. You’d better hope that enforcment eventually works, because if it doesn’t, there will be millions of additional new illegal immigrants swamping our country, above the levels that we have need for in our labor pool. Futhermore, you immigration reform people are fools to expect that guest workers will ever go home voluntarily. They’ll just ignore our rules once again, and dare us to take action. Your weak kneed approach has given them the green light to future disregard of our immigration laws. Look what’s happening in the current recession. Millions of illegal aliens have become unemployed due to the downturn in the economy, yet many insist on staying, probably in hopes that your advocacy groups will gain them amnesty. What makes you think that people will meekly elect to go home if unemployed, as required by any future guest worker program. All you have is the hope that they will, and nothing more. The answer is that they won’t go home, and we’ll once again face the need for enforcement and deportations. And you weak willed people won’t have the good sense or courage to make the hard decisions. Immigration reform as proposed by you leftist advocates is very shortsighted, with little regard for the unintended consequences of your actions. You immigration reform has a high degree of risk, that, if it results in failure, will severe consequences to Americans for generations to come.
Note2self, you cite Article VI, but I cite the X Amendment, which supercedes it. The Tenth Amendment modified the Constitution to force Congress to respect the rights of the states.
“I am fearful for my home state and feel disconnected from the debate from my current residence in Washington, DC. So I am relieved and hopeful to hear a voice of humanity and reason coming from the Charlotte Observer.”
How about this for a voice of humanity: Deport all illegal aliens and force the nation most responsible for the illegal immmigrant problem, Mexico, to treat its people right. Half of all taxes go uncollected in Mexico. Most of this money would likely come from the billionaire plutocracy, but the Mexican government is so corrupt that it will not do so. How much of the 23 billion dollars from remittances sent by illegal workers in this country would be unnecessary if Mexico simply collected what is owed. Instead of insisting that the American people pick up the slack of Mexico’s failures, people in this foolish blog should work towards reform in Mexico. I guess that it’s easier to put the burden of these people on the backs of the American people than actually go to the root cause of illegal immigration.
Pardon the poor sentencing, but you get the picture.
Horace – people on your side decry immigration federalism when the courts constantly rule in favor of upholding instate-tuition for undocumented students (i.e. Day v. Selebius) and then then start purporting that every immigration federalism when courts strike down state illegal immigration laws by citing the supremacy clause of the U.S. constitution. It’s a “moving target” – make up your mind.
The actual opinion of the Supreme Court is not an either/or as stated in Plyler v Doe; state immigration actions must closely model federal objectives:
“The Constitution grants Congress the power to “establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization.” Art. I., 8, cl. 4. Drawing upon this power, upon its plenary authority with respect to foreign relations and international commerce, and upon the inherent power of a sovereign to close its borders, Congress has developed a complex scheme governing admission to our Nation and status within our borders. See Mathews v. Diaz, 426 U.S. 67 (1976); Harisiades v. Shaughnessy, 342 U.S. 580, 588 -589 (1952). The obvious need for delicate policy judgments has counseled the Judicial Branch to avoid intrusion into this field. Mathews, supra, at 81. But this traditional caution does not persuade us that unusual deference must be shown the classification embodied in 21.031. The States enjoy no power with respect to the classification of aliens. See Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U.S. 52 (1941). This power is “committed to the political branches of the Federal Government.” Mathews, 426 U.S., at 81 . Although it is “a routine and normally legitimate part” of the business of the Federal Government to classify on the basis of alien status, id., at 85, and to “take into account the character of the relationship between the alien and this country,” id., at 80, only rarely are such matters relevant to legislation by a State. See Id., at 84-85; Nyquist v. Mauclet, 432 U.S. 1, 7 , n. 8 (1977).
As we recognized in De Canas v. Bica, 424 U.S. 351 (1976), the States do have some authority to act with respect to illegal aliens, at least where such action mirrors federal objectives and furthers a legitimate state goal. In De Canas, the State’s program reflected Congress’ intention to bar from employment all aliens except those possessing a grant of permission to work in this country. Id., at 361. In contrast, there is no indication that the disability imposed by 21.031 corresponds to any identifiable congressional policy. The [457 U.S. 202, 226] State does not claim that the conservation of state educational resources was ever a congressional concern in restricting immigration. More importantly, the classification reflected in 21.031 does not operate harmoniously within the federal program.”
I tend to believe the Oklahoma decision was a bad one simple because I don’t want to see employers getting away without sanctions when migrants are being detained, abused and deported. That is not fairness of the law to me. On the other hand, the Courts have constantly ruled in favor of undocumented students when it comes to education so any laws against that are a no-no. If you or anyone else wants to tout the “rule of law,” lets do it as clearly and with as much conscience as possible.
According to the Constitution, those case law rulings are built on a foundation of sand, merely being the opinions of activist judges. Without a clear mandate from the Constitution itself, the federal government can never have plenary power over immigration. I don’t care how many poorly adjudcated rulings you cite, the Constitution has the final say over the authority of the federal government. Federal judges cannot delegate powers to the Legislative Branch, regardless of how omnipotent they feel on any given day. Case law built on a foundation of sand inevitably collapses under its own weight. This will become settled law when the Supreme Court finally rules, no sooner.
“The actual opinion of the Supreme Court is not an either/or as stated in Plyler v Doe; state immigration actions must closely model federal objectives:”
Speaking of that sad day in the history of jurisprudence provokes me to speak. Plyler v. Doe is one of the worst rulings every made by the Supreme Court. In it, the court legislated social policy that is the sole prerogative of the Congress. By what right has the court to decide what policies are in the best interests of this country? Education, grades K-12, is not a right defined by the Constitution, but a privilege historically governed by states law, and as such falls exclusively within the authority of the states. The Court even admitted so. Plyler v. Doe essentially expropriated funds from the Texas to educate persons not entitled to membership in the community of citizens known as the people of the United States of America. The Court decided that illegal aliens were going to remain successful in the avoidance of deportation, so their children would be entitled to an education at the citizen’ss expense, and that it was in our nation’s interest to do so. In so doing, the Court wrongly establish a new Constitutional right for people who we were engaged in deporting. Such contradictions strain the bounds of common sense. It’s no wonder that our citizens often have contempt for the courts. As I recall, the minority opion writers rightly ridiculed the majority by calling them social engineers.
Horace, you are nothing but a moral coward.
You hide behind what you seem to think are clever analyses of the law — except, of course, when you disagree, and then blame activist judges for rulings that don’t go along with your bigoted and cowardly reasonings.
When human rights abuses are brought up, you bring up how prisoners in jail also die, as though that is some kind of justification for the human rights abuses going on now that result in deaths. If there are prisoners who die in jail because they were abused, not given medication when they are ill, that’s equally wrong. And that is the justification you use, when you’re not denying outright that human beings are being abused, as though these acts are morally acceptable to any American value. They are not.
We can and will do better. I’m sure that when we do finally pass comprehensive immigration reform, which we will do, you’ll be the first to whine about it and then we can all say, “Oh Horace, it’s the LAW! What is it about LEGAL that you don’t understand?”
To the rest of you who are trying to argue with Horace using facts and reasoning — I hope you can see that is a useless endeavor. Horace isn’t interested in the truth but only in punishing other human beings and damned if they die or their children are traumatized.
This is moral cowardice. I would rather hear outright hate speech, which is at least honest, than this dressed up version. Howard, your gown of deception is getting awfully tattered. Soon everyone will see you and those like you as the naked bigots and cowards that you are.
correction – in last paragraph “Horace,” not “Howard.”
Gee, Kitty, I’ve always thought that cleverness was a virtue, but I’ll yield to your simpleminded assessment of the issue.
Horace, cleverness is trumped, I believe, by unconditional human compassion, something it seems you only possess depending upon one’s legal status, if at all.
I’m proud to be simple about this, because it is simple. No one has the right, regardless of any law, to abuse the human rights of others. Not when it comes to torture, not when it comes to separating families, not when it comes to family prisons or allowing folks to die through negligence.
Yes, it’s that simple.
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Gheen,
When you begin to pay taxes for ALIPAC on a regular basis, instead of going entire years without paying and then catching up, America might listen to you. If you are supposed to be a “good American” then why don’t you pay taxes on a regular basis? If you want to talk about “illegal” then address that first!
Your hate and affiliation with racist organizations, is disgusting. Your members have bragged about murdering Mexicans at the Arizona border. They have confessed that they were involved in the destruction of a radio tower for a Latino radio station. This is not the work of good citizens. In America, we call these types of domestic terrorists CRIMINALS!
When you isolate a culture to systematically target with hate campaigns, then don’t whine and snivel because you are called on it. I commend Mary Schulken of the Charlotte Observer for depicting you as exactly what you are in her article on June 5, 2008. It’s time for America to stand up and illuminate the hate campaigns of people like you and Lou Dobbs. Your five minutes of fame has ended. The only reason you are apologizing is to try to recapture some attention after realizing that your membership is diminishing. Stop making a joke out of yourself.
As a U.S. citizen, I find you an embarrassment to this country!
Horace,
Our courts were created to rule on constitutional laws, and they are appointed by the people we elect. In the U.S. this process is part of the three branches of government: the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. This is a process that you as an American should be proud of, (especially as a nativist), because it defines the very essence of America.
You ask, “By what right has the court to decide what policies are in the best interests of this country?” It is by the right of acting as one of the three branches of government. Courts decide arguments about the meaning of laws, how they are applied, and whether they break the rules of the Constitution. And just because you don’t like the ruling or fail to understand its merits, doesn’t give you the right to question rulings. Beyond our courts are the courts of international law and the agreements we have signed with an eye to protect our own citizenry when in captivity. These moral agreements, such as the Geneva Convention, control human rights abuses.
Our legislative branch does not rule on law. It creates bills that may become law. If the effects of that law is unconstitutional, then it is the responsibility of the judicial branch to correct that process. This is a great system we have that includes checks and balances. If you don’t like our system, then may I suggest you leave the country and find a system that suits you!
As Americans I believe it is our duty to insist that our government enforce our immigration laws. We have very generous immigration policies already in place.
I have seen threats and acts of violence on both sides of this issue so no one is the innocent.
Congress makes immigration policies, that IS our system. There is nothing wrong with seeking changes to any laws but it is wrong to demonize others who don’t agree with you and wrong to break those laws before they are changed.