Minutemen will monitor Houston day laborers
Illegal immigration apologists are going to come unglued:
The Minutemen are coming to Houston.
Leaders of the controversial group dedicated to stopping the flow of illegal immigration said they will patrol the streets of the Bayou City beginning in October, as part of a campaign that will extend north from the Mexican border. Houston volunteers will gather near day labor centers and corners where immigrant workers solicit work, in an effort to draw critical attention to the city's hands-off policy toward illegal immigrants.
"We will be videotaping the (day laborers) and we will be videotaping the contractors who pick them up," said Bill Parmley, a Goliad County landowner who heads the Texas chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. The Minutemen will only observe to draw attention to the problem and will not attempt to make arrests, he said.
We know how HPD capitulated the other day. What do other local officials think?
News of the potential patrols in Houston drew a muted response from Mayor Bill White, who said he did not want to engage in a "pointless public relations battle."
"I'm not in a position to dictate to private organizations other than that they should obey the law," White said.
But others were more outspoken.
"This is a welcoming community, and (the Minutemen) should let the law do its job," said City Councilman Gordon Quan, a longtime advocate for immigrants. "They would be a polarizing influence that would bring out latent prejudice."
Yes, well, the law in Houston is prevented from doing its job when it comes to illegal immigrants, Councilman Quan, due to the city's sanctuary policy:
Houston Police Department policy forbids officers from asking about immigration status in most cases. The city also funds day labor sites used by immigrants, including illegal immigrants, to find work.
And what does the organization that got HPD to cave on photographing day laborers think of the Minutemen?
"These people who hunt immigrants are only thinking of themselves," added Maria del Carmen Yupe, a leader of The Metropolitan Organization. "They don't think of the suffering of these immigrants who stand on the corner hoping to work for something to eat."
Hunt immigrants? Please. If they suffer so much while standing on a corner in Houston, then why are they here?
And check out this Mayor White quote:
White defended current policy.
"The protection of our borders is essentially a federal function," the mayor said. "I am not going to take our police out of the neighborhoods" to start looking for illegal immigrants. "Our police priority is going to be public safety."
He meant to say he didn't want to take the police off of jaywalking patrols.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/08/05 08:15 AM | Print |
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