
Dozens of immigration reform advocates braved the cold in Southampton Village on Sunday afternoon to rally for comprehensive reform on the state and federal levels.
The peaceful protest took place at Lola Prentice Memorial Park on Windmill Lane, next to police headquarters, over an hour and a half, and featured many pro-immigration reform signs. A boy held one that read, “You may think I’m a DREAMER, but I’m not the only one,” using John Lennon lyrics to refer to the Dream Act, a bill that would give legal status to some illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children.
Chants of “Yes, we can!” and its Spanish equivalent “Sí se puede!” emerged from the crowd. Some people waved American flags.
The event drew an estimated 300 ralliers, according to Sister Mary Beth Moore, a pastoral agent with Centro Corazón de María, one of the rally sponsors and a founding member of the East End Immigrant Advocates, or EEIA, a one-year-old outreach and advocacy organization, that co-sponsored it. Neighbors in Support of Immigrants and the Hispanic Apostolate of the South Fork also sponsored the rally.
“The tourist industry and the agricultural industry of the East End are made possible by immigrant labor,” Sister Moore said, “and they deserve justice.”
The rally, which drew a mix of citizens and non-citizens, was intended to provide an opportunity for the immigrant community to show their strength and let their voices be heard, she said. She called it a great success.
Despite “oodles of publicity,” she said, “we didn’t know if people would come out. Undocumented people are fearful of other people’s attitudes toward them and actual reprisals.”
The Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill, passed by Senate by a large majority in June, includes a path to citizenship for adults that would likely take 13 years, according to the EEIA. “Dreamers,” or young, undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, would be able to earn green cards in five years, as would some agricultural workers. EEIA added that the bill also calls for increases in border security and a system to prevent businesses from hiring unauthorized workers.
Ralliers spoke of their reasons for taking a stand.
“Some of my neighbors are Latinos and I’ve become friends with them,” explained Lorry Werner of Hampton Bays about why she attended. “We’re all immigrants.”
She happened to drive by and notice the rally, so she joined in, she said.
Carla Ash of East Hampton called herself a big proponent of immigration reform.
“Many Latinos are hard workers and they deserve better than they’re getting,” she said, adding that she came despite a busy day. “We can’t let the House think we don’t care anymore.”
“I want reform. I don’t want to be scared,” said Vilma Segura of Southampton. “I want to have my license.”
Jack King of Westhampton Beach said, “If you look around you see so many families here. We have to keep families together. Our immigration system is separating them … They are Americans.”
Meanwhile, four counterprotesters took up camp across the street, brandishing anti-immigration signs such as “Secure Our Borders” and “Don’t Jump the Fence. Obey the Law!”
“The illegals come in and take the jobs Americans need,” said Lynda Edwards of Amagansett, an organizer of the East End Tea Party, who waved the latter sign.
A fellow counterprotester distributed a document issued by the group New Yorkers for Immigration Control and Enforcement, or NYICE, that railed against “amnesty for illegal aliens.”
“Don’t believe the lie that the 20 million illegals are somehow helping our economy, instead of the truth, which is that they are destroying it,” it read.
Sister Moore, for her part, said the pro-immigration advocates will hold another rally in the spring, timed to coincide with the filing periods for the 2014 midterm elections.
Illegal immigration NO!!
Rule of law SI!
Criminal behavior NO!
FIFY 27 East, no no, don't thank me.
If you are not going to punish people who break the law why should anyone follow any law?
Realists, not Idealists, can see that our crime rates are climbing and as long as they remain there is no end to that in sight.
We are a nation of immigrants. My grandparents came to this country in the same way many of these immigrants today have come. They faced the exact same prejudices. I have heard their stories ...more firsthand. This is no different. Common sense immigration reform IS the answer.
It really is time for people to realize that our neighbors carry with them a rich cultural heritage that can only benefit our community....IF those people would rid themselves of the hatred of all things different from them.
+++
As if there aren't legal channels to do so. Let's not forget that entering the country illegally is a crime. Immigration is good for the USA. Legal immigration. So a part of me wishes Mrs. Segura well, another part of me wants to know what right she has to make demands as she is technically a criminal. I'd imagine Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, etc. not being all to thrilled with ...more a group of Americans hanging out on the corner saying, "I want this or that" while being in their country illegally. But ours has become a liberal society, so it is inevitable that we reward 20 million people for breaking our laws. Dios Blass los estados unidos!
Ok, you say she came here illegally and is a criminal. You've never broken a law before? She came here looking to better herself and better her family. Many people are so blissfully ignorant to the world outside the 1st world countries (or better yet, outside of their NY bubble).
What about all the people who fled El Salvador 20 years ago when they were going through a ruthless ...more civil war where children were kidnapped and turned into soldiers and ordered to slaughter their fellow citizens? You have no problem giving the boot to a model US citizen who came here illegally when they were 8 years old because their parents wanted to save them from being killed during civil war?
How about the thousands who flee Mexico and head to the US to escape the unbelievable crime and the drug lords in those countries? Mass graves are found regularly in Mexico - filled with innocent civilians who are byproducts of the drug wars. The US isn't exactly innocent in all of that either (look no further than the fast & furious debacle).
I'm not advocating for the wholesale granting of citizenship to everyone in this country through a one-step process. But I am not ignorant enough, short-sighted enough or cold enough to wish the immediate no-questions-asked deportation of hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who came to this country to escape conditions/atrocities/war/poverty/fill-in-the-blank that could not even be imagined in the US.
I didn't know that we cherry pick what laws we should obey and not obey. Do you have a list that you can send me?
I don't blame her for wanting a better life, but if she came into the country illegally then she broke our laws. There's no disputing that. Further, not all the illegal immigrants here are hard working, nice people. Some are actually pretty rotten. How do you know the difference when the sneak in? If they followed the rules we would be able to ...more weed out the good guys from the bad guys. But that's an awful thing right? I must be a racist for even having such thoughts. You want open borders? That's your preference. I don't, and see a country without borders as a country without order. And for the record, I'm not a deport them all kind of guy. I am for reform on our terms, not the illegals terms. They don't get a say in how we run our country and who we let in or stay. Thems the rules.
I'm not cherry picking a thing - what I'm saying is that we are all violators of one law or another. To you entering the country illegally is a crime punishable by (actually I'm not sure what you think the just punishment is) to these people it is better to break the law and come here illegally then stay in their homeland.
Absolutely there are terrible people who sneak across our ...more border - and immigration reform won't change that. It won't make it easier for people who commit additional crimes (real crimes as some may describe them) like DWI/robbery/murder/assault/rape etc. for them to avoid prosecution, so what's the problem?
I don't see it as "their terms" vs "our terms". Again, they're not actually making demands. They want to be able to have an avenue to earn a license, because they want to play by "our" rules. Go live in a war torn country for a year and tell me you wouldn't do anything and everything to flee that country.
The "racist" comment was based on the false notion, apparently not shared by you, that you are by default a racist if you don't support sweeping amnesty.
In my humble opinion there should ...more be reform that follows criteria looking something like
1. Secure the border. Use the military, drones, and anything else at our disposal.
2. Deport the criminals. You know, the gang members and prison inmates. Get rid of the bad guys, we have our own.
3. Proof of employment is required to stay.
4. Proof of address is required to stay.
5. Pay an entry fee. Even if you've been here 20 years, pay the fee.
2. Deport the criminals. You know, the gang members and prison inmates.
What prevents them from coming back as "free" men? Securing the border? No matter what, it aint air tight. Also, it's more complicated than that...
If someone is a victim of a crime conducted by an illegal, they have some say in what happens to that victim ...more and how charges are brought and the sentencing. If I had someone randomly commit a crime against me, I would be happier knowing they are in jail (at tax payers expense) than knowing they simply have to slip back into the country in order to attack someone else (or track me down again and seek vegance for getting them deported). It's not black and white, I assume you can see that
This piece of the article speaks volumes (to me): explained Lorry Werner of Hampton Bays about why she attended. "We're all immigrants."
I'm far from a liberal nut, I don't think everyone who comes here illegally should be able to stay no questions asked, but the notion that these people are making "demands" is ridiculous. They want to be treated like humans. Remind me again what the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty are?
And while you're a proud home-grown American (as am I) I am not foolish enough to think that my ancestors (not too far removed through time) didn't come to this country through great risk to their lives, financial well-being, family etc. in an effort to give those who followed them a better life.
Guess you have never gone over 55 on 27East either huh? (I get it, different degrees of law breaking - but you claim you will "follow/respect/abide" by the law of the country.
Who ...more among us hasn't taken a side job and received cash off the books and didn't report it to the federal government? I'm praying you don't live in a glass house in "Obama's America"
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand that
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give ...more me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
~ Emma Lazarus (The New Colossus, 1883)
One should also remember that many of these people are refugees of the Drug War, gang violence, military coups, forced military induction, and even guerilla warfare. Honduras has the highest murder rate of ANY country on the planet, just for reference.
What many of these people flee from is not pretty, and the Refugee Act may ...more be applicable to SOME of them. You should really do some research. That means ALL of you.
Reform ...more is needed, but what are the odds everyone in DC can agree on what reform means?
I know the argument is no win - but I at least hope to educate those "deport them all" campers and ...more help them see that illegals don't "steal" jobs. It's the people who hire them who are at fault along with the government who doesn't go after the employers for the laws they break.
My whole point is that the only people to blame for the loss of jobs are our fellow citizens
Tax cheats, illegal or legal are equal, no? So you think that it's OK for a business owner to skim profits and skimp on taxes because the taxes are unfair and are a "burden" placed by the government? How is that different than an illegal who sees the border as an unfair "burden" that ...more they feel justified in crossing to achieve a better life?
You don't blame business owners the way I don't blame illegals for coming here I guess that's all we can agree on.
So doesn't that mean you don't blame illegals for coming here and living here and doing whatever it is they do?
And btw, who are hiring these illegals?
The nerve of non residents to come here and protest next to a police station driving their illegal cars is outrageous.
The original claim is that illeglas take our jobs. That's not true at all. Illegals don't take jobs away from Americans. Americans either hire illegals as employees, hire companies run by illegals or choose not to do the jobs that illegals do.
The example of "some" landscaping companies (mow and blow jobs) being done by companies consisting entirely of illegal aliens (with no proof that they are actually illegal) is a far cry from the call that illegals ...more are taking american jobs away.
I never said that immigration isn't a problem. I never said driving without licenses isn't a problem. I understand that "illegals don't follow the rules so they work for less money" but who is paying them that money? American citizens.
You say "the nerve of non residents to come here and protest next to a police stationg driving their illegals cars is outrageous" is totally ridiculous. Please explain to me how you can tell who is illegla and who isn't. Is it like gaydar? Same goes for HB. You say illegals are ruining it. How can you tell who is an illegal and who isn't?
B) How do you tell who is illegal and who is not? Are you implying that there are NO legally owned and operated landscaping businesses run by LEGAL immigrants (or people who are the decendants of immigrants and may or not be of hispanic decent)?
You and your friends are grasping at straws based on prejuidice assumptions predicated on skin color and or preferred language (it apperas).
You yourself say that you that you made an assumption on the legal status of someone based on their language skills and a NC plate. Maybe you were right - but it is still a prejudice assumption. I did not claim you to be a racist and I think it's important to keep racism out of the discussion because there are a lot of illegal immigrants ...more from countries all over the world and there are plenty among us who you would never suspect are here illegally.
There are PLENTY of companies run by born and bred Americans that use illegal labor and/or break the rules and/or cheat taxes.
The government (federal) has completely failed ...more their citizens by not cracking down on the tax cheats and the scammers and the employers.
We ...more should be taxing any Funds wired or sent to other countries. If those wiring the funds can not show that they have paid taxes on funds and the taxes collected on those 'wired' funds should go to local schools and hospitals. I would have no problem with 'illegals' if they carried the same tax burden as the rest of us and they did not abuse the welfare system. I know not all do and many US citizens abuse systems as well. American workers have to pay workers comp and many other taxes before they can even raise a hammer. They have to incorporate those taxes into what they charge for their work to even break even. Those that do not pay taxes can charge much less and put those that play by the rules at a distinct disadvantage
Our working poor are the forgotten Americans in the immigration problem.
To keep them out of the limelight, we’ve increased social welfare, reduced federal education ...more standards to camouflage the ongoing tragedy. A mother with two children in New York, for instance, is able to collect $38,004 per year in welfare handouts. This is greater than the starting salary of a teacher in the state (CATO).
Employers who tell you they can’t find Americans to do their work are not being totally fair. The fact is they simply do not want to give up margin and pay a competitive wage or they can’t compete with companies who only employ illegals. Regardless of the reason, our working poor suffer.
The administration has quietly gutted workfare. We don’t need minimum wage reform, we need to free up those jobs taken by illegals, wages will go up. We also should go back to the old workfare rules. This all puts Americans first. So we might have some inflation, as long as it means our poor are once again moving up, I’m willing to dig deeper in my pocket.
What a novel idea, putting Americans first. It is not racist to want to take care of our own. Don’t tell anyone, it’s really “patriotic” to help Americans. Patriotic, a word we don’t hear enough in this country, Si?
"A statistic deep inside a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report may further inflame the debate over income inequality.
The report says that the top 40 percent of U.S. wage earners paid 106 percent of U.S. individual income taxes in 2010, ...more while the bottom 40 percent paid negative 9 percent, CNBC reports."
Democrats are anti-business, anti-growth, anti-capitalist. You have President Moron babbling on about income inequality and what he would do; never mind that rate of inequality jumped 400% under his watch. No, the Democrats need more slaves and serfs for their plantation; expect a lot of talk and no action.
Keep on printin'...
It is funny that when Wall Street is doing well under a Republican President Democrats/liberals/leftists tell you how horrible the dirty rich are. When the market is going ...more gangbusters under a struggling Democrat President what a resounding success his policies have been; crisis over.
Just wait: the Big Pop is coming. If you have made back what you lost in the crash of 08 you would be foolish to not now consider moving your wealth/investments into more secure holdings.
Bit coins? How about real coins: pre-64 silver; real money. Prices are low right now and good time to buy if you can spare it.
Or figuratively, in contrast to the billions and billions of paper money being printed? Got it.
Bitcoins? I have a boatload of tulips available on the cheap . . .
Have a few 1964 or older dimes, and some other varied coins, none uncirculated.
Dimes before 1965 are your best chance of finding any silver still in circulation, and of course the quarters before '65 are worth the most (90% silver) and of course silver dollars like the uncirculated Ikes.
That's called Oligarchy. And it would have been nice to see "commoners" in quotations. If you sit down and read an Oxford history of the United States, you would see that this is just repetition. All these things have happened before in the colonies, and the following century of American History. Using economics as a weapon was around long before OPEC quadrupled oil prices back in the 70's. Truth ...more is, debauching an enemy's currency is a tactic almost as old as warfare itself. Remember, top heavy trees simply invite disaster at some point.
We have plenty of work to do out there in this country, but the resources need to be directed to such projects. They are currently being directed into industry subsidies and the deep heavy pockets of the properly connected. Think about it. It took 35 YEARS to complete the initial portion of our interstate system.
Eisenhower saw the need for defense infrastructure . How about our generation complete a high speed linear induction rail connecting this country? Imagine being in Boston in 30 minutes? Or maybe even California in about 12 hours, or maybe less?
Our infrastructure is crap, earns a grade of D-, and there are plenty of jobs required to fix that the whole mess we've come to be. The question is will "We"?
--------------------------------------------------------------
One claims that social welfare legislation is a ploy to camouflage the economic impact of illegal immigration on the poor.
Another claims that Carlos Slim Helú (a Mexican billionaire worth around $73 billion at last count) made his fortune on the "Obamaphone".
Then ...more there is the resurrected savant who claims that everyone who votes Democratic lives on government subsidies and handouts.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Shame on the extreme Right-Wing for its manipulation of the disabled. Now give these poor souls their warm milk and medication and send them back upstairs.
was in the news today..
How about addressing the original ...more post?
It's exactly what one of it's oldest names spells it out as:
HORSE**** ECONOMICS.
You're unfortunately "actin' the fool" far too much to see what you call "class envy" as the smokescreen it is to fog the view of our new Oligarchy ...more which has risen to power in the last twenty years or so.
Also, could you be more specific as to the OP you are referring to? Or do you mean the article?
...
"If you like your health care plan, you can keep it," President Barack Obama said -- many times -- of his landmark new law.
But the promise was impossible to keep.
...
For all of these reasons, PolitiFact has named "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it," the Lie of the Year for 2013. Readers in a separate online poll overwhelmingly agreed with the choice...
First, ...more they tried to shift blame to insurers. "FACT: Nothing in #Obamacare forces people out of their health plans," said Valerie Jarrett, a top adviser to Obama, on Oct. 28.
PolitiFact rated her statement False...
Pants on Fire! PolitiFact counted 37 times when he’d included no caveats, such as a high-profile speech to the American Medical Association in 2009: "If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what."
...
On Nov. 6, columnist Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the public "was entitled to hear the unvarnished truth, not spin, from their president about what they were about to face. I don't feel good about calling out Obama's whopper, because I support most of his policies and programs. But in this instance, he would have to be delusional to think he was telling the truth."
...
The reaction from conservative talk shows was withering. On Nov. 11, Sean Hannity put Obama’s statements up there with President Richard Nixon’s "I am not a crook," and President Bill Clinton’s "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."
...
A Pew Research/USA Today poll conducted Dec. 3-8 found the percentage of people viewing Obama as "not trustworthy" has risen 15 points over the course of the year, from 30 percent to 45 percent.
■The $800 billion stimulus plan passed in 2009
■The $5 trillion in debt accumulation—the most of any President in history
■The passage of Obamacare… the assassination of Osama Bin Laden… and huge tax increases
The vast majority of those who are paying for the current economic debacle are the close to 300 million who had nothing to do with it...
Seems appropriate
Is this guy for real
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
The people who fear deportation will not come forward, that's a given. The people who qualify under the Refugee Act need to come forward. It is our unfortunate civic duty to keep felons housed where they can do no harm here or in their country of origin.
Bottom line is that the solution begins with "We, the People". If you see people operating illegally, report them. If you know people are operating illegally, don't hire them, or DIY. ...more Vet thoroughly those you are hiring. It's up to all of us, and the authorities need to be pressured to handle those who need to be dealt with.
"He was friendly enough. Very proud of being a socialist. He was very outspoken on his political views," student Angie Mock said. "To him, it just meant economic -- more economic equality."
Economic downturns have a way of galvanizing people's view's regardless of political affiliation. To try and make a play against a political platform using this killer is not only opportunistic, it's downright pathetic...
So lets agree Mr Z , from now on crazy is just that, crazy and it does not matter what the particular loons politics were,
Agreed ?
And Cap, it's a cited historical example, and one which has been repeated (with a bailout this time) because people failed to learn from the same types of mistakes which were made during the lead in to the "Great Depression". The parallels are uncanny if you know what in the H-E double hockey sticks you're talking about. Deeply set anger and/or despair in a populace has a way of encouraging people ...more to do horrible things they more than likely and ordinarily wouldn't.
I'm sure you must have taken a basic psychology course somewhere along the line. Please do try to think outside the box.
A pathetic state for a union.
On December 15th Local News reported that an armed guard saved students' lives when Karl Halverson Pierson began firing his shotgun inside Arapahoe High School.
As more details emerge, it has become evident that the guard, a county deputy resource officer did this by running toward the shooter in a way that ended the entire incident in 80 seconds.