Thompson Posted on 08/30/2006 3:49:52 PM PDT by pulaskibush
Opinions clash in initial meeting of Ark. immigration watch group
Viewpoints clashed Tuesday night during the Arkansas Minuteman Civil Defense Corps organizational meeting at Lake Hamilton Fire Department.
Nearly half of the packed meeting room at the station were there to voice their opposition to the organization’s mission, while the other half voiced staunch support.
"It’s up to us to do what we can to protect the birthright of our children and grandchildren," meeting organizer Bill Riggins of Hot Springs told the crowd. "With every benefit and every reward comes responsibility."
Riggins called the influx of illegal immigrants into the United States an "invasion of our southern borders."
Greg Thompson, national training director for the organization, compared the work of the Minutemen to that of a neighborhood watch program.
He explained that volunteers watch the U.S./Mexican border and report any illegal activity to law enforcement.
Someone from the audience asked by what authority they have to conduct their operations. The question brought about a heated exchange between the two sides.
"We’ve got the right to defend our property," a man shouted. "The Mexican border is not your property," a woman responded. "We’re Americans, and that’s our property," the man replied. Thompson told the crowd that the meeting was for people who were interested in joining the Minutemen, and if people were not interested, they could leave.
"Your opinion is not welcome," he said. Thompson said that illegal immigrants are exploited in many different ways, and that efforts to stem illegal immigration would actually help protect them.
"We have saved hundreds of illegal people coming across the border in the desert," he said. "They didn’t have water; they didn’t have food.
"The next time you stay in a hotel and see a Latino maid, remember that 77 percent of these women have been molested in their journey across this country."
He also denied that the group was involved in any sort of racism. "If people make the slightest implication that they are racist, they cannot be allowed to join," he said.
Riggins explained that they are trying to stop illegal immi grants, not legal ones. "We’re not talking about le gal immigrants," he said. "We welcome and certainly need their participation in our orga nization." Thompson echoed the point, saying that immigrants should follow the legal procedures to get into the country.
"We believe there’s a better way to bring people into this country," he said. "It would let them work, let them pay taxes and let them learn English." Trina Fortanelli-Lezana, the 23-year-old daughter of a Mexican immigrant, argued that people come into the country trying to make better lives for their families.
"We do need to secure our borders," she said. "But, against terrorists, not people who want to come make better lives for their families." Thompson closed the meeting to only those who wished to join the organization.
Thompson
Riggins
IN DEBATE: Regina Clark, left, Barbara Flores and Trina Fortanelli-Lezama engage in a discussion with a man who declined to be identified following a meeting of the Arkansas Minuteman Civil Defense Corps at the Lake Hamilton Fire Station on Tuesday.
(not shown is Trina Fortanelli-Lezana's mother, who was the biggest mouth in the illegal crowd. She was also the biggest person in the room!)
I added the second audio clip - I left it unedited with all the yelling and rude interruptions from the LULAC communists in the back of the room.
I stopped recording after 42 minutes - it was just more of the same and by then I was disgusted by their entire display
060829_ArkMinuteman_2.mp3
What was really pitiful, is the predictable use of their own little children they drag in for protection and effect -- just like Hezbollah!
bttt
ping
Using Trina's twisted logic, if I wanted to make a better life for my family, it would be ok to steal from her family.
No, that would be cowboys and Mexicans. We've already played cowboys and Indians.
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