Posted on 02/24/2006 10:45:08 PM PST by CrawDaddyCA
A Maryland organization that runs four government-funded day-labor hiring centers is training volunteer "legal observers" to videotape members of the Minuteman border security group and to picket their homes, places of work and their children's schools.
"We are going to target them in a specific way," Gustavo Torres, executive director of Casa de Maryland told the Maryland Gazette, speaking of the Minutemen volunteers who have set up a surveillance site across the street to discreetly photograph contractors who pick up day laborers at the center.
Going out with their own cameras will only be the first step his group takes.
"Then we are going to picket their houses, and the schools of their kids, and go to their work," Torres said. "If they are going to do this to us, we are going to respond in the same way, to let people know their neighbors are extremists, that they are anti-immigrant. They are going to hear from us."
The Minuteman Project's "covert" campaign to monitor day labor centers has been in operation for a little over a week. The group, which started with much-publicized efforts to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border and report sightings of illegal aliens to the Border Patrol, has turned its attention to the employers who hire undocumented workers.
"From a national standpoint, we want to close the border down and stop the flow of illegals," said Stephen Schreiman, president of a newly formed Maryland chapter. "We want to do the same thing here, but our approach will be a little different. What we want to do is to basically discourage contractors and businesses from hiring illegals. It's against federal law.
"We're going to go after these [contractors] at the state and local level because these people aren't paying taxes. We're going to take these people and through a vetting process determine which ones are not paying their taxes and doing business in an inappropriate manner and then turn them over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution. That should put a damper on the hiring of illegals."
The most recent annual report for Casa de Maryland, a non-profit, shows $2,771,615 in income for 2004-2005, of which 51 percent was provided by various government agencies. According to its website, the organization's employment program provides day-labor placement for "low-income Latino and African immigrants ... as employers seek to replace permanent workers." "We never ask for documentation," Torres told the New York Times in December. "Our mission is to help anyone in need of service, regardless of their immigration status. We are proud of that."
Casa's operation has not only been blessed by government funding but it has the support of the local business community.
"In this area, the commercial sector hasn't been harmed in the sense of people being deprived from work because of the day laborers being here," said Erwin Mack, executive director of the Takoma⁄Langley Crossroads Development Authority. "Consequently, while there are issues with their right to be in the United States, that's not what we're concerned about. We're concerned that they wait in an area that doesn't hurt our commercial properties.'
That's not good enough for Minuteman's Schreiman who intends to pursue his effort to inform the authorities about unlawful activity and have the law enforced.
And Schreiman's commitment to stay within the law – and the fact there have been no complaints filed with the police over the Minuteman surveillance – isn't good enough for Casa's Torres, who told a Spanish-language newspaper it would be better if the Minutemen did not interfere with Casa. But it is Torres threat to recruit individuals to picket Minuteman members' children at school that has the greatest likelihood to escalate the tense, but so-far peaceful, situation.
"Threatening children like this is outrageous," said Minuteman Civil Defense Corps President Chris Simcox. "Casa de Maryland's funding should be pulled and its contracts cancelled. It is beyond belief that taxpayer dollars are funding this thuggish behavior."
The Maryland Minutemen have their work cut out for them. Takoma Park, site of the Casa day-labor center they've been monitoring, has declared itself a Sanctuary City and prohibits its employees, including police, from arresting illegal aliens or assisting federal immigration authorities.
Perhaps the minutemen should expand their activities to include monitoring muslims for terrorism.
The purpose of picketing the school is to identify the Minutemen kids for harassment and violence from a much larger number of hispanic kids which they will inflame with cries of 'racism' rather than 'illegal', knowing that school staff, most Black kids and a third of White kids will be on their side and the rest neutralized.
The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC
Make sure it's done inside the house.
http://207.176.67.2/clerk/ordinances/other/ord198563.pdf.
Introduced by: Councilmember D’Ovidio 1st Reading: October 15, 1985
2nd Reading: October 28, 1985
ORDINANCE NO. 1985-63
WHEREAS the City of Takoma Park has expressed in Resolution 1985-29 a policy of granting
refuge to the numerous Salvadorans and Guatemalans in this area whom the
Immigration and Naturalization Service actively seeks to expel back to their wartorn
homelands; and
WHEREAS neither the Immigration and Nationality Act nor any other federal or state law
imposes a duty upon the City to enforce or assist in the enforcement of the U.S.
immigration laws; and
WHEREAS it is the policy of the City of Takoma Park that all residents shall have equal right
to enjoy the benefits of Takoma Park without fear of harassment or discrimination
due to their nationality or citizenship status.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
SECTION 1. No city enforcement of immigration laws
a. No agent, officer, or employee of the City of Takoma Park, in the
performance of official duties, shall assist or cooperate with the
Immigration and Naturalization Service of the United States in the
investigation or arrest of any persons for civil or criminal violation of the
Immigration and Nationality laws of the United States.
b. Except for Section 1.a. above, this ordinance does not prohibit the Takoma
Park Police Department from carrying out its mandated duty to apprehend
violators of the criminal law, nor does it prohibit police contact with any
Federal agency, other than the Immigration and Naturalization Service, in
connection with criminal or suspected criminal activity.
SECTION 2. No inquiries into citizenship
No agent, officer, or employee of the City of Takoma Park, in the performance of
official duties, shall make any inquiry about citizenship or residency status of any
person seeking to enforce rights or obtain benefits, or discriminate in the
enforcement of rights or the granting of benefits on such bases, unless Federal or
Maryland law so requires for the determination of eligibility of benefits. The City
of Takoma Park administers no program which requires such inquiry.
SECTION 3. No release of information about citizenship status
No agent, officer, or employee of the City of Takoma Park, in the performance of
2
official duties, shall release to the Immigration and Naturalization Service any
information regarding the citizenship or residency status of any City resident.
SECTION 4. Severability
The provisions of this ordinance shall be severable; and if any part is declared by
a court of competent jurisdiction to be contrary to the Constitution or laws of the
United States or Maryland, and the applicability of that part of this ordinance to
any agency, person, or circumstance is thereby held invalid, the validity of the
remainder of this ordinance shall not be affected.
SECTION 5. Effective date
This ordinance shall become effective upon enactment.
ADOPTED this 28th day of October, 1985.
Good God, this is the Twilight Zone!
You are correct!
Please don't forget San Francisco!
Seems to be the main point of the article, as expressed by many Freepers.
No one is going to get killed...i have spoken with Chris Simcox and he is very level headed....this vigilante crap is all from the media. If those idiots want to go follow the Minute Men around, let them do it. Another group tried it down at the border and it just ended up deterring more illegals from crossing, because from the other side of the river, they could tell who was who and avoided everyone. Yet another example of liberal thinking providing the opposite of the intended result.
Only thing I hope for is a jury of real Americans, not the fake ones. If threatening peoples children causes a problem, the jury should not guilty the protecting parent regardless of anything, imo.
Yep, you have to give the muslims credit where its due. There will be no more cartoons published either, let alone intimidating ones children. BTW, if they follow around the kids at their schools, what about all the other kids? This smacks of terrorism to me. They are trying to terrify the kids by whatever means they deem worthy.
You are correct. We have been chastised in the past for editorializing the supposed content of something by changing the title.
I think Freepers deserve at least to get the original title and meaning of the post.
There is no doubt that alot of editing has happened in the past, many good and loyal Freepers went through hell over the open borders debates.
So if FR has some agenda re:immigration, maybe it should simply say so.
And when Jim Robertson reads my post, boy is he gonna be pizzed!
There can be no justice, there can be no honor, there can be no pride without honesty.
The MM already have a goal and are so busy with your tresured illegals that they don't have time. Why don't you start a group?
Illegals-advocate group to stalk Minutemen kids
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.