Here in Texas, immigration, legal and illegal, is a big concern. Most of us know recent immigrants and many of us know illegal immigrants. We all know how hard immigrants--read: Latinos--work for a mere pittance. We know they do jobs cheaper than most native Americans--read: white people--would do them. How do I know this? Because I've seen their wages, I've seen the prices charged for various items, and I've been friends with enough Latinos with family in Mexico or wherever to know that recent immigrants will work for lower wages.
I also know that these same immigrants violate our laws. They violate not just immigration laws--which they had to do to be here in the first place--but they violate employment laws (no Social Security numbers, getting paid in cash), and they violate housing laws which state you can only have so many people in certain abodes. I see this happen even in upper class neighborhoods.
Yeah, I know, I know. According to Dana and others who agree with him, unless I stop buying fruit and veggies, eating in restaurants, and using the sanitation service of my city, then I don't have a right to complain about illegal immigration.
I don't buy this argument. That illegal immigration is pervasive is unquestionable. That our federal government has shirked its responsibility to police our borders is shameful. And now, when municipalities decide to do the policing the feds won't, judges stop democratically passed ordinances from going into effect.
A day before the city planned to start enforcing an ordinance banning apartment rentals to most illegal immigrants, a federal judge put a temporary stop to the plan, ruling that it "conflicts with federal law."
Legal experts said the ruling Monday by U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay signals that the ordinance may face trouble in federal court despite Farmers Branch voters' overwhelming approval of it May 12. Federal courts have issued rulings stopping other cities from implementing similar laws.
Farmers Branch has taken a lot of bashing from illegal immigrant-lovin' people and organizations. There was the boycott of Farmers Branch businesses last fall. There was the Latino activist who wasn't even a native Texan taking over the city council meeting. There were the numerous bloggers and columnists who call the citizens of Farmers Branch "white supremicists," "racists," and even tacitly compare them to the KKK and lynchers of old.
But the residents of Farmers Branch turned out in record numbers on a Saturday to vote for the ordinance. In spite of the bad press, in spite of the name-calling, the residents, by a 3-to-1 margin, told the busybodies and race baiters to shove it.
Amusingly, the anti-ordinance group was called Let the Voters Decide. They held a 20-to-1 fundraising advantage over the pro-Farmers Branch groups. Yet when the voters did decide, all the money the race baiters came up with couldn't stop the voters from deciding for themselves whether they approved of breaking our laws or not. MALDEF and ACLU filed for an injunction with a Clinton-appointed judge as soon as possible.
I guess liberals only want the voters to decide when they choose the decision liberals want.
UPDATE: Ann Coulter points out that no law is enforced 100%. Why do proponents of amnesty insist in all or nothing enforcement? We still use laws against rape, murder, arson, robbery, and a host of other crimes even though they are still committed.
|