But, if you are new to the thread here, start five posts down making sure to go to the other bloggers links who describe the day in their own way.
And thanks to all of you leaving comments. I appreciate the feedback. I also really appreciate that some of the criminal enablers who were there read my stuff.
This is squinty.
AKA Harvard
AKA The college Grad
She was so rude to us while at the same time insisting that she "knows the law" and was "going to sue me" that we couldn't settle on just one nickname. In the face of my logic on the issue of illegal aliens all she could do was shake her head and squint.
But enough about squinty. I'd like to point out why it is important to stop this nonsense. The livability of an area goes down when it becomes a magnet for illegal aliens. I spoke to someone who lives across the street from El Centro Cultural and he told me how there are always groups of guys in the parking lot drinking even when the building is closed.
I personally witnessed one guy drinking his beer in the parking lot.
If any of you have seen pictures of the border you have seen the garbage that is strewn about. What's ironic here is that this is right next to a dumpster, the just choose to throw it on the ground instead.
It looks as if the neighbors across the street got tired of the day laborers at one point and the city had to issue an ordinance.
Of course, the area where the day laborers congregate had litter on the ground as well.
These people have no respect for laws, no respect for the communties they live in, no respect for even the areas where they congregate. A city that wants this kind of stuff is a city asking for trouble.
10 comments:
Nice report, Daniel. The fact that these events are conducted with impunity is bad enough, but operating with the full support of our government is outrageous. Keep the spotlight focused on this one.
One minor criticism: Though I enjoyed your reports, don't make it too easy to be written off as racist. The safari theme & species indentification was amusing, but one could easily accuse you of dehumanizing people, branding you a nazi or klansman. Silly, yet true.
Daniel, I finally got those two flyers translated. The first one says on the top:
You have the right to work. Don't let it be taken away from you.
Then, the woman says that she can do different things around the store. The manager says:
You English is not so good. You were not born in this country, were you?
She replies:
No, I was not. But I've lived here many years.
It's not clear whether she has a green card or not. But as a naturalized citizen myself, I knew very well when I came to the State (legally) that I could work from day one even before I got my green card.
The second flier lists things that are covered by Oregon Health Plan on the left and things that are not covered on the right. This is just a guess since the column captions are not present but the items listed make sense. The items in the left column are:
* Pregnancy, prenatal care, and newborn care
* Prescription drugs
* Hospitalization
The items on the right are:
* (not complete) Things that get better by themselves such as common colds
* (Not clear why this would be even mentioned) Problems with treatments that don't work
* (Same as above) Problems with treatments that are not efficient
* Cosmetic surgery
* Sex change
* Fertility treatments
* Weight loss treatments
I thought day labor was illegal? any lawyers out there that can confirm? I'd love to see what the city of Cornelius has to say about it.
I agree with Sue K., Juan Pablo Velez-Madora would make a good candidate for Illegal Alien of the day.
BUT, We can't take anything away from our buddy Ron who has been living and working illegally in Cornelius for over 27 years!
SEE RON
I believe this automatically make him a very strong candidate for ILLEGAL ALIEN OF THE MONTH!
Hey, Ron was at least willing to talk. And as he said at one point, "You guys can't catch me."
Of course, why would we do that? I think it was much more interesting to simply let him talk.
regarding signs...I'm not an expert on this but the "Day labor pickup" sign underneath the truck route sign could be illegal.
it does not appear to be formatted to specifications plus it is mounted on a government owned signpost.
Although a minor offense, at least in Eugene it is illegal to mount private signs on public property.
The point... if the signs are allowed to be there, then apparently it is sanctioned by the government.
As far as day labor pickups being a legal? Good question, worth exploring.
I am going to continue contact with the city of Cornelius to see if they will discontinue allowing day laborers to congregate in that area.
Immigrant fugitives targeted in Oregon
Federal teams will track, deport people living in the state illegally
GABRIELA RICO
Statesman Journal
January 23, 2006
Illegal immigrants who have ignored deportation orders and are hiding out in Oregon may soon get an early morning knock on the door or an unexpected visit at work, federal officials are warning.
By the end of the year, 52 fugitive-hunting teams within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be in place specifically to track them down.
Two teams will operate in Oregon and Washington.
A. Neil Clark, the field office director for the agency's Detention and Removal Operations, said there are about 3,500 fugitive immigrants in Oregon.
"There is no good time to be removed, but they can turn themselves in and we'll work with them or they can wait to be found," said Clark, who oversees operations in Oregon, Washington and Alaska. "We're trying to put integrity back into the immigration laws in this country."
Nationally, there are more than 500,000 fugitive immigrants, according to ICE officials.
Clark said that if people are cooperative, the agency will give them a chance to take care of family matters before they are sent out of the country.
He said that fugitive-hunting teams are not the decision-makers in immigration matters, but simply are enforcing a judge's order.
"We know this is a really hard time for (illegal immigrants) and we'll work with them," he said. "We're not the big, bad wolf."
grico@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6815
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060123/NEWS/601230310
about time, Thanks anon.
of course seeing is Believing
You want to shut down the day laborers? Follow the truck that picks them up to the worksite. Then take pictures of the location, the work being done and the license plates of any vehicles at the location. Make note of the address, date, time, etc.
Then turn all the evidence over to the State Workers Comp Board, the Oregon Employment Department, the Oregon Department of Revenue and the Construction Contractors' Board. Trust me, those agencies will take notice.
Especially the Workers Comp Board and the CCB. They don't take kindly to contractors who don't carry workers comp (if they aren't reporting the wages, ie taking out taxes, they aren't paying workers comp). The CCB will quickly shut down any contractor working without a license.
~Kate
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