Wrapped around the flag

The mayor himself and at least one council member have talked about the Constitution and the issue of illegal aliens.

Mayor Schock’s comment: “As a final note, if one is permitted, I would add that emphasis on 'legal' begins with the United States Constitution, which establishes the powers and duties of the federal and state governments. Local governments are not dealt with and derive their powers from the state. The Constitution is clear about which branch of government has the authority to control our borders, and deal with citizenship. The forefathers foresaw how unwise it would be to delegate such powers to the states. If we are unhappy with the outcome, two avenues, under the law and in keeping with the Constitution, are available: Amend the Constitution or replace those in Congress and the White House. That is how a democratic republic works." (Courier News, 12/13/07)

Perhaps Schock fails to realize that we DO have laws on the books against illegal aliens. We have laws about their very presence in our communities. We have laws against hiring illegal aliens. And his talk about tolerating illegals who live and work here fly in the face of those laws.

Like when he was an apologist for them on the panel in October. There he said, “But, and I think this is an important point that gets lost in the debate, and again comes back to the failure of our federal government in Washington DC. For years the federal government has turned a blind eye, pretending not to see, as millions of people have streamed across the border. Now, there may be different reasons depending on different political persuasions but the fact of the matter is no one can claim ignorance of the fact that people were streaming across the border without appropriate documentation.”

“Then after having had, and almost invited, millions of people to enter our country, to come up with draconian measures that’s going to punish those people once they are here is to attack the problem from the wrong end. I think everyone wants an orderly process. Every country wants to know who enters and leaves its borders. But the fact of the matter is the economy of the United States is dependent upon and grown as a result of the immigration. The unfortunate thing is that this has had to occur too often in an illegal environment rather than a legal, orderly process.” (Chicago Matters Broadcast 10/2/07)

We ask you, where in that statement is Mayor’s Schock’s support of the existing laws in this country? He’s saying, “Too bad that they came here illegally. Let’s not require them to leave.”

Further, he and others on the council talk as though our proposals are somehow illegal (or at least they want you to think they are).

What is illegal about verifying Social Security numbers? Is 287g against federal law? How about the CAP officer program? Or 100% screening? All of those programs and functions were passed into law by “those in Congress and the White House, ” as Schock states.

Further, those same people in Washington have repeatedly averred that local police departments have inherent authority in immigration matters.

Please don’t hide behind the laws of the land, Mr. Schock; because those laws clearly state that you have far more authority in this matter than you are willing to exercise. And may we suggest that the reason you won’t exercise that authority is political correctness. You talk about serving and protecting the illegal alien population yet you ignore the needs of the citizens.