A response to Liz Siebeck

This letter was recently printed in the Courier News:

AFLA engendering fear among group of people
I would like to respond to David White and his AFLA. Just because something is a fact doesn't mean it can't be manipulated, taken out of context or used for propaganda.

My concern is that his group seeks to vilify, demonize and intimidate an entire group of people. Those who come here legally, have all their papers in order, own homes and work in the same place for years can often be profiled. They can live in fear of being stopped by the police for no reason.

This fear-mongering, whether intended as such or not, is another way of striking fear into Americans. Fear of foreigners, terrorists, illegal immigrants, economic decay and so on are deterrents to a working democracy. The trouble with targeting illegals is that often, those who are following the rules become inconvenienced, harassed and eventually persecuted.

Although White does not see himself as a "persecutor," that is how I perceive such movements. The term "illegal" can be used to justify actions that may be "legal" but are often immoral. I truly hope we can keep the treatment of human beings foremost in our intentions to "keep things legal."

Elizabeth Parker Siebeck
Elgin

And our comments about her letter:
It is always hard to read these letters, because I know Liz is an active member of the community. She’s with the AAUW and reads to the kids at Sheridan Elementary. She’s a learned person.

But I also think she can be manipulated. Surely she was impressed by the recent presentation about assimilating Hispanics into our community. And perhaps she’s had conversations with JoAnn Armenta of LULAC, a fellow AAUW chapter member.

Did it occur to Liz that something is wrong when only 13 White kids are enrolled at Sheridan? Or the 37 African-Americans? Or the 8 Asian children? And a whopping 460 Hispanic kids? That is the make-up of Sheridan Elementary where she goes to read books.

It is a matter of being overwhelmed. Don’t dare call it “diversity.” It isn’t even multiculturalism.

I would encourage Liz and any others who are well-read and open-minded to read a few articles and revisit their position that AFLA demonizes, profiles, or targets anyone. We are simply protecting our sovereignty.

Here’s the reading list:
Pew Hispanic Center Report 2005 and 2006
http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/44.pdf

http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/61.pdf
Note that Pew suggests that the influx of illegals is growing dramatically. Note also that since the year 2000 85% of the immigrants from Mexico are ILLEGAL ALIENS. 85%! Does that sound an alarm in your head that we need a more strident attitude? Perhaps a little adjustment to our Post-modern thinking?

Samuel Huntington - The Hispanic Challenge
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/blogs/gems/culturalagency1/SamuelHuntingtonTheHispanicC.pdf
Note that Dr. Huntington points out that this is not just another wave of immigrants. There are significant differences.

Vernon Briggs – An Economist’s Testimony before Congress
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Briggs070503.pdf
Dr. Briggs points out the harm illegal aliens are doing to our workforce and our economy in general.

Please don’t lecture us about morality. There is nothing moral about people who hide among legitimate immigrants and cast stereotypes upon the rest. We intend to expose those who do not belong here using bona fide law enforcement programs. We want Elgin to return to the place it was 15 years ago; a place where we were reasonably certain the foreign-born were here legally. We cannot at present say that.