Our meeting with Noland

E-mail sent by Doug Heaton to State Senator Mike Noland on January 27, 2007:

Dear Senator Noland:

DRAFT OF COMMENTS ABOUT OUR MEETING January 26, 2008
Would you care to comment or make corrections prior to publication?

I suppose that our meeting with Senator Noland was a bit of a disappointment to me. It began innocently enough with a statement by Noland that he wanted to see what we wanted to discuss and he would make comments at the end.

We began by bringing out some of the comment cards and petition sheets. We had found that elected officials from the city (three in all) were very impressed to read a sampling of them. They could tell that these people were concerned, but level-headed constituents.

Dave White handed him two large stacks with the comment, “I don’t expect for you to read them all but you might like to take a look at some of them to get a feel for the passion people have on this issue.”

Noland thumbed through the stack but didn’t take much time to read them.

I believe I launched into the next phase of the presentation too quickly. It was mostly background information I thought we could all agree on. The Pew Hispanic Center selected data on how many illegal aliens, their characteristics, and an interesting analysis of voting patterns.

Somewhere in the middle of that presentation, Noland said he thought it was important to interrupt and make comments. Fine with me.

His comments wound their way through the issue of low Hispanic voter turn-out… to wanting some sort of verification of the 3,000 people AFLA claims to have… to his personal experience regarding illegal aliens without licenses and how they clog the Elgin courts and cost us all money.

Dave White asked him some pointed questions about upholding the law first before making exceptions for illegal aliens, only to be told by Noland that immigration violations are only civil in nature. I challenged that statement based on a report by the Congressional Research Service which I could not cite and did not have with me. I offered to research it and get him a copy but Noland moved on without comment or answer.

Gini brought up the issue of getting a license then canceling the insurance policy. I reminded Noland of previous correspondence from me about the lack of enforcement at the SOS regarding insurance and plate renewal.

I retrieved our 200 page book on state initiatives and placed it on his desk. I opened it to a section about driving certificates and proceeded to tell him that Oklahoma had passed legislation regarding on-line access to valid car insurance policies.

Gini then talked about her personal experiences with two car accidents involving uninsured motorists.

After a few more minutes of Noland explaining his position on driving certificates and warning us to keep LULAC and his wife out of comments regarding his position, Dave White collected the petitions and comment cards and left the meeting in disgust.

Gini and I remained in hopes of presenting the book to him.

Noland went back to his original request that he be given some of the AFLA petitions and cards so he could extract a sample of 300 or so, make sure they were registered voters, and make calls to perhaps 100 of them to make sure they understood what they were asking and how much it costs.

I explained that these petitions and cards were specific to the city issues and were never presented to the city council. Nor were they “referendum quality”. I also explained that I don’t have permission to share their information with him.

I offered to have these people contact his office directly if they so chose. He was firm in wanting our original data. I told him that I did not have the authority to promise that.

As for accepting our book of state initiatives, he refused until such time as he received the AFLA supporter list. At one point he agreed to accept it if I could get that list by Monday.

Gini went back to her notes to attempt to salvage something from our meeting. She said she heard him say during the discussion:
He is in favor of driving certificates for illegals
He opposes amnesty
He believes the federal government should enforce the immigration laws
He believes that one day we will build a fence once we are willing to pay for it, suggesting that the funding was an issue with the people.
(Parenthetically, this is politician view. The withdrawal of funding this year and last was due to quiet political maneuvering at the end of the year, not some public outcry, protest, or contact blitz. The people wanted it and were expecting it. No protests were lodged about the costs during the budget approval process. It is another example of politicians doing what they want rather than carrying out what they voted to do.)

That discussion went through several twists and turns with him feeling he’d given a definitive answer and us feeling confused.

I left the meeting wondering if all the groups he entertains are subjected to the same scrutiny of supporter lists (let him pick a 10% sample, check voter registration records, and call 100 people to talk through the issue).

I’ve been in such meetings before. This is the most adversarial I have ever attended. Typically, we would present our information, the elected official would discuss his past voting record, and the request would be left with them for study without comment or promise. I would characterize this meeting with Noland as akin to approaching the altar of the Wizard of Oz.

Now, about direct answers to questions, Noland warned us not to draw conclusions about his position simply because his wife is the LULAC chapter president. And he repeated what he had said before…something like, “Don’t assume that I share my wife’s views on this issue.” Parsing of words is commonplace in his profession as a politician. Excuse me if I continue to wonder why he didn’t say, “My wife and I disagree as to what should be done about illegal aliens.”

Here in Illinois we are a tad sensitive about the perceived incestuous relationship between state government and the Latino activist group, ICIRR. Forgive us for being suspicious of close associations and the potential for conflict of interest. Of course, the only way to eliminate all appearance of evil would be for her to resign her position.

Noland made the comment that he works for the voters, that he was hired by the people to do this job. He is the second politician in as many months to make that statement to me. That one is really hard to swallow from any politician these days, and Noland is no exception.

Follow the money. (A note here: Noland is not a special case here. They all seem to have this problem to one degree or another.)

Here are Noland’s main contributors:
He raised $627,000 in his 2006 campaign.
70% came from one source, the Illinois Democratic Party
18% came from labor unions
4% came from a pro-abortion group

Only $20,000 out of $627,000 even came from zip codes in the 22nd district.
Individuals (the people who “hired” him) only contributed $9,775.
http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?si=200614&c=417361
Verified against state records at: http://www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/D2Semi.aspx?id=335469

Based on what we all saw in Springfield last year, we are simply not buying any politician’s quaint “I work for you” speeches. And when constituents have to jump through hoops to get a state senator to even agree to review our recommendations we have even less regard for that statement.

In the end I left no documents behind. The book was costly to produce and would be put to better use by an elected official who actually wants some background on the matter.

Sincerely,
Doug Heaton

On January 27th, Noland wrote back about my report, saying:
“Be sure to publish this as well: Though disappointed, I’m not surprised. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt in calling for our meeting. I should have known you would take what conversation we had and twist it to suit your needs. You should be ashamed. Publish this as you chose but I am not going to engage in a tit for tat rehash of our conversation. You are welcome to leave any information you wish for me at my office to review and I will look at it.”

Also on January 27th, I responded back to Noland, saying:
Feel free to take any "spin" out of my message, Senator.
Doug Heaton

I did not receive a response from him. I did see him at my polling place on election day (he was a poll watcher) and he said he’d be glad to take a look at any information I wanted to send him. My opinion is that if I wanted to give a copy of our $20 book to LULAC or SOAP, I would do so. I originally offered it because he is MY state senator, but the resources are better spent on those who are willing readers.
Doug

All politics is "LOCAL"

Photo of SEIU involvement in a protest rally

The man selected by President Bush to run Homeland Security (including Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is Michael Chertoff. He did an interview with ABC back in October and explained what happens whenever the government starts to enforce immigration laws. Here’s what he said:

“I think what the public may come to see is that for many years the way we dealt with the illegal immigration issue was, we paid political lip service to toughness, but then a variety of groups - whether it be business, or labor, or advocacy groups - essentially frustrated the actual enforcement of the law.” Michael Chertoff on ABC News 10/4/2007

He talks specifically about three groups that howl whenever they enforce the law; Business, labor, and advocacy groups.

So here’s the dirt on SOAP, the local group claiming to be so concerned about prejudice in Elgin. SOAP Co-chairman Arnoldo Fabela actually qualifies to wear two of those hats Chertoff complained about. He is a paid union organizer for SEIU Local #1 (Service Employees International Union). He also led the march in Elgin on May 1, 2006 when illegal aliens protested for their “rights”. He also was one of the 42-mile march leaders on Labor Day. When Fabela marched from Chinatown to Hastert’s office, Fabela told reporters, “This is definitely about winning a path to citizenship for millions of people.”

Even La Raza Chicago praised Arnoldo for his efforts.

I think we can safely say that Fabela is pro-illegal alien. We are left to wonder if he is being paid overtime by the union to organize SOAP or if this busman’s holiday is a labor of love.

So, Mr. Chertoff, we have begun the process of cracking down on illegal aliens in Elgin, and the unions and advocacy groups have arrived to complain. Let’s hope our elected officials have the resolve to press forward. SEIU throws around lots of campaign cash, so the city council may need some encouragement from the voters about now.

NOT AFLA

Important!
We read in the paper this morning that a local group required police protection for one of their meetings due to "people who threatened to picket outside of the meeting, or attend the meeting with the objective of disturbing the proceedings."

AFLA does not approve of such tactics. We cherish our rights to free speech and assembly. We do not condone confrontation.

Gratefully, it appears those calls were idle threats since there were no published reports of problems.

Another letter from an immigration lawyer

A Daily Herald letter to the editor…

Ask lawmakers to make immigration law just

A U.S. citizen can sponsor a spouse or parent for permanent residence who entered without permission only after that family member stays outside the U.S for 10 years. That is the law.

An employer who wants to legally hire a foreign national must wait a minimum of five years, after having proven that it was unable to find qualified U.S. workers through a rigid Department of Labor process.

A U.S. citizen who wishes to sponsor a sibling or child 21 years or older must wait up to 15 years. A lawful permanent resident who wishes to sponsor a minor child or spouse must wait up to eight years. And add a 10-year wait outside the U.S. to all of those lines if that person has spent more than one year in the U.S. without permission. Those also are the laws.

And if you haven't figured it out yet, Ellis Island is now a museum, not an entry point for those wishing to do it the legal way, as in years past.

Those who say their grandparents came here legally, or that those here should do it the right way, should take a moment to understand how our legal process actually works or, perhaps better said, how it doesn't, and how it differs dramatically from years past.

Perhaps they should stop to think that maybe our current laws and lack of a workable immigration policy are the reasons why we have so many people here without permission and should be changed to comport to reality.

Years ago, it was the law for blacks and whites to attend different schools and use different bathrooms, Years ago, only white men could legally vote. It is only thanks to the hard work of those who realized the fundamental flaws in these laws and policies that we are the greatest nation on Earth.

We all must work toward what is right, what is fair and what approach provides the best solution to a problem that is dividing our communities.

We are strong today because of our immigrant heritage and our policies toward inclusion, not exclusion. Speak out against prejudice and misinformation, and urge your representatives to support federal immigration reform.

Shirley Sadjadi
Elgin

And here is our response to that:
Ms. Sadjadi,
It is a good thing citizenship is so hard to achieve in this country. Otherwise, you’d be out of a job. (It always amuses me when immigration lawyers, bilingual teachers and directors, and Latino studies professors pontificate about discrimination and misinformation. Do they think people won’t see the vested interests of those who make a living off illegal aliens?)

You make a couple of assumptions that need further exploration.
Assumption #1 – America needs more third world immigrants with little education, few skills, and a need for social services. Family unification is a wonderful idea, but there are significant costs involved when these families are overwhelmingly from third world countries.

Assumption #2 – This wave of immigrants wants to assimilate. The numbers do not bear out that assumption. Naturalization rates are about 42% of the foreign-born. At one time (1950) the naturalization rate was near 80%. And don’t be fooled by this latest backlog of citizenship requests. It was created by a pending fee increase, not loyalty to the United States. Also note the pathetic lack of English literacy among the foreign-born today. It is shameful.

Is it good for America to be flooded with low-skill workers? University of Chicago Economist Barry Chiswick says “no”. So does Cornell Professor Vernon Briggs at this link to his Congressional Testimony on real immigration reform:
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Briggs070503.pdf

Yes, we need reform. But it must be reform that benefits the United States of America. Barbara Jordan declared that when her commission on immigration studied the matter in 1994. And surely Shirley, you aren’t suggesting that Barbara Jordan was prejudiced?

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.

Press Release - January 25, 2008

AFLA Approaches State Leaders

The Association for Legal Americans (AFLA) has begun contacting Illinois state level elected officials to demand action to curb the illegal alien population.

“With at least 550,000 illegal aliens in the state at an annual cost of $3.5 billion, we want Springfield to take action on this problem,” said David White, Co-director of the group. “We can’t wait any longer.”

AFLA has prepared a 200-page book containing 21 initiatives Illinois legislators could enact to make Illinois a less-attractive destination for the estimated 800,000 illegals who enter the United States annually.

The document also includes background information on the problem and the impact on Illinois taxpayers.

“Springfield spent a long, hot summer trying to make a budget work. Obviously, finding ways to discourage illegal aliens will be a revenue plus to Illinois,” according to Co-director Doug Heaton. “Something as simple as denying a state tax refund to someone with a false Social Security number would generate new revenue and send a message to illegal aliens at the same time,” said Heaton. He notes that Kansas and Missouri already seize such refunds.

Other initiatives include training Illinois State Police troopers as Immigration officers, billing the federal government for costs associated with illegal aliens, and enacting job protection legislation.

The book will be delivered to local state legislators and sent to other selected leaders in the state Senate and House

The Association for Legal Americans strongly believes in legal immigration. We believe it is every country's right and obligation to protect its sovereignty. We believe that immigrants should come here legally from a variety of nations and races in order to bring true diversity.

PROGRESS!

In case you haven't heard, the city agreed to verify new hires using E-Verify, monitor contractors to make sure they use E-Verify, meet with Immigration to discuss the ICE ACCESS program options for the city, and perform immigration status screening checks on all foreign-born suspects as part of the booking process at the Elgin city jail.

100% screening is HUGE. By reporting the results to Immigration every time they detect an illegal alien in custody, they are placing the responsibility back on the feds to do their job. And that information will follow the arrestee into court so the judge can set bail with all the information available.

We want to thank all of the AFLA supporters who have made it impossible for the city to ignore the request.

And we want to thank the Mayor and City Council for taking these steps.