Immigration

It Doesn’t Count If You Don’t Count

By Monique Chartier | April 15, 2008 |

The newest addition to the list of “reasons” that the Governor’s Executive Order and various legislative initiatives on illegal immigration should not be undertaken is that the actual number of undocumented immigrants in the state is unknown. Mr. Jaime Aguayo of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Hispanic Affairs made such an argument yesterday morning on…

On the Border of Discussion

By Justin Katz | April 14, 2008 |

Anybody who’s truly interested in the immigration debate should skip Charles Bakst’s typically useless column in yesterday’s Providence Journal and turn instead to the Money & Business section, in which one can read John Kostrzewa’s inquiry into the difficulties that the E-Verify mandate imposes on businesses: To try to sort out some of the issues,…

Is This Hostile Talk Radio? (Un Pueblo Unido Redux)

By Justin Katz | April 11, 2008 |

Latino Public Radio Chairman Pablo Rodriguez offers his own version of “un pueblo unido no mas sera vencido” (emphasis added): I want to believe the governor when he says he is not anti-immigrant. However, his concept of the immigrant community stands in stark contrast to the realities of families and relationships. Thousands of small businesses…

Toward Calm and Constructive Dialogue

By Justin Katz | April 11, 2008 |

Credit is due to the editorial writers of the Rhode Island Catholic for the following: Unfortunately, many groups and individuals have failed to grasp the call for calm and constructive dialogue on this serious issue. Last week at the Rhode Island State House, while an immigrant group loudly protested Governor Carcieri’s actions, they also stormed…

POV: The Employer of Undocumented Immigrants

By Monique Chartier | April 10, 2008 |

Ceasing the exploitation of human beings is one of the reasons that so many of us support the enforcement of our immigration laws, particularly those pertaining to employment. [Note to Congress: Comprehensive immigration reform is not needed. The only problem with our existing immigration laws is that they are insufficiently enforced. This matter only requires…

An Unhelpful Visitor From Out of State

By Monique Chartier | April 8, 2008 |

It sounds like during the 4:00 hour, WPRO‘s Dan Yorke was trying to diffuse the visceral reaction that some of his listeners, myself included, had to the remarks made by the “minister” (quotes because no true minister would utter the remarks he made) from New Jersey by pointing out where the “minister” from New Jersey…

This Means It’s Working

By Justin Katz | April 8, 2008 |

Governor Carcieri’s executive order is already proving to be a success: Rhode Island’s decision to order State Police and other state agencies to help enforce federal immigration law is jarring border cities in Massachusetts, where illegal immigrants say they are now afraid to enter the Ocean State. If they’re that reluctant to cross a state…

Don’t They Bear Some Responsibility?

By Justin Katz | April 8, 2008 |

Commenter JP has it right: The Providence Phoenix profile of the Providence diocese’s immigration point-woman Stella Carrera is yet another litmus test on the issue. Consider one of several stories from her clients: One of the faces Carrera knows is that of Carla Rodriguez (not her real name), a 42-year-old Guatemalan native who has been…

A Letter to the Catholic Church From a Parishioner

By Monique Chartier | April 7, 2008 |

Jason Martins, producer of WPRO’s Matt Allen Show, put the following letter in the collection basket yesterday in lieu of an offering. Dear Father, I am writing this letter in response to the comments made by Bishop Tobin earlier this week following the Executive Order by Governor Carcieri focusing on illegal immigration. As you have…

Joseph Bernstein: Racial Profiling vs. Real Profiling

By Engaged Citizen | April 7, 2008 |

The basic fallacy being promoted by Senator Juan Pichardo and the ACLU of Rhode Island is that “racial profiling” will result from the governor’s initiative (PDF). Nothing could be further from the truth. When I was an INS agent in Chicago, I spent a lot of time on the common carrier detail, which was basically…