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Dear Daily Herald Editors,
The extent of the immigrant bashing in Elgin is disturbing
and frankly bizzare.
I think that recent events have proven that the Association for Legal Americans, a
spirtual sister group of the Minutemen Midwest Alliance, an undocumented immigrant hate-group, should not be fueling policy in this heavily Latino city which recently saw its only Latino councilman Juan Figueroa disposed off.
Association for Legal Americans claimed they had "reliable information" last year that
" undocumented workers were at the golf course."
But then we find out that based on AFLA's "reliable information, " that:
"Elgin...recently conducted first full-blown audit of a city-hired temporary agency....did not turn up any undocumented workers, city officials said and documents showed."
AFLA claims that they had information, it turns out that was wrong and then they complain that - even though they're unreliable and don't seem to know anything - that more should be done, there should be more audits a witch hunt of an even great scale should be launched. Elgin is already part of the 287g program, in which police have the power of federal immigration agents. This program--an invitation for police to racially profile minorities--
has been widely denouced by Latino, civil right, faith-based groups and immigrant and refugee rights groups.
I wonder what mystical hold the two guys in AFLA, Doug Heaton and David White
have over Councilman John Prigge and other elected officials in Elgin, a city of close to 110,000 people--close to half of whom
are Latino? What information did AFLA present to to city officials in their complaints to spur this audit? Is it because workers "looked" foreign and were Latino, that AFLA's suspicions
were fueled?
Now Elgin Corporation Counsel William Cogley, no doubt under pressure from the AFLA duo, will seek to conduct further audits and further investigations bringing in third parties, new firms to the frenzied search for undocumented workers.
Now that AFLAs information has been discredited, will the elected officials stop listening to the AFLAckers? Such blantently racist-driven policy must come to an end.
Cristobal Cavazos Cardenas
Immigrant Solidarity Dupage
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