The Dominican American National Roundtable had their annual conference in Providence this weekend.  It's great to have National Conferences come to Providence.  Those who travel hear stay at our hotels, eat in our restaurants, and shop in our stores.  These events have a valuable economic impact, especially in tough times like these.  In my opinion, the DANR is even more valuable than some of the other conferences that have visited Providence.  Sure, these other conferences may have had a bigger economic impact, but for pure comedic value, you can't beat the DANR.

     To see what I mean, let's start with a quote about illegal immigration from attorney John Amaya: “The other side is louder … but the law is on our side”.  Think about that, we are talking about illegal aliens.  By definition, an illegal alien is someone who does not belong here because they came here illegally.  There are certain protocols that need to be followed, and these people didn't follow them.  Advocates of illegal immigration like to soften the law-breaking by calling them "undocumented workers", but let's call it what it is: They are illegal because they are undocumented, and as a result, these workers don't belong here, so they are aliens.  Therefore, they are illegal aliens.

     I think some advocates for illegal immigrants know that at some level, they are wrong.  At least I hope so.  In order to distract others from their problematic argument, they twist the facts.  Usually, this involves invoking racism.  In the article below, Mr. Amaya says, “they’re targeting people who look and sound brown.”  Advocates for illegal aliens like to twist the facts in order to scare people so they won't argue.  One way they do this is by labeling people racists if they don't agree with illegal immigration.  It goes something like this: If you are against illegal immigration, they will say you are against all immigrants, legal and illegal, eventhough this is not your view.  Then if you are against immigrants, you must be racist, since some immigrants have darker skin.  They are hoping they can stigmatize people, therefore scaring them from voicing their opinions.  Here's what they forget: Illegal immigrants can come from Mexico, Ireland, Italy, China, Brazil, Iceland, or any other country in the world.  The issue is their failure to follow the laws, not their country of origin.  Actually, by assuming that those opposed to illegal immigration are racists, they show that they themselves are the true racists.

     Finally, we here that State Senator Juan Pichardo thinks that, “all of the sudden, Governor Carcieri has turned this into a heartless, heartless state".  Really?  Since when is following the law heartless?  If following the law is so heartless, then why don't we unlock the doors at the ACI and allow the prisoners to go home with their families.  After all, locking up those who broke the law is so "heartless", especially with the holidays approaching.

     I would like to end this by reminding everyone that the governor's executive order is what drew most of the anger.  Basically, it requires those who do business with the State of Rhode Island to use e-Verify to make sure their workers are legal.  It also requires the prison to check the immigration status of prisoners, and police to check the immigration status of individuals who are arrested for offenses unrelated to immigration.  Basically, it focuses on illegal immigrants who are guilty of, or suspected of committing crimes.  These are the people advocates of illegal aliens are protecting


http://www.projo.com/news/politics/content/DOMINICAN_CONFERENCE_10-12-08_M8BTJ1T_v10.3abbd79.html