Quote:
Northwest Indiana Times
Cal City to consider immigration ordinance
BY GREGORY TEJEDA
Times Correspondent | Saturday, February 14, 2009
CALUMET CITY | Municipal officials are likely to spend the next two to three months trying to craft an ordinance to protect non-U.S. citizens living this south suburb from being harassed by local law enforcement because of their immigration status.
The City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a measure sending the issue to the council's ordinance and resolution committee. If Calumet City ultimately passes such an ordinance, they would join Chicago, west suburban Cicero and Cook County.
First Ward Alderman Edward Gonzalez brought the issue to the council's attention, saying he and Mayor Michelle Markiewicz Qualkinbush recently attended a forum at St. Victor's Church. Members of the congregation with a heavy Latino segment told them they were concerned about police harassment.
Mayor Michelle Markiewicz Qualkinbush will do anything for the vote. If they are illegal, they can't vote.Quote:
While the most recent Census Bureau report on Calumet City showed the south suburb with an 11 percent Latino population, local activists note that figure is nine years old, and they believe it has grown by now to about 20 percent of the total population of 37,064.
While Qualkinbush on Thursday did not comment on the issue, Gonzalez said he is proceeding only because he believes he has the mayor's support.
Ordinances in some big cities put restrictions on law enforcement officers preventing them from stopping and questioning people about their immigration status, not allowing them to pass along information they might obtain about a person's immigration status to federal authorities, and restricting their cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Advocates of such laws contend that enforcement of federal immigration laws is a complex issue best left to authorities trained in all its nuances.
So now Alderman Gonzalez is an authority on immigration. Or are his friends here illegally?Quote:
"This isn't really about 'safe haven' as much as it's about keeping families together," said Gonzalez, who is an Illinois State Police officer. "It's wrong the way deportation can split a family apart."
If they go back to where they belong, they will not be apart.Quote:
The ordinance and resolution committee chaired by 3rd Ward Alderman Thaddeus Jones is expected to schedule its first hearing on the issue some time later this month.
Gonzalez said he wants an ordinance relevant to Calumet City by April or May when a vote by the full City Council could take place.
Domingo Hernandez, a local resident whose family has been in the United States for at least four generations, said such an ordinance is unnecessary for Calumet City.
"Just because these other cities passed laws allowing illegals to be here and tell them how they should be treated does not mean we should do the same," Hernandez said. "We're talking about passing a law they don't get in their own country. I don't think it's fair."
I think the residents of Calumet City should show up at these hearings and protest this latest kick in the balls. Qualkinbush, just received your latest list of crap in the mail. Personally, I hope you lose, and they send you packing to Indiana, where you do live. Debate the issues.....