David Portugal, Jr., got married in Arizona this weekend. I think he's the guy in the silver shirt in the video above, with the ponytail and mustache, chaining himself to the Arizona capitol building in April. Portugal, who moved to Arizona from his hometown of Los Angeles, was protesting the state's new "Papers, please" anti-immigration law.
This weekend, as Democratic governors pressed President Obama to back off its lawsuit against Arizona, the New York Times reported on Portugal's wedding to Perla Farias in Goodyear, Arizona. Portugal and Farias are both Mexican-American, full citizens of this country and supposedly people for whom the new law would have little effect.
Except that it did affect their wedding, because so many undocumented immigrants have fled Arizona. From the Times:
As they were planning the wedding, the couple heard from three uncles of Ms. Farias's who in 2008 had relocated with their wives and children to find construction work in Washington State. The family members had planned to move back to Arizona in time for the wedding, but the impending immigration law made them decide not to.
"So we're a very big, happy family -- all split up," Ashley Godinez, one of Ms. Farias's aunts from Washington, said by telephone.
Leave a Comment:
I am a dedicated watcher of the show, reader of the blog, but have never posted until this article. I usually agree with Rachel and Co., and when I don't I usually get where they are coming from. I very much disagree with the Arizona law, but this story has nothing to do with why I disagree with it. This couple was not impacted by the law at all, not harrassed in any way. I do not imagine many will feel sorry that their relatives who are in the US illegally didnt make their wedding. Keep the heat on the law and its overreaching concepts, but you really missed the mark on this one.
I think you are assuming his relatives are illegal when in fact, they may be just boycotting the state of AZ and/or fearful that they (as citizens) may be harrassed or questioned. I know my grandmother would not put up with that, nor should anyone.
Read the article:
They should be scared about being deported b/c they are here illegally. Now its my hope that we can come to terms with getting laws that allow a path to citizenship for all that are in the US and contributing to society, again, I can't say that my heart is breaking for the illegal immigrants who can't attend weddings.
I agree, it's not about racism, it's about legality. I have reported non-hispanic co-workers who were in the country illegally; one from Vietnam, one from Canada, one from Greece. You are more than welcome in the USA as long as you come legally.
This issue is very simple: legal vs illegal - my family came from Italy, England and Scotland - all legal.
No one deserves to be here illegally and we need to track visa violators, too, since the 9-11 bombers were here on visas. In this time of terrorism, we cannot afford to over look any foreigners here illegally and can't even trust citizens who are muslims.
Specifically, with regards to the last part of your last sentence - the measure of any American citizens trustworthiness (what you appear to question) can be found in the content of their character, not their ethnicity, or religion, or....advocacy of anything different, as you appear to be doing, is discriminatory and is what leads to harmful extremism...
Given the nature of your post here, and elsewhere on this blog, I suspect we might find you on a 'watch list' of your own...home grown terrorism is equally dangerous to our American society as any outside terrorist influence.
In my opinion, no one on either side of the issue is in favor of illegal immigration. Our ancestors came here legally at a time when America was practically begging for people to come here and be part of the American dream. However, there are some points to consider in the immigration debate.
First of all, American businesses are still knowingly hiring illegals, and the US Chamber of Commerce openly supports the hiring of illegals. Until there is a real effort to stop that, nothing else is going to matter.
Secondly, the justifiable frustration with illegal immigration has seemed to morph into an anti-Mexican undercurrent. This is the effect, (intended or unintended), of the Arizona law, and is what is most disturbing about the whole environment in Arizona. It is a sentiment that seems to be spreading across the country, and it is nothing short of ugly.
I couldn't agree more. To stop the tide of illegals entering the country, we must first stop businesses from hiring them. If there are no jobs for illegals, than the amount that sneak across the border (and risk everything including their lives) would drop off.
Yet another major problem in our country that at the root is....GREED.
You're right, Uffdaguy, about going after the employers who hire the illegals, but to say "the US Chamber of Commerce openly supports the hiring of illegals" is hard to believe.
Do you have any links to reputable sources to back up that claim?
It is as much about legality as it is about perceptions, The law gives authority to uneducated cops to make a judgement about a person and intrude in his/her life and put undue burden on them citizens to prove their status. It has already happened to Mexican looking natural citizens of Puerto Rico (USA) in other states, imagine what can happen in Arizona. That is not right. I fear for my Puertorrican family living in California, professionals and homeowners on their own right, having to pass a night in jail because they don't have their ”papers“ with them or they are not validated by the police.We need immigration control, and NOW... I am tHE least to want illegals in this country, taking jobs that could be for the unemployed. But we have to make employers accountable for their hiring and abuse about the situation of the immigrants. Many of them travel to and from everyday to commute to a job and go back to Mexico at the end of a 12 hour workday. They are taking the money that would inject our economy to Mexico! This is not good for us, only for the gloating companies that hire these immigrants.
Absolutely! If employers who hired illegals got more than a slap on the wrist for hiring them, then we might see a real change in illegal immigration. However, as long as employers can continue to ignore the law and actively work to circumvent it, we will still see illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants are the drug that shady employers use to get high (profits, that is). We see no problem prosecuting drug users in this country, but in the case of illegal immigration, we are letting the user go, while arresting the drug!
Scotterbug, couldn't agree w/ you more wrt going after the employers who hire the illegals, but it doesn't sound like you've read the law. The Arizona cops are only allowed to ask someone for papers if that person is already being detained for some other crime.
And have you read about how the Arizona police are trained to carefully obey the written word of the law, which explicitly prohibits profiling? (I suspect they may be more educated than you.)
Think about it. The ACLU is just waiting for a cop to ask an innocent person for papers and a chance to sue. Arizona is probably the last place a law abiding, legal immigrant will have to fear spending a night in jail.
I meant To say Arizona when I said : .. living in California,
Bachman at it again, states that Obama is turning the country into a 'nation of slaves'. Am I the only one who sees that as having a very racist undertone?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39608.html
Bolbis: Probably.