The immigration debate: Carpentersville, IL setting its stage
Carpentersville, IL Once a small rural community which was home to several low-income neighborhoods, (98% of homes in the 1990 census were valued between $50,000.00 and $99,000.00. and the median home value was $76,000.00, and whose housing occupants were 88% white in 1990) has just belly flopped its way into the immigration debate.
Today, Carpentersville is known for its new developments and one can even find homes in excess of a million dollars. While the population has not tripled the amount of housing has tripled since 1990 and Carpentersville is now home to a 40+ percent Hispanic population.
Village trustees have proposed a local ordinance that would make it a punishable offense to hire or even do business with illegal immigrants or rent housing to illegal immigrants. Violating the ordinance could cost business owners their business license and landlords would be fined $1,000.00. In addition, it makes English the official language of Carpentersville.
The ordinance the way it is could take the business license of a major franchise away for selling a hamburger or drink to an illegal alien.
“Would you like fries with that?….. That will be $5.50 and we will need to see your passport, green card or birth certificate, please pull around to the first window”
Reasons for the ordinance can be found within the ordinance itself : “illegal immigration leads to higher crime rates, contributes to overcrowded housing, and failing schools, subjects our village to fiscal hardship….and diminishes our overall quality of life.”
Furthermore in e-mail correspondence between myself and Ms. Judy Sigwalt, a Carpentersville Village Trustee, when asked what prompted the ordinance, Ms. Sigwalt said:
“ What prompted the ordinance is the fact that the average American citizen can’t afford to foot the bills for all the free services that illegal people are getting. The rising costs of police, fire, public works, etc. all the departments it takes to run a village are costing more and more and we want everyone to pay there fair share. Education is another area where there is suffering going on…over crowded class rooms, American collage kids can’t afford tuition nor can their parents yet illegals are being schooled for free. The list goes on and on.”
Being the daughter of legal immigrants who had both entered this country legally and became citizens I can understand both sides of this issue, as legal immigrants usually end up having illegal immigrant friends. On one hand, my parents came here legally, why shouldn’t anyone else? On the other hand, I also realize that immigration laws are stricter than they once were and in the past 15 years it has become difficult for even a sibling of a citizen to get citizenship. I know this well with trying to get my mothers family papers to stay in the country while a war was raging in Bosnia.
However, I also know that illegal immigrants work hard. I remember when I was a child and the company my father worked for used to employ (unbeknownst to them) illegal immigrants, mostly of hispanic and polish desent. They all had social security cards, they just weren’t their own social security numbers. They paid taxes like my father did. They paid rent to a landlord that paid county taxes or owned homes and paid property taxes that paid for all the departments it takes to run a village. Those same people when they lost their job didn’t go get unemployment like the rest of us. Those same people won’t be collecting the social security that is really owed them. Those same people do jobs that most of us wouldn’t do. Those same people keep this economy stable.
Now, as to to the quality of education issue. It is no secret that district 300 has suffered all around. Neighboring communities have also seen a decline in quality of education due to the major growth spurt and lack of planning for the future by these villages, not to mention the gross mismanagement of funds earmarked for district 300.
It’s not that I don’t agree with immigration reform, it is that I believe that there are better ways of achieving it. I believe this country is better off for having these immigrant workers and I believe we should be working on a way to give them immigrant status, without giving them citizenship.
I believe that Carpentersville, like most other cities, is allready equiped with an ordinance that would allow them to crackdown on overcrowding and making sure that county tax fraud is not taking place and that is by cracking down on the occupancy codes.
Samaha 
I was going to say that your topic and my opinion were very similar. I went back to count and stopped at ten and now remember a few more. On paper we could not be more dissimilar (unless you are left-handed!). My family, a Great-Uncle and his Sister moved to that area (SW) over 100 years ago from Ontario, Canada. Immigration laws were pretty Lucy-goosey, my Uncle must have been legal because there are records of him but, who knows with my Great-Aunt. A woman afterall, who would care (they may have thought) to look up her existance? Please mention “the gross mismanagement of funds earmarked for district 300” Sincerely, Lydia
Hello Lydia,
personally, I love diversity and I’m a bit of a non-comformist whereever I may be. I’m right handed, but I can’t be sure that my being right handed wasn’t something that I was taught rather than my natural inclination.
I can not find the information on district 300’s fiasco from a few years ago, and since my children are in private school I do not pay as much attention to these things as other parents, but I can remember that the parents were very upset.
However, I ran accross this article this morning that gives you an idea that funds are not exactly being used properly:
Irresponsible staff raises are the real culprit behind D-300’s budget “crisis”. CRAFT analyzed 494 full-time D-300 staff employed between 1998 and 2004. The average employee in this group enjoyed a 63% increase in salary, and an average 2004/2005 salary of over $75,000. Most of these employees work nine months per year, not twelve.
Whether through need or waste, is District 300 really underfunded? Independent financial analyst and D-158 board member Larry Snow revealed that D-300 understated potential state aid by over $2.5 million. More recently, D-300’s growth EAV estimates were understated by $60 million. To view the complete article visit the Courier News.
http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/blog/chicagomatters/2006/03/referendum-fever-is-gripping-illinois.asp
Where I come from that is just regular mismanagement of funds! Using a new ordinance as a smoke screen is a different matter. Both of our countries were built on immigrants, too bad the last wave wants to displace the new tide. I have 5 generations of relatives that would probably not qualify under to-days’stringent regs.
I can’t help but look at what’s going on with jobs and say, okay, it’s got to give somewhere.
We’re at a point where you either have to have a college degree or you can work at McDonalds the middle jobs are going overseas. I think that we do need some reform in immigration without displacing the new tide as you put it.
We are at the point where you can only sponsor your spouse, your parent or your child under immigration laws.
My parents were from Poland and came legally in the late 1920’s. We spoke polish at home but anywhere else it was English. My parents had to learn to read, write and take a test to be citizens. What happened to all that?
I applied for social security that I have been paying into since I was 16 and I was the only English speaking person in the Elgin office. I’ve worked most of my life to collect nothing and I have to pay for supplimental insurance for medial care. What do the illegials have to do but stand with their hand out and get that hand filled up with things I can’t get.
I have lived in the Village for over 30 years and it makes me sick when I can’t read a sign because it’s not English. I go into a store and it Mexican music.
I live in America and not Mexico. What I hate more is press 1 for English and 2 for Spanish. What happened to Polish, German, French and all the other languages. What happened is that when all the other nationalities come here they try to learn the language. I always prided my self on not being discrimitatory but as far as the Mexican illegals I very much am.
Rita,
one aspect of your comment I have covered in a post called Habla Espanol, the link should appear above this comment. The subject itself was complicated.
In regards to your experience with Elgin, again, as in the case of Carpentersville, I would imagine with a majority population being Hispanic that the majority of your coworkers would be hispanic. I would imagine that these people (even if they are illegal) are paying taxes and paying social security as well as you can not get a job without doing so, unless you are in a cash business.
I realize that you had to get suplemental insurance but I would imagine that your co-workers would have to as well.
Do you realize that while you will most likely be collecting the money that you put into social security that many illegals are paying it and will never see it? These illegals are still contributing to taxes, except in cases where they are paid cash.
Reform needs to take place but as much as we complain about how they are recieving all of these services, we never stop to think about how many things they are not recieving. Our economy/society does have benefits from illegal immigrants about as much as we are inconvenienced by them.
YOu are naive if you think most illegals pay into social security. Only the ones who steal other people’s identities. Overall, even if they pay income taxes, they are still taking $3 in benefits for every $1 they pay in. We don’t stop to think about how much they are not receiveing because they shouldn’t be here in the first place. That’s like saying a burglar stole my money but we should stop to think that they didn’t also get my jewelry. My grandfather came in the 20’s and he had to wait many years to come to the U.S. In fact, he went to Canada first and lived there a few years so he could come here quicker. However, he WAITED and did it the proper way. Sorry, but people who feel they are justified in breaking laws are not good people. I see their pictures and no one looks like theyare starving. This is about the rule of law. We can be a country of such laws or a country who will forever look the other way. Our teenagers and high school grads can no longer get good paying jobs in constructiion nor high paying manufacturing jobs. These wages have all fallen due to illegal aliens. 25 years ago my husband mowed grass in the summers at $10/hour which was good wages for a kid. Now the rates are less than that. How can that be, after inflation it should be higher by now. If there was a shortage, wages would rise. These are just truths. Stop believing sob stories and understand the realities of a nation without borders, a nation that won’t stand up for it’s citizens. A nation whose laws are optional rather than enforced. I don’t want to live in that country, do you?
Laura,
unfortunately it is not the illegals fault that the average Joe Shmoe is forced to hire non-union laborers to AFFORDABLY do SMALL projects around the house. You have your unions to thank for that. You can thank unions for the unreal costs involved in construction labor.
They cost $3 for every dollar they put in? Why? How does an illegal cost more than a naturalized citizen? I’m sure there is some sort of calculation for it but somehow I doubt it reflects how these illegals and their UNDERPAID labor benefits our society. I’m sure that what isn’t included is how the now naturalized citizens who were in this country illegally at one point take up the jobs that we aren’t willing to take. Let’s face it, these days the teenagers don’t want to nor do they have to work the way our generation did.
How can our farmers afford laborers when the minimum wage is high considedering that there are corporations that even import produce to stay competetive?
Manufacturing? Again, don’t blame that on the illegals – there are very few manufacturers willing to hire illegals if there are even any. Do you know how hard it is to hire an illegal? The illegal still needs a social security number. The illegal then still pays taxes. You want to blame the low paying jobs on something – then blame it on importing goods from China. I’m watching a mfg. company right now fail – not because of illegal immigrants but because it can not compete with the prices that the distributors are getting from the Chinese manufacturers.
IN MOST CASES an employed illegal has a social security number and is contributing. The problems that you are refering to stem from outsourcing and union labor.
It’s so easy for YOU to say that people who feel they are justified in breaking the law are not good people when you sit here in a free country and somehow I have a feeling that feeding your family is not an issue. You’ve seen the pictures? That’s really nice – now go live it. I do not see the French nor the Germans nor the Canadians nor the English willing to break laws to get into this country because there is no need to do so. It is those that face restrictive regimes and poverty that flee to this country. Is that man and woman that doesn’t do everything humanly possible, including comming into this country illegally, to feed and provide healthcare to their child a good person? I’m sure your child never went hungry. I’m sure your child never faced the threat of small pox or tifus or a million other diseases that do not exist in this country.
If only we as a country fought the outsourcing of jobs to foreign lands as much as we fight illegal immigrants.
As far as living in a country where laws aren’t enforced? I WANT to live in this country regardless of how illegal immigration laws are being enforced. There are certain rights and liberties that I have that I wouldn’t trade for the world and regardless of some of the politics that get played out in various enforcements of all kinds of laws I feel safest here.
I’d like to know though – just where in this world would you rather live? Where in this world will your son be able to find a well paid construction job or manufacturing job?
Illegal.
That says it all. There should be no debate. These people should be sent back. All of them. Granting amnesty just slaps the face of any immigrant that follows the rules of obtaining citizenship.
Once here legally, immigrants should strive to americanize themselves. Not fly their homelands flag. They left that third world cess pool. Time to forget it.
The borders need to be secured. No other country allows such free travel in and out of its borders.
These illegal people, drive without license and insurance. They take up space in our schools. Each time that a police or fire call involves one of them, it is a waste of valuable city resources.
A large percentage of gang problems are directly resulting from illegal immigrants. Many of the illegals here are avoiding conviction in their own country.
I fail to see the upside for the community by allowing these people to stay.
Brad,
The people who got to America on the Mayflower were illegal too. Why don’t they all go back?
To lvmg,
Please don’t compare today with the 16th century. Don’t blame us! My family came here in 1835 and had to 1) swear to abandon his native land and 2) go into quarantine from a boat and 3) have money to buy land before he was allowed to leave the port where he landed. He didn’t bring his grandparents over to live on welfare, etc., nor did he sneak over the side of the boat and swim to shore so he wouldn’t have to do items 1,2,and 3.
Remember the people who already live here made America a strong, free nation and they do deserve respect. We did work hard to make this a nice country, all we ask is that others do the same, not come to take advantage and not assimilate. All my ancestors learned English, it was not their native tongue, and they built cities in the wilderness with no whining or complaining, and they were probably discriminated against as well, but no one in my family says “Vive la France and down with America” for example.
1835 is not the 16th century. By then the United States was already established, but the first Europeans who came to The United States were unexpected and uninvited to a land that did not belong to them. The majority of the earlier settlers were then dispossessed and annihilated.
Don’t try to give me a lesson in morality or fairness. If the people who cross the border from the south were white, blond and blue-eyed people, this would hardly be an issue. I’d like to know how many non-white people were welcomed with open arms in Ellis Island. I’ll have to check it out.
I came to the United States legally, but then I was not starving, scratching the walls for something to eat. It’s like having an orchard full of fruit and letting your neighbors starve. So much for generosity and humanitarianism.
As for taking advantage, do you call working 16 hours a day picking tomatoes, packing meat or sweeping floors taking advantage? And for your information, you need papers to apply for welfare. Most immigrants come to the U.S. to work.
I am sure you really don’t know if your ancestors whined or not. You certainly would not begrudge them that release if they were mistreated. I presume the members of your family are citizens of the United States, so they have no need to say “Vive La France”.
Your argument is full of general statements that may apply to a small number of immigrants. There are good people and bad people in any given segment of society.
I am not trying to change your mind. But I suggest that if you so dislike immigrants (you never know who is legal and who is not, right?), then do this:
1) Do not employ anybody who is an immigrant, or someone who employs immigrant labor to mow your lawn, build your house, wash your car, or sweep your buildings.
2) Do not shop in stores where the fruit and vegetables you buy may have been picked by a immigrant man, woman or child.
3) Do the same for your meat, your bread, your milk, your clothes and anything else you spend your money on. Make sure that you make no use of the services that people who were born in other countries provide.
Only then you can be sure that your life and your country are ‘immigrant free’.
Ivmg,
Nice work bringing the race card into play. Everything has to be about race, and the blond haired, blue-eyed people who have no hardships. The illegals might work hard, but they forget about their numerous kids who go to school and join gangs. I went to high school that was infested with Mexican gangs who never had any parental support because they had too many kids and didnt care what their kids did. Its disgusting, they are ruining the school system. Every year our hispanic population rises and the scores at the schools drop. It is very easy to see.
Jake,
that’s all a bit hypocritical .. complaining about the race card being brought in and then stereotyping another group .. I also went to a high school in which we had gangs .. yes there were hispanics, but you know what .. we had lots of clean cut white boys that were part of those gangs and they made up the majority of the gang membership. So where do we pass the blame of those boys being in gangs? I knew one of the boys .. he got out of the gangs after going through rehab for drugs .. I knew his mother and believe me .. she cared a great deal for him. She had 2 children so we can’t blame it on having too many children either.
Now, I won’t even get into how much I had to worry about running across the nazi skins that would on occasion show up at some of the places I frequented. Gangs are not exclusive to hispanics and blacks.
Unfortunately, this country has a long history of racism, it’s not that long ago that blacks had to sit at the back of the bus or give their seats up for the white folk.
All of that aside .. did the falling scores at the school really reflect the rise of the hispanic population or did the falling scores of the schools reflect the growing population in general and the lack of funding for a quality education. If you read my article you will notice that Carpentersville had an 88% white population back in 1990 what I hadn’t written about was that even back in the 90’s Carpentersville had a poor quality education system but at this point in time it was attributed to “low-income” residency – translated low-income white folk. Not only that but the rather well-off community of Barrington had to send their children to Carpentersville schools. It was always a drawback for couples with children if they wanted to move to “posh” Barrington unless they sent their children to private school.
Take a look at this post which is has a few links you may find interesting – definately check out the main article that the writter links to: http://eteraz.org/2007/07/31/economics-the-new-race/
Now, the education system and its funding is greatly flawed .. much of it just does not make sense but this is not due to “immigrants” .. do your homework on the subject.
the difference is the new wave doesn’t assimilate and learn English and join the community. They cheat their own country by leaving instead of staying and demanding change in a corrupt government. the old wave learned English and became parts of the community…etc
what about all the many africans in darfur who’d love to come here for free and learn ENglish and work hard etc etc.. but can’t because they are not in a country south of us with an easy border to illegally cross. what about all the legally immigrated people who pay and wait and are allowed and welcome here to begin their dream. we are a nation of laws, and that’s one thing that separates us from third world nations with corrupt govts and lousy human rights laws.
Illegal is illegal
Dan, you wrote:
If being in a continent on the other side of the world doesn’t stop more than fifty thousand Polish immigrants from flying into the U.S. and overstaying their visas here in the Chicago area, I can assure you that if Darfur was there instead of Mexico, most of the illegal immigrants would be from Darfur.
All nonsense. Most second-generation immigrants, regardless of where they come from, speak English. This whole “they don’t assimilate, they don’t speak English, they’re subhuman” talk was also directed at the Polish, Italians and Germans during the late 19th, early 20th century. This is just history repeating itself. Dan, perhaps your ancestors should have stayed in whatever country (countries) they came from, right? They should have demanded change in their government(s) so they didn’t have to move somewhere else.
I know Ritta M. Gaffke posted her comment several months ago but since I just saw it, I’d like to reply to it anyway:
I’d like to know, how is it possible for illegals to get any kind of financial help? You need to be a U.S. Citizen or be a greencard-holding legal resident for AT LEAST 5 years before you can get any sort of government help, such as welfare, unemployment benefits, etc.
Ah, I see your bigotry rearing it’s ugly head. I go to these stores (in Elgin!) where they play “Mexican music” and I’m not illegal in any way whatsoever. People love to talk about how this has “nothing to do with race, only about what’s legal” and then turn around and make bigoted/xenophobic remarks which prove otherwise.
I know right? Pressing 1 for English is exhausting. I usually have to take a nap after pressing a single button. Sarcasm aside, this whole “press 1 for English…” fiasco is caused by companies who cater to Spanish-speaking people. They figure that they’ll make money if they cater to them in Spanish as opposed to English. I get mail in Spanish all the time from companies wanting my business because I have a Spanish last name. I never asked for anything in Spanish. Who’s fault is it now?
There, fixed it for ya! At least you admit it. Congratulations.
I meant to change Ritta’s comment to:
But it seems certain tags are ignored in this blog.
Illegal is Illegal…
Okay so it is but they are here. They keep comming here. Now what? You want to keep ripping children out of their mother’s arms? You want to keep separating families?
There is no doubt that there needs to be immigration reform .. visas for employment only that allow these immigrants to be here to work at wages that they are taking anyway while illegal? Working with Mexico to create dual-citizenship so that even the legal immigrants have the right to mold their homeland into something that they might want to return to .. in that way also helping build a better Mexico so that the desire to cross the border isn’t as strong?
How about some solutions people? Any of you have something productive that doesn’t include shipping em all back home? I mean – you are all so concerned about how much of your tax dollars are going into their welfare – how much is it going to cost to ship em all out?
~shaking my head~
I’d love to ship some of you to Mexico, take away your citizenship and see how long it takes you to become an illegal. So spoiled we are. So self centered.
Dan – comment number 6 is a link to another post that addresses the language and assimilation aspect. You may want to read that post, I think as a nation we are more responsible for this aspect than the immigrant. I think we are actually encouraging the ghettoization of these immigrants. Art also makes some great points in terms of the marketing aspect and heck – I get mail all the time from cable and phone companies in the Arabic language and I don’t speak Arabic or even look Arab. I also get lots of mail in Polish due to a Polish sounding name in the household.
Art – lmao – love the sarcasm.
Isn’t interesting that people keep talking about how illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes or other fees to the government, and that they shouldn’t get amnesty … while, they pretty much have de facto amnesty now. Perhaps recognizing that amnesty officially, and offering to get those people on the books might resolve both issues together.
Of course, there are those who “want’em all to be shipped back to Mexico”.
— Chrysippus
Carpentersville Action Network
Chrysippus – thanks for the comment. Your option seems like the only feasible option, considering that most arguments stem from how much of a burden illegals are on our tax dollars.
Looks like your blog is going to stay on top of this issue. Nice to hear from a local that is active in the Carpentersville issues as you are.
I am from Mexico. I have lived in Carpentersville for the last three years. Althought I do not speak a perfect English, I can communicate with people.
I did not know about this web site, I founded it while I was looking for an article about a current event in my community, wich was an assigment for my economics class at ecc.
I read some of the comments above and I agree with some fof them;however, I did not like much the one posted by Rita M. Gaffke. I am not totally dissagree with what she said. I think just as she does, that inmigrants, speacially those who speak spanish must learn English.
I think that the bilingual program offered at the public schools are a great idea; however, some changes are necesary. when I was at Dundee Crown H.S. I met some kids who had lived almost 6 or seven years and did not kwno any English. That is something that really surprised me.
You might think that that is schools foul, or the parents foul, but I would suggest that it is everybody’s foul. In this country people is always thinking about how to get as much money from you as they can, they do not care if you know English or not; that is why you see advertisments on T.V. that are in Spanish.
I am sure that if there would be more people from poland in this town or in the whole country, you would have to press 2 for Polish, instead of pressing it for Spanish. It is not people’s foul, it is the system that makes people to be lazy and not to try to learn English.
Now if you talk about inmigrants getting thinks that you do not get even if you work hard, let me tell you that I am not people with the government who is responsible for letting it happen. I as most of you work and pay taxes, I think that my taxes should be used correctly and should never be given to people who can work, it includes mexicans, americans, color people, etc. I have seen (and I do not want to be racist) color people at Aldi with carts full of food and paying with the link card, I really hate that; those people have two hands and can work just as you and me do. I am sure that not only inmigrants get benefits that they should not get.
When I wrote this it was not my intention to be racist with any body, what I really wanted was to give my opinion and to say that it all of us should be proud from our origins. We should always remember that we all are inmigrants. Native americans are the true owners of thios country, nobody else is.
Finally I would ask for a favor, next time you stast to questionate about ilegal inmigrants, think abour you family: grandparents, fathers or anybody else who got here as an illegal inmigrant, I am sure that you would not like them to be seen as a trespasser.
If you are wondering about my inmigration status, ley me tell you that I am a U.S. citizen.
Also if you find errors in my writing, please excuse me I am still learning.
Thank you!
I’m sure you and Chrys have no idea who each other are, do you. (lol)
You guys are so obvious, it’s not even funny anymore.
You’re starting to sound paranoid.
I started this blog long before the Carpentersville Action Network blog was formed and this blog does not revolve around Carpentersville .. I honestly do not even understand how you come up with this conclusion.
I have no reason to lie – I have no idea who Chrys is. I have been honest and upfront about this being a pen name as soon as I noticed that some on the Carpentersville Action Network blog had issues with anonymity. However, it serves me no purpose to deny knowing Chrys.
Hello, more than a year later! Ironically I am heading for my last Spanish class to-night. Our text? “The Easy Way”. Huh! Maybe if you’re a kid. Muy dificil ! This crosses into another post, Hablo … Although it pisses me off when people don’t try to speak or somehow communicate in the native language, I try to remember that they know more English than I do in another. And did I mention how hard it is to learn new things when you’re older ???? #8 Laura never did justify the 3-1 $ thing. She also thought it was OK for Gramps to rip off Canada. So long as he got into the land of the … I forget. Seasonal work permits work well, but human nature can interfere. Avenues are in place for that. Legally … a word that keeps getting bantered about! Your country signed NAFTA and is the main (read ONLY) recipient. I guess they forgot to put in avenues and opted for one way streets.
Work hard? Work hard at breaking the law. I can’t put the words “nice person” and “law breaker” together. It is an oxymoron.
You are working hard at painting law abiding citizens as the evil doers here. Well law abiding legal citizens work hard, and hate to see their money stolen out of their pockets to cover expenditures for folks who aren’t paying their way and are law breakers. How long can your money be drained away from you and your own family before you yell enough. ENOUGH. The fleecing of Americans continues in this shameful illegal way.
“Once here legally, immigrants should strive to americanize themselves. Not fly their homelands flag. They left that third world cess pool. Time to forget it.”
My grandmother, whose family has been here for centuries, flies the Scottish flag. What does that make her? 😉
Something that often, if not always, gets forgotten in these discussions is that the overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants can’t come here legally. Current immigration law prevents poor people from entering the country, period.
what – working hard to paint law abiding citizens as evil doers?
Puhleaze! There are already ordinances which help the overcrowding issue – they are called occupancy codes. The school system has always been of poor quality in Carpentersville! There are already federal laws in place in terms of employers employing illegal immigrants.
The fleecing of Americans, aye? What about the fleecing of illegal immigrants? What about all of the illegals that won’t get paid social security – even though they will have paid into someone else’s social security benefits? What about when they can’t claim unemployment? What about when they contribute to federal, state and local taxes but don’t benefit as a citizen. What about the sales tax that they contribute for every purchase?
These laws are not about cracking down on illegal immigration, they are about providing a hostile environment towards one specific ethnic group. All these trustees in Carpentersville would have managed to do is a population shift – which is the whole point – ethnic cleansing in America – can you believe it!
Can anyone on this thread that comes here and supports this Carpentersville crap – actually provide some sound solutions to the problem of illegal immigration? I mean this is ridiculous. People complain about the fleecing of America but not one single person that supports these vigilante city immigration control ordinances provides a feasible solution.
Sergei – immigration laws keep a lot of people from entering the country – as I said in the post, my mother could not bring her own siblings over.