MAILBAG - June 1, 2007

Labor center fosters illegal activities

Re: Should the day labor site in Laguna Beach be closed? (Question of the Week, Coastline Pilot, May 25)

What part of ILLEGAL does the Laguna Beach City Council and city manager not understand?

The main problem with illegal immigration lies not with our porous border to the south, but with our corrupt American businessmen within the borders of the United States who desire to exploit the illegals for cheap labor.

If all those corrupt, criminal employers would cease to employ those immigrants, the incentive to cross into our country would dry up. How about that, Laguna Beach City Council persons and Ken Frank, city manager?

You are aiding and abetting persons in the country illegally to gain employment by maintaining the Laguna Beach day labor site.

Do what is right and close the day labor site. In case you don’t know it, here are the laws under the Immigration and Nationality Act:

Section 274 felonies under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, INA 274A(a)(1)(A):

A person (including a group of persons, business, organization, or local government) commits a federal felony when she or he:

Penalties upon conviction include criminal fines, imprisonment, and forfeiture of vehicles and real property used to commit the crime.

Anyone employing or contracting with an illegal alien without verifying his or her work authorization status is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Aliens and employers violating immigration laws are subject to arrest, detention, and seizure of their vehicles or property.

In addition, individuals or entities who engage in racketeering enterprises that commit (or conspire to commit) immigration-related felonies are subject to private civil suits for treble damages and injunctive relief.

DOLORES KUSTIN

Laguna Beach

Labor center has broad support

Throughout the state and country are day worker centers that operate much like the center in Laguna Beach does.

Day after day these centers perform the same function there as here and yet they are not the focus of ongoing dissension and controversy.

What is keeping the turmoil stirred up in Laguna Beach is one thing: the drive and tenacity of Eileen Garcia.

The city has worked out something in the canyon that is working; and doing so to the satisfaction of a clear majority of residents of the community.

MARY DOLPHIN

Laguna Beach

City spending at center must end

What this article doesn’t go into is the more than $24,000 given by Laguna Beach to the Cross Cultural Council out of our public assistance fund, not to mention thousands of dollars more spent by the city to maintain the day labor site.

Now we add another $5,000 for the lease and more for the security deposit. Where does this end? The city is spending a total of about $50,000 to promote illegal hiring activity in the city. This has got to stop.

GEORGE RIVIERE

Laguna Beach

City getting ‘sweet deal’ on labor site

A rental fee of a mere $420 per month for an illegal alien day labor site in Laguna Beach is one sweet deal, indeed.

The fair market value of a land lease for that property would be more appropriately valued at about $6,000 per month.

As common practice for the Laguna Beach City Council, this is just another example of politicians pandering to illegal behavior in the face of intimidation and/or foolishness.

I would like to build a Minuteman Express drive-through coffee stop on that property. Make me an offer.

JIM GILCHRIST

Aliso Viejo

A question that should not be asked

Regarding the question if the Day Labor Center should be closed down, it is shocking that any law-abiding American of any intelligence would even ask, or was the question posed by an illegal alien?

By definition, all illegal aliens are criminals in violation of federal immigration law Title 8 U.S.C.

Those who “harbor” or hire illegal aliens are subject to severe financial penalties and incarceration.

Of course the Day Labor Center should be immediately closed down!

It is yet another “slap in the face” to law-abiding Americans, the law should be enforced and ALL those aiding and abetting this criminal activity should be arrested.

Since an average of 25 Americans are killed every day by illegal aliens, anyone who welcomes them into our communities should answer just one question: How many more must die to satisfy your greed?

BARBARA COE

Huntington Beach

Barbara Coe is chairperson of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform.

I shook my head and chuckled after reading Roger E. Butow’s letter last week, “LAPD’s defense reeks of McCarthyism.”

Mr. Butow accused me of defending the LAPD’s actions on May 1 at McArthur Park after he read my letter to this paper “admonishing” the LAPD for excessive use of force.

I was chuckling because just a few days before I received an email from a well-known talk show host who was rebuking me for not supporting the LAPD on this issue. It just goes to show I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t.

The talk show host got it right, Mr. Butow got it wrong. I was not defending the police action from that day at all.

My letter in this paper clearly stated “In no way would I condone the excessive use of force used by the police that day.”

I do not support the excessive actions taken by police against innocent bystanders or the media.

I would never support actions such as I saw on the TV. But just as Roger Butow states in his misguided letter, all the facts aren’t in, investigations are not complete, and as he also points out, I wasn’t there that day, but guess what? Neither was Roger E. Butow.

I have been to enough of these types of rallies to recognize the agitators (The term used in the immigration reform community is “goons.” That is not a title I made up for them).

What the media did not show was the video of the goons as they spit on the police, threw frozen water bottles and rocks at them, and even threw bottles full of urine.

The call to clear the park came only after the “goons” formed a triangle formation and were coming toward the police line.

I have seen the video the mainstream media will not show. Have you seen it, Roger?

I stand by my claims that the agitators were from communist, socialist, and anarchist groups. The intention of my letter was to bring awareness to the residents of Laguna Beach that these are the same groups who come here to harass and antagonize those who rally for enforcement of our immigration laws.

Next time you drive by an immigration protest in Laguna Beach, look over at the red flags the goons are flying. Trust me, they aren’t using them to signal ships in the ocean.

Those red flags are the Communist and Socialist Party flags.

The police who lost their cool at McArthur Park were the highly trained, elite Metro force of LAPD. If the agitators were able to break them, imagine what the Minutemen must endure.

As a member of the Minuteman Project I took a vow to abide by any order given to me by a law enforcement officer, respect all laws, and not engage in any confrontations with counter-protesters (goons).

Each member of the Minuteman Project must abide by these rules. So yes, Mr. Butow, I do think the Minutemen are deputies and assistants for patriotic law and order.

EILEEN GARCIA

Laguna Beach

Letter did not defend police violence