This letter is being addressed to the twelve members of Philadelphia City Council who voted against the recent resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Police to check the immigration status of anyone arrested on a felony charge.
Dear Council Members:
This letter is being addressed to the twelve members of Philadelphia City Council who voted against the recent resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Police to check the immigration status of anyone arrested on a felony charge.
The defeat of this resolution by a 12-4 vote is the final blow to the besieged citizens of our great city. By your action, you have made a mockery of law and order, condoned the coddling of illegal invaders, and failed on your promise to provide physical and economic security to your constituents.
It was a truly a sad day when you, as elected officials, made clear that you value political correctness over your oath to uphold the law.
Enough is enough.
Your inability to address the root causes of Philadelphia's problems have led to international embarrassment and ridicule. On a daily basis, news stories attest to the city's track record: the highest murder and violence rate in the nation, the highest level of poverty, a school system in shambles, and some of the most burdensome business and commuter taxes in the country.
To add insult to injury, you continue to tie the hands of law enforcement by perpetuating Philadelphia's policy of being a "sanctuary city", whereby illegal aliens are provided a safe haven. Police are not required to report illegal aliens to the INS, even when they are arrested or convicted of crimes.
Why is it that you fight harder for those who, by definition, are law-breakers, rather than aggressively ensure that the rights of American citizens are protected?
Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, in her opposition, stated that "America is supposed to be a country that welcomes people with open arms....We're not saying convicted, we're saying if they are arrested for a felony, they (the police) should check their immigration status." Councilman Ramos chimed in with the usual vicious rhetoric of the victim-class, calling the resolution "divisive" and that it called for "racial profiling". Such off-topic statements are typical of those who cannot win on the facts.
Perhaps Council would be better served if it went back and re-read the law.
America does welcome immigrants with open arms, and always has. What is incomprehensible is that supposedly intelligent people such as yourselves cannot differentiate between legal and illegal immigration. Here's a quick primer: "legal immigrants" refer to people who have followed lawful procedures to enter America. "Illegal" means that they broke the law to get here, and continually do so when they stay and work in America. Included in this group of illegal aliens you welcome are terrorists, who, by their own definition, are here to kill us.
These terrorists are not just the al-Qaida variety, but people whose sole purpose is to prey on hard-working Americans through their constant violent crime sprees. "Americans", by the way, are those who happen to be the very people you are (legally) sworn to represent. Where are their rights? Why should they have to suffer depressed wages in a tight job market, and why should they have to share their benefits as American citizens with people who took an illegal short cut? What is the point of American citizenship when it is devalued by defeating resolutions such as the one you opposed?
In point of fact, many victims of crime would not have been victimized at all had the law been enforced. The execution-style murders of college-bound students in New Jersey would not have occurred had the immigration status of the accused been verified. After all, the lead suspect was under two grand jury indictments, one on thirty-one counts of sexually assaulting a nine-year old and the other for various violent crime charges. Yet he made bail twice, and federal officials didn't know his immigration status.
And what about the situation earlier this year in Virginia Beach, where two seventeen year old girls were killed by an illegal immigrant driving drunk, an illegal with three prior DUI convictions. While no one can tell if those girls would have been killed for some other reason that night, one thing remains abundantly clear: If the government hadn't failed, that criminal---and that's what illegal immigrants and drunk drivers are--- would not have been in America, let alone Virginia. And those girls, unequivocally, would not have died from his drunk driving.
Your support of Philadelphia as a sanctuary city should cease immediately. Given that we need a comprehensive "zero tolerance" crackdown on illegal immigration, we should start on the local level to effectively deal with the issue. The second part of the resolution you voted down would have required the police to notify both the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office and federal immigration authorities of the illegal immigration status of a felony suspect.
The efforts of the resolution's sponsor, Councilman Brian O'Neill, are commendable. He said that his bill was about profiling felons, not racially profiling people, and he is right on target. It's not just "Hispanic" or "immigrant-looking" people being asked for identification, which would be wrong. Everybody would be asked the exact same set of questions, with special treatment for none. What is the harm in asking someone his immigration/citizenship status after being arrested on a felony charge? No one is advocating random street stops because someone has a dark complexion, but that distinction has been lost on Council.
Therefore, I challenge any and all Council members to debate this issue of paramount importance in an open and public forum. Only then will the people of Philadelphia be able to make an informed decision during the next election.
Respectfully,
Christopher Freind
Freindly Fire
Audaces fortuna iuvat
