Posted by diddlyscrumps (anonymous) on August 14, 2008 at 3:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

No thanks. What a waste of time.

Posted by astates (anonymous) on August 14, 2008 at 4:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Is anything actually going to be done about the damn illegals?! i doubt it!!!!

Posted by amundsl (anonymous) on August 14, 2008 at 4:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Who is the sponsor of this event?

Posted by milesaway (anonymous) on August 14, 2008 at 8:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Wow do we live in communism. We want Mexicans out but no one says a word about the blacks, or any other race in town. You better look around go to human services and see all the other races, not only mexicans. We are all human being and God put us on this earth to love and care for each other. Maybe all the politics that are behind this propaganda BS should stop. I grew up in Austin and only knew one black man as a child in Austin and everyone treated him with respect. You people are so bitter towards your own anymore I don't know if I would want to live in Austin. While you scabble over this instead of getting along and making our country better the government is getting away with higher gas prices, food prices, and their pockets are getting fatter while you run off at the mouth about something that should be blamed on them and not a person who has a different skin color. Think about it. I don't say these things to make you mad but to make people think.

Posted by 2madmamas (anonymous) on August 14, 2008 at 9:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This is not about Mexicans...it is about greed and crime. Let's put this subject where it needs to be. The greed..well I don't need to explain. The crime..look at the newspaper articles from even just 15 years ago and compare to what has happened through the years. This is what it is about. It's about a company taking advantage of one group of people to pit it against another group of people. The focus needs to be put where the situation originated from. The people who created this situation are laughing all the way to the bank, and laughing at the petty arguing that is going on right now. They are sitting in their ivory towers looking down their noses on all of us and feeling pretty smug that they have gotten by with it! Unfortunately, we have a government who has encouraged corporate greed at all costs. So as they swing their golf clubs and drink their martinis at the country club without the concern of... how will I feed my children or my gas tank? We all have to figure out how to get along with each other.

Milesaway, if you lived in Austin way back when..you have to remember a time when the crime rate was 1/10 of what it has been these past years. If you live in Austin now then you know this to be true. If you don't live in Austin then maybe you need to come and stay for awhile. I feel sorry for the police in this town. They are the ones on the front lines trying to keep the peace, and uphold the law. A question...how do you keep law and order in a town that is dealing with so many people who have broken the law when it comes from the very top down? God bless our police officers and may they continue to have the strength to do what is right!

In the previous coalition blog from the other day it was mentioned by one of the bloggers that they knew both white and mexican drug dealers and Cuban criminals that were kicked out of Cuba, and are now living in Austin. This points out the need for all people's from top down to be held accountable for illegal activity.

Posted by taco (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 1:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

That is correct. Skin color is not the issue. Right to live in America and use our resources and infrastructure is the issue. How can an illegal alien work in the U.S. ? Thats right Identity fraud or theft, that hurts everyone, how about when these illegals get hurt or fired where do they turn to get paid, you guessed it, crime. Still wanna say lets get along? How about being ran into 3 times in a summer and having to pay the whole bill because the other person has no insurance. How about when an illegal that has no license hits your child or wife because they dont know how to drive and kills em.

illegals need to be sent home and can return when they have the proper documentation. I welcome them all day as long as they do it right by the law.

Posted by Nina (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 5:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Ah, taco, if only it was that simple. Contrary to popular belief, there is no line for these people to join, no 'proper documentation' for them to fill out that will let them come here to live. That's why they come illegally.

There are only four ways to get a green card (the only route to citizenship) - 1. marry a US citizen 2. a relative sponsor you (takes up to 12years) 3. have a skill that's in demand (like nursing ) and find an employer to sponsor you (takes up 4 years) 4. Invest over 1/2 $million to create employment in a deprived area.

That's it. Americans are always saying they welcome legal immigrants, but since it's almost impossible to immigrate legally, the point is moot.

I have been here almost 5 years. I bought a business (no other option available), I pay taxes, speak English and employ 8 US citizens and I CANNOT GET A GREEN CARD. My teenage children have to leave when they turn 21 and I cannot retire or sell my business, or I must leave, too.

E2 investors would be the ideal immigrants, we give all and take nothing. I only hope that when the new administration introduces the amnesty, they include those of us who played by the rules and came here legally. We love America and want to stay. We did everything right and are treated worse than the illegals - at least someone is trying to help them.

Posted by Mary_Anne_Evans (anonymous) on August 16, 2008 at 10:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Why is the newspaper calling all of the panelists, "experts"? Oh really?

What makes Ruthie Hendrycks an "expert," other than her self-appointed leadership in an association she founded?

Has she or any of the other panelists conducted well-designed, peer-reviewed studies of immigration? If they have, are their statements considered accurate?

For instance, FAIR's Susan Tully recently was caught stretching the truth on a radio show by the Iowa Independent:
T"his morning’s Jan Mickelson show was (again) dominated by a discussion of illegal immigration. One of Mickelson’s guests, Susan Tully of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, misconstrued this Iowa Independent article from earlier this week on the air to claim that U.S. Rep. Tom Latham planned to participate in a protest in Postville this weekend.

Latham’s office called into the show and corrected Tully’s incorrect reading of our story. Our reporting was accurate, but Tully probably hadn’t read it."

http://iowaindependent.com/2796/susan-tu...

In today's editorial, the Herald asks readers to trust this "expert" to provide us with "accurate" information. I hope the paper is willing to vouch for her to begin doing so.

The truth is that FAIR and Dell Erickson aren't just about ending illegal immigration, nor is a group that will probably turn up at the forum, Paul Westrum's Minnesota Coalition for Immigration Reduction. They also want to reduce legal immigration by 80 percent.

So good luck, Nina, and the others who have followed the rules. FAIR, Dell Erickson and the Minnesota Coalition for Immigration Reduction don't want you here.

Those people who claim to be all for legal immigration but oppose illegal immigration need to make sure that they fully understand the complete agenda of some of those on the panel.

And it's worthwhile checking out the reputation of these groups and speakers on the Internet. For instance, the Southern Poverty Law Center has placed FAIR on its list of hate groups.

But don't hold your breath waiting for the Herald to report that.