It’s happening again, as I predicted it would. The New York Times Magazine has a long piece covering a small Illinois town taking matters into its own hands. Do the stores banning “illegal immigrants” (how do they know? skin color?) remind anyone of another time in this nation’s history? Latinos are not the only undocumented immigrants in this country!!!

Here’s a list of statements printed on a flyer mentioned in the article and my rebuttals:

Are you tired of waiting to pay for your groceries while Illegal Aliens pay with food stamps and then go outside and get in a $40,000 car? There are low income resident and citizen Latinos in this country, too. And don’t you even tell me that Caucasians and African Americans don’t collect their food stamps and buy expensive cars, too. What about the jewelry, electronics, etc., that keep people on welfare? Every racial group has some people like this – it’s not an undocumented immigrant thing.

Are you tired of paying taxes when Illegal Aliens pay NONE!
Many undocumented immigrants DO pay taxes. And, unlike you, they don’t get any back.

Are you tired of reading that another Illegal Alien was arrested for drug dealing? Again, all groups have their bad seeds. There is a strong argument to be made for arresting and deporting undocumented criminals, especially those who rape our women or drag our children into gangs.

Are you tired of having to punch 1 for English? It takes time to learn a language. Even coming from another English-speaking country, the dialect is very different here. Besides, these days you don’t even get an American on the line anyway…

Are you tired of seeing multiple families in our homes? Has it occurred to you that other cultures might value and appreciate family? When my husband and I were first married, he could not understand why we didn’t move in with my parents. This is not just a cultural value in Latino cultures, but also in Native American, Polynesian, Asian, Italian, etc. What you see as overcrowding they see as normal and right.

Are you tired of not being able to use Carpenter Park on the weekend, because it is over run by Illegal Aliens? Again, how do you know they are undocumented? There are plenty of citizen and resident Latino men and women in this country who enjoy a good game of soccer. Many are homeowners or pay rent and keep the economy booming by working (sometimes more than one job), paying taxes, etc. Since the taxes they pay go towards upkeep of the parks, shouldn’t they be able to use them just like any other person?