Our Town: All Immigration Politics Is Local (by Alex Kotlowitz, NYTimes Magazine - 8.5.07)Even though 40% of Carpentersville, Illinois' 37,000 residents are Latino, it has not stopped local politicians from running on anti-Latino platforms and winning.
Gaining power by pitting Whites against Latinos, village trustees have enacted a series of employment and housing codes aimed at beating back the rising Latino population.
Residents of Latino heritage--many which are long-time residents--are shocked and dismayed by the anti-Latino animus of the new village trustees and their supporters.
Unfortunately, the racists appear to have won a short-term victory: American Latinos are leaving town.
¡Ya basta!
Also see PORTRAIT OF A SMALL TOWN'S WAR ON IMMIGRANTS by immigration attorney and blogger Greg Siskind.
You remind me of a joke about two Hispanics on a camel. However I am to polite to repeat it here. I live in Carpentersville and you people are the RACISTS! By trying to stir up trouble instead of understanding what is going on, you contribute to the stupidity!
ReplyDeleteI have many friends in the Hispanics around town. This is not about Latinos, it is about what is illegal. If you think it is alright to break the law, then you are an IDIOT!