Dayton, OH – Last week, the Dayton City Commission unanimously approved what they call the "Welcome Dayton" initiative to attract more immigrants and generally make the city more immigrant-friendly. Under the plan the city will request federal money to teach immigrants English and will lobby both the state and federal governments for more so-called “pro-immigration” laws.
City Manager Tim Riordan told the crowd at last week’s meeting: “Critics conveniently connect the word 'immigrant' with the word 'illegal' when talking about the Welcome Dayton plan, but that's not what this initiative is all about. We have many good people from all nationalities coming here to invest in the community and to build a better life. The same thing is happening in cities and towns across the country. Our local colleges and universities see the benefits of this movement and are actively recruiting more foreign-born students. This is the reality of a world that is getting smaller and smaller, so we should take advantage of the opportunities that are at hand.”
While Riordan claims that the plan is not designed to turn Dayton in a ‘sanctuary city’ for illegal aliens, two key points of the program will make it much easier for illegal aliens to live and work in the city.
One proposal is the creation of municipal identification cards for immigrants who have no valid form of ID, which would place government documents into the hands of illegal aliens.
Of course, legal immigrants generally have valid documents such as passports and visas.
Another recommendation would only allow police to perform immigration status checks on those suspected of committing serious crimes. This proposal would shield illegal aliens arrested for less serious crimes, such as driving without a license from detection and possible deportation.
As we have seen in the past, cities which lay out the welcome mat for illegal aliens are simply inviting criminals to victimize their own citizens.
In San Francisco, on June 22, 2008, three members of the Bologna family were gunned down by Salvadoran national and gang member Edwin Ramos. Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16 were shot to death by Ramos as they sat in their car on a crowded street, in the city´s Excelsior District.
Ramos who is a member of the notoriously violent drug gang known as MS-13, shot the Bologna family to death because Tony Bologna had temporarily blocked the car in which Ramos was traveling, as the two cars made their way through an intersection. The Bologna men were returning home from a family barbecue.
As a juvenile, Ramos had committed felony attempted robbery and assault.
Shortly after the shooting, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, Juvenile Probation Department officials did not report Ramos to federal immigration authorities for possible deportation because of San Francisco´s stated sanctuary policy.
Despite the rhetoric coming from many local officials claiming that they have no legal role in enforcing our immigration laws…that is simply a lie.
In 1996 the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIR) was passed as a federal law which requires local governments to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (now part of the Department of Homeland Security).
The local governments that have been enforcing their own sanctuary policy are actually defying this law. U.S. citizens have a right, according to the Constitution to expect to be protected from violations of federal law by foreign nationals who are not authorized to be in the country, without local police departments aiding and abetting these criminal aliens in their unlawful activities.
Of course, to the political leadership of cities such as San Francisco, and apparently Dayton, Ohio…the rule of law means very little.
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