(Photo/University of North Carolina)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Former Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) was at the University of North Carolina Tuesday, where he was scheduled to speak to students about illegal immigration and in-state tuition. As he began speaking, several students interrupted and made sure Tancredo would not be able to exercise his right of free speech.
Instead of listening to what Tancredo had to say and discussing it respectfully, shouts and insults from some students rang out in the classroom directed at Tancredo. “Racist!” – one student shouted. Another student called the former Republican Congressman a “white supremacist piece of sh*t!”
The verbal assault on Tancredo stemmed from his firmly held political beliefs against illegal immigration and in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.
In a calm and joking manner, Tancredo said to the class, “this is the free speech crowd right?” He later called the protestors “intellectually bankrupt.”
“No dialogue with hate!” echoed throughout the classroom and two students unfurled a banned in front of Tancredo ending his planned discussion before it began.
UNC student Arian Lopez of the Carolina Hispanic Organization did not approve of the protestors’ actions.
I feel very embarrassed about how the student body went about doing this. It got completely out of control. – Adrian Lopez, UNC sophomore
Outside of the classroom police were forced to use pepper spray and tasers to control the unruly crowd. A protestor also broke a classroom window after Tancredo briefly spoke until he was forced to stop again.
About the incident Tuesday, Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee (ALIPAC) President William Gheen stated: “The hatred and intolerance behind the broken glass in this room is the same human emotion behind bricks [thrown] through the windows of black churches and Jewish store fronts.”
President of the student group who invited Tancredo, Riley Matheson of Youth for Western Civilization, was also disappointed about the protest, “I’ve lost faith in this campus.”
There were no arrests during the protest, but investigations are underway concerning the actions of both protestors and police.
The university apologized for the incident and may charge some students in the school’s Honor Court.
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Comments
The rhetoric of the representative regarding immigration is despicable. He has the right to propagate his views. These students are unclear on the concept of America.
Harry, I don't know what's so "despicable" about being against rewarding criminals - illegal immigrants - with in-state tuition. Some military members don't even get in-state tuition.
Ahhhhh, the open tent, tolerant inclusive leftists. Where is the Napolitano DHS report on the VIOLENT campus leftists?
The "professors" were even egging the students on in this terrible display of bigotry and hate.
Harry O. When ILLEGAL aliens get instate tuition rates that means a seat in that school has been taken away from a LEGAL alien or resident. Is that fair? Is that moral?
Sean: Illegal Immigrants are not technically criminals because immigration violations are not criminal offenses....they are civil offenses. Furthermore, nobody can deny someone their first amendment right other than the Government or Government Actor. I cannot deny you yours, and the students at UNC cannot deny Mr. Tancredo his.
The students at UNC are, on the other, a-holes for their antics.
The student protests are tasteless and ignorant. While I disagree with Mr. Tancredo's stance on the issue, shouting him down and calling him names is pointless. UNC students should be ashamed.
I don't see anything in Wikipedia about the Dream Act paying the tuition of immigrants. Usual right wing distortion, probably to protect some corporate interests.
Unfortunately, displays like this seem to be the only way we're going to fully wake up in our country, otherwise the middle class is doomed.
'Mob veto' my ass, what about 'corporate veto'.
The wise check facts form the correct sources and then make decisions about things . the FOLLIES believe what they're told without checking facts. BE WISE :)
Ignorance is Bliss: Those who have NO CLUE or QUALIFICATIONS about Immigration are those who show their IGNORANCE :)
There is NO SUCH WORD AS 'ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT" in Blacks Law Dictionary, or In Merriam Websters Dictionary. Get Educated .
Today "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday that the claim by some conservative activists that illegal immigration is to blame for all of the state's fiscal problems is ignorant and bigoted."
In the 20-plus years I have spent studying, lecturing and litigating immigration issues, two things have always amazed me. The first is the amount and intensity of hate spewed against undocumented workers. The second is the amount of misinformation that is published about them.
On this second point, the quote from Mark Twain is illustrative. "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." I suppose this may be true in part because misinformation, like a lie, requires no accuracy, validation or research; all of which are time-consuming practices.
The recent letters alleging that all undocumented workers are "criminals," and specifically Veronica Suarez, whose plight was written about in the Tracy Press recently, is a criminal are factually incorrect.
According to the facts (as stated in Sharon Franceschi’s Sept. 7 commentary) Saurez entered the U.S. on a valid visa, overstayed her visa when it expired, resulting in her unlawful immigration status. None of these acts, as stated by Franceschi, constitute a crime under federal or state law. Overstaying a valid visa under the Immigration and Naturalization Act is a civil violation of the law, not a criminal violation. Being in the U.S. in under undocumented status is not a criminal violation, but a civil violation of the INA.
The facts, as stated by Franceschi, do not indicate that Suarez has committed any crime. To call her a criminal is erroneous at best, and libelous at worst.
Furthermore, it is an Americanism that a person is innocent until proven guilty. So until Suarez (or any other undocumented person) is charged and found guilty of a crime, it would be inappropriate to call them "criminals."
It is important to note that there is a very large difference between civil and criminal violations of law. The distinction is so important that the law makes the erroneous allegation that one has committed a crime of slander or libel, (which means liability is automatic even without proof of damages). One who violates the civil law is no more a criminal than someone who has breached a contract or accidentally damaged another’s property.
It is true that entering the United States without inspection is a misdemeanor under the INA. The misdemeanor is completed once an individual’s entry is complete. Suarez, according to Franceschi, did not enter without inspection; she entered with a valid visa. According to U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services statistics, about 40 percent of undocumented persons enter legally and overstay their visas (which, as stated above, is not a crime). Consequently, at least 40 percent of the undocumented population has committed no crime in regards to their immigration status.
Therefore, one cannot assume that a person has committed a crime simply because they are undocumented.
Franceschi is also in error in her allegation that getting married and having children while being undocumented in the U.S. is a violation of the law. It is not. Franceschi goes on to say that Suarez "apparently bought a house illegally." It is unlikely that Franceschi knows exactly how Suarez purchased her home. Consequently, any allegation of illegality is, at a minimum, irresponsible.
It is also important to note that the Immigration and Citizenship Services doesn’t consider all undocumented persons criminals. When the Immigration and Citizenship Services publishes information about its enforcement activities involving undocumented workers, it are always sure to make a distinction between "criminal" and noncriminal aliens.
Another myth is that the term "illegal aliens" is a term of art or is legal jargon. This term is not found anywhere in the INA or in Blacks Law Dictionary. The INA refers to undocumented persons as either an EWI (entered without inspection) or as someone who has overstayed their visa. "Illegal aliens" is a term invented by anti-immigrant groups designed to put undocumented persons in the worst possible light and to instill fear in Americans. It is intentionally designed to associate undocumented persons with criminality.
This xenophobic view that undocumented persons are "simply criminals" comes from the historical stereotype that the foreign-born, especially undocumented immigrants, are responsible for higher crime rates. This misconception has deep roots in American public opinion and popular myth. This myth, however, is not supported empirically and has repeatedly been refuted by scientific studies. Both contemporary and historical data, (including U.S. governmental studies) have shown that immigration is associated with lower crime rates.
The studies have uniformly shown that recent immigrants (including the undocumented) are less likely to be involved in violent crime, and that when there is an increase in immigration patterns, violent crime decreases. This has been shown to be true in large cities with heavy immigrant populations.
In the most recent of these studies, The Myth of Immigrant Criminality and the Paradox of Assimilation (2007), from the Immigrant Policy Institute, it was found that among men age 18 to 39 (who are the vast majority of inmates in federal and state prisons and local jails), immigrants were five times less likely to be incarcerated than the native-born in 2000.
During the Proposition 187 debate, then-Gov. Pete Wilson published statistics that stated that
12 percent to 15 percent of the state prison population had Immigration and Citizenship Services holds or potential holds. The Department of Corrections analyst who compiled these numbers said Immigration and Citizenship Services holds are placed on inmates who were born outside of the U.S. (therefore 12 percent to 15 percent of the prison population was immigrants). The immigrant population at the time in California hovered at about 25 percent, showing immigrants were much less likely to be incarcerated than the native born in California.
In short, the data shows you are much safer if your neighbor is an immigrant.
Franceschi owes Suarez an apology. I am also surprised that the Tracy Press allowed a commentary to run without checking the facts. Although commentaries are designed to allow for the expression of differing opinions, the First Amendment is not as generous with misstatements of facts — especially when the facts can be libelous.
For the immigration debate to be a healthy one, we should strive for a debate based on facts, not myth or tired stereotypes. We should also not let our position on this topic strip us of one of the great qualities we possess as people — the ability to be compassionate.
Arturo E. Ocampo of Tracy has been a practicing attorney since 1985, with an expertise in immigration rights and class action lawsuits on behalf of immigrants, including the way the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 was implemented, Border Patrol’s raids and Proposition 187. He is director of diversity and equal employment opportunity for the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District.
Undocumented immigrants paying more taxes than you think!!
Eight million Undocumented immigrants pay Social Security, Medicare and income taxes. Denying public services to people who pay their taxes is an affront to America’s bedrock belief in fairness. But many “pull-up-the-drawbridge” politicians want to do just that when it comes to Undocumented immigrants.
The fact that Undocumented immigrants pay taxes at all will come as news to many Americans. A stunning two thirds of Undocumented immigrants pay Medicare, Social Security and personal income taxes.
Yet, nativists like Congressman Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., have popularized the notion that illegal aliens are a colossal drain on the nation’s hospitals, schools and welfare programs — consuming services that they don’t pay for.
In reality, the 1996 welfare reform bill disqualified Undocumented immigrants from nearly all means tested government programs including food stamps, housing assistance, Medicaid and Medicare-funded hospitalization.
The only services that illegals can still get are emergency medical care and K-12 education. Nevertheless, Tancredo and his ilk pushed a bill through the House criminalizing all aid to illegal aliens — even private acts of charity by priests, nurses and social workers.
Potentially, any soup kitchen that offers so much as a free lunch to an illegal could face up to five years in prison and seizure of assets. The Senate bill that recently collapsed would have tempered these draconian measures against private aid.
But no one — Democrat or Republican — seems to oppose the idea of withholding public services. Earlier this year, Congress passed a law that requires everyone who gets Medicaid — the government-funded health care program for the poor — to offer proof of U.S. citizenship so we can avoid “theft of these benefits by illegal aliens,” as Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., puts it. But, immigrants aren’t flocking to the United States to mooch off the government.
According to a study by the Urban Institute, the 1996 welfare reform effort dramatically reduced the use of welfare by undocumented immigrant households, exactly as intended. And another vital thing happened in 1996: the Internal Revenue Service began issuing identification numbers to enable illegal immigrants who don’t have Social Security numbers to file taxes.
One might have imagined that those fearing deportation or confronting the prospect of paying for their safety net through their own meager wages would take a pass on the IRS’ scheme. Not so. Close to 8 million of the 12 million or so illegal aliens in the country today file personal income taxes using these numbers, contributing billions to federal coffers.
No doubt they hope that this will one day help them acquire legal status — a plaintive expression of their desire to play by the rules and come out of the shadows. What’s more, aliens who are not self-employed have Social Security and Medicare taxes automatically withheld from their paychecks.
Since undocumented workers have only fake numbers, they’ll never be able to collect the benefits these taxes are meant to pay for. Last year, the revenues from these fake numbers — that the Social Security administration stashes in the “earnings suspense file” — added up to 10 percent of the Social Security surplus.
The file is growing, on average, by more than $50 billion a year. Beyond federal taxes, all illegals automatically pay state sales taxes that contribute toward the upkeep of public facilities such as roads that they use, and property taxes through their rent that contribute toward the schooling of their children.
The non-partisan National Research Council found that when the taxes paid by the children of low-skilled immigrant families — most of whom are illegal — are factored in, they contribute on average $80,000 more to federal coffers than they consume. Yes, many illegal migrants impose a strain on border communities on whose doorstep they first arrive, broke and unemployed.
To solve this problem equitably, these communities ought to receive the surplus taxes that federal government collects from immigrants. But the real reason border communities are strained is the lack of a guest worker program.
Such a program would match willing workers with willing employers in advance so that they wouldn’t be stuck for long periods where they disembark while searching for jobs. The cost of undocumented aliens is an issue that immigrant bashers have created to whip up indignation against people they don’t want here in the first place.
With the Senate having just returned from yet another vacation and promising to revisit the stalled immigration bill, politicians ought to set the record straight: Illegals are not milking the government. If anything, it is the other way around.
The Undocumented Immigrants pay the exact same amount of taxes like you and me when they buy Things, rent a house, fill up gas, drink a beer or wine, buy appliances, play the states lottery and mega millions . Below are the links to just a few sites that will show you exactly how much tax you or the Undocumented Immigrant pays , so you see they are NOT FREELOADERS, THEY PAY TAXES AND TOLLS Exactly the same as you, Now if you take out 10% from your states /city Budget what will your city/state look like financially ?
Stop your folly thinking , you are wise USE YOUR WISDOM to see the reality. They pay more taxes than you think, Including FEDERAL INCOME TAX using a ITN Number that is given to them by the IRS, Social Security Taxes and State taxes that are withheld form their paychecks automatically.
GAS Taxes paid by you & the Undocumented are the same. Go to and check out your states tax;
Cigarette Taxes paid by you & the Undocumented are the same, check this out in :
Food Taxes, paid by You & the Undocumented are the same in each state check your state :
Clothing Sales Taxes, are the same paid by you & the Undocumented Immigrant;
City Taxes, are the same paid by you or the Undocumented, since he pays rent and the LANDLORD pays the city :
Beer Taxes, are the same paid by you or the Undocumented:
Check this out @ Immigration Policy Center. FACTS SPEAK LOUDER THAN LIES.
The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has released a wide-ranging review of academic and government data that shows what legalizing undocumented immigrants would mean for the U.S. economy today. Legalizing undocumented workers would improve wages and working conditions for all workers, and increase tax revenues for cash-strapped federal, state, and local governments. (April 13, 2009) Washington, D.C. – The dollars and cents of immigration reform make a lot of sense for the beleaguered U.S. economy. The net economic gain would be $66 billion in new state and federal revenue, according to a new report. The review, from the nonpartisan Immigration Policy Center, notes that Florida is one of the states with the most to gain if undocumented workers were provided a pathway to legal status. About 500,000 immigrant workers would be affected. Economist David Kallick with the Fiscal Policy Institute contributed to the study. Right now, he explains, those billions of dollars are lining the pockets of employers - who hire folks in the underground economy and avoid contributing to payroll and other taxes. "The cost of the underground economy to taxpayers is pretty substantial. The idea is, bringing undocumented immigrants into the 'above-ground' economy and making sure that they pay taxes just like everyone else." Critics of reform accuse undocumented workers of "stealing" American jobs; some want to deport everyone who is in the U.S. illegally. Kallick argues that immigrants do not steal good-paying jobs, and more legal workers in the labor pool will help grow the entire economy. That's also the view of Esther Lopez, director of civil rights and community action for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union International. She says labor groups see that legalization is good for all workers, and she considers it an important step in rebuilding the middle class. "We need an immigration system that is part of our national economic recovery program. We need immigration reform that punishes employers who 'game' the system to drive down wages and working conditions."
Not you again "Truth" who posted the exact same nonsense under "Attorney".
If I had been there I would have STOMPED SOME ASS on those liberal Marxist idiots for disrespecting one of America's last mohicans. A true Reagan conservative.
Those idiots need to spend soem time in a socialist country.... how about a little of Hugo Chavez?
We are a consensual society under a Constitution that provides rights, freedoms and the mechanics to create laws that we citizens live by. Citizens accept that breaking our laws results in proscribed punishments and full jails testify to the fact. An unholy alliance of lawbreaking illegal aliens, criminal employers and elected officials that look the other way are hypocrites and anarchists. They feel that they can pick and choose which laws are convenient for them to follow and willingly break those that are personally inconvenient. This breaks down our admired legal system and works against the rule of law that we depend upon for our daily safety and national security. All lawbreaking illegal aliens should be deported, all criminal employers should be jailed and elected officials that have failed to carry out their oath of office to defend the Constitution and our laws should be fired, voted out of office, impeached and perhaps charged with criminal dereliction of duty. The 1986 amnesty was a total failure. Never again! Who would have ever thought that 4 decades after the students defended free speech, now free speech is denied by students. What hypocrites!
If you want real change and you do not believe in RACISM, but you do believe in the RULE of law and that the United States Citizens come before all others, then Join.
Protect American jobs!
Protect our Citizenship!
Protect our borders from invasion!
Protect our children from the drug violence!
Remind our elected leaders they are the employees and we are their boss!
Stop the outsourcing of American jobs abroad and internally - 13,000,000 unemployed Americans are counting on us.
www.numbersusa.com
In-state tuition is only the first step. In Californian once they got in-state tuition, they immediately turned around and started demanding taxpayer funded Pell grants, subsidized student loans, etc. They are never satisfied and if you give them one freebie, they just take that as a greenlight to ask for more.
How sad that Americans support people that want to steal from them and their children every day while living in their country illegally. If you really want to make a difference then you host them on your home and keep them from bringing thier problems and crime to MY country.
all you bigots realize that the only reason we have so many illegal immigrants is because BUSINESSES HIRES THEM. And when they do they avoid paying all kinds of taxes and benefits (the employers), which in turn costs us more money. All this ire directed at the illegals, but hey, they're only coming because they're finding plenty of employers to hire them. These employers are the true anti-americans, but you won't see any of the right wing going after corporations or business.
The College failed to teach these students the right of free speech. Have they nothing better to do? Are they really students or noise makers.
Only Follies are afraid of poor food picking dish washing lawn mowing people that come to clean our homes to feed their families. You'll call yourselves Christians?? how can you call yourself a GOOD HUMAN when you are against ALMIGHTY GODS Children?
Stop Your Foolishness and get educated on a subject before you show your hate & ignorance :0
read what truth wrote , check out teh FACTS, Then make up your own mind , don't be lead like some sheep.
USE YOUR BRAIN. Not your Emotions.
PS: If you are so successful why are you afraid of some poor dishwasher or food picker to take your JOB??
Native American: Where was Christianity brought up in this article?
I wish you could meet Sgt. Christagunus Anyadike of Nigeria. I went to boot camp with him in 2004 and became friends with him. While he was a legal immigrant (not a citizen), he was deployed to Afghanistan to support the war. Anyadike could've died for the US, that didn't yet grant him citizenship yet, that didn't yet grant him the right to vote, and that didn't grant him in-state tuition in many states even though he was a LEGAL immigrant that followed the rules.
Instead, politicians want to use amnesty to give millions of illegal immigrants easy access to citizenship, in-state tuition, and the ability to vote. This is truly disgusting that America's political representatives would reward people who broke the law and forget legal immigrants who serve honorably in our armed forces, defending a country that won't even yet accept them, yet politicians want to accept criminals.
"Truth" is right when claiming that the illegal immigrant is not a word. No, it is TWO WORDS. Look up the word "illegal" on the online edition of Merriam Websters Dictionary.
Click on "2illegal (noun)", and suprise! they define it as an illegal immigrant. So, would it please Trust if we simply call them "illegals", "aliens who entered the US without inspection", or "aliens who overstayed their visas in violation of immigration law"? I doubt it. Please tell us the legal definition of the word "alien".
While Trust is also correct in saying that residing in the US is merely a "a civil violation of the law", if a person is found guilty of such an act, it would be reasonable to say that person, according to federal law, should be deported or removed from the US.
Please inform the uneducated among us, Mr. or Ms. Trust, if such a person should knowing obtain fraudulent or stolen identification documents, even if only to obtain a job here, would that be merely a civil violation of the law or a felony? What if said person was guiltly of obtaining a job and getting payed "under the table", so to speak, could that be considered tax evasion, a felony?
And yes there are many studies out there. Are they completely reliable considering we don't know who is here or exactly how many illegals reside in this country? How many studies have you found that exclude LEGAL immigrants, who DO happen have lower instances of criminal convictions than any other segment of our population? Studies favoring illegal immigration often include those law abiding legal immigrants, which skews the whole study in favor of immigrants rather than just the illegal population.
Is it so unreasonable that the law abiding citizens in this country expect their government actually enforce the laws they created? It is unfortunate that too many people only blame the illegals and do not place equal blame on the employer, who often violates several labor and civil rights laws after they have knowingly and illegally hired them. Punishment for them should include the loss of license to do business in this country for a period of, say, ten years, along with severe fines and mandatory jail time.
Granting legal status only encourgages more illegal immigration and is amnesty because it is exactly what they broke immigration law to get. Most don't care about citizenship as they are often more loyal to their country of origin than to the US. That is why open borders politicans always claim that amnesty is only granting citizenship, when in reality all they want is to be able to work here legally, thus amnesty.
The ONLY solution to this problem is to enforce immigration rules on the companies that employ undocumented workers, or illegal aliens if you want to call them that. If the demand dries up and folks can't find work after they hop the fence or overstay their visa, the problem will dry up very quickly.
I hope these students realize that this is the same treatment they should expect from others like them when they are invited to speak at an event. They are little more than feral animals.
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