Say Anything Blog

On Thursday, April 20, 2000, the 11th Circuit Court turned down the U.S. Justice Department’s request to have Elian removed from the home of his Miami relatives.  The Clinton Administration and the Janet Reno Justice Department acted the next day to short circuit the legal process that was clearly going against their wishes.  On Friday evening after all courts had closed for the day, the Justice Department obtained a search warrent from a night duty magistrate who didn’t have a clue about the case; submitting a supporting affidavit that seriously distorted the facts (sounds like Waco, doesn’t it?).  Armed with that dubious warrent, the INS helmetted officers, armed with MP5s, burst into the home of Elian’s relatives and snatched the screaming boy.

"Illegal" child with his US relatives, whose mother died bringing him into the country-- removed at gunpoint and forcibly deported.

Contrast and compare current immigration policy…

I had forgotten that this was Easter Morning.

Is nothing sacred?

I don’t miss the bad old days of Bill and Janet. 

Proofreader emeritus,

Imagine if Elian were Haitian or a kid from Guatemala. 

I thought we didn’t like illegal immigrants?

Janet Reno should be in jail… still!

"Janet Reno in jail," now that would be great justice, wouldn’t it? Afterall, in the eyes of many she did violate the letter and spirit of the law.

Last I heard of about her, she was spotted at a clam bump..er..er clam bake on Miami Beach. Someone said she is now employed as a sales representative for Snap-On-Tools. 

I thought we didn’t like illegal immigrants?

You have to remember, Elian Gonzales was too young to work construction.

I thought we didn’t like illegal immigrants?

As a Cuban subject Elian Gonzales was entitled to Asylum as soon as he reached our shores.  There wasn’t an illegal thing about him.

The question was one of who would speak for Elian.  It was thought that the court with jurisdiction (Florida Family Court) may have awarded custody to the childs grandparents rather than his estranged father.  The main reasoning I would think is under the realm of "what’s best for the child."  

So would Elian have been better off living with his grandparents who presumably love him in the greatest country on Earth.  Or would Elian have been better off living with his father who presumably loves him in the worst dictatorial hellhold on Earth.  (Although the weather is nice).  Would he have been better off with access to the greatest health care system in the world or would he have been better off in the sewer of an healthcare system that is in Cuba.

I had forgotten that this was Easter Morning.  Is nothing sacred?

So would Elian have been better off living with his grandparents who presumably love him in the greatest country on Earth.  Or would Elian have been better off living with his father who presumably loves him in the worst dictatorial hellhold on Earth.  (Although the weather is nice).  Would he have been better off with access to the greatest health care system in the world or would he have been better off in the sewer of an healthcare system that is in Cuba.

Sounds like you were at the immigration rallies last week.

Sounds like you were at the immigration rallies last week.

I’m sorry I don’t get your point.  I thought mine was pretty clear. 

Speaking of illegal immigrants, remember those who claimed that they came here unprompted?  Apparently that isn’t the case. 

When Pedro Lopez Vazquez crossed illegally into the United States last week, he was not heading north to look for a job. He already had one.

His future employer even paid $1,000 for a smuggler to help Vazquez make his way from the central Mexican city of Puebla to Aspen, Colo.

"We’re going to Colorado to work in carpentry because we have a friend who was going to give us a job," Vazquez said.

Vazquez, 41, was interviewed along the Arizona border after being deported twice by the U.S. Border Patrol. He said he would keep trying until he got to Aspen.

From here: http://www.newsobserver.com/110/story/429343.html

You have found an exception.  Most of them come across after paying for that themselves, and risk their lives to do so, another form of "paying".  You must know better than this.  Maybe you don’t.

We know illegal aliens always tell the truth.

robert108,

You have found an exception.  Most of them come across after paying for that themselves, and risk their lives to do so, another form of "paying".  You must know better than this.  Maybe you don’t.

Oh no!  Facts which clash with your ideology!  What can you possibly do!  Deny the relevance of those facts.  Typical blogging behavior.

If you read deeper into the article you’d see that this a common pattern.

robert108,

Are you treating them as a group?   I thought you treated people as individuals.  You’re make for good entertainment.

Night guys.

His future employer even paid $1,000 for a smuggler to help Vazquez make his way from the central Mexican city of Puebla to Aspen, Colo. 

"We’re going to Colorado to work in carpentry because we have a friend who was going to give us a job," Vazquez said.

I think it’s wrong to call this an example of an US employer offering jobs to folks before they come here.  Since he refers to the prospective employer as a friend you have to assume that it’s merely a chain of illegal.  One moves in and they invite a cousin, who invites a friend who invites his brother..... 

I read the article;  it is largely anecdotal. 

robert108,

(A) That isn’t the case.  (B) Apparently anecdotal evidence suits you fine when such evidence skews towards your ideological outlook.  Flip flop. Flip flop. 

TheWhistler,

I think it’s wrong to call this an example of an US employer offering jobs to folks before they come here.  

I see, so the employer was coerced into taking them on once they got here?   At gunpoint perhaps?  You can deny that the marketplace is at work in this area all you want to; that isn’t going to do much to the reality of the situation.

I don’t know really where to go with this Ep.  Undoubtedly there are some employers who prefer illegal aliens.  I don’t know why they aren’t being prosecuted.  The government seems to have time to hassle businesses that are trying to follow the law.

What confuses me is that you seem to think that because a small minority of employers don’t want to follow the law, then we shouldn’t bother enforcing the law.  (Any Law). 

I read the article;  it is largely anecdotal.  It’s a simple statement, Epi; it’s my opinion, which doesn’t agree with yours.  No inferences, just a simple statement.  What’s your solution to illegal immigration?

BTW, Elian Gonsales, the subject of this thread, was not an illegal alien. 

Ah, the left does not see the distinction between legal and illegal immigration.