Philadelphia's renowned Geno's Steaks was the site of a 4-hour radio fundraiser in support of Arizona's SB1070 law. Organized by Geno's owner, Joey Vento, the event was broadcast by WPHT radio's Dom Giordano.Citizens, people of faith, comprehensive immigration reform advocates and members of several Catholic religious congregations and organizations gathered across the street from the eatery to protest the Arizona law - which human and civil rights advocates (as well as many Latino citizens) say will institutionalize racial profiling and adversely affect people of Hispanic heritage regardless of documentation status.
A bill modeled a
fter Arizona's has been introduced in Pennsylvania by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe. Like its Arizona counterpart HB2479 states that law enforcement shall verify the immigration status of any person the officer has stopped, arrested or detained and "who is or should reasonably be suspected of being unlawfully present in the state." One of the co-sponsors of the bill, Rep. Tom Creighton said in an interview in Lancaster's Intelligencer Journal that what amounts to reasonable suspicion would be "a rea
l subjective decision by that officer." Earlier on the 14th, Tucson's Bishop Gerald Kicanas testified before Congress (the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law) on the ethical imperative for reform of the U.S. immigration system.
Immigration is ultimate
ly a humanitarian issue, the bishop said, since it impacts the rights and dignity of millions of persons and their families. "As such it has moral implications." he said. "We cannot accept the toil and taxes of immigrants without providing them the protection of law."The bishop, whose diocese runs along the whole of the Arizona-Mexico border, said he witnesses every day "the human consequences of our broken immigration system."
Photos of the rally across the street from Geno's Steaks by Sarah Webb for the CS&T.
... nothing like holding a rally in favor of racial profiling AND selling a bazillion cheese steaks to make it a well-worth day of bigotry ...
ReplyDeleteJoey Vento is such an ignorant phony! I cringe every time I hear him say, "if yous are illegal and if yous don't speak English you should be deported!" Someone needs to tell him that HE does not speak English!! I do not think that he can speak any language correctly. His rhetoric comes from being an uneducated person who happens to have made money selling cheese steaks. He coined the phrase "wit or wit out"
ReplyDeleteThe republicans love him because he subscribes to their shameful attacks on immigrants just like Dom Giordano, Glenn Beck and others. Gee, their names do not sound native American to me!!!
No, illegal immigration is not a humanitarian issue. It has nothing to do with race, sex,color or creed. 40% of all illegals come from all over the world. Illegal immigration is about the Rule of Law and respect for all U.S. laws. Without enforcement of the law, there is anarchy. Kinda like what is happening in our border states. Because our federal government refuses to fulfill their Constitutional duty by enforcing our present immigration laws, it is the states who are mirroring federal laws and actually trying to enforce them. Illegal immigration costs us $113 billion dollars each year. 52 billion is spent just to educate them. While 20 million Americans are out of work, 8 million illegal aliens are working non-agricultural jobs.
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