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.
Tomorrow, Joey Vento of Geno's Steaks (you know, the "Speak English, this is America" local merchant and anti-immigration personality who I wrote about here) is hosting a fundraiser to "protect" SB1070 from the Department of Justice lawsuit. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, Sheriff Joe Arpaio (the Arizona sheriff who places detained immigrants in shackles and houses them in tent prisons, see a post about him here), Congressional candidate/Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta all plan to participate (via radio). Please help us send a message that we do not support laws or policies that encourage racial profiling - here or in Arizona - by joining other people of faith and immigration advocates at 5:30 p.m. at the Capitolo Park, at 9th and Passayunk in South Philadelphia (across the street from Geno's Steaks).
Yesterday was close day – an adrenaline-spiking rush to edit, lay out, proof, finish and upload pages before press time.Sometime around 4 p.m., Barb, one of the CS&T designers (and a person whose forthright and informed commentary on life keeps me on my toes and highly amused) flung a question my way. “Did you watch the Mummer’s parade this year?” she asked. Pure non-sequitur, by the way – none of us had been discussing this curious Philadelphia tradition, in which every New Year’s Day thousands of rank-and-file Philadelphians strut through the streets of the city in a parade that seems half Mardi-Gras, half Rose Bowl. “No,” I answered cautiously. “Why?”“When I saw one of the groups performing I thought about you,” she answered.“Yeah?” I said, while mentally reviewing whether I had recently worn anything extravagant enough to merit this mnemonic. I am rather fond of intensely colored clothing and big jewelry – but, no, I don’t think I had ever turned up at work with feathers or a headdress. Pete – another designer – nodded. ”I wondered if you were watching,” he added.Okay, scary. “There was float and people dressed like illegal immigrants. With border patrol and a fence and everything,” Barb informed me.I think I probably sputtered a lot as they described it to me. Within seconds, Joanna (the sports editor) who actually sits a whole room away (so my imprecations had to have been loud) sent me a link to an article about the B. Love Strutters Brigade’s “Aliens of an illegal kind” performance on New Year’s Day. As soon as I got home, I searched YouTube for a video of the full performance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYmcKrxLspE).Sigh. Beyond the clueless inanities muttered by the TV announcers (“It looks like a celebration of diversity”) there was Philadelphia’s cheesesteak maven – Joey Vento, riding on the float behind a version of his notorious “When ordering, speak English” sign. Sort of like those “No Irish need apply” or "whites only" signs we learned about in history class. Vento has made a name for himself with that sign, and the fight to keep it posted at his eatery. But before you dismiss his presence in the parade as just another harmless clown from the Mummer’s comic division, or his sign’s advocacy as a simple assertion of the primacy of English, check this out: http://timesleader.magnify.net/video/Harrisburg-rally-3. That’s Vento spewing anti-Hispanic and anti-immigrant venom at a Voices of the People rally in Harrisburg in September of 2007. Is this who we want to represent us – in middle of our city’s most iconic public gathering? Is this really our voice? Does he represent?I hope not. The Philadelphia Foundation recently commissioned a study titled “Recent Immigration to Philadelphia: Regional Change and Response” which was presented to the public Nov. 13, 2008. Here is some of what the study found:- The mix of immigrants and refugees in Philadelphia is diverse, with 39 percent coming from Asia, 28 percent from Latin America and the Caribbean, 23 percent from Europe and 8 percent from Africa.
- The country providing the largest number of immigrants to Philadelphia is India.
- A significant number of immigrants to the city have higher education degrees and professional and small business development skills.
According to Michael Katz, co-writer of the study, “The future labor force growth of Philadelphia depends on immigration. Metropolitan Philadelphia needs to attract immigrants, and it has to be an immigrant-friendly region.”Amen.Eat crow, Joey Vento. Wid 'wiz, even.
(Photo above by Carmen Alarcon, courtesy El Diario/La Prensa)
Even better, check it out on El Diario's smart edition, with great layout and nice photos (the link to El Diario/La Prensa's smart edition is always at the bottom of this blog).
One caveat: The article is in Spanish. Good thing Joey Vento, Geno's Steak owner and Philly's unrepentant monoglot, isn't one of my readers.
Or, you can wait for Thursday, and check out two of Carmen Alarcon's photos of the Guadalupe torch at Philadelphia's St. Peter the Apostle in the Catholic Standard & Times (Thank you, El Diario, for reprint permission) with captions in English.
Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe.
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.
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." 
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."
