Immigrant raid spurs protest, cheers

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Is history repeating? - 2008-07-08 12:32:29

Lets see.The United States was formed by foreigners who came into this land and took over from the people already living here. Now here we go again. Didn?t work out to well for the previous natives and it's starting to show signs of the same for the current natives. People cant get jobs because illegal?s are doing them costing the employers less or as already pointed out, you cant communicate well enough with them making you undesirable. Our tax dollars are going to the immigration and illegal?s issues instead of helping the legal citizens. The latest issue I have is my community has private facilities just for those living there such as basketball courts and swimming pools. The Hispanics who don?t even live in our community have decided our basketball courts are a good hang out and you can find 50 or more of them on any given weekend in the courts where they are not supposed to be and our residence cant even get in to use the facilities that they pay for. The police will do nothing, and our community association unfortunately is a fairly pathetic group so now every weekend these people come into our community clogging the streets with cars, leave there trash wherever they want, and walk off with anything not nailed down and we are paying for it. I am not a prejudice person by nature but lately I have been pushed just a little to much. How long until hate crimes against illegal?s becomes the next past time of our lesser minded citizens. Some poor sap is going to go nuts and take out everyone in a McDonalds because the Spanish speaking workers got his order wrong yet again.

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K. Overman - arnold, MD - Karma: Bad

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Tip of the iceburg! - 2008-07-07 12:12:23

After the taskforce investigates the painting & landscape businessess, take a long hard look at the restaurants! Lots of gray area here with the same SSN being used in multiple restaurants. And I don't buy the angle about not having these illegals will cost us all more. They are ALREADY costing us more. Take a look at who is taking up all the room in our ER waiting rooms, schools, etc for example.

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N. Wallace - Davidsonville, MD - Karma: Neutral

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Illegal Dropoff - 2008-07-07 09:14:38

Consider yourself lucky Gerry M. When I hired Annapolis Painting Services the company dropped off 5 spanish speaking men who I could not communicate with, Since then I ask companies if they employ illegals and hope they tell the truth. I for one will not go through that again in my own home.

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Don Williams - Davidsonville, MD - Karma: Neutral

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Have A Heart....OK - 2008-07-03 14:12:31

Sure I feel for the folks who try to make their lives better, but can they do it LEGALLY? And for the business owners skirting the laws of this land as well...SHAME ON YOU! If push came to shove, I would pick tomatoes, sell shoes, bus tables...my roots gave me the moxie to get out there and WORK. Before I landed my first job in government, I worked as a retail sales clerk--with a Bachelor's degree and seven years of military service. How 'bout them apples? Our immigration system is BROKEN and needs to be FIXED. Imagine if a million Americans went to a foreign country illegally...I'm sure they would be sent back in a bus in a heartbeat when it was found out they were there against the law.

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J. Jovkovich - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

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More Irony - 2008-07-03 14:00:05

I find it ironic, that I, as an American citizen (and yes, daughter and great-granddaughter of immigrants), have to provide documentation when I take a job either federal or run-of-the-mill retail. I find it funny in a sad sort of way.

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J. Jovkovich - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

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People w/ hearts - 2008-07-03 13:57:14

45 people with blood and hearts have now had a world turned on end. That blood is good enough to donate to all the readers and if youare bleeding you will take it. Now you want to accept the work that is done , pay a fair wage and then throw out the worker. So next time your hardworking tax paying dollars pays for the State House or the Naval Acadamy to be painted do not be surprised that the cost will be 150% higher. Your tomatoes will cost 150% more, your grass can get cut by some U.S citizen for 150% more. Accept these people of the world. Open your heart. Actually go out and get a job if you want one, I have never had a problem and neither should you. This is a complex problem but arresting the workers is not going to solve the problem but only make our economy worse. So if you get a housing violation for peeling paint, or high grass do not blame the illegal citizens of the world that fix your problems. If you did not own the house you would not need the painters! So did any of the commentators have an illegal alien ever do any work for you. If so then step up and turn yourself in for being part of the problem. You know who you are and you know when you hired the company what you were getting.

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David Epstein - Balto, MD - Karma: Bad

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Childs Landscaping - 2008-07-03 11:27:16

I have a friend with 20 years Landscape experience whom applied for a job at Childs in Arnold, MD, and was turned down because he could not speak spanish....that's ironic.

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Debbie F. - Arnold, MD - Karma: Bad

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Irony and bad luck - 2008-07-03 10:48:10

What's ironic is that I tried to hire Bay Country Painters to do some external painting and shutter replacement at my condo. But after multiple emails and several phone calls over a period of 3 weeks, I never got any job estimate they had promised to send me. Was my job too small for them? They acted like they didn't want my business. So, I contacted Annapolis Painting Services and asked if they also do shutter replacement. I got a prompt reply and an estimate for the job within 2 days. I put down a 30% deposit and gave them the shutters to install. Weather and prior jobs delayed my job on the initial job date. On Monday, I came home and wondered why the job was still not done and discovered on the news that the company was raided for employing illegal immigrants. This raid has me very sad. I feel sorry for the employees and owners and I have a bad feeling I am out of my money. I used to see their vans all over the place doing contracting work for my neighbors. It just seems so stupid to place so many resources to arrest people for working "illegally" when there are so many other problems that should have a higher priority. From my perspective these people are working and providing a service and are not a burden to our society. I don't buy this "They're taking jobs away from us". I tried to give a job to Bay Country Painters and they ignored me.

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Gerry M. - Arnold, MD - Karma: Bad

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a long road ahead - 2008-07-02 22:52:40

I sympathize with these folks. Most of them come here to better their lives and generally stay out of serious trouble. But that doesn't make what they are doing right! They are breaking our laws. But before we round up the posse and arrest the hundreds of thousands of them here in Maryland, we REALLY need to address the bigger issues. 1) Maryland is a haven because they can get a drivers license without proof of citizenship. That has to stop! 2) Crack down on employers. The SSA has a document verification service; but it isn?t required. Let?s require it and start holding employers accountable. 3) We need to close the borders. Here?s an idea, bring the military home and actually use them to defend OUR country. 4) End birth right citizenship, you should not be able to come over here and have a baby and suddenly entitle the whole family to citizenship. 5) Fix our immigration processes. My wife came over here legally, we did everything by the book, and it still took her 3 years to get a green card. It was a mess, and she is a native English speaker with an education and real job skills. I can't imagine what it would be like for the folks from south of the border. The Australians have an interesting way of qualifying residence seekers, look it up. ===Once those core problems are fixed we need to find ways to reduce the number of illegal?s here. The steps above combined with our sinking economy should send some of them home but pretending that we can get them all to go back where they came via force is a fantasy. Criminals and Leaches can be deported pronto. For those who have stayed out of trouble and not been a burden on our society, we will have to come up with a path to citizenship. It just better not be any easier, cheaper, or faster than it was for my wife to get here legally! The bottom line is, we have a long way to go. I just hope the politicians understand that these headline catching raids alone won't fix the problem.

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Bruce K. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad

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Blue Collar is Tired!! - 2008-07-02 21:29:42

I can't stand it anymore. What is it the hispanic community thinks they're owed? We're talking about ILLEGAL ALIENS. We don't need hispanics to run into this country and try to "help us with our economy" and "provide much needed labor". That's hillarious MR. MARIO QUIROZ, They are ILLEGAL. These hispanics commit fraud and break laws to get here and to stay here. They affect the lives of blue collar America and our families. Mr. Bontempo needs to loose his business, his houses, pay a hefty fine, and do some jail time or at least some community service at the Goodwill. It seems to be the census of Blue Collar America is that we're sick and tired of being stepped on. It's time to start hitting some local landscapers. I think Childs Landscaping would be a great start.

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mike j. - edgewater, MD - Karma: Bad

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Yay for Leopold - 2008-07-02 09:33:00

Leopold finally got something right!

Now go after the rest of the slimey businesses that prey on these people.

These immigrants had the opportunity to do it the right way--they chose another avenue. Now they are learning about the way things work in the land of opportunity.

http://www.arundelcrime.blogspot.com

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J. F - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad

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Human Beings - 2008-07-02 08:46:18

These "illegal imigrants" are human beings and should still be treated with the respect you would want to be treated with. I feel very sorry for them, I wouldn't want to live in those impoverished countries either. One cannot control where one is born, they are just trying to pave a better life for themselves and their families. The law is the law, and if broken, these people should be held accountable as with anyone else. Any one trying to get into this great County should go through the legal steps, it may take years longer, but the outcome is honest and law abiding, that is a much better trait to pass on to their children than illegally comming here and illegally working and collecting services paid by law abiding citizens and avoiding to pay the very taxes that are being spent on their pregnancies, housing, food, clothing and medical needs. All in all they are still human beings and no human being should EVER be called vermin or parasite. Everyone in the great County today is from a long line of immigrants from the past, some legal, some illegal.

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Debbie F. - Arnold, MD - Karma: Bad

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Illegal Immigrants - 2008-07-02 08:25:55

Thank you Mr. Leopold. I am sick and tired of the illegal immigrants who think this country, or AA County, owes them. If the ICE and police are having trouble finding illegal immigrants, try looking on Forest Drive.

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Tom T. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad

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Deport the parasites NOW - 2008-07-01 20:20:17

Not criminals, eh? It's a crime to sneak into the United States. It's a crime for illegal aliens to work in the United States. This border-hopping vermin drives down wages, sucks up public services public services intended for citizens, commits all sorts of additional crimes, and who knows what else. Drag this load of parasites to the nearest airport and call ConAir. Send their old ladies and their larvae along with 'em. Enough is enough.

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Aztlan Buster - Wailuku, HI - Karma: Bad

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Immigrant raid spurs prot - 2008-07-01 18:34:49

"These people are not criminals...." Oh, Really! How about stolen identities? How about forged documents? How about rape?..the rape of the American taxpayer? How about the defrauding our Federal Government by getting welfare, paying for your ANCHOR BABIES? How about paying for your medical costs?
How about the costs of deporting these CRIMINALS, and keeping them in jail till the deportation? And these scumbags are not criminals?

GREAT JOB, ICE! Wish I could get each of you a coffee or drink of your choice. Round them up, ship them out with their little ANCHORS!

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Robert Cuncic - Smyrna,, DE - Karma: Bad

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See ya... - 2008-07-01 17:10:30

Do you need help driving them south?

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susan ross - Tampa, FL - Karma: Bad

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Illegal Aliens - 2008-07-01 16:46:49

Huzzah. It is about time. "Illegal" is criminal!

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Carol N. - Edgewater, MD - Karma: Bad

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Illegal Immigrants - 2008-07-01 15:25:20

Dictionary.com defines illegal:

1. forbidden by law or statute.
2. contrary to or forbidden by official rules, regulations, etc.

Why do so many people have a hard time understanding that concept? Come here legally, get a job and pay your fair share of taxes and you are welcome to move in next to me. Come here illegally, work in an underground economy, enroll in every give-a-way program you can find and I will help Mr. Leopold identify and remove you any way I can. Keep up the good work....

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Darryl Hagner - Owings, MD - Karma: Bad

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Hail to the Chief - 2008-07-01 14:50:19

Hail to the Chief, Mr. John Leopold. It is about time a politician recongnized that illegal means illegal. I hope the companies owner goes to jail because he is what is wrong with the system. This is a direct slap in the face of honest business owners and the taxpayers of Anne Arundel County. How could he not of known, they arrested 45 people???

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Craig S. - severna park, MD - Karma: Bad

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A Request from an Illegal - 2008-07-01 14:16:17

Mr. Leopold, please give me enough time to produce an anchor baby who will have automatic citizenship. That way when I commit a crime and get arrested, the media will make YOU look like the bad guy if you ever try to deport me!

OBAMA in '08!!!

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Karen E. - annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad