What would Helen say to the sheriff? Just curious....
Good - there is nothing unjust or unethical about identifying and holding accountable foreign nationals here illegally. No one is above the law.
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Wow, Chinese fire drills! That comment alone speaks volumes about where this LEO is coming from! Some folks wear their racism so effortlessly. Amazing.
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The expression "Chinese fire drill" used by Rensselear County Sheriff Russo, is a bigoted pejorative. It has roots in the late 19th and early 20th century anti-Chinese policies of the U.S. Government, codified in the legislation entitled the Chinese Exclusion Act. Fire drills are supposed to be orderly. Using the pharse Chinese Fire drill to describe a disorderly situation implies that Chinese can't do any thing correctly. A government official in 2018 should know better than to litter his discourse with language that is a racial epithet. One hopes his having done so does not reflect a general attitude of racial superiority coloring his willingness to cooperate against immigrant minorities.
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snowflake!
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Other sources would challenge your origin story for that expression, but nevertheless, you are correct that it is a bigoted or at the very least highly charged (not to mention dated) expression that he should know better than to use. But, judging by the comment at the end of the article from an admitted friend of the sheriff, he's perhaps a bit clueless. Also, I would think that the the grandchild of Italian immigrants, a group that was also severely restricted in US immigration law from 1924 to 1965 due to commonly held beliefs (at the time) about their racial inferiority would be more sensitive to such matters. Again, terribly clueless. Then, again, it should be no surprise that someone in a position of law enforcement would want to enforce the law, even if it is federal immigration law that is normal not in his jurisdiction.
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If the program a friend cites about the sheriff's Ice collaboration is over his head, then it should not go forward. The contempt some people have for undocumented immigrants is beyond the pale, d]fed by this kind of cooperation with our commander-in-chief. We already have a robust immigration policy, but have no future-facing idea of how to deal with the undocumented in a humane way. When farmers and local businesses tell you they need immigrant labor, much of it comes from the undocumented. Perhaps the American public needs to understand why this is so. Can we really not absorb people in some planned way and make room for people fleeing unjust circumstances of all kinds? Surely we are big enough in spirit and land to do so. Just not yet.
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It's interesting that you site farmers and local businesses that need immigrant labor. I don't recall anyone marching or demanding that immigrants forced into that type of work also receive a $15 minimum wage. Perhaps if those jobs paid that much, there would be no need to rely on undocumented workers to fill them.
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NM Ben -- if farm work paid a living wage, the cost of your fresh fruit and vegetables would rise significantly. If you are okay with that, then you might have a solution to (1) employing that last few percent of out-of-work (unskilled) Americans and (2) reducing the need for undocumented workers. Of course, that would not address Renee Hack's problem with the contempt for undocumented immigrants and dealing with them humanely. Paying a living wage and treating people humanely has become a partisan issue. Wasn't always that way.
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I have read many times, unless it is fake news, that American, native born citizens do not take these jobs even if they paid better. There are organizations that fight for better conditions and wages for farm workers. If the world were a more perfect place, we would all share equally. Until that day goes, can you tell me the solution for how to deal with the undocumented?
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