Don’t Disappoint Us Again, Iowa

Born and raised in Iowa, I’ve always loved the state. However, recently they’ve made several decisions that have disappointed me, and most of the family and friends who still live in Iowa. Now, Des Moines is considering another atrocious policy: becoming a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants.

Councilwoman Christine Hensley said Sunday that she spoke about six weeks ago with representatives of two immigration-rights groups that presented a plan that would block local city departments - including the police - from conducting raids on immigrants or inquiring about a person’s immigration status.
Hensley said the impetus for the ordinance is illegal immigrants who fear raids and do not come to work, incurring costs on their employers.

Now, my eldest sister manages the nursery for a greenhouse in Des Moines, and has several Hispanic employees. They are good employees, who show up for work, do their jobs, and are in the country LEGALLY! They come each year for the busy season at the nursery, work hard, and go home to their families. Rather than aid illegals in avoiding consequences for their own actions and choices, how about sending them back to where they came from, and asking them to follow the same channels as these good people. It makes no difference to me whether they want to go back and forth from Mexico, as her employees do, or move to America for good, but let them do it legally.

Councilwoman Christine Hensley said Sunday that she spoke about six weeks ago with representatives of two immigration-rights groups that presented a plan that would block local city departments - including the police - from conducting raids on immigrants or inquiring about a person’s immigration status.

“What I suggested to them is there has to be a lot of discussion about it and whether or not there’s really a problem,” she said.

Of course there’s a problem- the problem is that people are unwilling to follow procedure, policy, and law, and then don’t want to be held accountable for their actions. If employers are losing money because their illegal workers don’t show up for work, maybe they shouldn’t be aiding and abetting illegal activity by hiring the workers in the first place.

Alex Orozco, executive director of the Iowa-based Network Against Human Trafficking who is one of the people who met with Hensley, said Sunday he is trying to set up a meeting with Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie before the end of the year.

Orozco would not name the other immigration-rights group involved in the proposal.

Why would the groups not want to be open about their involvement? Why would they not advertise their campaign in order to gain support? There’s a simple reason: most people would not be supportive of restricting the police from doing their jobs in this instance.

Orozco said media coverage of the plan while it is still in the preliminary stages would hurt its chances of passage. “We don’t want anybody with hard feelings about this issue to get mad when we haven’t even finalized it,” he said.

Please, shine the light on the issue. Don’t let another city pass such foolish policies, placing the blame for illegals’ choices on policemen who are doing their job and doing what’s right.