While it’s hard to believe California can get any nuttier, the city of Huntington Park has managed to set a new standard.
In addition to allowing illegal immigrants access to driver’s licenses and the state’s Obamacare exchange, now Huntington Park has given them an opportunity to actually govern legal American citizens.
Two Mexican migrant leaders have been appointed to city commissions.
Julian Zatarain always assumed the doors of City Hall were closed to him because he is here illegally, arriving from Sinaloa in 2007 when he was 13.The 21-year-old college student found other outlets for service, such as volunteering for the Red Cross and with an organization that helps young people like him get access to educational resources.Then on Monday, Zatarain proudly accepted an appointment to the Huntington Park parks and recreation commission. Another immigrant here illegally, Francisco Medina, 29, won an appointment to the health and education commission.
These appointments, made by Councilman Jhonny Pineda, were achieved by getting around federal requirements for citizenship, as the young men are serving voluntarily and are not receiving any pay. However, not all Huntington Park residents are embracing the appointments.
“I don’t think it’s right,” said Rosa Maria Zambrano. “I guess in my view that you ought to be a citizen in order to represent the city well. What if they were suddenly deported or something, and they don’t do their job?”Said another resident, Linda Caraballo: “This is not helping the community. It is further dividing the community.”Some residents are starting a petition drive to seek the resignation of Pineda, resident Betty Ramata said.
How did Zatarain and Medina earn these commissions? It looks like it may have been the old fashioned way — through political patronage.
Despite a public outcry at a City Council meeting this week, Pineda pressed ahead with the appointments — a first for California, he said.During his run for office, Pineda promised voters he would create opportunities for the city’s undocumented immigrants. Some have accused him of appointing the two men because they helped his campaign.
This video report confirms that some Huntington Park citizens were furious at these appointments. In fact, the debate was very robust. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this clip comes when Pineda asserts he is giving illegals a “voice that they deserve.” I, like many Americans, would argue they deserve no voice in government unless they obtain full citizenship following legal means.
Given the attention that Kate Steinle’s senseless and tragic death at the hands of an illegal immigrant has recently received, including an August 5th rally for “Kate’s Law” in deep blue San Fransisco, the timing of these appointments could not have been worse and may help the petition efforts. Additionally, details are now being released about an illegal alien, accused of rape and murder in a July 24 hammer attack, who avoided deportation twice in the past 15 months.
Not surprisingly, this criminal has had a history of run-ins with the law:
Victor Aureliano Hernandez Ramirez and an accomplice, Jose Fernando Villagomez, allegedly broke into the Santa Maria home of Marilyn Pharis on the early morning of July 24. Pharis, 64, was bludgeoned with a hammer and sexually assauleted. She died eight days after the attack, prompting murder charges against Ramirez. He is being held on $1 million bond.But Ramirez’s mere presence in the U.S. raises questions given that last month’s brutal attack wasn’t his first act of violence. Nor was it his first time in law enforcement custody. He’s been arrested several times for battery, drugs and for violating probation.
I suspect that the petition for Pineda’s resignation will be successful. Californians are beginning to tire of being a sanctuary state.
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