While California awaits the arrival of a “Godzilla” El Niño, a storm has already broken out in the city of Huntington Park.
We reported that two Mexican migrant leaders, both quite undocumented, have been appointed to city commissions. And video of the city council meeting in which those appointments were approved shows only a few citizens on hand to protest the measure.
That wasn’t the case for the Monday night meeting, in which approximately 200 local residents flooded the council chambers to voice their anger over the action.
The following video from that meeting offers a glimpse into city action, which follows a recap of events that lead to the citizen response:
Speakers came to podium for about 3 minutes each to express their thoughts on the legality of those appointments.
Francisco Rivera, who has lived in the Huntington Park area for 35 years, told the council that he opposes the appointments of the illegal aliens.“How can we be a great nation when we reward people that come to this nation illegally?” Rivera said. “There’s a difference between a legal immigrant and an illegal immigrant.”He added: “If I’m hungry and if I’m starving and if I break into somebody’s house illegally, I’m going to go to jail. But if I go and knock on somebody’s door and say, ‘Ma’am, I’m really hungry, could you please do me a favor, could you please make me a sandwich?’ That’s the proper way, to ask for something. You shouldn’t get rewarded by breaking a law.”Rivera, who volunteers in the community cleaning up graffiti, addressed the council while still wearing his reflective vest and carrying his work gloves.“Not every immigrant that is here, is here illegally and that’s the difference. There’s a right way to do things and a wrong way,” Rivera told the council. “It’s not fair for guys like me.”
Of course, not everyone in the chamber agreed with Rivera, and one took a swipe at the people who demanded the appointments be rescinded.
“How many offended Americans are actually ready to give their time and commit to take a role without payment,” said another woman. “That’s right, I am proud of both.”“We want to at least provide them a voice or at least a seat at the table to give some kind of advisory,” Karina Macias, the mayor of Huntington Park, said. “They’re part of the community.”
Professor Jacobson noted that Donald Trump has rocketed to the top of the Republican-primary field by focusing on illegal immigration and border security, and his immigration control plans seem to be popular with many Americans (especially the idea of nixing birthright citizenship). This observation can be confirmed by the many Huntington Park’s residents who were singing his praises during the meeting.
Meanwhile, the official “Era of Racial Healing” continues:
In the audience, while one speaker was voicing support for the council’s decision to appoint illegal aliens to city commissions, a black member of the audience spoke out, saying, “Illegals should be deported.” Another audience member responded, saying, “Go back to Africa.”
The only counters that the city council members were able to offer is that the two appointees will undergo background checks and won’t be paid. However, as the meeting clearly shows, Americans are angry at the prospect of non-citizens, who broke the laws to get here, are in a position to enforce laws and regulations in this country.
I suspect the City Council thought these appointments would go unnoticed, and did not anticipate a lesson on the “Rule of Law” from so many engaged and enraged citizens.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY