Roadman

Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 10:01 p.m.

Let's vote Ann Arbor City Council members out of office that supported this resolution.

Duane Collicott

Tue, Jul 13, 2010 : 12:45 p.m.

Now we know know how the Ann Arbor City Council feels about the Arizona law (which I strongly support), the Iraq war, and breastfeeding in swimming pools. Good thing we that that important stuff taken care of.

Snarf Oscar Boondoggle

Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 11:52 p.m.

America has "welcome immigrants" and "criminal immigrants." Now what? Separate the two, of course! How? Add law enforcement officers to the task. do you think AZ officers could be added... apparently, AZ thinks so -- and your probloem with tihs is? profligate destructionist dems (in the main) are frothing at the mouth for 'new voters'. if shame were still operational, george washington, thomas jefferson, and james madison (anomg othere including teddy roosevelt) would not be churning worms in their graves. howze-ever... in teh purely-dictatorial power play evidenced before us, profligate destructionsit dems do NOT have american interests on their adgenda. 'tis a sad day for the noble experiment taht "was" america. prepare for cataclysm or prepare for honesty. do not prepare for honesty.

nicole

Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 7:46 p.m.

Ahhhh. The Washington Post. Another totally objective publication! Don't be fooled. They present one point of view and one only. The Liberal point of view.

Michael Christie

Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 6:16 p.m.

City council will never get a clue. There are much more important things to work on right here in Ann Arbor. If you come to the US, then learn English. If you're here illegally, then be prepared to be sent back home. It should be that simple.

Speechless

Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 4:44 p.m.

This Washington Post editorial column by Dana Milbank describes more falsehoods about illegal border crossing being spread by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, Sen. John McCain, and others in their continued effort to exploit this issue for political gain and to also fan the rising flames of cultural fear: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070902342.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 This piece helps make clear the relevance of last week's Ann Arbor City Council resolution. It's important that we speak up now in order to keep Arizona's toxic political atmosphere on this issue as far away as possible from Michigan's state legislature. As Milbank writes:  "... Last year gave us death panels and granny killings, but compared with the nonsense justifying the immigration crackdown, the health-care debate was an evening at the Oxford Union Society."

nicole

Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 1:15 p.m.

Well put, Jack! Right on. I couldn't agree more. It's obvious that the majority here in the Ann Arbor area supports the Arizona law. Don't waste our tax money on these dumb resolutions. But the liberal mindset is an "entitlement" one. They believe in entitlements rather than hard work to get what you want. Most of them have never had to "produce revenue" in their lives. They've always been paid by someone else. A University, non-profit, an employer. If they'd ever had to run a business and produce, and be the last one in line to get paid, after all the bills are paid ( the owner), they'd understand a little about what it means to take total responsibility for one's life. And there you have it, they believe that illegals are somehow entitled to things here in the US and that includes not having to provide the proper identification when they are here.

Booradley

Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 11:38 a.m.

These people are so silly for attempting to boycott Arizona. They should be standing with Arizona and protecting the law not degrading it. But 60's left over liberals don't believe in taking responsibility -- just distrupting it until it personally effects them. Don't you think there are more pressing issues in the city they need to deal with? Silly, silly people.

debling

Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 10:54 a.m.

Clearly the way to fund additional enforcement of immigration policies is to use revenue generated from fines and seized assets of illegal immigrants and the companies that hire them. Remove the economic incentive to be here and the problem will go away. Prudent and constant "legal status" checking, anonymous Hotline TIP awards for people that turn in illegals will go a long way. Sadly, I believe people that are opposed to enhanced controls are really sympathetic to the illegal aliens and secretly want them to be able to stay. Hence the opposition to efforts like Arizona. As some of my Mexican friends used to joke about, "the entire southwestern US is really Mexican territory. We lost it in the Mexican-American war and now are taking it back one person at a time". Hah, hah. I don't think they were kidding though.

RTFM

Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 9:19 a.m.

Just want to say I sent $40.00 to Arizona to help defend against the FEDs lawsuit against a soverign state. On the disclosure paperwork, I put "In honor of Ann Arbor City Council". Now, I wish that Arizona would counter sue the FEDs for breach of government for failing to protect its citizens from invasion, violence and economic burden. Let the Pheonix rise up, RTFM

Snarf Oscar Boondoggle

Mon, Jul 12, 2010 : 8:30 a.m.

there is a fixed number of federal officers who enforce federal laws, including immigration. arizona (and every state) has a fixed number of officers who enforce state laws. arizona, by incorporating some existing federal law into its state laws, -added officers- to the enforcement of federal immigration law that has existed for over 50 years. Who would impose such an outrageous Nazi fascist discriminatory law? Er, well, that would be Franklin Roosevelt. Er, well, that would be Franklin Roosevelt. Er, well, that would be Franklin Roosevelt. America has "welcome immigrants" and "criminal immigrants." Now what? Separate the two, of course! How? Add law enforcement officers to the task. btw, kinda reminds me of the a2 city officers getting to choose between city law or state law for pot violations a while back. but this is not the pot item, illustration simply to show choice-parallels.

Jack

Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 11:15 p.m.

Regarding Councilman Derezinski's comment that we are all immigrants: 1. Not all, there actually are native Americans still alive, honest. 2. I don't know about your family, but my family came here as LEGAL immigrants. This is what bugs me about our Council: they presume to speak for me. Did they even read the Arizona legislation, or did they simply assume it was anti-immigrant? Do they understand the difference between legal and illegal? They sure do when it's in their backyard. They are ready to legislate just about anything if it's in their backyard (e.g., plastic bags, mercury thermometers?) I don't want the people of Arizona to think that the people of Ann Arbor do not support them. As you can see from the majority of comments here, the people of Ann Arbor do, in fact, support them. Nobody asked me how I felt about the immigration issue. Until you have walked in their shoes, for pete's sake, shut up. You don't know what you're talking about. Are you, Council, saying that our laws are not deserving of enforcement? That illegal aliens should be allowed into this country nonstop? Because that is surely the message I and others are getting from you. Are you saying that Americans don't need those jobs? Are you saying that there are not drug and crime problems being brought in through our borders? Are you saying that America, in particular the citizens of Arizona, can afford to educate and provide medical care to illegal aliens? Are you ready to put your money where your mouth is? Mouth is so much easier, isn't it? I know people who are moving out of Arizona due to the crime problems. Their communities are no longer safe and their schools are going downhill. I am pro-LEGAL immigration. There is a process there and it is in place for a reason. We cannot afford to support the entire world. As our federal government has chosen not to enforce those laws, Arizona really is rather between a rock and a hard place, aren't they?

bedrog

Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 4:02 p.m.

speechless..your above nuanced reemphasis as to who your opponants are is noted and appreciated. although i am, in this instance, uncomfortable being on the same side as those you correctly peg as right wingers, the common-ground issue remains that all non-local issues are 'loaded', and city councils normally dont have a voter mandate to spend time on them...let alone the information/expertise. in other than showboat-y, superficial ways. rapundalo was class act...he registered his personal view ( which happened to accord to that of the crowd) but had the humility and good sense to resist setting the possibly ugly precedent that was set... ( ibid. my reference to anonymous local nutcases fixated on utterly irrelevant to a2 international issues, who are quite prepared to hijack any and all proceedings where the door has been opened the way it was here)

Speechless

Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 1:27 p.m.

One earlier sentence deserves more emphasis: "... While this, course, does not drive drive every comment critical of council's action, it explains why we have over 200 entries here instead of about 20." Yes, there have been a few liberals and centrists writing critically of the council resolution, and I don't wish to deny they exist (neither you nor Murrow nor a couple others). One of my points, though, is that if they had been the only critics to speak up, we probably would not have much more than one-tenth the total number of discussion entries. The deluge of criticism mostly comes from right-wingers, a handful of whom may actually live in Ann Arbor. In the past, when city council has voted on resolutions dealing with larger national and international issues, there would follow a modest amount of grousing on local blogs calling for council to stay focused on city matters. Immigration, however, is a very loaded political issue.

bedrog

Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 11:48 a.m.

speechless...to label, as you do ( along with several others...especially one well known local, frequent poster nutcase*), all the 'antis' on this and related threads as 'reactionary', 'right wing' and 'racist' is as 'profilely'...and wrongly so...as what you blame on your opponants. this issue is one that attracts crackpots...and also reasonable, and often liberal, albeit thoughtfully so,people...on both sides of the issue. and both are on these threads. to pretend otherwise is to personify the sort of demagogic zealotry that we 'antis' dont want in a local city council, from either side. *moderator: no name was used.

Speechless

Sun, Jul 11, 2010 : 9:40 a.m.

A Postmortem.... What's strangely ironic is that so many wrote to say what a waste of council's time it was to vote on this resolution. If it had really been so pointless, then how could it be worth anyone's time to even write a reply here? If you didn't care for the vote, wouldn't it make more sense to just roll your eyes, ignore it, and move on? That's usually what happens in regard to city council actions which draw public apathy. Clearly, something else is at work here.... In contemporary right-wing politics, illegal immigrants hold the same place as legal immigrants do in the far-right politics of the 'National Front' minority parties found in some western European countries. The hostility toward arriving Asians and Africans in Europe largely replaces the animosity more commonly directed toward Jews and Gypsies in earlier generations. Within the U.S., meanwhile, the storm over illegal immigration attempts to fill the vacuum in right-wing cultural politics left behind by the demise of Jim Crow. By speaking out on the Arizona law, our city council steps on a raw nerve in reactionary politics. Beyond Ann Arbor, the passionate intensity of cultural anger aimed at illegal immigrants has created the contemporary equivalent of an old-school pogrom, led by armchair Cossacks armed with keyboards. While this, course, does not drive drive every comment critical of council's action, it explains why we have over 200 entries here instead of about 20. -------------------- 'Undocumented aliens' play the role of political scapegoats for big economic problems they've done nothing to create. Illegal border crossing is but a modest symptom of far larger issues, hardly their root cause. If Americans one day become genuinely serious about fixing what actually causes illegal immigration, they will seek to kill NAFTA and demand that their government support greater equality and democracy in countries to its south — rather than actively undermining these in order to promote U.S. corporate interests. Few who risks their lives to cross the southern border illegally do so as an opportunistic lifestyle choice. They would much prefer to remain in their native home communities, but choose to travel north out of considerable desperation. Our government — through consistent support over the years for dictatorships, coups, wealthy landowners, and trade imbalances — has done so much to produce these desperate circumstances to our south.

bedrog

Sat, Jul 10, 2010 : 4:46 p.m.

p.s....the 'security' and 'economic' aspects of immigration issues are conceptually separate although there's a grey area between them. in the first case 'legal ' vs 'illegal' can become moot...as in the cases of the 9/11 hijackers, ft hood shooter, would be times square bomber...who were all 'legals'. in the 2nd...i.e. economic aspects..illegality of migrants poses patent unfairness to legal citizens /workers in a time of already stressed job markets. in both cases proactive 'profiling' is a necessary part of the enforcement 'toolkit', both to head off threats to life and limb and threats to the economic wellbing of legal residents. and in neither case, my 60's liberal inclinations aside, is a city council in a small, rather atypically idyllic, town in the midwest equipped to pass self righteous judgement on those more on the 'front lines'. sorry.

bedrog

Sat, Jul 10, 2010 : 3:59 p.m.

annarbor28..england is hardly a model of what one would want the u.s. be. given its huge legal population from former colonies/ commonwealth countries it is now becoming, at least re home grown islamic extremism,a virtual 'britainistan'. our issues are quite different,and as you note involve hard to police and generally huge open borders, north and south. and because of this the much maligned concept of 'profiling' needs to play a role internally, as long as its done intelligently and humanely, and both can be done

John Q

Sat, Jul 10, 2010 : 2:35 p.m.

Plenty of people think profiling is wonderful, until it's done against them. If you were the one facing the prospect of constantly being asked to prove your citizenship because you look like one of "them" or you're constantly followed or stopped by the police because your look like one of "them", you might think twice about how wonderful the practice is when employed against others.

John Q

Sat, Jul 10, 2010 : 12:44 p.m.

"If the Council Members had read the law first, they would have seen that SB1070 (Less than 20 pages) does not racial profile. Racial profiling is illegal." If racial profiling is illegal and no law mandates racial profiling, are all those people who have been stopped by the police and claim that they been stopped because of racial profiling liars? If a white guy is stopped in Arizona and he doesn't have a driver's license and has 14 people in a van with him, does this give the police reason to detain him and question his citizenship?

Arizona Spirit

Sat, Jul 10, 2010 : 9:20 a.m.

@1bit A community coalition led by the Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrants Rights urged passage of the resolution tonight, saying Ann Arbor could send a message to other municipalities across the country that **racism won't be tolerated. ** This is an issue of fairness and safety for all of our communities, Margaret Harner of the Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrants Rights said in a statement.** The Arizona law endorses racial profiling**, and it hurts public safety. Police should be spending their time protecting neighborhoods, not chasing around immigrant workers, families and students. Im glad that Ann Arbor stood up for civil rights today, because this misguided law in Arizona could very easily come to Michigan. Please not ** in the above paragraphs. If the Council Members had read the law first, they would have seen that SB1070 (Less than 20 pages) does not racial profile. Racial profiling is illegal. This law only mirrors the Governments laws of which the government has chosen not to enforce. That is why Arizona has chosen to enforce the law. Home Land Security Napolitano said several times the border are as safe as they have ever been. Yet she stopped the funding for the fence while she is at the some time 18th Mar 2010 Janet Napolitano halts funding for virtual border fence http://politifi.com/news/Janet-Napolitano-halts-funding-for-virtual-border-fence--296720.html offers to help put stop to illegal border crossings in Saudi Arabia Thursday, June 3, 2010 http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2010/me_gulf0487_06_03.asp. Secretary Napolitano Meets with African Officials in Nigeria on Ways to Bolster International Aviation Securityhttp://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1271085587404.shtm Even while she was Governor of Arizona she did a poor job of taking care of the problem illegal immigrants. ( my opinion). Obama has given $300,000 of your tax dollars to Mexico for the fence. (You think.so) while he is going to give the border states $135,00 and 1500 troops, not to patrol the border but to do office jobs. President Obama Wants $600 Million More for U.S.-Mexican Border June 22, 2010 10:23 PM ABE NEWS http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/06/president-obama-wants-600-million-more-for-usmexican-border-.html **The federal government is now telling American citizens to stay out of three southern Arizona counties. It is too dangerous because of armed smugglers from Mexico.http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/06/obama-gives-major-strip-of-arizona-back-to-mexico-video/** I have questions would you feel safe with a sign that says to stay away because of Mexican Drug cartel could be present. What part of Ann Arbor would you be willing to give up for the Mexico. How would you take it if one or more of you sheriffs personnel were on a hit list from Mexico? What I am trying to do is open some eyes to the facts. Arizona does in fact border Mexico. Arizona does have Illegal immigrants problems. Arizona does have Illegals that are not just coming here to make a better life for themselves. Arizona does welcome legal immigrants. We need the fence, and we need more border patrol officers. Most of all we need the Government to enforce the laws, not suing Arizona with your tax dollars for a law that does not profile as indicated by the law suit. The brief state potentially it could in order to delay it from going into effect.

Snehal

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 10:55 p.m.

We are definitely a nation of immigrants BUT FYI we are certainly NOT a nation of illegal immigrants. I really pity the lack of understanding on the part of council members and is sad to know that instead of applauding Arizona to take matters in their hands after years of federal indifference, they are bickering about whose responsibility it is to guard the nation against illegal people. Sorry council members, even my 8 year old knows better than you do. Let me ask you one open question - If somebody enters your house without your permission, will you wait for police to arrive or if possible, will you defend your house? It is really pathetic to know which way are you leading our young generation. You are teaching them to welcome ILLEGAL PEOPLE in the country. This is a direct insult to people who worked hard up the ladder to come here legally and pay taxes out of their hard earned money. We did not pay taxes to provide for ILLEGAL people who think USA is a big soup house for them.

John Q

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 10:19 p.m.

"*****The Obama administration thinks it is reasonable to require everyone living in the US to obtain health insurance, but not citizenship.******" Tell me how the Obama administration position on immigration is any different than any of the previous administrations? Funny how this issue suddenly because cause #1 for conservatives when Bush and Clinton and Bush and Reagan all took the same approach and we have fewer illegals in the US today than we did 2 years ago.

Jim

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 10:17 p.m.

I live about 12 miles from A2 and will no longer be coming to A2 to do my weekly purchases such as gas, groceries, restaurants and entertainment. The wife and I will boycott A2 as long as this resolution is in play.

Arizona Spirit

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 10:08 p.m.

Someone had requested this document. I could not find the post requesting it could be the other thread. The brief is at the bottom and is the only place that it mentions anything about profiling Citing Conflict with Federal Law, Department of Justice Challenges Arizona Immigration Law http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/July/10-opa-776.html

Arizona Spirit

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 9:33 p.m.

*****The Obama administration thinks it is reasonable to require everyone living in the US to obtain health insurance, but not citizenship.****** For all of the people that think this suit does not effect them think again. If you pay taxes you are paying for the Obamas administration to sue the state of Arizona. Also as the illegal immigrants leave Arizona where do think they are going to sanctuary cities like Ann Arbor.

annarbor28

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 9:06 p.m.

@edwardv: England does not have open borders where illegals are running in with drugs and trafficking humans daily. It does not have random shootings by illegals and Mexican drug cartels on a daily basis. England does not have 12 million to 20 million illegals in its country, attending public schools, using hospitals freely and having babies who are automatic citizens and getting government entitlements. England does NOT give automatic citizenship to any baby born there. You are comparing very different situations. The United Kingdom is surrounded by water. The US has millions of people running in, and then creating much havoc. I support legal immigration. Since there is now so much chaos, we have to sort the illegals from the legals and get those who don't belong legally out of here. The City Council really did not have to deal with this. Unless they want to deal with any illegals that are in Ann Arbor. But first please let them fix the Stadium Bridge. I would like to go to a grocery store across town, and I won't cross the bridge!

John Q

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 8:43 p.m.

"Certainly I could put more effort into it than these folks." You can start by losing the attitude. I would guess that you don't have a clue as to the amount of time and effort that people on City Council put into the position for very little compensation. Whatever you think of their views, disrespecting people who take the time to serve their community is pretty insulting. It's an arrogance that comes from ignorance and it's not very pretty.

Carl Duncan

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 6:36 p.m.

I stand corrected. Ann Arbor is already a sanctuary city. My guess is city council is recruiting illegals before the election.

Kelly

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 6 p.m.

Absolutely amazing that the council would take the time to consider an issue pending in another state when there is enough difficulty in our own state. If anyone bothered to read the AZ law they would realize that the bill is identical with federal law and look where that has gotten us. I agree that this is a country of immigrants but EVERYONE is expected to abide by the laws of this country no matter whom they are.

debling

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 1:15 p.m.

Here is my solution. Enhance the Social Security card into a National Identity Card equiped with Photo, Biometrics, legal and immigration status, etc. Going to work. Show your card. Registering your kids for school. Bring their cards. Going to the hospital. Produce the National Identity card. Simple. Working/living illegally in the US? Automatic expulsion and seizure of all US assets. Knowingly employing illegal persons? $1,000,000 fine. Second violation? Seizure of company assets. It goes on the auction block and you go to jail. Just like trafficking of illegal drugs, the law needs to come down hard on illegal immigrants and the folks that employ them. Since they are coming here for financial reasons, we need to hit hard in the pocket books so it is not so lucrative to skirt the law.

masticate

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 12:36 p.m.

@ LiberalNIMBY: I was thinking about running! I have a lot of ideas and probably a fresher perspective, but I'm not sure how other Ann Arborites would feel about a 19 year old Michigan student in the City Council. Certainly I could put more effort into it than these folks.

LiberalNIMBY

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 9:16 a.m.

@masticate: You need to be 19 to be elected to city council (including mayor), but you can pull petitions while you're 18. So, if you want to be elected next year, you've got to live (and be a registered voter) in the ward you want to represent for at least a year before the general election. If you're not registered to vote, you need to register by November 3 and stick around in that ward until (and during the time) you're in office. You get $16,000 or so for your troubles per year. Here's the url for pulling petitions: http://bit.ly/d25N3V You've just got to get 100 people to sign your petition. Folks, PLEASE RUN NEXT YEAR! Are you going to, masticator?

Brad

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 7:46 a.m.

I e-mailed the entire council to let them know what an embarrassment to the city they are, and the only reply I got was one from Stephen Rapundalo saying "hey - I didn't vote for it!". And can you blame him?

InsideTheHall

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 6:35 a.m.

Whoa, Obama and the A2 Council are really not in the mainstream. Check this out. http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/07/08/2010-07-08_obama_vs_arizona_the_president_is_fighting_a_reckless_war_that_will_backfire_pol.html

Sam

Fri, Jul 9, 2010 : 12:05 a.m.

Bravo Stephen Rapundalo! As a fellow legal immigrant I share the vast majority of commenter's anger at this ridiculous council vote. If I were a legal immigrant from Mexico who had endured the very long wait to get here lawfully I'd be even more angry. And these are the local politicians who make our laws.

masticate

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 11:42 p.m.

Personally, I didn't show up to the City Council meeting because I didn't want nasty emails or text messages being sent about me. But really, this is no surprise to me. Typical liberal-Ann Arbor mindset; always a lot to say about everyone else's business, but forgetting to handle the issues that are local and important. pfffft How old does one have to be to run for City Council?

annarbor28

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 10:43 p.m.

Maybe one day the City Council will vote in a resolution that they support the legal system. By the way, who are the alternative council candidates on the East side? Is there anyone running who is rational?

Arizona Spirit

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 8:51 p.m.

Sen McClintock http://www.youtube.com/watch... Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907. 'In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language.. And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.' Theodore Roosevelt 1907 WWW.NUMBERSUSA.COM if you want to do something in your state.

Arizona Spirit

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 7:44 p.m.

I will try not to post any duplicates, please forgive if I do. Thanks ahead of time. WWW.NUMBERSUSA.COM if you want to do something in your state. Donate for Arizona http://www.keepazsafe.com/ Here are some American Latino immigrants speaking out against the illegal alien invasion HISPANIC AMERICANS STAND AGAINST ILLEGAL ALIENS!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laYeI-9nPLU LEGAL immigrant thinks illegals feel "entitled" & have no allegiance to USA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r57otoWZ_Y The Many Contributions To America, by Illegal Immigrants http://beforeitsnews.com/news/46/573/The_Many_Contributions_To_America,_by_Illegal_Immigrants.html Continue Reading to see the video report about the Rape Tree www.norcalblogs.com/gate/2010/05/mexicos-contribution-to-the-beautiful-sonoran-desert-in-arizona.php Video 1 http://www.wsbtv.com/video/23438021/index.html Video 2 http://www.wsbtv.com/video/23438712/index.html http://www.wsbtv.com/news/23436627/detail.html People Other Than Mexicans Currently In Detention In ICE Custody Including From Terrorist Countries http://www.wsbtv.com/news/23436627/detail.html

ADScott

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 6:26 p.m.

I spend winters in Arizona and unlike the aged Flower Children on your council, I have actually seen the problem. I find comfort in knowing that all of your local issues are dealt with and that it will no longer be necessary to drive the homeless from the streets when Obama visits Ann Arbor, that beautiful little Island surrounded by reality;

AzJune

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 5:48 p.m.

It appears that most of you have not even read the Arizona Senate Bill that you're discussing. I find it amazing that the City of Ann Arbor doesn't have more pressing local issues to deal with. Since your city is apparently not suffering the ill effects of today's economy, I am happily adding it to the posters with the list of welcoming cities for immigrants who feel uncomfortable staying here. I feel it's no more than right to post it at Home Depots around the cities to help them make their decisions on relocation. Perhaps Ann Arbor is in a better position financially to deal with the costs of educaton, medication and incarceration than we are at this time. Sorry, we're just tapped out here. Incidentaly, the more the administration discusses "comprehensive reform", the faster they come in at night.

annarbor28

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 5:43 p.m.

I think we should all be allowed to go as fast as we want in cars, and of course talk on cell phones, text while driving, and have all types of barn animals in our backyards. What's the point of laws, taxes and the such? It's all repressive. Taxes target citizens and working people, who are profiled for having jobs. I am being discriminated against, since illegals are not required to file 1040s or follow basic immigration laws. I will vote against any incumbent who voted for this, until they get rid of all laws and taxes. Until then, I want all of my taxes to go to police, fire, and the Bridge. Get rid of all other city government. It's a farce.

A2JetGuy

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 5:15 p.m.

Perhaps if the A2 City Council wanted to lead by example (caution: sarcasm ahead) they could make it illegal for A2 Police to require you to produce your driver's license if pulled over. After all, this may offend all the "undocumented drivers" that may be passing through the city.

nicole

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 1:40 p.m.

JSA, I couldn't have said it better! Well put.

Carl Duncan

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 1:16 p.m.

City Council should do more than grand stand for the sake of showing off their liberal stripes to the world. If the members who voted in favor of this resolution sincerely cared about the plight of illegal aliens, they would have passed a resolution to identify Ann Arbor as one of many cities to be titled a sanctuary city. San Francisco and Minneapolis are sanctuary cities that welcome illegals no questions asked. City Council should be proud to put Ann Arbor on the list of cities who openly welcome their brothers and sisters from south of the border to this fine progressive city of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Husker7

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 1:16 p.m.

@Mick - Glad we're friendly on two threads now... I would reference an immigration ordinance in my home state - Fremont, Nebraska - that was passed for unemployment reasons (though we'd kill to have Nebraska's unemployment rate) rather than economic reasons. Immigration is a huge issue in the Plains States, but the Plains States also have been the least affected by the economic ramifications of immigration. So there's where I'm getting that from...

JSA

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 11:31 a.m.

@laura sanders, I loved your reference to the number of people who turned out. It works out to.008742% of the population, truly an overwhelming number. There is no doubt why the City Council acted as it did. Sheer intimidation! No more sarcasm, this type of showboating by the City Council has been going on for decades. It is not anything new, and is as irrelevant now as it was then. It is just another group of politicians that want Ann Arbor to be known to be as far out on the fringe as Berkley, CA. They don't care that 65-70 percent of the population supports this. What is important to them is that the media and politicians and bureaucrats don't. Besides it gets their names in the paper and strokes their ego.

Deb

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 11:29 a.m.

I don't think AZ cares what A2 thinks, I mean, what are they going to do when they hear about ths city council meeting? I mean, what exactly is the expectation, for the citizens of AZ to suddenly shout out, "Whoah! Y'know, let's reverse the whole thing right now, WHAT AN EYE OPENER!! What were we thinking?!? Geeze, maybe Ann Arbor should run our our state for now on too!"

Mick52

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 10:55 a.m.

1bit. Wow, five were illegal immigrants more than I thought. Look, I wasn't implying that the 9/11 terrorists were illegal immigrants. Put more simply, since 9/11 we have made it much more difficult for terrorist leaning people to enter the country.Does not alway work, but it is effective. Thus an open border allows access. Get that? As to my citizenship, I believe by DL will suffice. I also have my voter ID for which I believe I must be a legal citizen correct? I would have no problem carrying whatever ID the govt deemed necessary to prove my status. Makes me feel safer. Husker. The economic benefit is widely trumpeted as a response to the economic problems illegal immigrants cause, but it is not valid. I looked it up before I posted. The bulk of the cost is in education, incarceration and health care. So if you believe there is economic benefit why are these issues causing a deficit? And why would Az bring this up if the benefits were economically positive? There is no evidence the AZ law is the result of unemployment tension. Never heard that one before. Maybe two or three years ago illegal immigrants were taking jobs Americans shunned but I bet that right now there are Americans who will take those jobs, especially if the employers are required to pay at least minimum wage, taxes, Soc Sec, etc. and not under the table cash. Still I think the deficit is the prime problem here. The economic plus argument just does not make sense.

John Q

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 10:42 a.m.

"You raise a valid point, in that Hispanic looking individuals will be more likely questioned about their citizenship and purpose for being in our country. But I'm not so sure this would be an act of malice, but more like a reasonable expectation if the vast majority of illegals are in fact Hispanic looking. For those legal resident Hispanics, it could be taken as an affront, or they could treat it as a necessary inconvenience, akin to random pat-down searches done at the airport." 1 in 3 residents of Arizona are Hispanic. Of that group, 3 out of 4 are citizens of the US including 90% of the population under age 18. You're willing to treat 1/3 of the state's residents like criminals to get a small percentage of the total number of illegal immigrants in the US? As you noted, since you're not being treated like a criminal, it's a "necessary inconvenience". Would you feel the same way if the police questioned your citizenship every time you were stopped?

Arizona Spirit

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 8:06 a.m.

First in Arizona you have to being doing something like running a red light, tails light out, speeding, committing a crime. Then when you are stopped you are asked for Drivers License, car registration, proof of insurance. If you do not have any of the above you will get a ticket for each. Generally the officer will run your Drivers license to see if you have any warrants. You will need a green card, visa to be in the country or passport will work as required by the federal government. If you do not then the officer will call immigration and see if you are legally here Arizona welcomes immigrants, legal immigrants. Do it the right way thru the front door. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070h.pdf ( less than 20 pages ) http://www.mexicanlaws.com/ (A lot to read) You have no rights when you go to their country. and The Goverments imagration bill http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:s1348pcs.txt.pdf (A lot to read) 700+ pages The Dark Side Of Illegal Immigration Facts, Figures And Statistics On Illegal Immigration http://www.usillegalaliens.com/ Victims of Illegal Alien Crime http://www.voiac.org/ http://www.immigrationshumancost.org/text/crimevictims.html Crime Victim Archive from the VDARE.com Blog Victims of Illegal Aliens http://www.immigrationshumancost.org/text/crimevictims.html Americas Most Forgotten: The Victims of Illegal Alien Crime http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/authors/id.143/author_detail.asp Study: 1 million sex crimes by illegals http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=36410 Crime Victims Of Illegal Aliens http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2FvScBRdcQ

glimmertwin

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 7:08 a.m.

I'm a legal American citizen and I must show my ID when: 1. Pulled over by the police. 2. Making purchases on my department store credit card. 3. When I show up for a doctor's appointment. 4. When filling out a credit card or loan application. 5. When applying for or renewing a driver's license or passport. 6. When applying for any kind of insurance. 7. When filling out college applications. 8. When donating blood. 9. When obtaining certain prescription drugs. 10. When making some debit purchases, especially if I'm out of state. 11. When collecting a boarding pass for airline or train travel. I'm sure there are more instances, but the point is that we citizens of the USA are required to prove who we are nearly every day! Why should people in this country illegally, be exempt!!!!! Why shouldn't we guard our borders as closely as every other country in the world does?

Karen

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 7:04 a.m.

"If these commenters who oppose the resolution are from Ann Arbor, and want to be represented, why were none of you at the Council meeting where at least 100 people and at least 9 speakers showed their support for this resolution. There was no one speaking up to oppose it. Ann Arbor constituents came out in numbers.... and supported it.... where were you?" by: Laura Saunders Well, if I had known the resolution was being proposed and voted on, I could have shown up to express my opposition. Where does the City Council post the list of resolutions to be voted on? How many people on here knew that this was being put forward? Isn't this the kind of thing that the Ann Arbor News could/should publicize? And shouldn't we also condemm Rhode Island? Their police have been asking about immigration status at routine traffic stops for some time now. Don't tell me our City Council doesn't know that - they obviously have lots of time on their hands to check it out. Nothing else pressing happening these days that I can think of.

KeystoneKid

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 4:35 a.m.

Besides it being a clueless and worthless jesture, the resolution on the Arizona law passed by Ann Arbor City Council puts the city on the wrong side of a debate that is not even honest. The Council decision is without any common sense or insight, not to mention completely lacking in any integrity. The President is sworn to protect American citizens and uphold the law. This obligation to protect includes having reasonably secure borders. Sorry, but this administration has made a joke of this situation leaving Arizona little choice. Their law simply states that if the federal government won't do it's job, then Arizona will do it for them. Arizona has every right to protect it's citizens, it's property, and it's best interest. City Council apparently is guilty of drinking the Kool-Aid being served almost daily out of DC. Their actions should be viewed as embarrassing and petty to AA residents. It is way past time for electing new blood and some real leadership. This is the only chance to restore sanity and respect to a community that once was a leader in such attributes. Ann Arbor, you're supposed to be better than this.

AZ_Steve

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 : 12:58 a.m.

I don't think that the Ann Arbor city council understands what they're doing when they boycott Arizona over SB1070. As SB1070 takes effect in Arizona, the illegal alien population here will be looking for a new place to live where local government leaders are sympathetic to illegal immigration. Compared to metropolitan Phoenix, Ann Arbor is a pretty small place, nice, and unexploited. The addition of thirty to fifty thousand impoverished and uneducated workers to your community would be nothing compared to the inflow of illegal immigrents that currently exists in the American Southwest. It's no wonder that we're starting to resist what's happening to our part of the country. We're losing our country. The median family income in Ann Arbor is significantly higher than it is in Phoenix, and the crime rate is much lower in Ann Arbor than it is in Phoenix. Ann Arbor is the perfect place for tens of thousands of people to go to when they have little to offer except the extremely low wages that they'll work for. The way things used to be in Ann Arbor is all about to change. It's a given that the illegal aliens who move to Ann Arbor will be able to work for much lower wages than the Students who depend on work in the local area to help with their schooling expenses. So if you want extra onions on that Big Mac, you had better learn to ask for them in Spanish (literally - it happens all the time like that here), and you had better be a degreed professional if you want to work for anything close to the existing wage structure. Almost all unskilled labor that you are capable of providing will quickly become worthless to anyone in your community. As a group, these people will generally not tend to attend college. Many of them will not even choose to learn English, even over a period of several years. They'll stick to their own people mostly and take over and lower the living standards in certain parts of town. The crime rate that goes with their poverty will spread to other parts of town, perhaps to your neighborhood, or perhaps a close friend or relative of yours will be a victim of their violent crimes. After all, they're used to a lot more crime and corruption in their home country, than anything that they're likely to see in Ann Arbor. Many of them will learn that they can make more money selling drugs, and smuggling more of their people in to your community, than competing with their impoverished neighbors. When they can afford to, they send for their relatives. Then there are drop-houses in family neighborhoods, and the shootouts (for real) on the freeways. You probably won't believe this until you see it happen in your community. The University of Michigan Health Center will be inundated with people who use the Hospital's legal requirements to serve everyone without regard to their ability to pay, as a free insurance policy to take care of all of their and their children's medical needs. They generally can't pay their medical bills and if you go to the emergency room, be prepared to wait in line behind a large group of people who can't even speak your language, and who's medical care is paid for by your taxes and increased medical costs to your medical bills. As a less educated group over all, they'll contribute much more than their share of the crime. It won't be long before the Ann Arbor city council is required to accomodate the language differences, including finding a way to pay for teaching large numbers of school children in Spanish. The culture will change in ways that seem okay at first, and that bring South American style corruption to your community later on. You don't notice what's happening until it's too late to go back to how it used to be. Then when you try to pass laws to curb the unpleasant changes to your community, you will be accused of racism, and people thousands of miles away, and who haven't even read your new laws will boycott you for being racists. What goes around comes around. The Ann Arbor city council will get what they asked for today. We'll send it to them, care of the people of Arizona, with compliments of the President. Then we'll support you when, after it's too late, you try to pass your own laws like SB1070. I wouldn't wish this blight on anyone. But your city council is inviting this when they side with the illegal immigrent community out of some distorted sense of generousity (of other people's resources)to the apparent underdog, instead of supporting their neighbors in Arizona.

townie54

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 11:37 p.m.

this council is so backward.So 12 million illegals here.Not registered and not paying taxes or social security.Yea the U.S.doesnt need that money.Just let the hard working people that are legal in this country pay it.And I dont wanna hear they do jobs no one else will do.That is because business hire them illegally so they can pay less than a registered worker.And no this is not a vocal minority.The majority of people in the U.S.feel like this.Ask your friends and neighbors how they feel about it.I work in Ann Arbor at a place that employs over 125 people and I would be surprised if more than 10 dont support Arizona.Wake up

Husker7

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 11:30 p.m.

@ 1bit - I had been referencing the House Amended Bill, the copy that I have has "unofficial" plastered across it so that kinda ruins my case, and I also realize now that there are discrepancies between the wording of the two in Article 8 (B), which is where I was referencing, but isn't included in the SB 1070... So here's where I was reading from... www.azleg.gov/alispdfs/council/SB1070-HB2162.PDF

DPL

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 11:14 p.m.

@GHOST Thank-you for making the distinction between IDENTIFICATION and PROOF of Citizenship. I had presumed the AZ law would allow an officer to accept a valid US driver's licence, combined with an answer of "yes, I am a citizen of the U.S.", as proof enough. You raise a valid point, in that Hispanic looking individuals will be more likely questioned about their citizenship and purpose for being in our country. But I'm not so sure this would be an act of malice, but more like a reasonable expectation if the vast majority of illegals are in fact Hispanic looking. For those legal resident Hispanics, it could be taken as an affront, or they could treat it as a necessary inconvenience, akin to random pat-down searches done at the airport. Last summer I was stopped at a checkpoint in AZ and asked about my citizenship. I don't "look" foreign, so it was pretty much a non-event; just the question and no identification check, and a Michigan license plate. I admit I don't know what it would have been like for a Hispanic looking US citizen. How would you propose one begin to identify an ILLEGAL alien without using race as a key identifier? "Profiling" seems to be a necessity in AZ, but I'm open to other ideas. Thank-you for making us think about this issue.

Husker7

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 10:45 p.m.

@1bit and @Ed Murrow's Ghost - Just realized I didn't read your post all the way through the first time, I should point out that though I oppose the bill, you and several other anti-SB1070ers are incorrectly pushing the need for a passport to prove citizenship - I dunno if you guys have read the bill, but it only requires the driver's license to prove non-alien status... I could be missing where you deviated from talking about the bill, but just in case... I hate the bill for the profiling it allows for, and the implication for Big Brother-esque legislation that could pile up because of this... but I just gotta correct you before you take it any further

annarbor28

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 10:19 p.m.

Message to City Council: Just please fix the Stadium Bridge. City Council needs to get money from U-M to pay for the repairs in exchange for its use. Forget Arizona, City Council, do your job here. You were elected to govern, not judge the world. What a farce. Vote them out, time to try a better City Council and Mayor.

Van

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 9:19 p.m.

I was born and raised in Ann Arbor and lived there my 1st 20 years. never did like it. The best thing I ever did was get the heck out of town. I still have friends and relatives in Mi but will totaly avoid A2.

Husker7

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:49 p.m.

@ 1bit - thanks for the intelligent post. The bickering over all of this is ridiculous. While the Council's decision is off-task and counter-productive to local issues, you make a good point that it is important to raise awareness since we have quality representatives like Kim Meltzer introducing similar legislation in the Michigan House... So my feelings are conflicted, but this whole waste-of-time outcry is delayed - there are far more pointless things being presented at all levels of government nationwide. Regardless of party, we need more efficiency in our elected officials everywhere - that's something no one can argue. PS @ Mick - While I'll just touch on the fact that illegal immigration does more good economically than bad, I'd say the main point that tensions are high comes from the loss of jobs (though I think you'd be scarce to find a legal worker willing to do the dirty work of an illegal immigrant rather than a white-collar job) and not from the economic "big hit" that is actually a net gain...

InsideTheHall

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:42 p.m.

I have no problem with a government issued ID that shows you are a US citizen. This can be incorporated with a drivers liscense for starters.

John Q

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:28 p.m.

"OK, your last post made no sense. You said I was using internet lies, but now you want me to provide links FROM the internet" Gail, you claimed that your statements are based on information provided by the Phoenix PD. I could find no such statements by the Phoenix PD. I did find a lot of copy-and-paste claims that you copied that appear to come from right-wing web sites. Since you stated that the Phoenix PD provided this information, please show me where the Phoenix PD made these statements. It's a simple request.

CMS

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:13 p.m.

First thought that came to mind? MYOB A2 city commission!

JonesM

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 6:53 p.m.

Like many, I am appalled by City Council's actions. First of all, this is none of Ann Arbors business. We do not know what it is like in Arizona and have no right trying to tell them what to do. Secondly, this is none of City Councils business. We elected the council members to represent us on City issues, not national issues. Thirdly, there are tons more important issues that need to be dealt with. Our roads, for example, are a disgrace. I have two sons that live out of state now. When they come back to Ann Arbor, all they can talk about is how bad the roads are. What an impression to leave our guests. Finally, how can the council members say that they are representing their constituents? Show me the polls? I highly doubt that the majority of Ann Arborites would approve City Council wasting taxpayer dollars on something like this. I say to the Council Members, please focus your efforts on the issues that matter to this City.

Mick52

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 6:07 p.m.

Thanks to the posters here who offered personal experiences they and their families were confronted with. Only 100 people showed up to support this resolution? Is that all? Were thousands turned away for lack of space? With that few, I wonder why council didn't table this....forever.

Mick52

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 5:40 p.m.

I wonder if the city included in its resolution some funding for Arizona to help pay for the problems caused by illegal immigrants. Or perhaps, offered to take in and support an appropriate proportion of those immigrants. If you search online for how much it costs Az, you get various reports. In essence, it is clear Az is taking a big hit, in the billions of $$, so council should pony up some funds for AZ. Please do not counter that illegal immigration is an economic God send for Az. If it were, Az would not complaining they would be tearing down all barriers. I'm sure this resolution has Az's govt shaking in its boots. I reject Mr. Derezinski's statement that "..we are all immigrants." I prefer "we are all legal immigrants, not illegal immigrants." The anti reasons given here are just plain wrong. The law is not racist, it does not promote racial profiling. It enforces the law. I am tired of hearing the same old reasons given by opposition to Arizona taking this issue into its own hands because the federal govt just won't enforce the law of an issue that has become a serious one. Does anyone remember 9/11? To not close the border offers terrorists an opportunity to get into the country, especially when they are on no fly lists and barred from entry at legal border entry sites. It was disgusting to hear the President say the border is "too big." Get out of the way and let someone who "can do" in. Its inappropriate to pick and choose which laws you enforce and do not enforce. How do you explain that to someone you charge? The feds had more than enough time to pass new immigration law if they wanted to. The fact is most people are in support of enforcing immigration law, that is why the feds won't do anything before the Nov elections. I think the court will ultimately rule that if the fed is lacking in enforcement, the states have every right to do so. Its embarrassing to the fed govt to have a state pass a law that points out the fed is not responding to a serious problem.

Speechless

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 5:37 p.m.

Wednesday afternoon Tea Party in The Deuce! The Angry Studies crowd enjoys themselves a grand ole get together. Fortunately, the many negative comments following both articles on this topic in the last couple days do not reflect opinion throughout Ann Arbor. As a rule, people in town don't begin to salivate and froth at the mouth when someone mentions the term "illegal immigrant." We are not white Mississippi, nor are we white Arizona. We can do better than that, and usually do, although that doesn't set the bar very high. Granted, unlike the audience at last night's city council meeting, Ann Arbor's actual support for the passed resolution does not routinely run at 100-0 in favor. However, the constituency who would oppose it — and also support the new Arizona law — is rather modest in size, though vocal. Further, I can't imagine there are very many folks living in town who would express such views openly & loudly in public. I dare the angry dissenters here to organize a downtown demo during Art Fair and prove me wrong. I dare you. Note: To anyone in the distant future who discovers this full discussion thread and actually slogs through it, my apologies in advance for what you read here.

Ekim Elburts

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 4:45 p.m.

Ann Arbor, Arizona, the only thing you have in common is both start with A. All Ann Arbor business' can thank their city council for my boycott of business' in Ann Arbor. I am offended by your arrogance and ignorance as if any of us give a hoot what AA City Council thinks. Nonetheless I am a business owner and obtain my insurance and bonding from Hylant in Ann Arbor. Thanks to you City Council, I will be taking my business out of Ann Arbor. This is not a matter of not buying a hamburger, I spend tens of thousands of dollars with this company that has the unfortunate circumstance of residing in your jurisdiction. Actions have consequences, think about that next time your knee jerks.

Gail

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 4:37 p.m.

@John Q OK, your last post made no sense. You said I was using internet lies, but now you want me to provide links FROM the internet. I assume you know how to "google". You are on your own, buddy. Glad to see the majority of my fellow midwesterners on this post still have a huge amount of the good old midwestern common sense left.

GB

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 4:32 p.m.

I support the new Arizona law on immigration... What part of illegal does our city council members not understand. We should not stand for illegal immigration and drug running from the south in to the USA. Currently, there is chaos on our boarders. Council, get back to the business of trying to run Ann Arbor..... Hopefully, the Fed's will start fullfilling their obligation to stop this dangerous situation on our boarders

Val Losse

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 4:24 p.m.

I immigrated to this great country in 1949 not by choice but because my parents came here for a better life. We came here legally after an investigation of my parents background we were permitted to enter the country. Laws are made to protect this country from outside from people who would damage or destroy us. Note the Russian spies that were arrested just the other day. Pres. Obama is not doing a good job of protecting our country by enforcing the laws of the land as he is required to do under the Constitution he swore to uphold when he became President. Arizona has every right to protect itself and the Federal laws state that. Their law is just an extension of the Federal law a law that Pres. Obama swore to uphold and isn't. He is just interested in spending our money and kissing our enemies while stabbing us in the back. Arizona would not have to pass a law if the Federal government, Pres. Obama, would enforce what is on the books.

John Q

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 4:01 p.m.

"sorry, my info doesn't come from the internet. Are you calling the Phoenix Police Dept. liars?" No, I'm calling your claims phony. You can't provide any links to the Phoenix PD that would back up those claims, can you?

nicole

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 4 p.m.

Ann Arbor was once a great town. Now it's run by left liberals. And you can see the results.

march

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 3:54 p.m.

Sure, this country was build by immigrants...so was EVERY other country, However, they have all set up laws now that require certain rules to be followed just like the U.S. and THEY are enforcing them. There are some 12,000,000 illegal immigrants in the U.S. now andmore coming every day. Theythink they have power they shouldn't have. Ones who have been here for 20 years still can't speak English. It annoys me that I have to "press 1" for English. Do you think the French or German have to press "1"? Factories have moved to Mexico, oil is drilled there, and much of our food is grown there...let them work there. If we have "immigration reform" guess how many of them will go along with what the requirements will be to become a citizen. I would guess much less than 1/2. Most will turn to crime and drugs because it's "easy". I am for LEGAL immigration. Wprk visas could be issued which need to be re-issued every once in awhile...like other countries do.

Mr. Tibbs

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 3:31 p.m.

I wonder if I broke into thier houses, just as the illegals have broken into our country, if I would recieve half of whatever it is these _____(insert your favorite insult here because I do not want to be removed for name calling)have worked so hard for all thier lives. or would they call the cops and have me arrested and REMOVED from thier midst? hypocrits. ooops wazzata name? or the truth? so if I may add to the insults on the ineptitude of the town council, you poor tax paying poeple of what once a great city, while you have NEVER once turned down your being asked for a parks milllage.....what have you recieved for your money? 3 million PLUS in amdinistration wages and raises. and as I said before in another posting that was removed, that this must be what was meant by the mayor when he claims to be green. by lining the pockets of those around him with YOUR MONEY.

Gail

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 2:37 p.m.

@ JohnQ, sorry, my info doesn't come from the internet. Are you calling the Phoenix Police Dept. liars?

John Q

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 2:27 p.m.

"Many US citizens have no idea that Phoenix is the kidnapping capital of the USA, that an area South of the Arizona is now the deadliest area in the world due to the drug wars/murders..." How many Internet lies can be packed into a single post?

bunnyabbot

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 2:22 p.m.

I would say that the actual change in number of crimes in a period of years does not mean that the cost of the number of crimes has remained the same. The cost of illegals is estimated at over 113 Billion bucks. The drain on border states effects everyone eventually. I can not think of another nation that does not have a secure border.

Peter Baker

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 2:05 p.m.

The symbolism of this symbolic move makes my head symbolically hurt.

PJ

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 2:03 p.m.

I see deleting by aa paper for stupid things. T: thanks for sharing input. Yes, the left are dumb!!!!!!

RobertinSaline

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 1:57 p.m.

"Resolutions" and the discussion attached to them are a waste of taxpayer dollars. City Council & Taxpayers in Ann Arbor should focus on Ordinances - this is law - the rest is just talk and wishful thinking. Perhaps an Ordinance that fines Council members for proposing Resolutions that address issues outside of City of Ann Arbor jurisdictions should be proposed by a group of residents? An amendment like this to the City's Ordinances would be a breath of fresh air.

Gail

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 1:25 p.m.

@ Ed I'm married to a crime expert, so your little CNN article does nothing for me.

Michael Truax

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 1:23 p.m.

@Edward R Murrow's Ghost, add to your list the 49 other states. When I get stopped for a traffic violation, I'm asked for ID but without the german accent. I didn't feel violated.

bedrog

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 1:21 p.m.

T...if you look further up the thread you will see some posts by me and 'demistify' that suggest that the current wannabe city leaders may be worse than the incumbents on irrelevant issues.. it's not a simple 'liberal' v' conservative ' thing anymore,in ann arbor or anywhere else in the world.

InsideTheHall

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 1:13 p.m.

Sorry Ed but your schtick has worn thin. Please just say good night.

nicole

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 1:10 p.m.

Ann Arbor City Council is wasting our tax dollars. I agree with Brad. Pick up his leaves! Have they even read the AZ law? If you are stopped for a crime, they can ask for ID. Big deal. They already do this anyway. And if you are here illegally and committing a crime on top of it, you better get out of my country! We have a right to protect our kids and ourselves. Don't forget this. Don't let the liberal media and the liberals convince you otherwise. You are not racist for wanting your borders protected. They are racist for not allowing it!

Gail

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 1:07 p.m.

I am a former Michigander, now living in San Diego. I find it very interesting and disturbing how a midwest city could possibly have any clue about the problems ensuing here in the Southern border. Many US citizens have no idea that Phoenix is the kidnapping capital of the USA, that an area South of the Arizona is now the deadliest area in the world due to the drug wars/murders. In addition, the Federal Gov't has banned any US citizens from entering a US Nature preserve south of Yuma, but allow a Mexican drug war to take palce there. Yes, US citizens forbidden on US lands, but Mexican citizens engaged in drug wars are allowed there. Arizona has begged our Federal Gov't. to do something about this, but sits on its hands. Arizona's problem is one of our national security. Mexican drug cartels are now kidnapping and promoting the use of US teenagers to act as drug runners into the US. Way to go Ann Arbor. I used to be proud of U of M. I will not allow my kids to attend such a ridiculously out-of-touch place. We always visited AA in the summer. My family officially is banning your city and will spend our money elsewhere.

AARES

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 1:06 p.m.

I agree with most on here that this was a waste of council time. But that is not my reason for posting. I wanted to add another voice suggesting that we not take this out on the art fair. I don't see how the organizers or artist have anything to do with this. Why should they be punished for something the council did? The art fair is a major event for our community, striking a blow against it hurts all of us. I understand your anger and frustration. Send an e-mail to the council letting them know, start a facebook page (maybe "Ann Arbor Citizens Supporting Arizona"), hold a rally, organize votes against the incumbents. Any of those actions make a much clearer statement. Let me know, I might join in. Maybe we can meet at the art fair to talk it over?

Trepang674

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 12:59 p.m.

Gee Sandi Smith - how embarassing to have your picture posted as the lead counsil member of this goof-ball resolution. Must be from the 1st Ward commune.

John Q

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 12:58 p.m.

"Not this year. So that's one couple. I'm sure there will be others. And no, not a Tea Party member." Which will have a negligible impact on the number of people attending or the amount of money spent at Art Fair. As to your claim that you're "not a Tea Party member", based on your other comments, I guess you're just a regular card-carrying conservative?

Carl Duncan

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 12:55 p.m.

"This is an immigrant nation. We are all immigrants," Derezinski said. We! No I don't speak French. Yes I was born in Indiana. No I'm not an immigrant--am american through and through. Do any city council members know that Arizona shares a border with Mexico? We?

bedrog

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 12:38 p.m.

RE art fair protesters the artists are innocent in all this and have gone to great trouble and expense to exhibit...often coming from far away, as i know having been in such things. maybe a more appropriate reaction ( that could actually lead to a conversation on the matter) is to dress 'arizona' e.g. like wyatt earp at the o.k corral ( fake moustache, long black duster coat, fedora or wider brim hat) or geronimo or cochise or barry goldwater ( fake white wig, hornrims, prosthetic chin) or even john mccain ( see SNL episodes from o8)

ussubmariner

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 12:36 p.m.

I started my boycott of Ann Arbor on June 8, 1996. That's the day I moved my family. 100 people showed up to support the measure. Voters or visiting students?

bunnyabbot

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 12:26 p.m.

"A community coalition led by the Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrants Rights urged passage of the resolution tonight, saying Ann Arbor could send a message to other municipalities across the country that racism won't be tolerated" again, words are being misinterperated and skewed when regurgitated to the masses. People are being brow beaten so easily. this resolution, and all similar resolutions should not even be entertained by small city councils with the talk of even having a vote. this is a disservice to the people who voted these smucks in.

CobraII

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 12:18 p.m.

Why doesn't the council worry about Ann Arbor's problems? Witch are many! I'm sure I could find someone in Arizona that could disagree with a law that Ann Arbor has too!

bedrog

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 12:17 p.m.

@ tony dearing ( 2 above)...all caps AND cursing?? love to know what side of the issue that one was on... the police/fbi/homeland security might too.

ffej440

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 12:09 p.m.

Like Ann Arbor doesn't have imigration problems of its own. I managed a busisness in Ann Arbor that was taken over by a company that required Federal ID check. Its a simple system that takes seconds to verify the employees ID. ALL the hispanic workers came back bad. (About 13) None of them stayed, so I would assume they were all improper. I still see these same people working in Ann Arbor. They all had soc security cards,state Id or DL etc.. Maybe Ann Arbor should worry about thier own problem.

John Q

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 11:55 a.m.

A Tea Party boycott of Art Fair? That should make for a good laugh. Let us know how well that goes.

jeff4179

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 11:51 a.m.

I live in a house that abuts a part on the northeast side. The grass in the park area attached to my house hasn't been touched this summer and is about 3 feet high, and given the budget issues, I don't expect that it will be. But at least I know that my City Council members don't support Arizona's immigration law, cause I was really worried that they might.

bedrog

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 11:48 a.m.

liberalNIMBY...sometimes it is constructive to try to stop destructive actions, and since dueling is ( i think, but am open to new infromation)illegal, sometimes this online stuff is what one is left with when it comes to certain people. anyway, i wouldnt assume that all posters do nothing else useful with their time...although that is no boubt true in some case. whoops.i meant 'cases'.

Bob Anderson

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 11:38 a.m.

Please city council, let's spend time solving our own problems, which are many!!!!!!!

Heardoc

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 11:37 a.m.

There is much censorship here-- not very good

Ricebrnr

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 11:29 a.m.

@Laura Sanders, I emailed the 2 sponsors yesterday prior to the vote noting my "preference" for them to work on AA issues and with a link to the previous story. I received a non-answer that was cc'd to the entire council. They well knew the opinions of the majority of us before going into the meeting. Sorry if going to the meeting is the only approved way to make my opinion known. If anyone wants to see the emails let me know.

stillatownie

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 11:22 a.m.

"The city council looks like a bunch of liberal ex hippies." you say that like it's a bad thing...

LiberalNIMBY

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 11:21 a.m.

While I agree that this resolution was a waste of time, does anyone else see some irony in all the cumulative time wasted, week after week, by us commenters commenting on people who are wasting time? It doesn't seem to be fashionable to volunteer these days, but how about one or two of you save up all the time you'd spend commenting on AA.com for the next couple of weeks and fill out an application to serve on a city board or committee? E-mail your council rep (or friendly local news reporter) and ask how to get involved. The city is starving for smart people who are willing to donate a few hours a month and actually do something constructive. Think about it: among all the folks on here who think they can do a better job than the city council we have, we only had like 6 people complete petitions to run! Granted, venting is cheaper than therapy, so I don't begrudge anyone looking to save a buck. But personally, I think 99.9% of the stuff contained in these comments really doesn't do a thing for the community. The disproportionate "anti" sentiment that occurs on any "comments" blog just helps discourage the good people who do (or are considering to do) the thankless job of serving their city. So, as they say, put up or shut up.

InsideTheHall

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 10:48 a.m.

Well this is harmless and keeps the CC from building more dog parks and allowing more chicken coops. Only in A-Squared!

bedrog

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 10:43 a.m.

i am a member of an e-mailing list of people, most of whom might be expected to have supported this city council action. i.e we're mostly 'liberals' ( oooooo!!!) emails were sent around encouraging supporters to weigh in on these a2.com threads to counteract the preponderance of 'antis', of whom i am one, although still a liberal ( oooo!!!).....simply because city council is no more an appropriate venue for such actions than it is for foreign policy debates which are constantly being urged upon it by some hardcore one-issue zealots.* it is quite telling that the posts here and on the pre-vote thread remain overwhelmingly 'anti' the action taken ( i.e few from 'my' list have taken up arms in support of the resolution.) * moderators : please note that i did NOT use more colorful words that might be more accurate, but construed as 'personal attack'.

jaxie

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 10:41 a.m.

Thank you to the many commenters on this and yesterday's story. I don't agree with all of you, nobody could. However as a group you have contributed an amazingly diverse set of opionions. Of these, there are two points I'd like to comment on. First, I agree with those of you who mentioned Steven Rapundelo. I am a resident of the second ward and in my experience he has been the only person on CC who doesn't seem to have his mind made up before he hears what citizens have to say. Second, I visit friends who live in gated communities out of state. Gates are an obvious sign that people on the inside don't want to deal with others who don't look like or agree with them. By continually pasing legislation that makes Ann Arbor probibitively expensive to people such as illegal immigrants we create more subtle gates that exclude most of them from living here. Perhaps the actions of our council last night are a sort of penitance for what they do when they attend to the real business of the city.

Heardoc

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 10:22 a.m.

This vote by the council is just part of the tantrum that liberals are throwing. Ann Arbor is wildly left. Hmmmm.. better to spend money we don't have on projects we really don't need (city hall--could have been a whole lot less expensive) -- or better yet -- pass resolutions in order to sit in judgement of another municipality when your own house is in a mess. Talk about diversion............

rick

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 10:16 a.m.

Nothing that comes out of the City of Ann Arbor suprises me and neither did this......The people in Arizona are being threatened every day by these "undocumented aliens"....Phoenix has become a world leader in kidnappings....The drug cartels are threatening peoples lives every day and yet the Ann Arbor City council and all the other bleeding hearts in America think trying to protect themselves is wrong....WAKE UP PEOPLE!!! I'm sure the Council has better things to do than this.....How about a resolution against BP for obvious reasons??....or....What about the war in Afghanastan? Get real people...Oh yeah...one last thing....Good job Mr. Rapundalo...

bill

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 10:04 a.m.

Thanks Stephen The rest of you turn city to the cheering crowd of peace,love, and granola. This town will never be a city. To bad it has a lot going for it but is frozen in the most liberal minded people in America. We will always be a village of sixty Hippies City Council isn't a joke it is a shame

DaLast word

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 9:40 a.m.

I own a business in Ann Arbor and if it was easy for me to move, I would in a heart beat. This council doesn't represent me. They just keep taking my tax dollars and doing their aggenda.

bedrog

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 9:31 a.m.

demistify...with all due respect, we've gone way past simple 'left v. right' categorization both locally and nationally...internationally too. many of those who'd readily describe themselves ( and be described by others) as 'far left' actually openly support the farthest 'right' groups and ideologies around...i.e. islamic jihadists. but yes indeedy..our local versions of these 'far right lefties'( e.g the GREENS) do seem to support the insurgent slate,who themselves seem pretty clueless about the need to distance themselves from such allies even tho one of the most prominent has privately expressed contempt for them. but private doesnt count because it's deniable.

packman

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 9:30 a.m.

I can't believe that the City Council would completely ignore the electorate. But wait...they're following Obama's lead. I wish they would start paying attention and start a process of critical "thinking" instead of "feeling." We should be glad that the CC and other local government entities can't print money...they would do so in a heartbeat if they could...all they can do is ask for more taxes...hurry November.

demistify

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 9:21 a.m.

Reality check for those threatening electoral retaliation against the incumbents: You will not get the opportunity. The slate of challengers in the Democratic primary are attacking from the left; they would be MORE likely to concentrate on national or international ideology instead of running the city. This is now a one-party city, and "Wait till November!" is an empty threat.

James

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 9:17 a.m.

The city council looks like a bunch of liberal ex hippies. I guess they don't like the Federal law either, it's exact same law. How about all Conservatives boycott Ann Arbor businesses and don't give the city your hard earned money.

Stephen Landes

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 9:17 a.m.

Animal House comes to mind: "I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part." And our City council is just the group to do it. And speaking of universities, what was the University of Michigan doing at the Council meeting and who represented them? Was this just "someone from the U" or was this a formal, approved position?

bedrog

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 9:06 a.m.

jcj...a very nice logical point indeed. i raise my can of 'arizona ice tea' to you.

PJ

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:58 a.m.

T: Can u give link again on facebook for boycotting ann arbor and support az? I tried and couldn't get it when I did search. t u

jcj

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:55 a.m.

What hypocrites! There are some that seem to discount comments made by those living outside Ann Arbor. Think about it. Have you figured it out yet? How can you say they should live in Ann Arbor to have a say and then YOU try to tell AZ what they should do! I have lived in Ann Arbor over 50 years.

stunhsif

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:52 a.m.

@T, great idea to boycott A2 which I will do moving forward,at least short term. Was going to go to the art fair but told my wife I am not going now. She agreed to find something else to do instead. Elvis Fest this weekend in Ypsi.

millermaple

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:45 a.m.

I live, vote and pay the taxes here and I think this resolution is a waste of time, even though I don't support the Arizona bill, what will this accomplish? I want the city council to work on city issues- fire & police protection, getting the potholes fixed etc. Everything goes up - our water bill, property tax and we get fewer services in return like fewer street lights and no more leaf pickup-it looks like I'll have to pay someone to remove my leaves or purchase a costly leaf chopper vac. Another problem is that the challengers running for city council & mayor are no better than what we have already and maybe even worse.

Marvin Face

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:28 a.m.

Thanks for the reminder cd. I just emailed Brater and Warren asking them to support this legislation in the State of Michigan. I urge everyone else to do likewise whether you live in A2 or not. Let your voices be heard at the state level...where it might actually matter.

evenyoubrutus

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:19 a.m.

Controversial? You mean it is controversial to make it illegal to... do something 'illegal'? Wow, that doesn't make any sense at all. Those of you who are so opposed to the Arizona law: why weren't you in Arizona protesting that?

cd

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:11 a.m.

It is important for our council to speak out on this topic. Legislation similar to the Arizona law has been introduced in Lansing. It tough economic times this kind of law leads to mistreatment and abuse of groups of people. The city council does need to work on the budget and on improving infrastructure as well as taking a stand on an important issue. People are comparing Mexico's immigration laws to ours. I lived in Mexico, and I don't consider its government a supporter of human rights. I don't think the council members passed this to get press for November. As you can see from the comments, many people did not agree with the resolution. I believe they passed this because they know it is necessary to speak out before any Hispanics and Arabs are stopped for "not using a turn signal" or jaywalking. We already have immigration detention centers where people are held for months or years. Keep a bigger picture.

SonnyDog09

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:03 a.m.

I'll try to express my complete and utter disgust with council without calling them names, this time. This is a waste of time. Council should be working on Ann Arbor issues, not Arizona issues. Council should not be spending our tax dollars on political grand standing. Get back to work! Do the job that we are paying you to do. In response to another poster: I live in Ann Arbor. I have lived in Ann Arbor for over twenty years.

Mike58

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8:02 a.m.

I do live in the 1st Ward and I will remember this nonsense come election time. Time is money and if my elected officials believe they can squander it for a meaningless statement such as this they do not display the judgement required of the the position they were ELECTED to.

Pjohn3

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 8 a.m.

It's no surprise that the 2 co-sponsor came out of the 1st ward. They have a history of electing misguided individuals. I don't think anyone on council should have voted on this resolution unless they either read the entire bill or have been to Arizona for an extended stay in the last 5 years. NOW get off your butts and get back to work for those of us you supposedly represent.

Brad

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:52 a.m.

"No surprise that only one commenter even bothered to respond to this point. It makes it clear that: 1. Most of the people attacking Council don't live in Ann Arbor. 2. Those that do live in Ann Arbor don't care enough about the issue to take a few minutes out of their life to actually go to a Council meeting to express their opinion. How many of the complainers here even sent an e-mail or called their Council members to voice their opposition to the resolution? Any of them? " Let's see... 1) I do live in AA, and have for over 35 years. 2) If I went to coucil to speak out about every idiotic side issue, it would put a serious damper on my free time. It is true that I "don't care enough" about this issue, which seems to be the issue of council grandstanding some symbolic BS. 3) I have e-mailed coucil members on numerous occasions about various topics, including this one. City Council should deal with city business, and the AZ law doesn't even begin to qualify. That's my major complaint.

bedrog

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:51 a.m.

picker/morris..re voting out incumbents: given what we're learning about the new blood and their allies you may be talking about a 'baby /bathwater' situation.... yeah, the passing of the resolution was a silly, meaningless exercise of personal 'look at my rectitude-ism", as i repeatedly noted on a related pre-vote thread( although i DO approve of the fact that the issue has been forced into the national arena where it should have always been, however it works out).... but the incumbents, to their credit, have never given the time of day...other than 'right to speak' ( which itself i'd argue should be curtailed a bit) to true fanatics on non-local issues...specifically the middle east... and i worry about how the 'insurgent' slate might go on that one...which could be a real horror -show per "morris'" specific examples above moderator: no names named, no minimally insulting adjectives attached to anyone...trust this will remain.

jcj

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:50 a.m.

For all of you that think it is such a travesty of justice to require that people enter this country legally. Will you now support a resolution condemning Italy for its immigration policy? "Italy has come under fire from groups as diverse as the Vatican and the European Commission for its strict new anti-immigration laws, which were passed in early July." It would have the the same effect as this publicity grabbing resolution! Nothing! If only we could say what we really think about some of the bleeding hearts in this town. Those of you trying to push illegal immigrants down our throats only causes us to be more adamant that the the current laws be ENFORCED!

Carole

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:44 a.m.

What do you all not get -- Illegal means just what it implies. If you come to American, there are laws to abide to -- do so and there are no problems at all. To those who wish not to abide by the law, "go home" -- I can guarantee that if an American citizen went to Mexico, they would have to abide by the rules and regulations or end up in jail. It is unfortunate that Arizona had to take action -- however, it seems as though the federal agents are not taking action to assist with the concerns of the citizens of Arizona -- I have friends that live there and have heard some outrageous stories re: illegals. To You, the mayor and council, I would suggest that you all become a bite more concerned about events and happenings right here in good ole Ann Arbor. Elections are coming up and maybe it is time for a "change".

Moonmaiden

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:42 a.m.

Boycotting the Art Fair has what to do with all this?

Davidian

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:37 a.m.

What exactly do illegal immigration laws in Arizona have to do with Ann Arbor? Is Ann Arbor a beacon for illegal immigrants? Because Ann Arbor's housing prices, taxes, etc. conveniently price out any illegals (and most minorities) that want to come this way. Send 'em to Ypsilanti. Isn't that how it's always been done?? Pretty convenient....they have nothing to worry about. Limousine Liberalism at its finest.

Erich Jensen

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:35 a.m.

Are you joking? You spent precious community time on this issue. Besides, did anyone on city council talk to those living in Arizona and their challenges. There are two sides to every issue.

Marshall Applewhite

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:34 a.m.

Hopefully Ann Arbor City Council passed this resolution in order to employ more immigrants for city maintenance tasks. I would be strongly in favor of the city hiring five hard-working immigrants strictly for the purpose of mowing grass street medians. Those things are horrendously unkempt, and a citizenry paying such high property taxes deserves better.

The Picker

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:34 a.m.

This is just another reason to vote OUT all incumbents! We need a break with the past!

DagnyJ

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:33 a.m.

We've got the world's most expensive computers and the most decrepit roads and bridges in our city, and the Council decided to worry about Arizona. Nice. Vote these guys out. Start with the Mayor, and work down. As a 2nd Ward resident I was pleasantly surprised to Rapundalo do something smart. But Tony D. has got to go.

MjC

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:31 a.m.

Laura Sanders "Ann Arbor constituents came out in numbers.... and supported it.... where were you?" Gee, I was working. That's what my company hired me to do. The voters hired the City Council to act on our behalf with Ann Arbor related issues. That's spelled A-n-n A-r-b-o-r not A-r-i-z-o-n-a. And since there are 110,000 residents in A2, 100 retirees from Arizona showing up at a A2 Council Meeting doesn't necessarily mean "the constituents came out in numbers"!

applehazar

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:25 a.m.

Time to vote out the 9 members that voted for this. You guys don't have a clue how to run a city. I am so disgusted by this. What a complete waste of time and you want to get paid to do this? You have more pressing issues. And unemployment to all of you for this poor judgement.

spm

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:21 a.m.

As an Ann Arbor native and very much a liberal, I still have a problem with the City Council wasting time with this law probably because I've learned the hard way that Arizona has major problems with illegals. My parents have lived in Phoenix for 20 years and frankly Arizona needs to tighten up their immigration laws. My Arizona rental car was hit by an illegal immigrant, who didn't have a driver's license nor insurance and he ended up going to jail. The rental company gave me grief because my insurance wouldn't pay for the damages because it was the other guy's fault. I was in red tape hell for months with the rental car company threating to sue me before my insurance company finally paid the damages. My father knows tons of similar stories such as mine unfortunately.

sbbuilder

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:17 a.m.

Ghost Just to add to your list: G) Mexico H) Canada When was the last time you visited Canada? Drivers licenses are no longer valid; you must have a passport now. When we go as a family of six on vacation, each of us must have a passport. So, yeah, you can hear 'Show me ze papers'. Also, for a real stunner, have you educated yourself about the Mexican immigration law? It's much more restrictive than our own.

Butch Cary

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:02 a.m.

I think we should stay out of Arizonas business. I used to live there and now it is being trashed and a farmer was killed near Douglas by an illegal immigrant. Its a shame that Ann Arbor is taking such a Liberal view. Its become the Berkely of Michigan. I'm sure they want amnesty which would encourage more illegals to come.

CAARP

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:01 a.m.

While you're still on the clock in the Idle Time dept., could you please adopt a similar resolution for zebra mussels, Asian carp and emerald ash borers? Thanks.

jwally

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:01 a.m.

Love my country, Disgusted with my government.

Bob

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 7:01 a.m.

Without a doubt, Arizonians are shakin' in their boots... Sooo, any local business to attend to?

pbehjatnia

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 6:56 a.m.

I would suggest the following Arizona interactive link for anyone actually interested in the AZ SB1070. http://www.azdatapages.com/sb1070.html#document/p1

PJ

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 6:53 a.m.

As a conservatiave public school teacher, I must say that AA officials are very ignorant. Maybe AA can spend some $$$ and start a campaign to get all illegal trespassers to come to AA! I hope MI puts this to a vote to make it a felony to have illegal trespassers in MI and those who harbor/employ them fined!!!!!!!! PS that includes any city with fines who don't enforce the law which btw we do have fed laws about this, BUT that is why AZ decided to mirror the fed law that isn't enforced. PS GO GREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be boycotting AA and will pass the word on to others...

p2psilantimi

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 6:49 a.m.

Bravo to Council Member Stephen Rapundalo for opposing Ann Arbor's City Council's resolution to condemn Arizona's Senate Bill 1070. If the Ann Arbor City Council takes upon itself to pass judgment on actions taken by other States, they may find that task to be absolutely daunting. But they have not been elected for that, have they?

InsideTheHall

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 6:32 a.m.

Well folks, people deserve the government they elect. Curiously this means the Council backs the Obama position that the FEDS are omnipotent. When will the Obama statues be errected downtown to pay homage to the modern day Karl Marx?????????? No parks being maintained, street lights shut off, no leaf pick up, police/fire layoffs, this is what the Council endorses when they waste time pontificating and paying false homage to the chosen one. Heck, pass a resolution, Ann Arbor should be a given a NBA franchise so LeBron James can live in utopia!

pbehjatnia

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 6:25 a.m.

I oppose this resolution of the city council because it is a waste of council time and therefore a waste of taxpayer time and money. It seems only a way for our city council to make headlines while Ann Arbor's taxpayers have cuts in public safety and a bridge falling down. I do not, have not and never will support illegal immigration. However, I do not think the Arizona law is a viable solution. I think our federal immigration system must finally be rethought and recreated. I am not xenophobic. I have lived the majority of my adult life abroad as a private citizen. I have, of course,obeyed the laws of the country I lived in, including immigration. And, JohnQ, I didn't see the point in attending the council meeting last night. This was a done deal before any vote was cast. I think our council members should be reminded that Ann Arbor comes first in Ann Arbor City Council Meetings. Everyone else can take a number and get in line with their pet causes.

Morris

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 6:19 a.m.

To those of you who ridiculed the Ann Arbor City Council for passing the anti-Arizona law resolution: You sound much like those who didn't feel it appropriate to object when Jews were forced to wear special armbands, or when people of the wrong skin color couldn't get the most rudimentary service at lunch counters, restaurants or motels. Or "that is not an appropriate job for a woman, or... Basic civil rights to move and act freely are at stake. You could be the next.

E

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 6:18 a.m.

Hey City Council...Stop the nonsense and fix the bridge.

Mugsy

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 6:10 a.m.

I have to agree with those who pointed out the very obvious truth to this situation: it doesn't matter how you feel about the law, the fact that the Ann Arbor City Council passed this resolution is simply absurd. And perhaps a little self-righteous. I've lived in Ann Arbor for a few years and while I love the crunchy quality I am still practical. The roads are horrific, the parks need maintenance, and I'm sick of the plows dropping a mound of snow and ice in front of my driveway every winter keeping me from getting out AND trapping lots of innocent drivers. While I don't think we should only care about local issues (I consider myself a global citizen) I think the Council should remember their role: to get business done for the city. As far as people showing up to the meeting... 100 citizens in a city this size isn't all that impressive. Further, I believe a coalition was pushing this - you want to tell me there wasn't an organizing effort to get them there? A city around here recently passed a resolution not to outsource employees - there's a local issue I can get behind and wish our own Council would consider.

Lets Get Real

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 6:07 a.m.

How would AA feel if Phoneix sent us a message about our famous "Pot Law" or any other law we believe is necessary here? Is their opinion welcome here? Would we quickly adopt their recommendation? Let's Get Real - they don't give a hu rah what we think. We don't have a clue what they experience daily. Who are we to tell them anything? Let's Get Real about who the council's resolution represents. Clearly by the number of writers who disagree with their resolution in comments here, not many of them. Ann Arbor's self-appointed, self-importance does represent the self-centered, self-absorbed people who live here - all who know what is best for everyone else but themselves. When they are faced with this problem; when it comes to their own back yard - all those with winter homes in warm places - maybe the tune will be different. For now, here in AA, please - Let's Get Real and focus on the problems Ann Arbor is experiencing and let AZ and Obama slug this one out in the courts.

John Q

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 6:06 a.m.

"If these commenters who oppose the resolution are from Ann Arbor, and want to be represented, why were none of you at the Council meeting where at least 100 people and at least 9 speakers showed their support for this resolution." No surprise that only one commenter even bothered to respond to this point. It makes it clear that: 1. Most of the people attacking Council don't live in Ann Arbor. 2. Those that do live in Ann Arbor don't care enough about the issue to take a few minutes out of their life to actually go to a Council meeting to express their opinion. How many of the complainers here even sent an e-mail or called their Council members to voice their opposition to the resolution? Any of them?

Dave66

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 5:51 a.m.

What if AZ passes a resolution saying they don't care about the A2 resolution? It might hurt my feelings. I don't know if I could go on living if that happened. Oh, wait. AZ doesn't care about A2. *whew* Potential disaster averted!

Paul

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 5:37 a.m.

The City Council carries the seed of its own destruction right at its center.

jaxie

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 5:29 a.m.

Please write a letter to the people of Arizona c/o the Govenor of Arizona apologizing for the actions of the Ann Arbor City Council assuring them that they don't represent you and most of the citizens of Ann Arbor.

TT

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 5:04 a.m.

Another example of our(self)esteemed councils' care and concern for the illegal and disenfranchised. How touching....... give me a momont please.....

GoblueBeatOSU

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 4:51 a.m.

wow..so much for the people of AA having a voice. This council clearly only cares about making headlines. People we have to get smart and vote this council out. We need a council focused on the problems of AA....not grand standing just to be in the paper.

Jay Thomas

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 1:22 a.m.

I wonder how many here would feel if U of M Hospital and St. Jos went bankrupt and closed like so many hospitals have in Arizona thanks to illegal immigrants (who cannot be turned away and from which the hospital receives no compensation). I'm sure all of the supporters of the illegals wouldn't mind having to travel a hundred miles for emergency room care if something happened to their child. Let's judge Arizonans without walking in their shoes (or even reading the law).

Urban Sombrero

Wed, Jul 7, 2010 : 12:09 a.m.

Part of me wants to say, "WOOHOO!!!! Go City Council!!!!" Because I really hate this law. BUT.... The rest of me (ie, the sensible, conservative part) wants to scream at them, "Excuse me?!?!?!?! What are you thinking???? We have a crumbling bridge. Crumbling infrastructure. People without jobs. Etc, etc, etc. What are you thinking???? Get to work on Ann Arbor's problems and stop worrying about the rest of the country. Fix US first." So conflicted. So, so conflicted.

stunhsif

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 11:18 p.m.

Just when you think things cannot get more nutzoid than they already are ( in regards to A2 politics), Sandi and Sabra come out of leftist field and throw us a doozy. How on God's green earth did these folks ever get elected, what an embarrasment to this community. Cannot wait until November, we can wash ourselves hopefully of this toxic insanity.

RTFM

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 10:08 p.m.

City Council, Now that you voted on a resolution that is useless to the citizens of Ann Arbor, pat yourself on the back. I would like to add a couple of more resolutions. 1) Ann Arbor opposes the Iraq War action as originally supported by our VP Joe Biden. 2) Ann Arbor opposes BP's handling of the "spill" which is really a leak. 3) Ann Arbor opposes the sentencing of the entrapment of the innocent Lindsay Lohan.

Heardoc

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 10:06 p.m.

Laura-- maybe we have better things to do with a nice summer evening rather than wasting our evening accomplishing absolutely nothing with a meaningless resolution. This event was really a waste of time. Do not spend taxpayer money to promote a private political agenda. This has absolutely nothing to do with Ann Arbor. Sort of like having a back seat driver.. just annoying.

Ryan Munson

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 10:01 p.m.

Laura, I am going to be interested in reading the other comments that will answer your very good question.

rulieg

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 9:56 p.m.

ridiculous. I thought A2 was finally washing the tie-dye out of its t-shirts, but I guess not. first of all, the Arizona law mirrors the existing federal law, so if it's racist, then the existing federal law is also racist. so should we expect the Obama administration to sue its own Justice department? second of all: if we don't have a city council that has anything better to do than wave the PC flag about the Arizona law, I suggest we elect ourselves a new city council. I think we have an opportunity coming up real soon.

laura sanders

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 9:51 p.m.

If these commenters who oppose the resolution are from Ann Arbor, and want to be represented, why were none of you at the Council meeting where at least 100 people and at least 9 speakers showed their support for this resolution. There was no one speaking up to oppose it. Ann Arbor constituents came out in numbers.... and supported it.... where were you?

dading dont delete me bro

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 9:41 p.m.

i'm glad ann arbor council got that pressing bit of resolution passed. now they can get on to the nonsense that needs attention.

Klayton

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 9:37 p.m.

Now that we have resolved that (waste of time) issue...can we get something done locally such as: 1) Mow the lawn in the park by Liberty Heights (has not been mowed once this year)...and maybe add a garbage can...and get rid of the dangerous play equipment from 1980. 2) Do something about the Stadium bridge 3) Have more swim lessons for 1 and 2 year olds at the local pools. 4) Make sure the homeless/low income have air conditioning options this hot summer 5) Work on getting more business into some of the empty downtown and strip malls (maybe some incentives). I could keep going...

5c0++ H4d13y

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 9:35 p.m.

What a waste of time. Drop the nonsense and get on with city business.

John Galt

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 9:30 p.m.

There is a difference between "immigrants" and "illegal immigrants." Yet another reason to vote out the current council. They have more important LOCAL issues they should be concerned with.

robyn

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 9:29 p.m.

I wonder if any of them actually READ the Arizona law? Probably not. I had to laugh when the President of Mexico made his little speech about the AZ law - ummm, has he READ Mexico's laws regarding illegal immigration or looked at the requirements that Mexico has for those coming into their country? I did and I have to say if he thinks the AZ law is bad - he needs to look at his own country's laws. What I find VERY interesting is that Mr. Rapundalo IS an immigrant and he's the only one who opposed it! I'd think HIS views would carry a bit more weight due to his own experience as an immigrant.

sbbuilder

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 9:23 p.m.

"Police should be spending their time protecting neighborhoods, not chasing around immigrant workers..." I think this is exactly what Arizona is requiring law enforcement, specifically the Federal Government, to do. Do these people have any clue as to the disaster unfolding in the border States? Ian: Thanks for the video url in the other article comments. That video was very enlightening. There is a war being fought down there, and we are losing very badly. That is because the Federal Government has refused to uphold existing Federal law. I completely support the Arizona Law, and applaud the Arizona Legislature for standing up to our wimpy government's response to ILLEGAL immigration.

Ian

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 9:22 p.m.

Let's be consistent. AA city council should condemn Israel for slaughtering 13 innocent aid workers on the flotilla. Condemn Obama for expanding the war in Afghanistan for oil, opium and empire building. Condemn Obama and BP for purposely holding back skimming of the oil in the Gulf. Nearly 80 days into the spill and super tankers are still waiting for the okay from Obama and his boss, BP. Condemn New York for all the criminal bankers. AA city, is that enough or do you want more?

josh

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 9:13 p.m.

... it would be nice if we could get a couple of streets fixed around this town rather than worrying about Arizona.... but then, that wouldn't get our city mentioned as "Best" in USN&WR or Forbes!

stephanie

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 9:04 p.m.

How ridiculous. These people live in la-la land!

A2frank

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 8:58 p.m.

The council should be voted out, we face far to many problems here to waste time for such nonsense.

Craig Lounsbury

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 8:51 p.m.

"I'm shocked that the representatives of Ann Arbor actually represented the views of their residents and not those of the "overwhelming number of readers of A2.com"." the thing is John Q none of them asked for my opinion before they voted. I've lived in Ann Arbor since 1982. None of my peeps were "consulted" or polled either.

John Q

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 8:42 p.m.

I'm shocked that the representatives of Ann Arbor actually represented the views of their residents and not those of the "overwhelming number of readers of A2.com". Perhaps they realized that the voters here don't represent the views of most of their constituents? If the Council is out-of-touch with the voters, they'll hear about it from the voters.

Gorc

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 8:34 p.m.

It was very clear whether you agreed or disagreed with the AZ law...that an overwhelming number of readers of A2.com opposed the A2 city council spending time on the issue. I hope the voters of Ann Arbor remembers this next election and don't have short memories.

Wolverine3660

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 8:32 p.m.

I guess there are no pressing problems facing the City of Ann Arbor. Therefore, City Council can waste tax-payers money, whiling away and wasting their time passing totally useless,and pointless resolutions. Get a clue, Councillors!!!!!

dconkey

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 8:29 p.m.

Whats next, the City Council will pass a resolution that the Gulf oil spill is a disaster? Stick to issues in A2.

AAJoker

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 8:24 p.m.

Wow, not only a completely useless gesture (like Arizona cares about Ann Arbor?), also in violation of the beliefs of many people in Ann Arbor. When will the City Council get a clue?

Brad

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 8:17 p.m.

More pressing issues indeed. Way to confirm what we already suspected about you council - you are 100% out of touch. Regardless of what I think about the Arizona law, you are in no way empowered to speak for me or my community about it. How about you get my damn leaves picked up?

nxil2009

Tue, Jul 6, 2010 : 8:16 p.m.

Stephen Rapundalo is the only halfway sane person on the council. What a waste of time. But, good job to the rest. Your city is in turmoil and you spend valuable city time on this nonsense?