Inaccurate portrayals of Jupiter protesters
Two attempts have been made to inaccurately portray Jupiter protesters in a negative manner. The protesters behaved loudly and peacefully. In both cases video has been available to disprove allegations of "anger at the Guatemalan immigrants, the consular staff and El Sol's volunteers" and "fights."
Lots of new information at www.flimen.org.
1) Dr. Steigenga's Attempt in Palm Beach Post (Not online):
Center's protesters should redirect anger
I had the opportunity to speak to some of the protesters last weekend outside of El Sol, Jupiter's Neighborhood Resource Center, where the Guatemalan mobile-consulate was issuing Guatemalan passports and consular identification cards (Dec. 1, Metro Report). The people I spoke to were angry, and they directed their anger at the Guatemalan immigrants, the consular staff and El Sol's volunteers. Their anger was palpable but also misplaced. As the handful of protesters chanted "no IDs" and "speak English" through a bullhorn, a local police officer expressed puzzlement at their message, since the ID cards allow police to match names to faces and solve crimes. "Yes," I replied, "and El Sol's English language classes are full six days a week."
There is a lot to be angry about in the larger immigration debate in this country. But that anger is misplaced when we turn it against immigrants themselves or the local people and institutions working to address the problems our federal government has not.
DR. TIMOTHY J. STEIGENGA
Jupiter
Editor's note: Dr. Steigenga is a board member for the migrant-advocacy organization Corn Maya.
FLIMEN Response Submitted to Palm Beach Post.
As VP of Floridians for Immigration Enforcement (FLIMEN), an organizer of the protests against the El Sol center, I found Dr. Steigenga's comments in "Center's protesters should redirect anger" to be erroneous. The protesters did not direct "their anger at the Guatemalan immigrants, the consular staff and El Sol's volunteers." I am not aware of any incident where protesters in any way harassed anyone at El Sol.
A video at www.flimen.org shows the demonstrators merely holding signs and getting passing cars to honk in support. The sounds of honking horns indicates overwhelmingly positive support for the protester’s goal of immigration enforcement.
Unfortunately during the December 8th protest, one El Sol employer did not act as civilly as the protesters. One employer was arrested for misdemeanor assault upon me for videotaping a hiring transaction. The incident is fully documented at www.flimen.org. FLIMEN will randomly videotape employers again in the future and publish the video on our web site.
The direction of the protests has been and will continue to symbolize Jupiter as representative of what is wrong with our government, enthuse citizens to join the protests, demand accurate reporting by the media, document El Sol illegal hiring transactions, and most importantly, demand elected officials enforce the law.
The unfounded allegations seem to be his misplaced anger as a result of bad publicity which makes his money raising efforts to fund the center all the more difficult.
David W. Caulkett, VP, www.flimen.org
2) Palm Beach (Com)Post Inaccuracies:
There was no "scuffle", there was no "fight", and only one "protester" was involved, not "protesters." An arrest of an El Sol employer was made after he assaulted a protester, contrary to "no arrests were made."
Palm Beach Editor Carolyn Dipala stated that an article on the arrest will be published Tuesday.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/north/epaper/2007/12/08/1208jupprotest.html:
Police called when fight starts at
immigration protest
Click-2-Listen
By KIMBERLY MILLER
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Jupiter police were called this morning to an immigration protest on the corner of Military Trail and Indiantown Road after a scuffle broke out between protesters and another man.
Lt. David England of the Jupiter Police Department said Bridges Across America, a group that advocates enforcement of immigration laws, organized the protest, which drew between 20 and 30 people.
England said no arrests were made following the argument, which included a verbal altercation and allegations of pushing between the protesters and a man who pulled into the parking lot of El Sol, Jupiter's Neighborhood Resource Center where day laborers are hired. England said police are investigting the incident.
December 10, 2007