Asylum Movement Brings Out The Crazies
"Sanctuary" is too euphemistic a term for the segment of the immigration movement that stations illegal immigrants in churches. Instead, we should call the movement "asylum" -- not only because this is the legal term for what the immigrants are seeking, but also because the movement tends to attract crazies.
And no, I'm not talking about Elvira Arellano, whose excesses and sense of entitlement I've chronicled elsewhere.
In this case, I'm talking about the anti-immigration nuts who on Sunday marched on a church in Simi, trying to perform a "citizen's arrest" on an illegal immigrant and her American infant, and possibly sprayed chemicals in a counter-protester's face. To quote the AP's account:
Dozens of activists on both sides of the illegal immigration debate faced off outside a church where an illegal immigrant is being sheltered with her U.S.-born infant son.One immigrant-rights advocate was injured with a chemical spray during Sunday's confrontation at the United Church of Christ, and police were investigating allegations that an opposing protester was responsible, police Capt. John McGinty said.
Members of the anti-illegal immigration group Save Our State, which organized the rally that drew about 120 protesters and counter-protesters, said they had hoped to make a citizen's arrest of the woman, who has identified herself only as Liliana.
People, get a life. Yes, there are legitimate reasons to be upset with our present immigration system, and yes, the Asylum Movement is tedious and annoying. But come on. It's not your job to play vigilante ICE agent, whether for real or whether as a cheap PR stunt. You do even more harm to your side of the immigration debate than Arellano does to hers.
If you ask me, this is a great argument for comprehensive immigration reform -- it would pull the plug on the crazies on both sides. Then they would have to get consumed with some other issue, like water fluoridation.