Post by admin on Aug 3, 2006 20:31:16 GMT -5
Founder claims ‘hate
group’ label is unfair
Latino group’s press
release fears ‘storm
troopers’ in Freehold
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — A representative of a New Jersey organization which claims it "seeks to empower Latinos" has called on the state Attorney General’s office to place the civic group PEOPLE on a list of so-called "hate groups."
In response, Marc Le Vine of the borough, the founder of Pressing Elected Officials to Protect our Living Environment, called that a "very unfair appraisal of a group made up of former town council officials, business people and hundreds of other responsible borough residents. PEOPLE is not a hate group.
"This is nothing more than another strong-armed and desperate attempt to embarrass the residents of Freehold Borough and to stifle their strong support for the action of our mayor and Borough Council," Le Vine said.
"We are not a hate group," Le Vine said. "We are residents of a diverse town and we welcome anyone who wants to live in Freehold Borough as long as they are here legally and pay their fair share of taxes and abide by all the laws that respect the quality of life issues for everyone."
He said all the members of PEOPLE have the right to be concerned with illegal immigration and quality of life issues in the town.
"They pay taxes for these rights," he added. "I find it particularly insulting that such an attack would be directed at Freehold Borough residents, especially since this is being orchestrated by outside interest groups advocating illegal immigration and wishing to convert valid and legal residents’ concerns to hate."
Action by the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey (LLANJ) is based on several proposals said Martin Perez, president. He said the borough’s actions as they relate to immigrants "amount to a systematic campaign to harass Latino day laborers in the borough."
"We intend to assert our rights to live in any part of the state of New Jersey and not be pushed around," Perez said. "Latinos contribute to the economy and must be accepted and integrated into the state. It is a diverse state and we should celebrate diversity, not fight it. Instead of trying to come to terms with this, this group [PEOPLE] is trying to create a situation of intolerance and create a negative situation for the Latinos in Freehold."
Perez cited the following proposals he said were presented by members of PEOPLE as the basis of LLANJ’s call for state officials to label it a hate group:
• The deputizing of borough police officers by the state Attorney General to give them the power to identify and ar-rest illegal aliens.
• A deliberate pressure campaign against a local merchant who allows day laborers to gather on his property. The steps would include calling in health inspectors and strengthening anti-loitering laws.
• The hiring of an immigration lawyer who can "think outside the box."
Perez called these proposals "an absurd disgrace."
"Under this plan one can envision storm troopers marching down Main Street and questioning and arresting anyone who looks Latino and who may or may not have documentation on their person," Perez said. "The xenophobes that make up PEOPLE would like to hermetically seal off the borough and allow only people that look like them in. I have news for them. The Latino community will not leave Freehold, no matter what hate measures PEOPLE proposes."
Le Vine said the plans cited in the LLANJ press release and attributed to PEOPLE were taken out of context. He said the comments Perez referred to as proposals were ideas and suggestions that came out of discussions among members of the group involving different departments in the borough, such as the governing body, the police department and the code enforcement office.
He said they were ideas and questions brought to the table by members of the group as they discussed the issues at hand.
"We did not order anyone to do anything," Le Vine said, adding that the comments were based on the fact that some members of PEOPLE did not believe borough officials were managing things as well as they could have.
Levine said the discussions were about quality of life issues and included things such as picking up wayward shopping carts and dealing with problems with dogs in the borough.
"These items were thrown out by residents looking for answers. At no time did we ever say that we wanted mass arrests of immigrants," Le Vine said.
He said the recommendations PEOPLE works with are only those that are "legal and supported by ordinances and laws already on the books."
"We expect these laws to be enforced universally. We further have the right as citizens to share our concerns with our elected leaders and petition our government to take action when we believe it’s necessary. The government does not act solely on our recommendations but with jurisprudence," Le Vine said.
He said the group’s concern is the large number of residents who have recently moved to the town.
"We want to send a message to contractors and landscapers that there are lots of other places to go besides Freehold Borough. We can’t handle the continuing influx of people for the purposes of working. This has nothing to do with the Latino population. It’s about overburdening a town that is receiving no aid from anywhere," Le Vine said.
A statement from representatives of PEOPLE said its members "condemn all hate groups and all violence. Those who have labeled PEOPLE as a ‘hate group’ are fearful of the enforcement of the laws that govern our town and our country. This is not about race. This is about the law."
John Hagerty, a spokesman for the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, said to his knowledge no official request for the Attorney General’s office to label PEOPLE a hate group has been received from any source. He said the division "monitors individuals and loosely knit groups that may be involved in bias crimes."
"Everyone has the right to distribute information and they have the right to their own opinion, diverse though they may be," Hagerty said, adding that the state does not maintain an official list of hate groups.
"If we receive information that has probable cause to investigate allegations of bias crime then we will investigate," he said
group’ label is unfair
Latino group’s press
release fears ‘storm
troopers’ in Freehold
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — A representative of a New Jersey organization which claims it "seeks to empower Latinos" has called on the state Attorney General’s office to place the civic group PEOPLE on a list of so-called "hate groups."
In response, Marc Le Vine of the borough, the founder of Pressing Elected Officials to Protect our Living Environment, called that a "very unfair appraisal of a group made up of former town council officials, business people and hundreds of other responsible borough residents. PEOPLE is not a hate group.
"This is nothing more than another strong-armed and desperate attempt to embarrass the residents of Freehold Borough and to stifle their strong support for the action of our mayor and Borough Council," Le Vine said.
"We are not a hate group," Le Vine said. "We are residents of a diverse town and we welcome anyone who wants to live in Freehold Borough as long as they are here legally and pay their fair share of taxes and abide by all the laws that respect the quality of life issues for everyone."
He said all the members of PEOPLE have the right to be concerned with illegal immigration and quality of life issues in the town.
"They pay taxes for these rights," he added. "I find it particularly insulting that such an attack would be directed at Freehold Borough residents, especially since this is being orchestrated by outside interest groups advocating illegal immigration and wishing to convert valid and legal residents’ concerns to hate."
Action by the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey (LLANJ) is based on several proposals said Martin Perez, president. He said the borough’s actions as they relate to immigrants "amount to a systematic campaign to harass Latino day laborers in the borough."
"We intend to assert our rights to live in any part of the state of New Jersey and not be pushed around," Perez said. "Latinos contribute to the economy and must be accepted and integrated into the state. It is a diverse state and we should celebrate diversity, not fight it. Instead of trying to come to terms with this, this group [PEOPLE] is trying to create a situation of intolerance and create a negative situation for the Latinos in Freehold."
Perez cited the following proposals he said were presented by members of PEOPLE as the basis of LLANJ’s call for state officials to label it a hate group:
• The deputizing of borough police officers by the state Attorney General to give them the power to identify and ar-rest illegal aliens.
• A deliberate pressure campaign against a local merchant who allows day laborers to gather on his property. The steps would include calling in health inspectors and strengthening anti-loitering laws.
• The hiring of an immigration lawyer who can "think outside the box."
Perez called these proposals "an absurd disgrace."
"Under this plan one can envision storm troopers marching down Main Street and questioning and arresting anyone who looks Latino and who may or may not have documentation on their person," Perez said. "The xenophobes that make up PEOPLE would like to hermetically seal off the borough and allow only people that look like them in. I have news for them. The Latino community will not leave Freehold, no matter what hate measures PEOPLE proposes."
Le Vine said the plans cited in the LLANJ press release and attributed to PEOPLE were taken out of context. He said the comments Perez referred to as proposals were ideas and suggestions that came out of discussions among members of the group involving different departments in the borough, such as the governing body, the police department and the code enforcement office.
He said they were ideas and questions brought to the table by members of the group as they discussed the issues at hand.
"We did not order anyone to do anything," Le Vine said, adding that the comments were based on the fact that some members of PEOPLE did not believe borough officials were managing things as well as they could have.
Levine said the discussions were about quality of life issues and included things such as picking up wayward shopping carts and dealing with problems with dogs in the borough.
"These items were thrown out by residents looking for answers. At no time did we ever say that we wanted mass arrests of immigrants," Le Vine said.
He said the recommendations PEOPLE works with are only those that are "legal and supported by ordinances and laws already on the books."
"We expect these laws to be enforced universally. We further have the right as citizens to share our concerns with our elected leaders and petition our government to take action when we believe it’s necessary. The government does not act solely on our recommendations but with jurisprudence," Le Vine said.
He said the group’s concern is the large number of residents who have recently moved to the town.
"We want to send a message to contractors and landscapers that there are lots of other places to go besides Freehold Borough. We can’t handle the continuing influx of people for the purposes of working. This has nothing to do with the Latino population. It’s about overburdening a town that is receiving no aid from anywhere," Le Vine said.
A statement from representatives of PEOPLE said its members "condemn all hate groups and all violence. Those who have labeled PEOPLE as a ‘hate group’ are fearful of the enforcement of the laws that govern our town and our country. This is not about race. This is about the law."
John Hagerty, a spokesman for the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, said to his knowledge no official request for the Attorney General’s office to label PEOPLE a hate group has been received from any source. He said the division "monitors individuals and loosely knit groups that may be involved in bias crimes."
"Everyone has the right to distribute information and they have the right to their own opinion, diverse though they may be," Hagerty said, adding that the state does not maintain an official list of hate groups.
"If we receive information that has probable cause to investigate allegations of bias crime then we will investigate," he said