ACLU Director Brown Should Document His Assertion in Montufar Deportation Case
Brown asserted that Mynor Montufar is "hard working" and "supporting" his girlfriend and her children. OSPRI president challenges him to prove it.
Providence, Rhode Island - January 15, 2008 - William Felkner, President of the Ocean State Policy Research Institute, today called on Steven Brown, head of the American Civil Liberties Union's Rhode Island affiliate, to document statements he has made regarding the January 4, 2008, arrest of Mynor Montufar, Guatemalan illegal alien whose girlfriend, Carmen L. Marrero, gave birth to the first baby born in Rhode Island in 2008 on New Year's Day. The arrest coincided with the suicide death of David De La Roca, also an illegal alien from Guatemala.
"At his press conference, Steven Brown referred to Montufar as a 'hard-working immigrant,'" said William Felkner, president of the Oceans State Policy Research Institute. "But all we really know about Montufar is that he is in the United States illegally. If he is indeed 'hard working,' can Steve Brown document Montufar's employment history? How was he paid and were taxes paid on those wages?
On WPRO's John Depetro Show, Mr. Brown implied that Montufar was supporting this family, declaring that Ms. Marrero would have to apply for welfare in his absence. Is Mr. Brown saying that the family is not currently receiving tax-funded assistance? What measure of support did Montufar provide? Did he pay the hospital bill? The rent?
It is clear that Mr. Brown understands the importance to American citizens of the notion that immigrants are here seeking American opportunity and not American largess. This is an area where we agree, but a 19 year old unmarried woman with three children is the quintessential welfare recipient. It seems odd, if this were a maturing family determined to seize the dignity of raising their own children, that securing that commitment with marriage doesn't seem to have been important. Ms. Marrero is an American citizen. Marriage would have favorably affected Mr. Montufar's immigration status (if not necessarily halting his deportation) but would have lowered the level of public benefits for which the family was eligible.
Mr. Brown has made the history of this family's interaction with state social services part of the public discussion. Indeed, Mr. Brown was quick to condemn hard-working immigration officials for simply doing their jobs because he feels they disrupted the honorable intentions of "hard work" and "supporting" one's family. We trust he will join us in seeking to clarify for the public whether these were young people supporting themselves and their family or taking advantage of the system to compensate for poor judgment. Or perhaps Mr. Brown interposed himself merely to expand the franchise of his organization, and isn't interested in reducing the burden that immigration and immaturity impose upon the taxpayers of Rhode Island." |
