Legalectric

Good — we’re getting solid proof that people are just not going to take this inflammatory and divisive path, they’re not accepting false and misleading information and they will not be diverted from the important issues by nonsense. It ain’t gonna work, so stop it already…

Validity of immigrant report questioned

First the STrib. Here’s a couple quotes from the folks who were consulted for information and what they think about how their information was used. First Tom Gillaspy:

State Demographer Tom Gillaspy, whose office tracks immigration, said he was “out of the loop” when it was prepared and added that it’s not possible to be as precise about these numbers as the report makes it seem.

His office’s specialist on international immigration has said that she believes the number is far lower than 85,000 — that perhaps there’s only one-third that many undocumented immigrants in the state.

If you recall, Gillaspy spoke here in Northfield at the Grand last month.

And Jeff Passell, a demographer at the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C., and a primary expert relied on for the report has concerns:

Passell said he has concerns about the Pawlenty administration’s accounting of costs, something based on the number of immigrants believed to be in the state.

“Invariably the implication of these studies is that you’re spending X amount more than you would have if they weren’t here,” Passell said, “and that statement I consider completely invalid.”

In the St. PPP:

Pawlenty immigration report ignites firestorm

Here’s Mike Hatch’s take:

Meanwhile, Attorney General Mike Hatch, a DFL candidate for governor, charged that the Pawlenty administration has exacerbated the illegal immigration problem. He said he has received repeated complaints that the Department of Labor and Industry has failed to enforce labor, occupational health and safety and workers’ compensation laws at businesses that hire illegal immigrants. He also has heard complaints that the Revenue Department isn’t investigating allegations that those employers are failing to pay payroll taxes.

As a result of the lax enforcement, middle-class Minnesotans have lost their jobs to lower-paid undocumented immigrants, Hatch said.

…telling Pawlenty what to do with the report perhaps?

And this one from City Pages in July, 2004, quotes the comments of Angel Morales at a dinner honoring Fox when he was here and visited Pawlenty — trashing immigrants is nothing new for Pawlenty: Pawlenty, Fox and an elephant in the room:

“There is an elephant in this room that must be acknowledged,” he said. “The majority of recent Mexican immigrants to this state–the very same immigrants who are responsible for the positive economic impacts we all acknowledge–are undocumented.” After praising the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul for passing ordinances that allow immigrants to obtain driverâ??s licenses with a permit from the Mexican consulate as their identification, Morales noted that “our state leaders have not taken this same common-sense approach.” He then cited the efforts of Pawlenty and state officials to label undocumented immigrants as “possible terrorists.” Calling Pawlenty out by name, Morales hoped the governor would “recognize all immigrants not just in terms of dollars, but also in terms of basic human dignity.“