I spoke today with a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps who had responded to my posts (July 21 and 25; Day 7 and Day 11 on this blog) regarding Saturday’s Spanish-language community forum in Cold Spring “to help residents understand their rights and discuss legal and civil rights issues,” followed by a workshop “on immigration and detained immigrants’ rights” (see “Immigrants’ rights are topic of forum,” St. Cloud Times, July 21, 2008).

The concerned citizen, who had published the Your Turn column “Forum should address citizens’ rights” in the Aug. 2 issue of the St. Cloud Times, wanted to know if I planned attend and report back on the Cold Spring event, which some constituents believe may constitute a misappropriation of taxpayer dollars to benefit illegal aliens. 

Unfortunately, the meeting conflicts with the kick-off of my walking tour of the Sixth District Saturday, Aug. 9 (one month before the Sept. 9 primary), with a 20-mile route march along the Lake Wobegon Trail from Freeport to St. Joseph.

In my opinion, the immigrant forum, if intended for legal immigrants, is a legitimate use of public funds. However, I can appreciate the concerns of some constituents, given the extent to which the term “immigrant” has devolved as a catch-all phrase for both legal immigrants and undocumented migrants.

In an attempt to establish the facts and report them to the public, I’m calling for volunteers to attend the Cold Spring meeting and report back to me. Because the language medium of the event is Spanish, a working knowledge of Spanish is required. Please contact me at info@immelman.net for more information.

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IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST

Solemn Occasions

St. Cloud Times / Associated Press
Aug. 5, 2008

Jae C. Hong / The Associated Press

Army Spc. Seth Goehring holds his son, Kolton, at his home in Crookston. When Kolton was born, Goehring’s wife, Alicia, was able to send him cell-phone photos of the baby.

Full story (Part 3 of 7)