Currently I'm visiting my home state of Oklahoma. On a trip to Oklahoma City, I picked up a free Hispanic newspaper in a restaurant. The Spanish-language periodical is known as "El Nacional de Oklahoma". The free paper bills itself as "Oklahoma Owned. Hispanic Owned." The copy I picked up was dated July 5th, 2007.
Looking over this paper can give one a good idea of what is important to the Oklahoma City Mexican immigrant community and who is profiting from high Mexican immigration into the city.
Naturally, immigration was an important topic in El Nacional's July 5th, 2007 issue. On the national level, the defeat of the Bush/ Kennedy Amnesty/Immigration Surge bill was bemoaned. On the state level, the passage of Oklahoma's HB1804 was criticized. In fact, Oklahoma Hispanic leaders are considering a boycott against state businesses which supported the recently-enacted legislation or who don't support the amnesty agenda.
The front page, above-the-fold article was dedicated to an article about the Mexican consul Andres Chao, who recently visited Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Oklahoma does not (yet) have a Mexican consulate/illegal immigration encouragement station. But Chao is consul in the nearby state of Arkansas, in the new Little Rock consulate So, being next door to the Sooner State, he can still do some damage. [El Nacional July 5, 2007—México abre nuevo consulado en EU]
Consul Chao visited Oklahoma, and got together with members of the Mexican colonies of Tulsa and Oklahoma City. In the latter, Chao met with 300 Mexicans in a Mexican restaurant. He was asked to send a mobile consulate (used for dispensing matricula consular cards to illegal aliens) to Oklahoma every three months.
Chao said he couldn't arrange to send the mobile consulate every three months but would try to visit a few times in 2008. However, the consul did point out that the new Mexican consulate in Little Rock is there because the Arkansas state government (Mike Huckabee, governor) actually requested its establishment. So Chao suggested that the governor of Oklahoma could make the same request.
Attorney Giovanni Perry, chair of Governor Henry's "Advisory Council on Latin American and Hispanic Affairs" said that would be the goal of her organization.
One of the Mexicans present at the meeting used the occasion to bellyache about Oklahoma's new 1804 law, scheduled to take effect November 1st:: "Everything I do I do for my family, but I feel fear because of the new law".
Boo hoo. If he were legal, why would he feel fear?
Consul Chao also bemoaned the failure of the recent Senate Sellout: "Disgracefully, the reform [Senate Sell-out] died and it's sad for the Mexican government that the compromise was not accomplished. For us it is a double worry because we know that they [emigrants] left Mexico for the lack of opportunities and therefore we want to create jobs there [in Mexico]."
Mexican politicians say that sort of thing a lot, so how about some action?
You can also learn a lot from the ads in El Nacional. It's a free paper, so it depends 100% on advertising. The business community would not be spending money on ads if they didn't expect a return on their investment.
In fact, the ads in the newspaper advertise for a great variety of products and services, suggesting that the Oklahoma City Mexican community has a fair amount of disposable income.
Unsurprisingly, law firms are disproportionately represented.
The ad for the Bumgarner & Goodwin firm tells readers that "Legal o illegal, usted merece tener un buen abogado" (Legal or illegal, you deserve to have a good lawyer). Bumgarner & Goodwin advertises its criminal law expertise, defending clients from DUI charges, drug charges, domestic abuse, theft and assault charges.
Winningham and Stein calls itself Oklahoma's oldest and most experienced law firm. Just so you know what they're up to, the firm's website is called legalizacioneeuu.com.
Other firms raking in the dough from Oklahoma's demographic transition are Tuan A. Khuu which deals with both immigration law and accidents,
Bryan & Robinson and Scott & Standefer who can defend folks from DUI and criminal charges as well as take on auto accident, personal injury and workers compensation cases.
Then there are Olivarez & Looper Brian E. Powley ,and Michael S. Johnson Isaac S. Funderburk IV is a criminal lawyer who "fights for you" i.e, fights for the criminal. Other ads are placed by immigration law specialists Stump & Associates and the aforementioned Mexican government-connected Giovanni Perry [VDARE.COM note: Perry doesn't seem to have a website, but a fawning Oklahoma Journal Record profile (September 15 2006) indicates her favorite vacation spot is Bora Bora, Tahiti.]
So what's wrong with that, isn't this what lawyers do?
Well, yes. But in any sort of real debate over immigration, the fact that many lawyers profit heavily from it ought to be pointed out again and again—along with the fact that many ordinary Americans are hurt by immigration.
El Nacional de Oklahoma also has automobile ads galore, as well as one placed by "Byron's Liquor Warehouse". That combination ensures there will still be a need for ambulance-chasing Okie lawyers to make some more money off auto accident and personal injury cases.
No wonder the usual suspects are incensed over the new Oklahoma law.
It could potentially cut into their profits.
American citizen Allan Wall (email him) resides in Mexico, with a legal permit issued him by the Mexican government. Allan recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq with the Texas Army National Guard. His VDARE.COM articles are archived here; his FRONTPAGEMAG.COM articles are archived here his "Dispatches from Iraq" are archived here his website is here.
