Illegal Protest

(from right Kathleen Appel, Dr Gayle Kesselman, Carmen Morales and her husband, Diane Reaves(seated) and opening singer (getting her name shortly)

The weather smiled on Diane Reaves and the Lakewood rally in New Jersey on Saturday. It is estimated that between 85 and 100 people attended the Lakewood rally, held in the Amphitheater on Lake Carasaljo. After all the threats leading up to this rally, it was amusing to see that only one Hispanic woman with her family turned up to cause trouble at the rally with a young Hispanic male waving both the Mexican and American flags over his head. At one point, one of her children waved the Mexican flag in defiance. Some of the rally attendees approached her and engaged her in some back and forth discussions that at times were very heated, while police stood behind the group to keep the peace. The police presence was impressive and we have NJ Senator Singer to thank for that I have heard.

I sincerely believe had Diane not been forced to reschedule this rally and move the location of the rally at the last minute, the turnout would have been much higher. We had people driving to Lakewood from as far away as Reading, PA and Hazleton, PA. It was surprising that there weren’t more patriots from New Jersey in attendance considering that it was close to home for them.

Diane adorned the stage with American flags and the stage area was protected by a police barrier that was SO difficult to traverse that one needed a badge or a press pass to be allowed in. The amphitheater is a nice venue and I hope that more rallies will be held there in the future. I estimate it can accomodate at least 500 people.

Here is the Asbury Park Press article covering the rally. Some excerpts from the fairly well balanced article by Matt Pais:

LAKEWOOD — Five years ago, Mark Jenkins saw a marked change in the landscape along his route to work as he drove through Freehold each morning.

“I noticed more and more guys congregating along the side of the road looking for work,” said Jenkins, 42, of Jackson.

Flash forward to Saturday afternoon on the banks of Lake Carasaljo, where Jenkins stood with 60 others who have similarly noticed spikes in day laborer numbers, overcrowded housing units and other circumstances they say are indicators of an illegal alien population boom.

They gathered here for an anti-illegal immigration rally to draw attention to an issue many in attendence say has been ignored by too many for too long.

“This is about laws. We have immigration laws in this country and we have no problem with people coming legally,” said township resident Diane Reaves, who organized the rally. “The problem is they are not following the law and they are using the system.”

Reaves contends the local illegal population in Lakewood has swelled to as much as 25,000 in recent years. She organized the rally with hopes of bringing more attention to the issue on a local level.

“They’re here and they’re not going anywhere,” she said.

During two hours of speeches, anti-illegal immigration activists from across the region spoke about what they said are the negative economic and social impacts of illegal immigrants, as well as the ineffectiveness of government in dealing with the problem.

“They are using our social services and it’s costing us,” said Ruth Miller, of Norristown, Pa., a speaker at the rally who runs the anti-illegalimmigration Web site, www.illegalprotest.com.

He goes on to say:

Reaves had made plans to hold a similar demonstration in the Lakewood town square in August. That was called off amid security concerns for speakers and attendees. Two subsequent plans were also squashed after members of both the local Elks Lodge and American Legion declined offers to host to the event.

Security on Saturday at the lakeside amphitheater was noticeably heightened, though aside from a brief argument over an attendee displaying both the Mexican and American flags, the event was peaceful.

“If you look at other rallies like this in the past, there have been some serious problems that necessitated a strong police presence,” said Police Chief Robert Lawson.

Though the township initially balked at providing security for the rally, 15 police officers were posted in and around the site, and surrounding portions of North Lake Drive were blocked off as a precaution.

Rally attendees were *very* appreciative of the heightened police presence. Many of us were concerned prior to the event that we would have to endure threats to our safety simply for attending this rally. In my opinion, the way the rally played out, it shows how silly the American Legion was as well as the Elks Lodge in their squandering of an opportunity to host a Pro America rally. Both of these organizations express a committment to American patriotism, yet when push came to shove they showed little backbone against threats to patriotism.