It has come to this: The latest battles in America's culture wars are erupting not in Congress or in state legislatures but on volleyball courts and baseball diamonds.
Those Americans who are constantly up in arms over illegal immigration will say that what angers them most is the "illegal" part, the fact that so many people seem to feel as if they can cross our nation's borders without the proper documentation. But that's only part of the story. The other reason there is so much resistance to illegal immigration is because, with so many immigrants coming in at once, a lot of people are concerned that newcomers aren't assimilating into American culture as rapidly or as completely as they should.
For what it is worth, those concerns don't seem to be justified. There doesn't seem to be much evidence that this latest wave of immigrants ... which is coming mainly from Latin America ... is much different from the Irish, Italian or German immigrants who immigrated 100 years ago. Nor will the experience of their children be much different, one assumes. Assimilation happens, and no one can prevent it.
Still, Americans are on edge over cultural issues, and all they need is the slightest provocation to set them off. And who knew that the simple act of gathering to play volleyball in a city park, or uttering a few words of Spanish at a Little League game, could be so provocative.
Yet, apparently it was to some residents of Danbury, Conn., who decided that the latest threat to their way of life was coming from the groups of Ecuadorian immigrants who congregated in the back yards of private homes and in city parks to play volleyball. Town residents claim that the "ecuavolley" ... as it is known to the immigrants ... is a magnet for all sorts of illegal activity. But leaders in the Ecuadorian community say that allegation is unfounded and that volleyball is just an excuse. What really rattles residents, they say, is that their town is becoming more ethnically diverse as immigrants arrive to take jobs in the construction field.
[...]
There is more here than meets the eye. This isn't about volleyball or baseball. It isn't even about immigrants or Spanish. It's about fear of change and how irrationally it can make some people behave. It is worth debating the emotionally charged issues of language and immigration, but there is a place to have that debate. These are not the places.
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On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
The amended complaint states that plaintiffs sought to remedy the continued discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against the Latino residents of the City of Danbury by Danbury's mayor and its police department.
Plaintiffs allege that the arrests violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Connecticut Constitution because defendants conducted the arrests without valid warrants, in the absence of exigent circumstances, and without probable cause to believe that plaintiffs were engaged in unlawful activity. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants improperly stopped, detained, investigated, searched and arrested plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also allege that defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights when they intentionally targeted plaintiffs, and arrested and detained them on the basis of their race, ethnicity and perceived national origin. Plaintiffs raise First Amendment, Due Process and tort claims.
Plaintiffs request declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees.
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
