Michigan State Representative David Agema--who represents the 74th District and who lives in Grandville--is planning a hearing in Georgetown Township on Monday to gather testimony on "illegal immigration impacts their community." Agema--who has a history of making anti-immigrant statements--is hosting the hearing as part of his work with the Michigan Border Security and Immigration Task Force. That task force is made up entirely of Republicans and includes Representatives Phil Pavlov of St. Clair Township, Chuck Moss of Birmingham, and Dave Robertson of Grand Blanc. In a press release announcing the hearing, Agema stated that "immigration has a great impact on the economy in West Michigan" and that legal status and proper identification are necessary to "protect us." In the past, Agema has also co-sponsored legislation to make English the "official language" in Michigan as well as legislation that would prohibit states from giving contracts to companies that employ undocumented immigrants.
In response to Monday's hearing, immigrant rights proponents are planning to have people attend the meeting to explain that West Michigan values the contributions of immigrants. According to an announcement submitted to Media Mouse:
State Rep Agema (R, Grandville) is sponsoring this hearing to gather testimony from citizens concerned about the problems of illegal immigration. Let's attend the meeting to counter this approach. Let's tell the all-Republican task force that West Michigan values the contributions of immigrants and wants the government to legislate a reasonable way for immigrants to be here legally.
The hearing will take place at 1515 Baldwin St in Jenison at the Georgetown Township Hall at 11:00am.
However, it is important to understand that this is not the first time that Agema has organized against "illegal immigration" and indeed made this a key component of his election campaign and his public statements. Back in June of this year, Agema declared that he wanted to pass legislation that would make Michigan "a more difficult place for illegals to survive." In a Grand Rapids Press article that reported his statement, Agema equated undocumented immigrants with terrorists, stating "I don't want illegals, whether they be Hamas, Hispanics or Jamaicans, to get driver's licenses in this state." Agema also claimed that undocumented immigrants are draining government resources stating "I think the people of Michigan are pretty sick of illegals taking education and health care and so forth," although Agema offers no proof to support his statement. He has advanced this xenophobic view of immigrants in other cases, asserting that "a lot of illegals come here, get a legal driver's license, start working, and take the people of Michigan's jobs away."
It is also worth noting that Agema has made similarly outrageous statements about the Iraq War, asserting at a "Support the Troops" Rally" earlier this year at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) that there was nothing "inhumane" about the treatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison because their heads were covered and not chopped off. Similarly, Agema argued that the "Rules of Engagement" in Iraq are unclear and that if a soldier is shot at they need to be able to "shoot where they [the enemy] are, if they are shooting from a mosque, destroy the mosque--they were hiding weapons in there anyway."
