I could not – and would not – make this stuff up. But State Rep. Ryan Fattman, a 24-year-old, newly-elected Republican from Sutton, had this to say regarding the ongoing dispute over the “Secure Communities” program:
Mr. Fattman dismissed concerns of some law enforcement officials — cited by the governor — who said using local police to enforce immigration laws could discourage reporting of crime by victims who are illegal immigrants.
Asked if he would be concerned that a woman without legal immigration status was raped and beaten as she walked down the street might be afraid to report the crime to police, Mr. Fattman said he was not worried about those implications.
“My thought is that if someone is here illegally, they should be afraid to come forward,” Mr. Fattman said. “If you do it the right way, you don’t have to be concerned about these things,” he said referring to obtaining legal immigration status.
“They should be afraid to come forward.” Wow. Yes, Ryan, clearly the far more serious threat to law and public order is the student who overstays her visa, as opposed to the rapist who attacks her.
Oh, and lest you think that Fattman is only concerned with illegal immigrants who have also committed other crimes:
“If they are here illegally, they have committed a crime,” he said. However, under federal law, illegal status is usually a civil offense.
“My philosophy is a little different,” Mr. Fattman said. He said he believes all illegal immigrants should be deported, including the children of immigrants who came with their parents to the U.S.
So, there’s today’s GOP, in a nutshell. Caveat emptor.
You REALLY think Rep. Fattman believes an immigration violation is WORSE than rape? Don’t you think you’re jumping to conclusions about how Rep Fattman was asked the question, that in context of the debate on the “Safe Communities” program the rape scenario was used as an example of how illegal immigration enforcement might inhibit the reporting of crime?
It’s not as if the reported asked “what’s worse: illegal immigration or rape?” as you suggest.
And then you smear the GOP with your hyperbolic interpretation. Not only is you ad hominem attack unfair and wrong-headed, it illegitimately obfuscates the debate at hand.
It so Alinsky, and that’s meant as an insult.
And what I see is that a reporter asked Fattman a hypothetical about an illegal immigrant who was “raped and beaten as she walked down the street” being afraid to report the crime. He responded by saying that such a person “should be afraid to come forward.” And that, to me, necessarily implies that he’d rather see the hypothetical rape victim suffer in silence while the rapist gets away with his crime, rather than see an illegal immigrant be able to report a rape without being deported.
I’m sure Mr. Fattman was trying to be all tough on immigration. But words have meaning, and those are Fattman’s words. If he wants to retract them, great – I’ll happily publish his retraction.
Unless there’s a sub-class of rapists who target only undocumented aliens, discouraging the reporting of rape surely endangers women who are citizens. If Fattman believes there is such a sub-class, it would be interesting to know how those selective rapists identify their victims.
Shouldn’t a wanted murderer be afraid to go to the cops if they were raped? Criminals are always afraid to go to the cops, that’s one of the main reasons not to commit crimes, so that you can go to the police when a crime is committed against you. Enjoying the continuing protection of the law is one of the main reasons to follow the law.
You probably take the side of the crackheads who call the police when they get sold fake crack, right?
But, thinking more…We aren’t talking about going to the hospital and receiving care here. Even a crack dealer who is raped can go to the hospital, and the hospital isn’t required to call the cops, are they? What if they suspect the person who came in with a wound is actually the perpetrator of a crime? I know that Firemen make a big point about how they are not the cops and they ignore evidence of drugs and crime when they respond to a fire, because they don’t want criminals to put the public at risk by not calling the fire department. Hospitals are probably similar, aren’t they?
And no one is suggesting that hospitals should have to report illegal immigrants to anyone, right?
as immigration issues are a civil matter NOT criminal. So if you got a parking ticket you are saying that person would quietly suffer being beaten and raped because they parked 16 minutes and only put a quarter in for 15? i want to understand your mindset here.
You mean we can’t just kill them all? Who said so? I think countries have a legal right to kill illegal immigrants.
NOT criminal.
Hospitals are required to report abuse or neglect involving a minor or protected adult and can report other suspected crimes if required by state law.
And while no one *here* has suggested that hospitals be required to report illegal immigrants, there have indeed been proposals to do just that, including just this spring in Arizona.
In any case, it seems silly to compare illegal immigration to murder. Think about all of the laws that Americans flaunt on a regular basis and think about how you would like it if various agencies were required to report whenever they thought you were breaking one. For instance, perhaps online vendors should be required to report all purchases of greater than $100 to the tax authority of the state to which the product is shipped so that the state could go after people who fail to pay the appropriate sales/use tax? How many people do you think would be in favor of that?
Its not that illegal immigration should just be tolerated, but it is reasonable to ask what measures will be effective without causing unintended consequences. Personally, I would favor an approach focused on enforcement in the workplace. The primary reason people come here is for work, so if the jobs were to go away, so would many of the immigrants. If you start throwing people who knowingly employ illegal immigrants in jail then I am sure we will see results. Currently, employers mostly get a slap on the wrist, if that.
Sometimes they are, in fact, required to call the cops:
Also see Chapter 119 Section 51A.
I knew I could count on someone else doing my homework for me. so, it seems like it’s only gunshots, not rapes, that hospitals have to report? interesting, so let’s change the premise:
Should a gunshot victim be afraid to come forward if they are an illegal immigrant? Well, only if they are afraid of being deported, I guess. I guess it depends on how deep the wound is. Making the question about rape victims instead of gunshot victims was pure emotional blackmail, and obscured the real issue. People don’t have a right to live in America unless they are American citizens, either by birth to American citizens or by naturalization, or are in the legal process of naturalization. Naturalization and immigration are legal processes, they aren’t just a matter of brute force. You can’t break into Scotland and be Scottish, no matter how good your disguise is. You might be able to become Scottish, but there are rules about how, that every country establishes.
Getting a parking permit is also a legal process. Does that justify taking draconian action (e.g. jail) against those who park in permitted parking spots? Should we pass a law require convenience store clerks to call the police whenever one of their customers parks in the handicapped spot?
Is deportation draconian?
I’ve edited the title to let Fattman speak for himself. It actually makes my point more strongly that way.
I trust you are equally offended at RMG’s headline on the Secure Communities question:
Is that “Alinsky” enough for you? In the bad way?
The man said it!
Link. Now, of course, he did so before Fattman said this crazy sh!t. I asked Brown via Twitter for comment, but I don’t expect any reply. It’ll be interesting to see if someone who he actually talks to will ask.
When I saw the original title of this blog, my first thought wasn’t “Alinsky”, but rather “Eno” …
GOPers, I know you consider it a win to throw anyone against a D, but for goodness sakes you can’t just throw up crazies. This is what happens.
I’ve emailed all petition signers and asked them what they thought of Fattman’s remarks.
Part of the press release, not part of the Telegram interview, does not agree with the statement.
“Both crimes need to be prosecuted.”
Interesting.
I wonder what their take is when they find out we deport criminals.
I also let him know what immigration is considered civiil and not criminal.
Think Progress
Hope she’ll make a run for the seat again