Frankfort Indiana Finally Wakes Up Regarding Illegal Immigration?

We have mentioned Frankfort, Indiana before and always wished there were some statistics out there to prove our claims, which we have seen firsthand. There was an interesting article in the Indianapolis Star this morning regarding the huge illegal immigration problem in Frankfort, a small city in Indiana. The City of Frankfort has a large number of industrial plants considering it’s population of 17,000, which is one of the many reasons why illegal immigrants have flocked there. Indiana Packers, also known as Indiana Kitchen, is the only business (located in nearby Delphi, IN) mentioned in the article that hires “Hispanics.” However, there are many illegal employers in Frankfort. Ironically, the motto for Indiana Kitchen is “A Very Particular Food Company” . . . well, “particular” unless it pertains to their hiring practices and employing illegal workers.

The article, written by Ted Evanoff and Tania E. Lopez, paints a rosy picture of illegal immigrants and downplays the problem citing no crime statistics or mention of gangs in Frankfort. They not only provided a perfect example of liberal bias in the media, they also gave some very interesting facts which caused the roses they painted to quickly wilt.

Playing out in this Clinton County city of 16,662, where one in four residents is Hispanic, are the fears and hopes brought on by America’s immigration surge.

In the past seven years, according to various estimates, the state’s Hispanic population has soared 39 percent to 300,857, including 50,000 to 85,000 immigrants deemed illegal because they entered the United States unlawfully without proper visas and work permits. (”Deemed illegal” - nice choice of words.)

Manufacturers employ about 30 percent of the state’s working Hispanics. Clerical and sales jobs are held by another 20 percent.

A quiet factory city that processes soybeans and makes candy and auto parts, Frankfort has been overwhelmingly white for generations. Since 2000, though, the Hispanic population has doubled. Most newcomers are Mexican, El Salvadorian and Guatemalan nationals who arrived from Chicago, Los Angeles and Texas.

Frankfort Mayor Don Stock said the sudden influx has jarred many longtime residents. Their concerns about graffiti, drive-by shootings, overly crowded Hispanic homes and plunging test scores at Frankfort High and Kyger Elementary have caused local leaders to respond, the mayor said.

“This should have been handled by Washington, but they want cheap labor,” said Kaspar, 85, a plain-spoken U.S. Navy veteran of World War II. “We’re paying a high price for Washington’s betrayal.”

Last month, the Chamber of Commerce distributed a letter that recommends agencies and employers ask job seekers and others who speak poor or no English for proper documents. If the papers are insufficient, officials are advised to deny services except where legally required, such as in the St. Vincent’s Hospital emergency room or in public schools. “It’s not intolerant,” said Gina Sheets, the chamber’s economic development director. “It’s upholding the laws.”

Today, various estimates figure 25 percent to 70 percent of Frankfort and Clinton County Hispanic residents arrived illegally, part of an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants employed nationwide.

In factories throughout the nation located outside big cities, 40 percent of all machine operators, inspectors and production workers are Hispanic.

“As manufacturers, we put a lot of money and effort in training our people,” said Edward Nelson, president of Indiana Packers Corp., a pork processing plant near Frankfort that employs 1,700 workers, primarily Hispanic. “We notice an awful lot of our employees getting into 401(k)s and buying houses.”

Residents of Frankfort have known about this problem for a long time. Only 5 - 10 years ago the manufacturing plants employed legal U.S. citizens, but for the past several years the plants are FILLED with illegal immigrants. Barely any white or black legal residents to found, only Hispanic employees that can barely speak English.

The article received over 200 comments in just a few hours, and the vast majority of them were from Frankfort and Indiana residents fed up with the illegal immigration problem. Even though the Indianapolis Star, owned by Gannet, tried to paint a rosy picture, the readers saw through the rose thorns and spoke up against the illegal immigration problem. We will follow up in a separate post with some of the best comments from Indiana residents.

Frankfort, Indiana - Now is the time to WAKE UP! As residents have complained, the manufacturing plants “own” the City and Mayor Don Stock has done NOTHING to stop the problem. Many towns, cities and states across the nation have taken the law into their own hands - and now is the time for Frankfort to do the same thing.

First thing on your agenda? Vote for Independent Chris Pippenger for Mayor of Frankfort. Here are the positions from the three candidates, it is pretty clear who you should vote for:

Pippenger: Regulations and laws must be enforced for everyone. We have many uninsured illegal drivers; also, our laws provide the opportunity to get these cars off the road. Then there is 287(g) … (of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which defines Department of Homeland Security immigration enforcement training for local law enforcement) … and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program.

Stock: The city plans to address the illegal portion of the question by enforcing the ordinances that we have on property maintenance. Also we have started to rezone D residential districts to control multifamily housing.  (You should have started doing this five years ago Mayor. What about training local law enforcement as other cities have done very effectively, and as Chris Pippenger wisely recommends?)

Toney: There is only so much the mayor can do. We have to enforce the existing city ordinances, federal, and state laws. We cannot discriminate against any individual. (Thanks Democrat Candidate Chuck Toney for your brave approach to the problem.)