Here is a special message from the Independence Hall Tea Party Association:
Dear Members and Friends,
Without much of a heads-up, Americans for Legal Immigration called for a nationwide protest against illegal immigration--and, as many of you know, those protests took place this past Friday and Saturday.
In spite of ALI's somewhat haphazard organization (they were working with only 50 local groups to cover 300 national sites--meaning that some of their protest locations did not have a point person--including the Mexican Consulate at the Bourse building in Philly), things somehow came together.
We learned of one of the Friday/Saturday rallies (Mexican Consulate, New York City) through a contact in Jersey on Wednesday (July 16)--two days before it was to take place.
Not until Thursday morning (on Dom's Show) had we heard anything about the Friday Bourse rally in Philly. We believe Dom learned of the NYC rally from our Wednesday email--and then found the ALI website which listed the Bourse location.
Despite the last minute notice, we decided to help organize as many protesters as possible for Friday's Rally (see above).
The rally was scheduled from 11 AM-4 PM--which most of us thought was too long. We decided to shorten it to three hours, 11 AM-2 PM.
And between those hours, roughly 60 of you attended. At the height of it, around 12:30 PM, there were nearly 50 folks--not bad for 24 hours notice!
Unfortunately, even the 11 AM-2 PM time frame was problematic. Here's why:
Illegal Immigration Protest Rally Hijacked by Opponents
Professional pro-illegal Immigration forces, dubbed the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, were on the scene at 10:30 AM--accompanied by the media.
They were there to trump us and trump us they did. About 80 counter-demonstrators made sure to upstage us--using the favorably inclined press to do so.
When members of side arrived on the scene, they were immediately swamped by the media who quickly got their story and left before a majority of our folks had arrived. The Inquirer 's Michael Matza wrote this copy as a result:
Demonstrators on opposing sides brought the hot debate over immigration - and what to do about the soaring number of Central American children surging across our southern border - to a Center City sidewalk Friday.
About a dozen members of the Independence Hall Tea Party Association, led by president Teri Adams, of Elkins Park, assembled outside the Bourse Building, which houses the Mexican Consulate in Philadelphia.
They carried signs - "Invasion is not a human right" - and an open letter to Mexican Consul Carlos I. Giralt calling for Mexico to halt the flow of immigrants, including "unsupervised children" who cross the border "with the aid and encouragement of your government." [Read the full letter below.]
Giralt was in Mexico on business. Deputy Consul Juan Gabriel Espejo said the letter would be reviewed.
On the sidewalk a few yards away from the tea party-led protest, about 100 members of pro-immigrant support groups, including the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia and the Latino-support group Juntos, sang, prayed, and shared loaves of bread in a counter rally. (Click link below for rest of the story)
So, according to this story, we lost the numbers game--when in reality--the numbers were fairly equal. It's just that a majority of our folks we not on the scene at 11 AM when the press was present.
Fortunately, Stu Bykofsky of the Daily News wrote the following column to present a more accurate view of our numbers and our mission.
If We Could Have A Do Over
We would have renamed it a "Secure Our Borders Rally." (Americans for Legal Immigration called it an "Illegal Immigration Protest Rally" and we did not think it appropriate to rename their event.) We would have also shortened the hours even further (11 AM-1 PM) while calling on everyone to arrive at 10:45 AM.
Still, with Dom's help, we were able to attract roughly 60 supporters to the rally on only 24 hours notice. We issued a press release and a letter to theMexican Consul (see below). We did our best.
By the way, 40 folks, including members of the Delaware County Patriots andsome of you, made it to the Boothwyn Overpass Rally on Saturday. There were no counter-demonstrators--so of course, no media.
Ditto for Friday's NYC Mexican Consulate Rally. They had even fewer participants than either Philly or Boothwyn--and, oddly--no counter demonstrators and zero press.
July 18, 2014
Theresa Adams, President
Independence Hall Tea Party Association
P.O. Box 306
Cheltenham, PA, USA
Cell Phone: 267.531.8169
Email: Teriaa222@yahoo.com
To: Mexican Consul Carlos I. Giralt Cabrales, Philadelphia, PA
Subject: Illegal Immigration and the Return of US Marine
Dear Honorable Consul,
This letter is being written on behalf of the Independence Hall Tea Party Association, and thousands of its sympathizers living in the Delaware Valley, regarding two critical issues involving the Mexican Government and the Citizens of the United States.
First, we respectfully request that the Government of Mexico immediately enact measures to stop the illegal flow of immigrants across the
Mexican/American border.
Citizens of Mexico and various Latin American countries, including large numbers of unsupervised children, are exiting Mexico and illegally entering the United States at alarming rates.
These emigrants appear to cross the American border with the aid and encouragement of your government. Their journey is fraught with danger and too many of them have needlessly died before reaching their intended destination.
Millions of Americans are simply fed up with the lack of respect for the integrity of our southern border--as well as the immigration laws of our nation.
Second, while the government of Mexico allows tens of thousands to illegally cross into our country annually, it is currently holding a US Citizen, Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi, against his will.
We demand the immediate return of Sergeant Tahmooressi to his family and friends in Weston, Florida. To hold him prisoner any longer would be considered a serious provocation to countless Americans across the political spectrum.
These two critical issues, if not resolved in an appropriate manner, could drive a lasting wedge between our nations. We hope and pray that
Mexican/American relations will not deteriorate any further.
Thank you, in advance, for your attention to these matters.
Sincerely,
Theresa Adams
Upcoming Events
Dom Giordano and WPHT are hosting another terrific event as part of their Speakers Series. On Wednesday, July 23rd, Dom will interview Col. Tom Manion about the book, Brothers Forever. (Click image below for details.)
Chris Stigall's Shore Tour continues this Friday as he and Paige Powers
broadcast live, 5:30-9 AM, from the Bagel Shack in Beech Haven. (Click image below for details.)
Hope to see you soon!
On behalf of the Association Board,
Teri Adams
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