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Alabama delicatessen owner burned by immigration comments
Immigrants and working families attend a march to demand legalization for all immigrants and to stop deportations and the attacks on workers in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 1, 2011.
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Bob Moon: You may have heard by now about the new immigration law in Alabama. It's one of the toughest -- or, critics complain, vaguest -- in the country. Among other things, police can demand documentation from anyone they "reasonably expect" is in the U.S. illegally.
In the last week, one businessman has found himself at the center of the controversy, in a spotlight he never anticipated -- or wanted. From WBHM in Birmingham, Tanya Ott reports.
Tanya Ott: Steve Dubrinsky moves swiftly between the meat cutter and the hot cooktop at Max's Delicatessen.
Steve Dubrinsky: He's making mazto balls. What're you cooking here, Pedro?
Pedro: Potatoes for the vegetable beef soup.
Dubrinsky opened his New York-style deli in a Birmingham suburb three years ago. He named it after his dad and poured his heart into the place.
Dubrinsky: Seven days a week, 15-hour days at a minimum, for three years. I think we're closed maybe one or two days a year and that's it.
But earlier this month, Dubrinsky saw his dream unraveling. He was quoted in the Birmingham News saying he was worried he'd lose workers because of the new law. About half of his 19 employees are immigrants. Many have undocumented relatives in Alabama and they want to move out of state. Other employees say they just don't feel comfortable -- or safe -- living in Alabama. The article led to a tangle with Matt Murphy, a libertarian talk show host on a Birmingham radio station.
Matt Murphy: You claim that you're comfortable that all of your employees are legal and I don't believe you. In fact, I think you know some of your employees are illegal.
For the record, Dubrinsky admitted to me that he has -- in the past -- employed undocumented workers. But he claims he checked the paperwork for all his current employees and he believes they're all here legally.
Still, callers to the radio show demanded a boycott of the restaurant. Max's Deli became the talk of anti-immigrant websites. And within a day, the Internet was full of newly-posted negative reviews for the restaurant.
Dubrinksy: The very next day, a couple empty tables at noon and the thoughts that run through your head, what the heck did I do?
Dubrinsky's email account was flooded with messages from around the country.
Dubrinsky: One of the emails I got was from a lady who said 'I hope your un-American restaurant closes.' I had to have a sense of humor, otherwise I'd be crying. I said "I'll close tonight" and she wrote back "Idiot! I mean forever."
The incident shows just how risky it can be for a business owner to take a stand on an issue. Stephen Craft is dean of the business school at the University of Montevallo, near Birmingham.
Stephen Craft: You hate to drive the voice of the small business out of public policy; however, for better or worse, it is predictable that there's going to be some repercussions when you weigh in on a controversial subject.
And the roller coaster ride continues. Dubrinsky says he's received hundreds of emails of support and 300 new Facebook friends for Max's Delicatessen. Still, he's weary from the experience and says he's not sure he wants to stay in the restaurant business.
In Birmingham, Ala., I'm Tanya Ott for Marketplace.
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Hyla, sorry to burst your progressive, liberal bubble but most Americans support more enforcement of immigration law. You know why? Because they UNDERSTAND the negative economic impact that unskilled, poorly educated illegal immigrants have on the US. I suggest you read the articles on www.cis.org and educate yourself.
Dubrinsky could have settled the matter by confirming his employees through E-Verify but he didn't do this. He claims that they are legal but their docs could be fake. Where is the investigative journalism here?
And BTW, Archie, crossing the border illegally is a CRIME, overstaying your visa is a civil offense. Since most hispanics sneak over the border then they ARE criminals. And stop concentrating on ag workers, that's typical of liberals trying to create diversion. Out of the 8 million illegals in the US, very few of them work in agriculture. What Alabama wants to do is free up jobs in construction and other fields that are higher paying. One poultry plant had 250 legal applicants and hired 120 legal workers. The law does work.
I really have to applaud him for taking a stand. I just moved away from Alabama because of all the immigration bs.
Most people don't realize how many immigrants work behind the scenes in restaurants, many of them are here undocumented. If people don't like it, then they shouldn't go out to eat because harping on this one man is hypocritical.
This email is for Steve Dubrinsky.
Please forward it to him. Thanks in advance.
Hi Steve,
I heard about you this evening on the NPR news. I am very sorry this has happened to you - it is a shame. I have never written a letter to someone like I am doing now. Your story has moved me.
PLEASE don't give up your restaurant because of this glitch will last for a little while and be forgotten. It sounds like you have received far more positive emails, or maybe I did not hear right. But you certainly have a lot of support and the people who are hate-mongers need to know they cannot intimidate decent folks by their awful tactics.
I understand that right now this all makes you exhausted and defeated, which is of course what they want you to feel.
So for all of us, the huge majority in this country, please continue be the person to admire and think about when the going gets tough. This might well be happening more as this movement progressing and picks up more steam. Those guys on the other side will get angrier and act out more. We have to stand strong, so I write to support you 150%. If I lived on your side of the country, I'd eat at your place! I'd become a regular to show you my money is where my mouth is, provided I could afford it.
I am living with an aggressive cancer for the past seven months. It is a glitch in my life, the only unhealthy thing I have. I know it is something that defeats and depresses people often. I am blessed to be filled with strong spirit and I see many blessings in my life often, every day a few times at least. Writing this, I might sounds like I am a born again or something like that, No, just a Jewish girl grown all the way up (starting medicare next month!) And I am aware of Jewish teachings about mitzvot,helping others, helping heal the world, called tikkun, and other neat stuff. You are doing just this. Great!
So please do whatever you can to relieve yourself of this new burden - relax, take a bit of time off, do some fun stuff - and keep your restaurant and watch the people come. They will.
Your dream is not over, and can't be over because of the likes of those horrible, yelling, kind of hysterical people.
Thanks for reading this. I hope you did and I hope you found something in it worth while.
I wish you well, all the best.
Hyla S. Bolsta
To let you know I am a legitimate person, not a kook, I give you this info about myself.
I am not writing to you to advertise but it just occurred to me you might want to see something I have created.
I am the artist/author of a book about to be published by KTAV Publishing House, in NJ. It is an illuminated manuscript entitled "The Illuminated Kaddish: Interpretations of the Mourners Kaddish."
you can see samples (if you have the inclination and time) at
If anyone wants to go after a business because of the harm they are doing to America, then go after Wal Mart. Small businesses have a hard enough time without the "mightier than thou" movement boycotting him. Let them boycott. There will be more tables in the deli for me to enjoy his wonderful food. Regardless of the city, regardless of the cuisine, you can bet there are immigrants there trying to make a better life for them and their children. AND.. making some pretty darn good food. Some people would like to have a vanilla society where everyone is alike. What's the use in that? We might as well be ants. If you want to throw out all of the immigrants, then we should all leave. We're all trespassers.. we're all squatters on the Native American's land. So we should all deport back to England, France, Germany, Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Canada, etc... Congratulations to Governor Bentley for solving a problem that didn't exist. Want to solve a problem? Stop shopping at Wal Mart. Have an empty Wal Mart store in your neighborhood with businesses dying around the discarded shell? Thank Wal Mart. Want to end sweet shops and child labor in developing countries? Stop shopping at Wal Mart. Want to know why so many items are made out of this country?... yes... thank you Wal Mart.
Living here in Birmingham, I hear Matt Murphy's show every once in a while. He sure does like to stir up controversy, and race-baiting is an easy way to do it - especially here in Birmingham.
He does it under the guise of being "edgy" and "provocative", but he's not that dumb. For him - it's all about job security.
Since Steve's story started hitting the news outlets, Matt has been whining that nobody is interviewing him. He just can't stand that he's not at the center of attention over this.
Stay classy Matt.
This is whats slowing employment, not the poor food picking migrants. More Jobs Predicted for MACHINES. Not Humans, http://www.cnbc.com/id/45015714 UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS ARE NOT CRIMINALS. Its a Civil Matter. The whole thing is perplexing to people who don't understand that being an illegal immigrant in and of itself is not a crime. The most pervasive comments made in news stories about Secure Communities go a little like this: "Illegal immigrants are what they're called � they're considered criminals by mere definition. Illegals who broke a bunch of laws to enter and live here should be subjected to immediate arrest and deportation � that's fair for everyone." That's not accurate, but a lot of people have that same misunderstanding � even law enforcement professionals. During a teleconference last month on the troubles that Secure Communities is bringing to local law enforcement agencies, a few sheriffs on the call commiserated about their misunderstanding of immigration violations. "I was always told it was a felony federal violation of law and was always under the impression that turning over any illegal immigrants (to ICE) was mandated by federal law � and so did my employees," said Sheriff Ed Prieto of Yolo County, Calif. "But after we met with the Mexican consulate in Sacramento we learned it's not. Then I started looking into how many of our people are being deported before trial and I became very uncomfortable contacting ICE for nonviolent offenders." Kane County, Ill., Sheriff Patrick Perez said that "90 percent of law enforcement officers believe (just being an illegal immigrant) is a crime, but I learned after talking to an immigration judge that it is just a civil offense." Sara Dill, a member of the American Bar Association's Commission on Immigration and a member of the ABA's Criminal Justice Council, explained it to me this way: "States are seeking to criminalize what is only a civil violation in federal law." Dill said that failing to get a permit for home construction is one example of a civil, not criminal, violation. "Putting illegal immigrants in a criminal context confuses merely being present in the United States without authorization with crimes such as falsely claiming citizenship or identity theft, which are crimes under federal law." Everyone knows that of the universe of illegal immigrants, some have committed nonviolent and violent crimes � and everyone believes these should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But believers of following "the letter of the law" cannot continue equating all illegal immigrants living in this country with criminals, who have plenty of civil rights of their own. That's not the American way. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/reagan-insider-gop-destroyed-us-economy...
To all you uniformed Immigration Law people,DO You know what OOS is in IMMIGRATION LAW?? I bet not :)
Do You know what EWI is in Immigrant Law? I bet Nope :)
Also when a Undocumented immigrant is arrested, they have to be booked, Brought before a Judge, held in JAil, Transported, GUESS WHO PAYS FOR THIS??? YOU :) YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
2, After theyr'e Arrested they must be handed over to Immigration & Customs services (ICE) who are the only ones allowed to deport a person. Guess what if they don't come and pick up the undocumented you get to foot the bill for their stay in jail :0 YEAHHHHH again wise ones.GOOD FOR ALABAMA< NOW YOU'LL WONT HAVE UNDOCUMENTED AND YOU'LL WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THEIR JAIL TIME AND HAVE YOUR FIELDS ROTTING> GOOD FOR YOU :)
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