Carlos Santana blasts new Georgia law on illegal immigration
Staff photo by Curtis Compton
Carlos Santana, in town this weekend for an event at Turner Field, blasted Georgia’s new law cracking down on illegal immigration.
“I represent the human race,” said Santana, who was born in Mexico. “The people of Arizona, the people of Atlanta, Ga., you should be ashamed of yourselves.”
HB 87 is meant to combat illegal immigration by increasing enforcement powers and requiring many employers to check the immigration status of new hires.
Santana, who received the “Beacon of Change” award at Sunday’s MLB Civil Rights Game, called the legislation, signed by Gov. Nathan Deal on Friday, “anti-American.”
Here is a link to the full story on Santana’s remarks.
Were you at Sunday’s game? Do you agree with Santana or Gov. Deal?
- Jennifer Brett/The Buzz/jbrett@ajc.com
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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
412 comments Add your comment
Not Bubba
May 16th, 2011
12:22 pm
If Carlos agreed with the law, the media would have never wrote an article, never mind have it on the front page. BUT as we can all see and read all the opinions, the media has a never ending different view that the majority of the people who have demanded it for years. No wonder they have to give away their rags of propaganda,
BE
May 16th, 2011
12:23 pm
fact is they are ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS…and another thing is everything these days is press 1 for english press 2 for spanish, or spanish written under all english words. SERIOUSLY IF YOU ARE GOING TO LIVE IN OUR COUNTRY LEARN OUR LANGUAGE AND DONT EXPECT US TO ADAPT TO YOU, YOU ADAPT TO US!!
BOB FROM ACCOUNT TEMPS
May 16th, 2011
12:23 pm
my guess is that old carlos has not even read the law – just like those that told him what to say.
Beacon of Strange
May 16th, 2011
12:25 pm
My Dearest Carlos,
You have a real talent for playing the guitar and have done well for yourself. However, that does not make you qualified to lecture me as an American citizen and proud Georgia resident. I don’t hate immigrants. I don’t even hate illegal immigrants. However, I do hate the negative impact ILLEGALS have had on my community – they have pushed wages down substantially, they have overburdened our schools, they have overburdened our hospitals, they have forced me to “press 1 for English”,etc.
You sir, do not represent the “human race”. You represent yourself. You are able and free to do that in the USA. However, I’m part of the human race and you don’t represent me.
Casey Stinkle
May 16th, 2011
12:25 pm
What JP said!
Ernesto
May 16th, 2011
12:28 pm
If the issue is illegal immigrants costing millions of dollars to hospitals and other public services, then let them being able to purchase health insurance.
If the issue is illegal immigrants driving without a license and no insurance, then let them being able to take the driving exam and get a license and insurance.
If the issue with illegal immigrants is that they came illegally to this country, then let them being able to adjust their status. Let them pay any back-taxes, learn English, pay a penalty fine, make them wait 15 years in order to become citizens (just let them have a work permit to renew every 2 yrs), and on top of deducting SS, Medicaid, Fed and State Taxes, also deduct an change-of-status tax, this would help to pay for anything they have spent on the expense of tax payers.
At the same time, let’s have our military go to the border to stop any illegals or drug come into the country as well as stopping any guns and weapons being smuggled to Mexico and Latin America for the cartels.
Penalize businesses who keep hiring workers without proper documentation. This issue hasn’t being really addressed on HB87.
Deport immediately anyone who is part of a gang or commits crime (not misdemeanors) while being undocumented or on the process to become one.
If we do this everyone on both sides will get part of what they want. Most Illegal/Undocumented immigrants are people who are to make a living to support their families, running away from their country’s unstable economy and violence. We give billions of dollars to our enemies to afford their wars, but we cannot help the people who helps putting the food in our supermarkets.
not carlos friend
May 16th, 2011
12:29 pm
hey carlos, maybe we should use the rules of your great country of mexico for hanling illegal folks here. then we would not need to be ashamed.
Taylor
May 16th, 2011
12:29 pm
I work , I pay taxes and I pay over $120/month for medical insurance. I just had a 15 min procedure done that cost me $300 out of pocket, I found out that if you don’t work and have medicare the procedure is covered 100%. This is why so many Americans are fed up and willing to do whatever it takes to fix the problem.
As far as Carlos I’m sure he means well but I’ve always thought entertainers should be banned from politics.
WOW
May 16th, 2011
12:30 pm
Che is dead. Get over it.
Verify!
May 16th, 2011
12:31 pm
According to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (itepnet.org), undocumented workers paid billions in state and local taxes last year. Yet American corporations like GE paid NOTHING. So who is really ripping off this nation?
KGray
May 16th, 2011
12:32 pm
If businesses wouldn’t hire illegal immigrants, they wouldn’t come to America for work. We are targeting the wrong people,we should throw anyone who hires them for work in jail and this will rectify the problem. My neighbor was having some work done on his home and the contractor ask the Mexican worker to bring 2 of his friends with him on the next day, so they could complete the job sooner. Now do you really think his 2 friends are legal in this country? He was only concern about getting the job finish in a timely manner. I should have called ICE and had the Contractor ARRESTED for hiring them; because, he knew they weren’t legal; however, this was CHEAP labor for the contractor. He gets to put more money in his pocket as a result of hiring illegals. No one wants to blame the guy hiring all the ILLEGALS!
elroy
May 16th, 2011
12:33 pm
santana can f*ck off. he doesn’t live here so his opinion means nothing. just another beaner! The arguement that we are all immigrants is weak. News flash people, times change! speaking about the 21’st century, the population & immigration control are real problems. those thta don’t like the law or the majority of our state & country’s opinion CAN GET OUT.
al
May 16th, 2011
12:35 pm
Maybe since so many people from Mexico want to live in America the US should just take over Mexico.
WAW
May 16th, 2011
12:35 pm
Replacing Jim Crow laws with Jose Cuervo laws just same old same old. Next up Prisoner Work Details digging onions. Cycle complete, same old same old.
Get Real
May 16th, 2011
12:35 pm
Illegal means illegal! So what part of Illegal doesen’t he understand? I’m ready for an Illegal round up and deportation iniative! Shoeless Joe Jackson couldn’t have said it any better! For the ones that are here legally – learn to speak ENGLISH! We don’t need to press one or press two! You learn to speak english, read english or go back to where you came from! It’s our country, learn our language!
BBEAN
May 16th, 2011
12:35 pm
VERIFY – According to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (itepnet.org), undocumented workers paid billions in state and local taxes last year – HOW WOULD THEY KNOW??
Let the Hypocrits Speak
May 16th, 2011
12:35 pm
The word “racist” is used ad naseum these days, and it’s completely lost it’s effect on most Americans. Americans citizens are sick and tired of trying to shamed and guilted. The majority of American citizens and obviously the majority of states OPPOSE illegal immigration, because most states have this type of law waiting in their own legislatures.
The federal government has proven they cannot be trusted and they will not do what the majority of citizens want, so states are taking action.
This is just another attempt by the media to use an actor, entertainer or musician in this case to drum up sympathy for the dying liberal agenda. I say we let them continue this kind of exposure, as it only hurts their agenda. Let Santana and other continue with their hateful rants, they are the haters and the ones that look foolish.
Illegal Immigrants are fighting a loosing battle, and the more they speak the weaker their case to stay here becomes. I say let them continue with their foolish diatribe, most of America is not listening and the numbers are growing.
JAGDSF
May 16th, 2011
12:36 pm
carlos – go lecture n. korea, china, and iran
Manny
May 16th, 2011
12:37 pm
Illegals pay taxes. They just don’t pay income tax. Like people with hardly any money. And people with a lot of money. I always laugh when people say that other people pay no taxes.
I Laughed
May 16th, 2011
12:38 pm
Sitting at home and watching this on the TV and it was so unexpected that I laughed at it. I mean, it came out of nowhere! Do I agree with him? Sure. It’s well documented that 2 states tried to push this bill and a federal judge shot it down – more than likely will happen here. Did he do it at the right venue and at the right time? Well.. it was in honor of “civil rights” although I think he could have chose a better venue and time.
I’m honestly not shocked by what he said and it is probably the first of many times that something will be said about the state of GA when it comes to that immigration bill.
Lawe Abiding
May 16th, 2011
12:38 pm
The issue is Jobs. The issue is abiding by the law. We do not need people taking jobs from legal Americans born here or who went through a process to become an American. End of story.
bernlee
May 16th, 2011
12:38 pm
Soneone please send Santana a dictionary and give him an English lesson. He obviously does not know or understand the definition of the word “ILLEGAL.” And please all of you out there saying we are all immigrants, wake up! I am a first generation Italian. In the early1920s my grandparents came here with my mom via the quota system, Ellis Island and a “document” from a relative insuring employment of my grandfather. (No welfare!). DO NOT CALL ME ILLEGAL! We had nothing to do with Indians or slavery. Entended family members came over the next ten years (quota system broke up families,but eventually all were reunited).That was the law. You abide by it! Learn English, Work (w/valid SS#), Pay Taxes and Live the American Dream and become a Proud American Citizen flying the stars &stripes! This pride still exists in our large family today thanks to the example of our wonderful,loving grandparents!…who were not ‘ILLEGAL.’
BG
May 16th, 2011
12:39 pm
Carlos is a washed up ignorant idiot. To attack every resident of the city and at a time when it’s to celebrate something good, civil rights. Yeah carlos illegally coming into a country. Guess what happens when you do that in mexico you retard. You get thrown in a nasty jail for months and in some cases beaten. You’re a pathetic person
Bob Anderson
May 16th, 2011
12:39 pm
Carlos, like so many others keeps confusing the terms “immigrant” and “criminal”. The law doesn’t effect or threaten “immigrants”. The law is designed to identify and deal with the illegal criminal invaders of our nation and stop the drain on our economy.
RixPolitx
May 16th, 2011
12:40 pm
Stop trying to convince people like Santana that it isn’t about IMMIGRATION, it’s about PEOPLE BREAKING OUR LAWS. I would suggest that it is he, and Mexico, and those that support their illegal entry into this country that “should be ashamed of themselves.” Me? I feel no shame in supporting lawmakers who want to enforce our laws.
And while we’re on the subject: those school teachers and students in Arizona that are spewing their hate for America and calling for the collapse of Capitalism, etc… Shut up or get out! You can’t come to our country and THEN change the laws to suit you. Better to stay in Mexico and try to get them to change THEIR economic system.
get real
May 16th, 2011
12:40 pm
Who was doing all this work before the illegals started showing up en masse? Do these idiots actually think that the work was laying around and nobody was doing it? Nobody was cleaning toilets?
Give me a break.
Jeff
May 16th, 2011
12:40 pm
Years ago, when Japan was emerging as an economic powerhouse and our economy was in the toilet, I moved to Japan and lived there for 5 years. Because that country strictly enforces its immigration laws (and not just for political gain), I did not have to experience the hatred that a lot of people here are feeling and expressing. Nobody in Japan thought I was “an illegal.”
monty
May 16th, 2011
12:42 pm
Go back to Mehico and work on the drug cartel problem before sticking your nose into another country’s problems. Cartels are killing thousands and ruining the lives of countless others. There’s a problem for you to champion Carlos. Work on your own country so they won’t all want to come here.We can’t afford hundreds of thousands of illiegals. What would Mehico do if I were illegal down there? I garauntee you they wouldn’t pay for my kids and give me free anything. If we keep on and don’t address the problem we’ll be as broken as Mexico.
WOW
May 16th, 2011
12:42 pm
Without the USA, Carlos would still be a poor little Mexican.
Chris Matthews
May 16th, 2011
12:42 pm
SEND THEM ALL BACK ! We have too many parasites already!!
TDS
May 16th, 2011
12:42 pm
You don’t like the way we do things here carlos, then get the F out and go back where you came from.
Kaitlyn
May 16th, 2011
12:43 pm
Go Santana, Speak the truth against racism !!!!!
fried lazy brains
May 16th, 2011
12:44 pm
Santana hasn’t had to have a real job in a long, long time. In addition to that, he’s done a lot of drugs. It’s no surprise that he has this opinion.
WOW
May 16th, 2011
12:44 pm
“Speak the truth against racism ”
What is it with brain dead left wingers and not know what the law states?
freedom
May 16th, 2011
12:44 pm
Carlos and others like him are rich and don’t HAVE TO live in the same neighbors as these people he is taking about. They bring with them their culture ,which we have enough of their culture. Drugs, and Gang Bangers. Play your guitar and shut up
Ken
May 16th, 2011
12:45 pm
The problem is the employers. To make money, they pay these people below minimum wage, they don’t take out taxes, and don’t pay the Social Security taxes. Then when someone who is a citizen applies for work with them there is no opening. Clamp down on the border and penalize employers who are breaking the law by not paying at least minimum wage and not paying the other taxes they have to pay when they hire citizens. Do this and the illegal immigrants will at least pay taxes, but many will go home because a lot of the jobs will dry up. Gary is exactly right, it is about the sucking sound for a society that is providing so called entitlements for people who are criminals. They break the laws of our country by entering illegally. Try doing that in Mexico. Check out there immigration laws. You will go to prison.
WOW
May 16th, 2011
12:45 pm
Kaitlyn
What’s racist about upholding a law that’s been in place for decades?
FedUp
May 16th, 2011
12:45 pm
Maybe we should look at the Mexican government and let them know the USA will not stand for this.
The US Department of Homeland Security and some advocacy groups have criticized a program of the government of the state of Yucatan and that of a federal Mexican agency directed to Mexicans migrating to and residing in the United States. They claim that the assistance includes advice on how to get across the U.S. border illegally, where to find healthcare, enroll their children in public schools, and send money to Mexico. The Mexican federal government also issues identity cards to Mexicans living outside of Mexico.[40][41]
In 2005 the government of Yucatan produced a handbook and DVD about the risks and implications of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The guide told immigrants where to find health care, how to get their kids into U.S. schools, and how to send money home. Officials in Yucatan said the guide is a necessity to save lives but some American groups accused the government of encouraging illegal immigration.[42]
In 2005 the Mexican government was criticized for distributing a comic book which offers tips to illegal aliens emigrating to the United States.[43] That comic book recommends to illegal immigrants, once they have safely crossed the border, “Don’t call attention to yourself. … Avoid loud parties. … Don’t become involved in fights.” The Mexican government defends the guide as an attempt to save lives. “It’s kind of like illegal immigration for dummies,” said the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, Mark Krikorian. “Promoting safe illegal immigration is not the same as arguing against it.” The comic book does state on its last page that the Mexican Government does not promote illegal crossing at all and only encourages visits to the U.S. with all required documentation.[43]
Fletch
May 16th, 2011
12:45 pm
From what I understand, a big argument as to why the illegal population doesn’t follow the path to citizenship is becuase it takes too long.
I wonder if I could use the same argument in court?
Yes your honor, I did rob the bank at gunpoint. I really wanted to follow the stated legal procedures to make a withdrawl, but it was just too time consuming.
Yes your honor, I was speeding in excess of 120 mph. I really wanted to follow the legal speed limit, but it was just too time consuming.
Yes your honor, I killed my parents in order to get my inheretance. I really wanted to wait for them to die, but it was too time consuming.
I like it!
The SITUATION
May 16th, 2011
12:46 pm
Why don’t ILLEGAL aliens go through the process of becoming a US Citizen? I’ve yet to meet anyone with this answer.
Pinche Huevos
May 16th, 2011
12:46 pm
This SHAM will be blocked before MEMORIAL day….Moorons…
WOW
May 16th, 2011
12:47 pm
Kaitlyn
Go to Europe, China, or even Mexico and see how you’re treated without documents.
freedom
May 16th, 2011
12:47 pm
Carlos should be talking about having a Revolution in Mexico and getting Mexico ’s people to get it right there. Not run away like always. Stand and fight for your Country and take Carlos back over the Border with you.
WOW
May 16th, 2011
12:48 pm
“This SHAM will be blocked before MEMORIAL day”
By who?
FedUp
May 16th, 2011
12:48 pm
Watch this investigative report tonight on WSB TV. See link..
http://www.wsbtv.com/2investigates/index.html
WOW
May 16th, 2011
12:48 pm
“Why don’t ILLEGAL aliens go through the process of becoming a US Citizen? ”
Because they’d have to pay taxes and learn English.
freedom
May 16th, 2011
12:49 pm
Carlos please don’t come to Bakersfield and play. We don’t need your Mouth running here.
Pinche Huevos
May 16th, 2011
12:49 pm
The US took have of mexicos land ,now they don’t like mexicans…losers…….
WOW
May 16th, 2011
12:49 pm
“Watch this investigative report tonight on WSB TV. See link..”
The manager who got shot in the leg?
Oh Please!!!
May 16th, 2011
12:49 pm
Santana is an idiot. It is NOT Anti-American. It IS Anti-ILLEGAL!