For Our Reference

I thought that many of you would find this interesting. Last night, Democratic mayoral candidate, Helena Abrantes, was on "Ideas at Work and Beyond" (a local show on Comcast Channel 23). She talked about what she wanted to do for the city, while also stressing what seems to be one of the biggest issues that she tends to focus on throughout the campaign which is over development. Mrs. Abrantes also spoke about her views on services for seniors, taxes, and public safety, along with a few others.

One topic that wasn't addressed much was illegal immigration. It didn't come up until a caller asked Abrantes her views on the issue. I felt that you would like to see a transcript of part of the conversation that she had. Remember this for future reference. Here it is:

Caller: Mrs. Abrantes, do you own an apartment building in Danbury? Do you own apartment buildings yourself?
Abrantes: I have two, two family houses.
Caller: Well, you mentioned some concern about crime and over population in the schools. Do you make sure that your tenants are legal residents, or are they from Brazil and Ecuador, and do you think they are illegal?
Abrantes: I don't think they are illegal.
Caller: But, did you check to see if they were illegal?
Abrantes: No because that's not exactly a requirement.

So what exactly does this mean? She did go on to say that illegals living here for about twenty years who have tried to become legal deserve to stay. Abrantes said that she is against illegal immigration, but she claims that she doesn't check who she lets be her tenants because it isn't part of the law. Well, what do you think? You can watch the whole interview here. Don't forget to take our poll!