In Princeton, N.J., a story about a man who was attacked by a German Shepherd has become a flash point in the debate about immigration. In June, the 85-pound dog attacked an undocumented Honduran landscaper, Giovanni Rivera, who suffered serious injuries. A judge awarded Rivera $250,000 in insurance money and ordered that the dog be put down. Now the town's residents and thousands of folks on the internet are turning the issue into one about Rivera's immigration status rather than how to deal with a violent animal, and are petitioning Gov. Jon Corzine to pardon the animal, which he has refused to do. In online forums, posters have referred to Rivera as "illegal scum" and suggested that because he's illegal, he shouldn't be able to collect insurance money for his injuries, and the dog should be excused for attacking him. Others have risen in Rivera's defense: "I would hate my hometown and home state to go down in history as the place where suburbanites value their dogs above their lives of those they hire to tend their yards," one resident told ABC News. The case now is with New Jersey's Superior Court, who get to decide what's more important – humans who happen to be here illegally, or pets.
Scrolling through the comments section on the ABC News piece is a good indication of how volatile these relatively small, local immigration-related issues have become. We've heard about them in places like Prince William County, New York State, and tiny towns across the country. It's the rapidly anti-immigrant voices that tend to get the most attention in these debates, but everyone across the political spectrum is frustrated, and state and local governments are overwhelmed. The issue is sure to be a deciding factor in the general election, but the Democrats are largely too scared to talk about it seriously. The Republicans spent nearly a quarter of their debate last week on the subject, stoking the fires on the right. When are the Democrats going to start some real conversation on the subject?
--Kate Sheppard
