Protestor: ‘American dream is no longer for Americans’

Protestor: ‘American dream is no longer for Americans’
By CHARLIE ZAVALICK Editor
02/01/2006

BERNARDSVILLE – Housing problems associated with recent immigrants have been a hot topic of discussion in town lately, especially since the Nov. 30 kidnapping of a borough woman by a suspect from Guatemala.

A Somerville man is now seeking to expand that conversation to include the impact illegal immigrants are having on the local job market.

Carrying a large, two-sided sign on Olcott Square in recent weeks to air his grievances, 45-year-old Keith Fulton has been attracting attention to his message.

In large black lettering next to an American flag, one side of his sign reads: “An illegal alien stole my business.’’

The flip side offers a more localized message: “Bernardsville businesses hire illegal aliens over Americans.’’

Last Thursday afternoon, an unseasonably warm January day, Fulton was subjected to an obscenity yelled out by a passenger in a passing vehicle.

Smiling, he said he has heard some “colorful verbiage’’ and seen “interesting hand signals’’ from motorists, “mostly from contractors who hire illegals or illegals themselves.’’

But, he insists, other residents who have actually stopped by to chat have been more receptive.

“Those folks are very positive,’’ he said, noting that he “follows the rules’’ and has never been arrested for his one-man demonstration.

“Bernardsville had better get used to me,’’ he added. “I’m going to settle here until things change.’’

A soft-spoken, clean-shaven man, Fulton owns “Bio Clean,’’ a janitorial business that serves mostly small offices. He claims to have lost about 40 percent of his business during the past four months due to unfair competition from firms that hire illegal immigrants to cut costs.

“The American dream is no longer for the Americans,’’ he said.

Fulton, who is single, said he recently lost his largest contract in Hillsborough. He said afterwards he was privately told by an employee of the firm that it employs illegals.

Claiming to have “excellent references’’ after 10 years in business, he said he still has some work but is in debt and facing poverty due to the business decline.

“I’m tired as an American of having to beg for work while they come in and take it,’’ he said. “And I’m tired of having to pay taxes to support them.’’

A flier for his business indicates that he is fully insured and bonded and offers “competitive pricing.’’

He said he has heard similar complaints from other firms that do business by the book, including landscapers who are also being hurt by those who hire illegal immigrants.

“There’s a myth that the illegals are here to do the work that Americans won’t do,’’ he said. “I’m sick of people telling me they need to hire illegals when I’m starving.

“If I was paid cash and didn’t have to pay any taxes I wouldn’t have any problems,’’ he added.

Fulton said he has had some jobs in the Somerset Hills area but didn’t identify the firms. Recently he has been visiting local businesses and asking whether they’d rather hire an American than an illegal immigrant.

“People are afraid to talk about the issues,’’ he said.

He has staged his protest in Somerville, New York City and other towns but has come to Bernardsville because, he says, it’s “the wealthiest town in the wealthiest county’’ in the state.

He said he was awwas aware of the heavily publicized Nov. 30 kidnapping of Dryden Road resident Karen Maffucci. Indicted for the crime is Edgar Rene del Cid-Perez, an immigrant who rented a room in a West Street boarding home. Police have said they believe some occupants of that home may have been illegals. Officials have not yet confirmed nor denied that, however.

“Why do they (illegal immigrants) come here?’’ Fulton said. “It’s because people hire them. “It’s all about the money; not because they embrace American values.’’

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