Protest organizer: 'My American dream is shot'

Times-News, June 27th, 2007

By Michael Abernethy / Times News

Kim Oliver did it once. Saturday, he’ll do it again.

Oliver, owner of O&S Concrete, is organizing a protest against amnesty for illegal immigrants this weekend in Graham.

Oliver says illegal immigration hurts small business and the economy. He’s organized a rally at the Graham courthouse square from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.

The Graham Police Department approved the permit, allowing up to 100 people at a time to gather there during the day.

Oliver held a similar protest at the same site earlier this month and about 60 people gathered to protest at different points during the day, he said.

Oliver says business has suffered at the hands of illegal immigrants’ businesses that will do the work cheaply because they don’t have to report taxes.

Several years ago, he had a thriving business working with 17 contractors and taking home, after business expenses, about $79,000 each year. Now, he only works with three contractors and says he’s lucky to make $30,000 a year.

“I’m not whining about it, it’s just about the difference between right and wrong. It’s tax evasion any way you look at it,” Oliver said. “We just need to uphold the laws we’ve got. We don’t need to amend a dang thing.”

Oliver, self-employed since 1997, says he called local tax offices and the IRS to find records of several Hispanic contractors in and around Alamance County, but found none. Because they don’t have to pay business and income taxes, they are able to contract more cheaply than legitimate businesses, he contends.

“My American dream is shot,” Oliver said. “It’s not a racial issue. It’s not a discrimination issue. It’s about what’s right.”