This article appeared in the Colorado Springs Gazette 0n 02/26/06. It appears that the reporter only interviewd pro immigration activitsts (Mr Barrera last wrote a letter to the editor in support of the guest worker program). The reporters view that anti immigration acitivists are "White" is offensive and, in my opinion, racist. Please feel free to give your opinion to Mr. Henley, his contact information is at the bottom of the article.



Metro/State
February 26, 2006

Immigrant debate won’t end soon


By KYLE HENLEY - THE GAZETTE

DENVER - “Did your forefathers have papers when they got here?”

That’s the first question Gene Sanchez asks as he talks about illegal immigration.

His answer: “I don’t think so.”

Sanchez, a local small-business owner and past president of the Colorado Springs Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, charges that many state lawmakers forget their own family history when they wade into the debate over illegal immigration.

It’s hardly a secret that many of the Dutch, Italian, Irish and other Europeans who jumped ship in New York harbor during America’s formative years did so illegally.

“It’s the same thing that is going on now,” Sanchez said. “So, why are they picking on Mexican immigrants?”




Illegal immigration — a term that usually refers to immigration from Mexico and Latin America — is a topic that lately has received a lot of attention from Colorado politicians, in a state with no international border and a relative- ly small number of undocumented aliens compared with states such as California, Texas, New York or Florida.

Last week, lawmakers spent nearly nine hours considering 10 bills aimed at curbing illegal immigration in Colorado. Seven of the bills, all sponsored by Republicans, were defeated by Democrats on mostly party-line votes.

Democrats are pushing their own immigration agenda, which generally is a milder approach that rejects the crackdown backed by some Republicans. Traditionally in Colorado, about seven out of 10 Hispanics have tended to vote for Democrats — a fact that helps explain why Democrats at the Statehouse aren’t eager to encourage an all-out immigration crackdown.

There have been nearly 20 pieces of legislation addressing illegal immigration introduced so far.

The immigration debate will continue in Colorado for most of the year thanks to a citizen initiative proposed for the November ballot that would ban the state from providing government services to illegal immigrants.

Louis DeSipio, an associate professor of political science and Latino studies at the University of California at Irvine, said the debate over illegal immigration is increasingly moving away from the coasts and into Middle America.

“I think the reasons you are seeing the pressure in the interior states is that those traditional states, like California and Texas, have come to terms with the costs of unauthorized migrants,” he said. “I think what you are seeing in a lot of states is that they are challenging the federal government to do something.”

That’s exactly what legislative leaders in Colorado hope to do with a resolution that urges Congress to take on comprehensive immigration reform. The resolution, however, has not been introduced yet — lawmakers are struggling to draft language that will attract bipartisan support.

Jose Barrera, a history professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and Colorado College, worries the move to crack down on illegal immigrants will hurt the state’s Hispanic community.

“It becomes a case of guilt by association,” he said. “It could fan the flames of prejudice and you could have a wildfire in no time.”

A recent study by the Pew Hispanic Center found that 81 percent of the nation’s estimated 10 million illegal immigrants come from Mexico or another Latin American country.

Those seeking a crackdown on illegal immigrants tend to be white, a fact that adds to the racial tensions of the debate.

Rep. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, is considered a leader in the Republican Party on immigration issues. He introduced three bills aimed at cracking down on illegal immigrants — all were defeated last week — but contends the issue is not a racial one.

During a debate last week, Schultheis said he “took great offense” at anyone suggesting that his push to crack down on illegal immigration is based on race.

But among Latinos, there is a perception of bias.

When Schultheis wanted to learn more about immigration issues, he led a group of lawmakers on armed patrols of the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona.

Last week, he said government should not pay to educate illegal aliens in public schools — something required by federal law.

Barrera takes those actions and comments to mean one thing.

“If the immigrants were from a European country, you know, white people, Schultheis and Co. would be down there with a brass band and a red carpet,” Barrera said.

Barrera said he does not support illegal immigration. He’d like to see the federal government create a guest-worker program so people could come to the United States to work and then go home when they are done.

His opinion mirrors that of a large portion of the nation’s Hispanic population.

The study by the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan group based in Washington, D.C., found that 80 percent of Latinos believe immigrants strengthen the United States because of their hard work.

Almost 70 percent of Latinos think undocumented migrants help the economy by doing jobs most Americans refuse to do, and 56 percent back some kind of a guestworker program.

President Bush has proposed a guest-worker program, but Congress has balked at addressing the issue.

Despite the efforts of legislatures to get the attention of Congress, DeSipio said it’s having little effect on the national stage. “I don’t think Congress is getting the message,” he said.

In the meantime, DeSipio added, anything Colorado lawmakers do to address the issue will be “more symbolic than substantive.”

CONTACT THE WRITER:

1-303-837-0613 or

kyle.henley@gazette.com