http://www.times-standard.com/business/ci_3691216

Immigration trickle down

Ann Johnson-Stromberg The Times-Standard
Eureka Times Standard

The feverish pitch enveloping a national debate over how to solve bleeding border issues to curb the growing number of illegal immigrants, isn't a hot topic in Humboldt County -- yet.

The Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C. estimates that there are approximately 11.1 million illegal immigrants in the United States, but the debate and policy proposals have primarily focused on illegal Mexican immigrants.

But there is no way of knowing how many illegal immigrants are in Humboldt County -- only that they exist in this community like nearly every other in the country.

Arcata floral business The Sun Valley Group currently has 600 employees and Operations Director Howard Doerfling said that between 60 percent and 70 percent are Hispanic. Doerfling said that despite a rumored reputation that the company employs illegal immigrants, he denied any such practice. “The company has never paid a dollar in fines for employing illegal immigrants,” he said, but said he suspects Sun Valley may be investigated more than any other local business. The Sun Valley Group in Arcata has been audited by the immigration service four or five times in the past year, he said. The law requires proper documentation, but does not require that an employer investigate its validity.

”We follow it to the letter of the law,” he said, adding that in his experience he has seen that sometimes perfectly legitimate documentation can look fake and that sometimes fake documentation can look legitimate.

Doerfling, whose grandparents emigrated from Germany, said he supports some policy changes for immigrants but wants to see more realistic proposals on the table. Immigration policy is important to Doerfling because he frequently has helped upper management employees coming from Europe and Mexico with work visa paperwork.

Some suggestions discussed in Washington, D.C., include making it a felony to live in the United States illegally or to help a known illegal immigrant. Others have been the possibility of creating a long immigrant probation period, and exporting illegals that have lived in the country for less than five years. Illegal immigrants who have been here between two and five years would be able to return after they obtain the appropriate temporary work visa. By Friday afternoon, it appeared that new immigration legislation may be heading for a dead end.

”I predict that this is going to fall like the house of cards,” Doerfling said Thursday. “Nobody is going to go on the record and get behind this right now.”

Between agricultural, farming and industrial work, illegal immigrants are clearly necessary for the California economy. Without them, Doerfling said, Americans “couldn't afford to buy groceries” because farming labor would be too expensive. The bottom line is that illegal immigrants are doing work that is traditionally not attractive to citizens.

Frank Anderson is a registered nurse and a Hispanic consultant for Humboldt Open Door Clinic. He frequently gives presentations on Latino culture and health and teaches Spanish and translation courses.

”The reality of California business is that businesses have been overtly supporting undocumented immigration forever and there has never been to me a connection between public policy and business,” Anderson said. “This is where the real hypocrisy is because on one hand business is depending on it and then public policy is making (contradictory) judgments about it.”

Anderson also agrees that a new immigration policy is important. He would like to see a policy that makes immigrants accountable for what they do and where they work, but also establish a streamlined citizenship process.

”It saddens me that it got all twisted up in politics,” he said.

Former Ferndale Mayor Carlos Benemann is a certified court interpreter who was born in Argentina and legally emigrated to the United States when he was 19. Benemann said he has thousands opinions about U.S. immigration policy but pointed out a big concern that few are discussing.

He said the majority of illegal immigrants who live in the country, live with extended families who are almost entirely citizens. If one parent is deported, then the whole family would likely leave the country. When the children are 18, they would likely return to the U.S. because they are citizens and there is so little opportunity for them in Mexico. Only when they return they are likely uneducated, speak no English and have no skills to offer to society other than physical labor.

”Repatriation or deportation threats through legislation are going to create a huge hullabaloo in this country,” Benemann said. “It is ridiculous to legislate by fear and it is going to create horrible injustices and those would not be directed at just illegal immigrants.”

He also agreed with the astronomical American produce cost projections and said he thinks the costs would be similar to European prices. He laughed and said that the irony of the situation is that European agriculture also relies on an illegal workforce.

”That German wine you've drank was not made by Germans, but illegal Polish workers,” he said. “Just like Two Buck Chuck is a gift of Mexico, not Napa.”

Humboldt State University world languages and cultures professor Rosamel Benavides-Garb said immigration is an issue in Europe and around the world.

”It is not an issue of the border with Mexico,” he said. “It is a global issue.”

Ann Johnson-Stromberg covers McKinleyville, business and general assignment. She can be reached at 441-0538 or astromberg@times-standard.com

Sara Watson Arthurs also contributed to this report.