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Article Launched: 3/05/2006 12:00 AM


Activists oppose House action
Illegal immigration bill `overly punitive'
By Gary Scott Staff Writer
Pasadena Star-News

PASADENA - City leaders and Latino activists say a House bill aimed at curbing illegal immigration would turn hard-working men and women into felons and force an already marginalized population further into the shadows.

Their concerns prompted the Pasadena City Council to prepare a resolution in opposition to the bill, arguing it is "overly punitive" and puts local police in the position of enforcing federal immigration laws.

The resolution will be formally introduced Monday night. It is a largely symbolic act, but one council members hope shows their solidarity with the Latino community and sends a strong message of disapproval about the hard-line approach to immigration reform.

One of the most vociferous critics of the legislation has been Pasadena Councilman Victor Gordo. He called it "un-American" and "hate-mongering."

"It is easy to pick on those who can't stand up for themselves. And the proponents of this legislation are doing just that," he said.

For Gordo, the issue hits close to home. He came to Pasadena from Zacatecas, Mexico, when he was 5. He had no legal documentation at the time.

"If there was hateful legislation such as this when I was 5 years old, I may have been stripped of the opportunity to better myself and better my community," Gordo said.

Known as the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act, the bill relies on tougher penalties to stem the flow of undocumented workers coming into this country.

It calls for building 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, making it a felony to be in the country illegally, fining employers up to $50,000 for hiring undocumented workers and making it a federal crime to offer assistance to illegal immigrants.

The last provision has drawn the ire of clergy and social workers who say it conflicts with their mission to help people in need.

Last week, Cardinal Roger Mahony said he would instruct priests in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, the largest in the nation, to defy any law that requires them to check for documents before providing aid or comfort.

The day before, local immigrants' rights advocates pleaded with a committee of the Pasadena City Council to stand up to Congress and oppose the bill.

A tearful Susana Zamorano recounted her struggles as an undocumented worker trying to raise two young daughters in Pasadena. She said her immigration status cost her one good-paying job, ultimately forcing her to move into a rat-infested garage to make ends meet.

"I lived like this for a year," she said. Still, her daughters flourished. One now attends a local high school; the other is at UC Santa Cruz.

"If HR 4437 passes, everything we have done would have been for nothing," Zamorano said. "It would make me and my daughters criminals. We are not criminals, much less terrorists."

Raul Borbon, a coordinator for the immigrants' rights group Institute of Popular Education of Southern California, said this type of bill will drive an already fearful immigrant community further underground, making them more vulnerable to abuse.

"We come to this country to work and our kids to study and be part of this society. We feel threatened by that law," Borbon said.

Pasadena police Chief Bernard Melekian told the committee he opposes an effort to make local police act as an arm of the immigration service, which he said "serves no purpose except to alienate the community we are serving."

Debate over the bill has been even more contentious on Capitol Hill, where business-friendly Republicans and the White House have split with hard-liners in the party over the addition of a guest worker program in the bill.

Faced with a tough re-election fight, House Republicans decided to eschew any provision that might be seen as encouraging more immigration or providing amnesty to the undocumented workers already here.

There are about 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, according to a Pew Hispanic Center study.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., is the bill's principal author. It passed the House 239-182 on a largely partisan vote. Similar legislation is now being considered in the Senate.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, described the House version as more of "a political statement than viable immigration reform" and predicted it would fail to pass in its current form.

It may be even more difficult to reach a compromise deal, as Senate Republicans seem to favor a guest worker program, putting them on a collision course with the House.

Schiff said it will be up to the president to reach out to moderate Democrats if he wants to get anything done this year.

"It is done on a bipartisan basis or it is not done at all," Schiff said.

Even the hawkish National Border Patrol Council has expressed misgivings about the bill. T.J. Bonner, president of the union, said it fails to address the central cause of illegal immigration: the addiction of business to cheap labor.

He and Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora, teamed up to introduced a measure that would have made it harder for employers to hire undocumented workers. It does not appear in the bill.

"Big business holds tremendous influence over our legislative process and business is scared to death of legislation that would take away an inexhaustible supply of cheap, exploitable labor," Bonner said.

Immigration foes launched a blistering campaign against Dreier in 2004.

Since then, he has been a hawk on immigration issues. He is co-sponsor of Sensenbrenner's bill, calling it "a critical step in the effort to better secure our nation's borders."

Gordo said Dreier has been hijacked by the far right.

"Congressman Dreier knows this legislation is wrong and he is supporting it purely for political expedience," said Gordo. "David Dreier is trying to save his own neck right now."

gary.scott@sgvn.com

(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4458