Onetime face of reform silent on new immigration law
by Daniel González - May. 3, 2010 12:00 AM

For years, Elias Bermudez was front and center in the debate over illegal immigration in Arizona, one of the most visible and outspoken advocates of reform.

But in the national furor over Arizona's tough new immigration law, the founder of advocacy group Immigrants Without Borders has been noticeably absent.


"People have been asking me, 'What happened to you? Did you forget about us? Did you throw in the towel?' " said the 59-year-old activist, who has helped to organize boycotts and massive marches and has been interviewed by media across the nation about immigration issues.

Bermudez hasn't forgotten. But he has relinquished his unofficial role as chief spokesman for immigrants.

Last year, a judge in Maricopa County sanctioned Bermudez for giving legal advice without a law license and ordered him to stop advising immigrants and helping them prepare legal documents. To avoid violating that order, Bermudez stopped speaking out.

Many Latino leaders say his absence has left a void at a time when many Hispanics in Arizona feel targeted by the law that makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally and requires authorities to check the immigration status of anyone they believe might be in the country illegally.

But others say the immigrant-rights movement has grown larger than one person and that it might be better off without someone as controversial as Bermudez at the forefront.


Instrumental effort

Bermudez was frequently quoted by English- and Spanish-language media, often going toe-to-toe with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio on national cable TV news shows. As a Latino and a staunch Republican, Bermudez also had the ear of key Republicans in Washington, D.C., including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Over the years, his Immigrants Without Borders persuaded illegal immigrants to take part in boycotts, work stoppages and rallies designed to highlight the economic contributions of undocumented immigrants. The group was instrumental in getting massive crowds to march in Phoenix in 2006 and 2007 to support immigration reform that would have included a path to legal status for illegal immigrants.

"He was the one who awoke the sleeping giant," said Magdalena Schwartz, a Mesa pastor who was vice president of the group before leaving to start another organization.

At its peak, Immigrants Without Borders had 11 chapters and 2,000 members across the Valley. Without Bermudez, the organization has dwindled to one chapter in Mesa, said chapter president Pedro Sanchez.

Sanchez, who has led groups to the state Capitol to protest the new immigration law, laments the absence of Bermudez.

"There is no leader who has taken charge over this movement," Sanchez said. "We need him. He had a lot of talent. He was very good with words."

Roberto Reveles, who as president of Somos America led the coalition of groups that organized the mega-marches in 2006 and 2007, said Bermudez deserves some credit.

"What he did was bring public attention to an immigrant community that had been largely ignored," Reveles said.

But he faults Bermudez for having a "my way or the highway" style that he says turned off some Latino leaders, including himself.

Reveles, who is no longer part of the leadership of Somos America, said he has been astounded by the leaders and groups that oppose the new law.

"I am comfortable with the view that the movement we see exercising itself does not depend on one individual," he said. "I don't think (the presence of Bermudez) would hurt, but his absence is not of critical importance."

Even Arpaio downplayed the effect of Bermudez's retreat.

"We had our confrontations and issues," Arpaio said. "It didn't bother me. And there are other people who have taken his place."


Rise and fall

In the early 1980s, Bermudez was mayor of San Luis, a border town near Yuma. In 1996, he was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for laundering drug-trafficking profits for his brother-in-law. Bermudez maintains his innocence.

After his release, Bermudez rebuilt a business he had started in the wake of the 1986 federal amnesty law, helping immigrants fill out documents to apply for green cards and citizenship.

Then, in 2005, to help drum up support for reform and clients for his business, Centro de Ayuda, Bermudez formed Immigrants Without Borders.

He also paid for his own daily radio show for five years, first on KIDR-AM (740) Radio Unica, and later on KASA-AM (1540). On the air, Bermudez often praised illegal immigrants for their hard work and decried laws that targeted them. He counseled immigrants on the air to exercise their rights and remain silent if stopped by police. He also made it no secret that he stood to profit from reform, which would have created a torrent of new clients seeking help applying for legal status.

Some immigration lawyers were concerned that Bermudez was crossing the line at Centro de Ayuda. Under the state's "notario" law, document preparers, known as "notarios" in Spanish, can only help people fill out immigration documents.

In 2007, the State Bar of Arizona filed a lawsuit accusing Bermudez of practicing law without authorization. It was spurred by two Centro de Ayuda clients who said they were facing deportation because they applied for legal status when Bermudez wrongly advised them they qualified for green cards. One of the clients said she paid Bermudez $2,500 to help her fill out documents for her and her son, according to court documents.

In April 2009, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Mangum ordered Bermudez to stop preparing legal documents and to stop "preparing or expressing legal opinions."

Bermudez could be charged with contempt of court for violating the sanctions, said Karen Boehmer, who investigates unauthorized-practice-of-law complaints for the Bar.

Bermudez doesn't deny that he sometimes advised clients, but he said there are 200 other preparers in the state who do the same thing. He believes the Bar singled him out because of his visibility and because his company took business away from lawyers.

"We do not on our own arbitrarily go after individuals and seek them out," said Rick DeBruhl, a spokesman for the State Bar of Arizona. "Therefore, the only reason in this case that Mr. Bermudez would have been pursued would have been because complaints were filed."


Today in Tucson

Bermudez said he has stopped speaking out and rarely gives interviews because he is afraid of violating the sanctions.

"It's like my right to freedom of speech has been taken away," he said.

But Boehmer said the sanctions do not silence Bermudez.

"He is perfectly well within his First Amendment rights to do that," she said. "He is not within his First Amendment rights to give legal advice when he is not trained as a lawyer to do so."

After he was sanctioned, Bermudez closed Centro de Ayuda, which operated from an office building he owned on Thomas Road. He said the private company generated $500,000 a year in revenue.

After it closed, he could not afford the mortgages on his two houses in Phoenix and lost them to foreclosure. He said he also traded his leased 2007 BMW 530i for a 1999 Toyota pickup he bought for $3,000.

"Not only did I lose my business, I lost my livelihood," Bermudez said.

He now rents an apartment in Tucson and helps Spanish-speaking immigrants file tax returns from a tiny office in an industrial park near the airport.

But he doesn't plan to sit on the sidelines forever.

He has been taking classes to get certification from the federal government to open a non-profit business filling out immigration documents.

Bermudez also attended protests against the new immigration law last weekend at the state Capitol and has given some interviews to reporters, mostly in the Spanish-language media.

"How can I remain silent while this is going on?" he said. "I can't."




http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... izona.html