http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cct ... 099415.htm

Posted on Sat, Jul. 22, 2006

Attorney general irks both sides of immigration debate
Nation's top law enforcement officer speaks at a Santa Clara hotel to garner support for legislative reform
By Jessie Mangaliman
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales came to the South Bay on Friday to make a case for the Bush administration's plan for immigration reform, but he was met with protest and resistance from supporters and opponents of the plan's most controversial provision: a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

"Reform must be based on reality. We can't deport 12 million people," Gonzales said, speaking to a crowd of 150 at the Marriott Hotel in Santa Clara in a public forum sponsored by the Commonwealth Club.

Outside, about 20 members of the Raging Grannies and anti-war protesters held up signs that declared, "No War on Immigrants, Iraq, Iran." An hour after the address, a couple of members of the group chanted in the hotel lobby as the crowd left the room, "Immigrants Have Human Rights/Grannies join in the fight."

In a hotel meeting room nearby, two officials from the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a civilian border patrol group based in Arizona, called a news conference to denounce the Bush proposal. A sign on the wall read: "Border Security First. No Amnesty."

Gonzales repeated the same arguments he has made for the past several months in speeches and news conferences around the country to drum up support for immigration reform proposals being touted by President Bush.

"Reform that's anything short of comprehensive will not be nearly good enough," he said. "This is a very delicate and very complicated issue."

The Bush plan calls for increased border security, a temporary guest-worker program, an employee verification system and legalization for some undocumented immigrants already living and working in the United States, after they have paid taxes and penalties and committed to learning English.

But like the conflicting House of Representatives and U.S. Senate bills, Gonzales acknowledged there is no public consensus on immigration reform, as mirrored in protests and denouncements at Friday's forum.

The Bush proposal for a temporary guest-worker program "is a way of exploiting workers. It won't lead to citizenship," said Ruth Robertson of the Raging Grannies. Robertson supports legalization and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Immigrant advocates across the country have criticized the Bush plan as not going far enough with legalization, but officials with the Minutemen, who oppose any form of legalization, slammed it as "unacceptable."

"As this nation's highest-ranking law enforcement officer," said Al Garza, executive director of the Minuteman group, "it is inexcusable that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales would promote a blanket amnesty for people who have committed such felonies as document fraud, identity theft and income tax evasion."

In his address, Gonzales said "illegal immigration degrades the rule of law," but that an earned legalization program is fair.

Asked during a question-and-answer session with the audience his opinion of the Minutemen, Gonzales said, "We live in a free society. But as a general matter, law enforcement should be in the hands of law enforcement agencies."

"I understand the frustrations," he said. "The bottom line is we need to do a better job on the border."