http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs ... /1006/NEWS

'Illegal' or 'legal' hot issue for Nov. 7
Some say Del. candidates are overstating problem

By CRIS BARRISH, The News Journal
Posted Sunday, September 24, 2006
Ask Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jan Ting a question on almost any topic -- the economy, health care, terrorism -- and he'll invariably talk about cracking down on illegal immigration by building a nearly 2,000-mile fence along the border with Mexico.

Last week, when Delaware attorney general hopeful Ferris Wharton, also a Republican, was asked how the state could deal with undocumented immigrants, he suggested increasing penalties for crimes they commit.

In the working-class town of Elsmere, several immigrants received tickets this month for driving vehicles with out-of-state license plates. The citations stemmed from a new law sponsored by Councilman John Jaremchuk, who has waged a high-profile battle against "illegals'' and is now running for the state House.

With the Nov. 7 election little more than six weeks away, and with both houses of Congress working on bills dealing with immigration, the topic has percolated into a "hot issue,'' in the words of Wharton's opponent, Democrat Beau Biden, who said immigration laws should be enforced, rather than tightened.

And while immigration isn't as pressing in Delaware as in border states such as Arizona, Texas and California, many politicians contend the impact is significant and growing.

Benigno E. Aguirre, a University of Delaware sociology professor, said some politicians are overstating the problem.

"It's symbolic politics, the mobilization of the electorate on a particular issue, and the offering of a solution about categories of people with very little power to defend themselves,'' said Aguirre, a Cuban refugee who came to America nearly a half-century ago. "It makes people feel good, that our representatives are doing this or that.''

No independent polls have been conducted in Delaware on immigration and the election. A nationwide CNN poll this month, however, tended to support Aguirre's contention that candidates are exploiting the issue for political gain.

That poll found that when Americans were asked to rank five key topics -- the economy, Iraq, terrorism, moral issues and immigration -- in terms of importance, immigration was the least of their concerns. Only 15 percent had the issue atop their radar screens.

Such results do not surprise Matthew I. Hirsch, an adjunct professor at Widener University School of Law.

"Restrictionists are using [illegal immigration] as a wedge to try to firm up the conservative base by appealing to the xenophobes,'' Hirsch said. "The fact is that there are people who think America can go back a half-century to whatever the demographic profile was at that time. It's not going to happen.

"America is changing, and that makes some people very uncomfortable. But if you ever went to Atlanta, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Houston [Texas] or other fast-growing communities, you'd wonder who would be doing these jobs if not for the immigrants, both documented and undocumented.''

Estimates of the number of illegal immigrants in Delaware range from 13,000 to 35,000 -- or 1.5 percent to 4 percent -- of the overall population. Many work in low-paying jobs in the chicken processing, construction, landscaping and hospitality industries, and are clustered in apartment complexes in towns such as Elsmere and Georgetown.

Issue in state House race

On the stump and in candidate forums in Delaware, however, ideas about reducing the impact of undocumented workers keep surfacing.

Jaremchuk, a Republican seeking to represent Elsmere and nearby subdivisions in the General Assembly, said the influx of illegal immigrants has hurt the area's quality of life. They break housing code laws, join gangs, and have been victims or perpetrators of violent crimes, he said.

"It's my sense that rather than conform to the cultural norms of American society, they are bringing their cultural norms here and practicing them here,'' Jaremchuk said. "I got a complaint last week that they were hanging their laundry off a railing. It's stuff like that.

"Voters are extremely happy I'm bringing up these issues, and have said it's about time elected officials in this state started doing something about it.''

Larry Mitchell, Jaremchuk's Democratic opponent, agreed that when he knocks on doors, many residents, especially in Elsmere, complain that undocumented immigrants are negatively affecting "the health care system, the tax base and the economy.''

But the issue is just one of many for voters he encounters, Mitchell said. Some are concerned that a new town house project might be rented to low-income Section 8 recipients. Others are just worried about a new state policy not to accept yard waste in landfills.

Mitchell believes hardworking undocumented immigrants deserve a chance to remain and earn legal status, one of the provisions of a bill that passed the U.S. Senate but has gone nowhere in the House.

"But no matter what we do on the local level,'' he said, "until we do something to regain control of the border, we're going to have this stream of illegal immigrants coming in.''

'Bigger and bigger'

The issue had been "simmering under the surface'' but gained steam last year, professor Hirsch said, after congressional hearings about beefing up border security received major press coverage, spurring commentary by advocacy groups on both sides.

"It was like pumping air in the balloon and making it bigger and bigger,'' Hirsch said.

Major demonstrations in Philadelphia, Georgetown and elsewhere followed, and the U.S. House and Senate passed radically different bills, none of which has become law.

Brian Darling, director of U.S. Senate relations for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, said federal and local lawmakers are responding to their constituents, not pandering to fears to get votes.

While voters may be split on whether to institute a guest-worker program and let long-term undocumented residents remain in the United States, protecting the borders is paramount to Americans, he said.

During the August recess, Darling said, members of Congress who held field hearings reported that voters were concerned about unchecked immigration. "The American people are unanimous in that they want more border security or some sort of mechanism to keep borders protected.''

Citing increased costs to the welfare, education and health care systems if a guest-worker program became law, Darling said: "The American people are concerned about people coming here illegally and getting all the benefits of citizenship. Voters are upset by it and are upset at both parties for not taking care of the problem. That's one reason why you are seeing incumbents with very low approval ratings.''

Hirsch countered that without undocumented immigrants, employers in and around Delaware wouldn't be able to fill low-skilled jobs. "You could advertise all day long for people to process chickens and never find enough people willing to do it,'' he said. "You could advertise all day long for people to process mushrooms in Kennett Square, and you will never find enough people.''

While Hirsch agreed undocumented immigrants do impose costs on society, he said they have paid billions of dollars from their paychecks in Social Security contributions that they cannot collect. "Their contribution both in terms of real dollars and labor exceeds their costs,'' he said.

Impact at higher levels

Just how these issues will play at the polls -- and whether they will be a factor in Delaware -- remains to be seen.

Sam Hoff, a political science professor at Delaware State University, predicted the immigration debate would have a limited impact in local elections, but could be important in the Wharton-Biden and congressional races.

"It's transforming our state, all the institutions we care about,'' said Ting, a Temple University law professor who was a top administrator with the Department of Immigration and Naturalization in the early 1990s. Ting faces incumbent Sen. Tom Carper, a Democrat, in November.

"The public schools, the health care facilities, the criminal justice system are going to be swamped," Ting said. "You can't solve the problems of public schools if you have millions of illegal aliens coming into the United States.''

Carper voted for the Senate bill that would allow illegal immigrants who have been here at least five years to become legal after paying fines, fees and taxes, and learning English. The bill also would create a guest-worker program for some 1.5 million farm workers. On the enforcement side, the bill authorized 370 miles of border fencing and would double the number of border patrol agents by 2011.

After it passed last month, Carper said the bill has flaws but "represents a good-faith attempt to pass a bipartisan immigration bill that will increase security at our borders without providing amnesty to the millions of illegal immigrants living in this country.''

Maria Matos, executive director of the Latin-American Community Center in Wilmington, said politicians whose platforms target immigrants should prepare for a backlash.

"This country was built on immigrants,'' Matos said. "The railroads were built by immigrants. This country needs immigrants. If we don't have immigrants, who is going to do the landscaping in Elsmere?

"So what I would say to the politicians is: Be careful what side of the road you are standing on. Let's be humane.''

Contact senior reporter Cris Barrish at 324-2785 or cbarrish@delawareonline.com.