Thread: Escondido immigrant proposal slammed

http://www.signonsandiego.com

Escondido immigrant proposal slammed

Latinos say landlord law would send racist message
By Booyeon Lee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
July 13, 2006

ESCONDIDO – Latino community activists told the City Council yesterday that a proposal to impose fines on landlords who house undocumented immigrants would send a message across the country that Escondido is a racist city.

That would be false, resident Danny Perez told the council.

“I've lived here for 17 years,” Perez said. “I know Escondido is not a racist town.”

Joe Medina, an associate pastor of Mount Olive Church in Escondido, said the idea of taking a poor person's home away is inhumane.

“Dogs you protect more,” Medina said.

Perez and Medina were responding to Councilwoman Marie Waldron's recent suggestion that a municipal code be created to fine landlords $1,000 for every illegal immigrant to whom they lease an apartment. Waldron brought the idea to the city manager and the city attorney this week. No date has been set on a public hearing about the issue.

Perez and Medina spoke during a public-comment period at the beginning of the council meeting.

“We know there's no ordinance to even debate about yet. But we know the intent is there, and we want to make sure it doesn't get any bigger than that,” Consuelo Martinez of the Escondido Human Rights Committee said before the meeting.

A message left on Waldron's cell phone seeking comment was not returned last night.

Latinos make up 42 percent of Escondido's population of 142,000. Most undocumented immigrants in the city are known to live in Mission Park, a poor, mostly Latino neighborhood in central Escondido.

If Waldron brings her idea to the council, the debate probably would thrust Escondido into the national spotlight. One other city in the country has tentatively approved a similar ordinance. The City Council of Hazleton, Pa., also has preliminarily decided to revoke business licenses from companies that hire illegal immigrants and to make English the official language of the city.

Perez, 38, said he became a permanent U.S. resident five years ago after paying $15,000 in fines and legal fees to go through a lengthy approval process. For years, he lived without papers in Escondido.

“I lived on the street. I knew where every abandoned house is here,” he said outside City Hall.

Perez since has been trained as an emergency medical technician and is now a project coordinator for Dream Builders, a San Diego nonprofit. He also serves as a local soccer league official, leads workshops against gang violence and organizes Latino blood drives for the Red Cross. He is a single father to his 8-year-old daughter, Alani.

“She deserves a better community than one divided in racism,” Perez said. “I'm staying in Escondido, and I'm going to stop anyone from planting seeds of hatred in this community.”


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Booyeon Lee: (760) 737-7566; booyeon.lee@uniontrib.com

Perez, 38, said he became a permanent U.S. resident five years ago after paying $15,000 in fines and legal fees to go through a lengthy approval process. For years, he lived without papers in Escondido.

Hmmm, another product of a past amnesty, no doubt. Illegals immigrants should never be put on a path to legalization while their two feet are standing on U.S. soil! Amnesty is not acceptable.

This frosts me.....this is the letter I sent to the news reporter in the hopes of showing the other side of the coin.

Hello:

Your article on the http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=34497
(ALIPAC) web site link was something I felt compelled to comment on.

Setting aside other issues in the Illegal Alien debate, this law makes a lot of sense, and is not a racist/bigoted law, and it is sad that the La Raza/Latino/Pro-Illegal movement is once again attempting to play the race card in their zest to arrogantly demand rights for those who have broken America's laws.

My own antidotal evidence based on personal experience leads me to believe that most rental properties housing illegal aliens are violating numerous local health and zoning rules, and creating numerous problems for surrounding home owners.

I have the misfortune of having a house full of illegal aliens directly across the street from my house, and another right next door to my house. By conservative estimate, the two houses combined have a population in them exceeding 40 people.

That we know of for sure, the house next door to ours has 12 vehicles associated with those in the house. We are your average middle class suburban area, most of our homes have two cars that get parked on the street in front of our homes. Parking was NEVER a problem until these houses were occupied by illegal alien tenants who are violating occupancy standards. Now, we have to hunt for parking, can no longer having parking in front of our own homes, even though we pay taxes, and supposedly own the property out to the middle of the street.

Our town collects refuse/garbage once a week. Most houses have TWO GARBAGE cans, maybe three. The house next to ours has 12 garbage cans, and by the end of the week they are over flowing with refuse, and we now have rat problems. Further, because of the heavy toll so many people takes on a structure, it has become run down, is now the EYESORE of the community. This perhaps does not concern you, so let me put it in perspective...as a result of the downtrodden feel of this adjoining property, my property value has actually dropped by over $50,000 dollars...that was/is my wife and I's hard earned equity gone, in short a hidden cost our nation's refusal to enforce our laws, and deport those who are here illegally.

I cannot tell you how many NOISE complaints have been filed against these two homes, cannot tell you what it is like to watch them getting drunk, then urinating publicly out in the front yards. You have no idea what it is like to find their discarded trash, bottles and debris that has been casually tossed into our gardens. We have even been awakened at night to find some of them in our back yard sitting in our lawn furniture because it was NOT BEING USED at the time.

Perez may see such a proposed law as being racist...I see such a law as protecting the rights and property values of those forced to live next door or down the street from properties that are over crowded, and in violation of a host of laws. Perhaps this proposed law would not be necessary if those here illegally were abiding by the laws meant to protect our human health and the environment....we do not live 20,30 even 40 to a house, we have standards, rules and laws meant to preserve a higher standard of living than what is found in Mexico and other third world nations. I am tired of hearing illegal aliens claiming they live this way to SAVE MONEY TO SEND HOME...sorry, we do not live that way, and living that way is against the law in America.

Pinto Bean

Pinto,

Good letter. I doubt you will, but if you get a response, please let us know.

will do...........

Way to go, PINTO!

While you're in the writing/angry mode, will you pop over here and help get this out too? Also, note VMAMA's post re: her call to the University.
Interesting, eh?

Well, if you have time........
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=34480