Idaho’s Illegal Immigrants Concern over Crackdown
Posted: May 13, 2010 9:11 PM PDT Updated: May 13, 2010 9:23 PM PDT


Idaho may soon see the same harsh immigration law Arizona passed.

Many undocumented immigrant families said they are scared if a harsh immigration law is passed here in Idaho.

Some have said they would be forced to leave the state without their children who are natural citizens.

Everyday it's like living in the shadows, families in fear because they are breaking the law.

They do it because of what they don't have and for what a few small steps across the border can bring.

"To live here, to live the American dream," said one undocumented immigrant.

But they know the risks. That's why one undocumented family would only talk to us in the shadows, a place they try to stay after several attempts to come here legally failed.

"It's hard, it is very difficult to get a VISA because you have to be a rich person and you have to have properties in Mexico," said an undocumented immigrant Enrique.

Many undocumented immigrants said they will do whatever it takes to find work to support their families. Some of them will find a job to work out in a field because they don't have to show any identification.

The ones who suffer most are the children. Like 13-year old Luis. He said his life is hard because he never wanted to break the law. He had no choice. His parents brought him from Mexico when he was only 4-years old.

"They can just arrest me and I think that's kind of scary," said Luis.

Just some of the reasons undocumented immigrants agree that it's a broken immigration system. Something that everyone wants to see fixed.

Every May chants of hope are heard across the country as voices are joined looking for immigration reform.

But now that one state's taken the national issue on, many are calling Arizona legislators racists.

"I'm an American like any other American here," said an Idaho Community Action Network board member Alicia Clements.

It's a fine line the boarder state's new immigration law is walking trying to give citizens more protection but also allowing what some deem as racial profiling.

"I don't think I should be stopped just because I'm Hispanic. That's against my constitutional rights and my basic human rights," said Clements.

One Idaho Senator wants a law similar to Arizona's passed here.

"I can guarantee I will bring an identical bill to that this coming session," said Republican Senator Mike Jorgenson from Hayden Lake.

Senator Jorgenson has said Idaho needs to do crack down on illegal immigration. Just in March the senator proposed a bill that punishes businesses who hire illegal workers.

That bill died when the senate overwhelmingly voted against it.

"It's a bill through attrition through enforcement, if you make these jobs not available then they leave, it doesn't cost us anything to get rid of them," said Senator Jorgenson.

Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney John Bujak said something must be done.

"We need some common sense way for people who want to come here to work legally and work. And it's not amnesty and it's not absolute zero tolerance to remove everyone from the US," said Bujak.

But until that happens we'll still see scenes where 25 men were shackled during a Twin Falls raid ultimately sent back across the border.

Yet, for most undocumented immigrants the risk is worth it.

"I know we broke the law, that's true but now I've been here for almost 12-years," said Enrique.

The Idaho Community Action Network that participated in IPTV's debate on immigration said reform is a federal issue and not the state's responsibility.

"The reality is as Americans, as Idahoans, we have become addicted to immigrant labor and if that's the case and that's the reality we need to make sure we have a system that works, orderly, that's legal, and that's fair as well," said ICAN's spokesman Leo Morales.

Both sides did agree that some type of comprehensive immigration reform is needed, whether it is border security or dealing with the backlogs of VISA work permits, something is needed for the whole country.

http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12480696