This is so wrong. Do people really buy into this?
~~~

Immigration reform needed to avert violence, speaker says
By Lenore T. Adkins | Daily Herald Staff

Rachel Heuman speaks at a community forum on immigration Saturday at Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin. Heuman became involved with the immigrant population in the 1970s through her work with the United Farm Workers' grape and lettuce boycotts.


Published: 1/3/2010 12:01 AM


Racism is behind the movement against illegal immigration in America, Rachel Heuman, head of the Immigrant Advocacy Project in Evanston, said at a community forum Saturday in Elgin.

Moreover, she said she fears a "bloodbath" of increased violence against Hispanics if comprehensive immigration reform fails.

Heuman's talk was arranged by Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice and meant to address what she called a rising tide of anti-immigration sentiment in the city.

She has a long history of supporting immigrants, starting in the 1970s with the United Farm Workers' boycott of lettuce and grapes.

Twenty-six people attended the 21/2 hour conversation that touched on the economic and political factors that bring illegal immigrants across the border, the horrors they endure on the journey, pending immigration reform at the federal level that would create a path to citizenship and the discrimination they sometimes face in the United States.

Heuman recalled a 2008 incident in Shenandoah, Pa., in which a group of white teenagers hurled racial epithets at a 25-year-old Mexican man, then beat him to death.

Two teens were found guilty of assault and acquitted of more serious charges.

"All of the virulence directed against immigrants is directed against Hispanics," said Heuman, the daughter of Russian immigrants. "My personal feeling is racism is at the root of this and they (groups against illegal immigration) get distorted facts to justify their views."

Nobody was in attendance from the Association for Legal Americans in Elgin, a group frequently mentioned Saturday, but not by name.

The group in 2008 pressured Elgin to crack down on illegal immigrants and the city agreed to some of their demands, including running audits to ensure the city isn't hiring undocumented workers.

Doug Heaton, past president of AFLA and a current member, says racism has nothing to do with the group's stance against illegal immigrants.

"I think whenever someone comes into this country illegally and is allowed to hide behind the lack of enforcement, it's wrong," Heaton said Saturday in a phone interview. "It's a demographic fact most of them are from Mexico or South America, but that really isn't our issue."

The lively discussion at the forum also focused on studying the issue in order to combat ignorance and hatred, how demand for cheap labor helps drives illegal immigration, how families are ripped apart when one or both spouses are deported, and realizing immigration reform is key to the future of the country.

Heuman hoped the forum would inspire the Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice to join other local groups to raise awareness. But Chairwoman Mary Shesgreen said the group will instead decide which bills to support, talk to legislators, sign up for action alerts and give Heuman's group a donation.

"I just think it hasn't coalesced yet," Heuman said of her hopes for coalition building.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=348084&src=5