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Discontent from both sides of the illegal immigration debate

11:59 PM PST on Monday, November 28, 2005

By MICHELLE DeARMOND, SHARON McNARY and CLAIRE VITUCCI / The Press-Enterprise

Californians on both sides of the immigration debate decried President Bush's speech Monday as insufficient and called for a more comprehensive plan to deal with illegal immigrants and border security.

Bush outlined a guest-worker program that would allow migrants to work in the United States in three-year stretches, proposed tougher border enforcement and vowed to work with Congress to reform immigration laws.

He made the pitches in a speech in Tucson, Ariz., and is scheduled to talk about immigration again today in El Paso, Texas. As in California, immigration is an issue of concern for many residents in those border states.

Christian Ramirez said Bush's pro-enforcement message, "is now agreeing with the most extreme members of Congress on how to deal with the immigration phenomenon."

Ramirez, who directs the San Diego office of the American Friends Service Committee, which supports immigrant rights, said it appeared that Bush was favoring a harder line on immigration.

In his speech, Bush said he supported a 14-mile fence along the border between Mexico and San Diego, and also called for other border barriers.

Ramirez said that would force immigrants to take more dangerous routes into the United States and lead to more deaths along the border, which reached a record 460 in the fiscal year that ended in September, he said.

"He is siding with the Minuteman type of individuals," Ramirez said.

The Minuteman Project is a volunteer group that has monitored the U.S.-Mexico border and reported illegal immigrant crossings. The group's co-founder, Jim Gilchrist, of Aliso Viejo, was disappointed with Bush's speech, too, calling it "political doublespeak" that seeks to placate people like the Minutemen without making substantive changes.

"It's an illusion that everything is OK," said Gilchrist, who is running for Congress in Orange County as an American Independent. "We really don't want to hear anything out of the mouths of politicians unless it's, 'We have sealed the borders, increased the budget. ... We have protected your communities, your families and your pocketbooks.' "

Retiree Arne Chandler, of Murrieta, a member of the Minuteman Project, said Bush failed to propose substantive measures to catch people who illegally cross the border or crack down on employers who hire unauthorized workers.

"I'm extremely disappointed," Chandler said. "I was really looking for some movement on the issues, and he just regurgitated minor things that he's done that he has been forced to do."

Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, said he would have liked to hear Bush propose tougher sanctions against employers who hire illegal immigrants. Baca, a strong proponent of labor unions, said he also wished the president's guest-worker plan included protection for immigrants who get hurt on the job.

"They should have the same protection and rights as any other individual who is working here," he said. "We still need a comprehensive approach to immigration, and we need a true immigration reform plan."