Thread: Illegals must go, residents insist

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Illegals must go, residents insist
Congressman Miller hearsfrom 150 at local meeting


Polyana da Costa
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

Tension and anger peppered the comments of residents gathered Tuesday for a town hall meeting on immigration reform, where many said tougher laws are needed.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Chumuckla, who organized the meeting, opposes laws that would benefit illegal immigrants. He found a mostly like-minded crowd of nearly 150, which included only a handful of immigrants.

"Illegal aliens do not need to stay here or get amnesty," he said, drawing applause at the end of the meeting at the old Escambia County Courthouse. "They need to go home and apply for citizenship before they come in."

Gerry Watson, 55, of Gulf Breeze, who is married to a Peruvian who entered the U.S. legally and is working to get her citizenship, said he supports Miller's view.

"I don't know how people can even debate the issue. It's breaking the law," he said.

Dave Robau, a Gulf Breeze resident who worked as an immigration officer for six years, criticized pending legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives calling for creation of a 700-mile border fence that would cost about $2.2 billion.

"I don't know what a 700-mile wall will do to a 2,000-mile border that has tunnels throughout," he said.

Robau said it would cost about $215 billion to deport the some 12 million immigrants living in the United States.

"Who is willing to pay for that?" Robau asked.

"We are," dozens in the room responded.

Mario Talamantez, 49, is a U.S. citizen. His ancestors were born in Texas when the state was still part of the Republic of Mexico in the 1800s.

"I'm here to represent those who were too intimidated to be here," he said. "I know a lot of people who told me they wouldn't come because they were afraid."

Talamantez said he advises any immigrants he meets to come to the United States through legal channels. But many have to wait for years before they can come in legally, if ever, he said.

Supporters of Miller argued that granting legal status to illegal aliens is unfair to those who have abided by the law and waited to enter the country legally.

Father Richard Altenbaugh, a local retired priest, told Miller and the audience that immigrants who enter the country illegally many times risk their lives to cross the borders.

"It's not an easy decision," he said. "But if you want them to abide by the law, make laws that work," he said, referring to the bureaucracy and the wait usually required to obtain legal status.

Others expressed frustration with current immigration laws they say are not being enforced, and they called for even stricter laws.

Several suggested laws that would make illegal immigrants' U.S.-born children illegal as well. Under current law, anyone born in the United States is a citizen.

Others said the root of the problem is a business matter.

Pat Hudson, district manager for Workforce, an employment agency, said immigrants would not cross the borders to find work in the U.S. if they knew American companies would not hire them illegally.

"We are trying to treat the symptoms not the disease," Hudson said.

According to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, 63 percent of people favored an easier path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S., 14 percent favored a guest workers program, and 20 percent favored charging illegal immigrants with a felony.

The issue of immigration reform has stalled in Congress since the latest bill collapsed in the Senate on April 7. That bill included a guest-worker program and a path for undocumented workers to win legal status and eventual citizenship.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Chumuckla

This guy is on the way UP !! I can't even believe he's from Florida !!! It's unheard of to have someone this good from this state !! Seriously.