Forum fields illegal immigration questions
Bob Campbell
Midland Reporter-Telegram
09/25/2007

http://www.mywesttexas.com

S.-Mexico border fencing and the clandestine entry of Arabs and Muslims who might be terrorists were addressed at a Monday night League of Women Voters forum at Midland College.



U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement directors from Pecos and El Paso, a Midland immigration lawyer and UTPB economics professor delved into the politically torrid topic and took questions from about 50 people in the Scharbauer Student Center's Roadrunner Room.


Attorney Mike Borland said immigrants with children get free food from the federal Women, Infants & Children Supplemental Nutrition (WICS) Program and those with medical problems are treated without question in hospital emergency rooms.


He said rescinding the option of children born to illegal immigrants to apply for citizenship at age 21 "would be very difficult to do" because it is an unconditional right that would require a constitutional amendment to change.


Referring to benefits, Borland said, "I don't think it is really as extensive as people think it is."


He said immigration was unregulated until 1790, when Congress put 75 laws in the Citizenship Act, and it progressively has gotten more complex over the decades.


"I don't think anybody expects immigration reform to happen until the next president is elected," Borland said.


Accompanied by legal assistant Kathryn Midkiff, he noted Congress has put expiration dates on Form I-90 legal residency "green cards" that must be renewed beginning Oct. 7 for $370.


ICE Directors Ponce Guerra Jr. of Pecos and John Moore of El Paso are heavily involved in catching and deporting undocumented workers, whom they called "aliens," with 3,500 typically incarcerated at Reeves County Detention Center.


Though often pictured crossing the border in isolated areas, aliens may favor urban locales.


"Once they cross, they can blend in a little more," Guerra said. "I personally don't believe the fence is the answer."


Moore said a new fence at San Diego, Calif., has made ICE's and the Border Patrol's job somewhat easier and he sees fencing as "a piece of the puzzle.


"We need a synergistic effort," said Moore, suggesting a combination of methods is necessary.


The agents said non-criminal Mexican aliens are deported by release at the El Paso-Juarez Port of Entry and those from other places are given airplane tickets home to El Salvador, San Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic, for example.


However, those with criminal records who committed no crimes here are escorted home by two law enforcement officers.


The officers conceded Arabs and Muslims routinely are apprehended. "We receive them from all over the world," Moore said.


UTPB Economics Prof. Scott Carson showed charts of immigration peaks and valleys since the 1820s, saying it involved mostly Europeans and Canadians until about a half century ago, when Latin America and Asia became prominent.


"We've been immigrating to the U.S. since 12,000 B.C. and the flow of immigration worldwide has moved south," Dr. Carson said. "Most of our immigration now is for family unification purposes."


He said America needs more immigrants to fill both unskilled and highly skilled jobs.


Carson said babysitters, housekeepers and gardeners cost less to employ in Texas because of its relatively plentiful immigrant population. "We don't have enough immigrant labor," he said.


The program was chaired by League of Women Voters officer Holly Williams, and co-sponsored by Midland College and the Reporter-Telegram


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