Immigration concerns voiced at forum

[curiouspat]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massac ... _at_forum/

Immigration concerns voiced at forum
Weymouth group discusses impact

By Alison Lobron and Emma Fitzsimmons, Globe Correspondents | June 8, 2006

Lorrie Hall, founder and chairwoman of Massachusetts Citizens for Immigration Reform, said she became worried about illegal immigration when backhoes started digging in her beloved Duxbury to make room for homes.

``I live in a town that was semirural, and everybody loved it that way," said Hall, a grandmother of seven.
Hall spoke at a forum last night, sponsored by her group, at South Shore Christian Academy in Weymouth. Her expressions of concern over the impact of immigration on Massachusetts' open spaces, schools, and jobs were met with nods of agreement, and the occasional cheer, from approximately 50 attendees.

``Does anybody here like sprawl?" Hall asked. ``Do you like water shortages? Do you like crowded schools?" Audience members shook their heads. ``And what happens to wages when you have a surplus of labor?" she asked.

``They go down!" shouted a man near the back of the gymnasium.

Ali Noorani, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said in a telephone interview that immigrants aren't asking for special treatment.

``Nobody is asking for amnesty," Noorani said. ``We are asking that undocumented immigrants get in line for citizenship after learning English, waiting six years, holding a job, and paying a fine. "

He said gatherings such as the Weymouth forum, which he did not attend, make people more afraid and don't offer realistic solutions.

State Senator Robert Hedlund, a Weymouth Republican who has sponsored a measure requiring state housing authorities to verify immigrants' status and refuse subsidized-housing to illegal immigrants, supported those concerned about the effects of illegal immigration.

``This is the first generation in American history whose standard of living is below their parents" he said.

Hedlund's measure was included in the Senate budget and must now be approved by a House-Senate conference committee. ``If I were a Vegas odds maker, I'd say we've got a good shot," Hedlund predicted after his speech. ``Probably 50-50."

Hedlund acknowledged a need for compassion in the debate over immigration, but asked: ``How compassionate can we afford to be? We're supposed to be a nation of laws, not emotions."

Garrett Chamberlain, the police chief in New Ipswich, N.H., who used trespassing charges to arrest an illegal immigrant in 2005, added: ``People are crazy not to want to come here. . . . It's the greatest country in the world. I just want them to go through the proper channels."

Emotions were running high for some members of the audience last night.

``I'm getting very angry," said Linda McGray, 53, of Weymouth, who wants new immigrants to follow the same path to citizenship her mother did when she emigrated from England.

``I can see a guest worker program, but we can't leave the borders open," she said. ``Make them work for it."

Hall, who has five grandchildren in the Duxbury public schools, said her children don't have many immigrants in their classes. But she said immigration in cities such as Lawrence and Lowell has created a domino effect, pushing American-born families into other towns and overcrowding the schools.

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company

[moosetracks]

But. when do we say enough? How many more people can the USA hold and maintain good paying jobs for true legal Americans?

How many more people can be allowed here without causing depressed wages?

The Senate and the House better start crunching numbers for the years ahead, not rush to sign something that will harm our American workers and futures for our grandkids.

[Mamie]

``Nobody is asking for amnesty," Noorani said. ``We are asking that undocumented immigrants get in line for citizenship after learning English, waiting six years, holding a job, and paying a fine.

granting 'legal' status to illegal aliens IS amnesty -- citizenship and amnesty are NOT the same thing and the FACTS are being distorted to confuse the issue