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Elsmere's posturing over immigration law victimizes a good American
06/26/2005

In the weeks since Elsmere Town Council voted down a law that would fine landlords and residents who could not prove legal immigration status, we have heard various endorsements of the intent behind it.

Indeed, if there's one point on which both sides agree, it's that those who have followed the immigration rules are to be admired. These legal immigrants, hard-liners insist, have nothing to fear from a crackdown on those without papers.

So when I visited Latinos in Wilmington and Elsmere with Cecilia Cadesa-Lusardi of Voices Without Borders, who served as interpreter, I was particularly struck by the story of Virginia Espinosa Sanchez, who owns and runs La Fonda restaurant.

Espinosa Sanchez, a 45-year-old single mother with a broad, expressive face and sparkling brown eyes, came to the United States from Puebla, Mexico, under the sponsorship of her brother-in-law, who owns a pair of bodegas. She lived and worked with him and eventually earned her own documentation.

Like many immigrants, she found herself nostalgic for the home cooking she missed, and knew others felt the same. Using money she scraped together with her four sisters and a sister-in-law, she bought the restaurant 18 months ago.

The business was doing well, she said, until talk of the proposed law stirred up fear. Rumors swept the community -- federal immigration agents were picking up people at this grocery, or that restaurant, or at Value City. None of it was true, but none of it could be checked out, so it was safer to stay indoors.

The atmosphere made Espinosa Sanchez feel "like an animal trapped in a corral." Though she had nothing to fear herself, "you all feel the same because you are a community," she said.

The immigration raids never came to pass, but Latinos in Elsmere felt lasting effects. Before the proposed law was voted down, some landlords warned tenants that, facing potential $1,000 fines for undocumented residents, they found it too risky to rent to Hispanics. Dozens, maybe hundreds, left for more hospitable environs.

Those who remained stayed out of sight. La Fonda's usual weekend rush had been mainly Mexican, Espinosa Sanchez said, and when it evaporated she cut back on her employees' hours. While Latino-based businesses elsewhere reported a rebound, La Fonda's revenue has not returned to the pre-scare level, she said.

"People are still afraid to come here because of the location," she said. In other circumstances, the restaurant's high-visibility spot across the street from a major intersection and the Elsmere fire hall would be an asset. But it's a liability with so many Mexicans looking over their shoulders, she said.

Espinosa Sanchez said she feels responsible for the money her sisters invested in her, but if business doesn't rebound soon she is considering closing the restaurant.

Despite the threat to her livelihood, she feels no bitterness toward Americans -- how could she, she said, when their business is the only thing keeping her afloat?

Such is the legacy of Elsmere's dabble in immigration law. A few dozen undocumented immigrants have scattered to the winds. Left behind to suffer is Virginia Espinosa Sanchez, the person immigration hard-liners claim to support -- a legally documented business owner who, until two months ago, was living proof of the American dream.

Al Mascitti's column prints Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. His weblog, First Statements, appears at www.delawareonline.com. Contact him at 324-2866 or amascitti@delawareonline.com.