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PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
The new immigration emergency
- Louis Freedberg
Monday, September 5, 2005


I'LL GRANT YOU that immigration politics are hard to follow at the best of times.

But when leading Democrats in California and other border states start calling for a "state of emergency" to deal with illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border, it's time to do a double take.

A decade ago, a centerpiece of Gov. Pete Wilson's political strategy was to badger the federal government -- then headed by President Clinton -- into cracking down on illegal immigration at the border and to reimburse California for the costs of illegal immigrants once they were in the state.

But the Wilson strategy was a disaster. It poisoned relations with Hispanic voters, and the GOP has been trying to make amends with them ever since, with limited success. It did nothing to promote Wilson's presidential aspirations. And the heightened controls on the border did nothing to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S.

But now it is the Democrats' turn to call for tougher controls. Last month, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico called a state of emergency in his state. Richardson, a Hispanic who speaks Spanish fluently, is a potential presidential candidate in 2008. In radio and television interviews, he pointedly used the term "illegal aliens" to refer to people immigrant advocates typically describe as "undocumented workers."

Two weeks ago, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez jumped on the state of emergency bandwagon, and called on Gov. Schwarzenegger to declare an immigration emergency on the California border, and, like Wilson before him, to pressure the federal government to cover the costs of illegal immigration.

This is the same Fabian Núñez whose father came to California as a bracero in the 1950s and who was born in San Diego, but grew up on the other side of the border in Tijuana.

What followed was a political tableau that would have been unimaginable a decade ago: a Republican governor telling a leading Democratic lawmaker -- and a Latino at that -- to take a hike. Schwarzenegger told Núñez he had no intention of declaring an immigration emergency -- in part because he didn't think there was one. "While your letter raises valid concerns," he wrote to Núñez, "its fundamental premise -- that the impacts of illegal immigration would be remedied if I were to declare a state of emergency -- is incorrect." He also argued that he didn't think California law allowed him to declare an emergency except in response to natural disasters.

Since then, four Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation to give Schwarzenegger the legal powers to do what Núñez had asked him to.'

Has Núñez set off a political firestorm? What was he thinking? I finally caught up with him late on the phone Friday afternoon as he left Sacramento for the Labor Day weekend. He explained that in order to move the currently stalled debate on illegal immigration requires "taking the debate to a new level."

"I've thought this through pretty thoroughly," he told me.

He said that unless one confronts the challenge of what do about the ongoing flow of migrants across the border moving the discussion about what to do about the 2 to 3 million illegal immigrants already living and working in California far more difficult.

He says that any discussion about immigration reform must involve taking a "balanced approach" that includes figuring out "how do you stop or slow down the flow of people coming across the border."

The Bush administration has proposed establishing a guest worker program for new workers coming to the United States. The estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S. could apply for those temporary visas, but it's highly unlikely that many of them would, because that would jeopardize their ability to stay here once their visas expired.

Núñez wants to figure out a way to get undocumented workers who are already here -- especially those in urban areas -- back into the debate. "The worst thing that could happen is coming up with a solution that ignores the contributions of millions of undocumented immigrants who are working here, who are paying taxes who are already totally assimilated, speaking the language, but because we want to be politically righteous, they won't be included in the debate," he said.

It's all very risky. By calling for more controls on the border, he may get them -- without getting a new deal for migrants already here in return.

In fact, after Núñez and fellow Democrats called for a tougher border crackdown, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff promised to increase controls on the borders, and to expand detention facilities for immigrants apprehended by the feds. President Bush, in a rare visit to California, made similar promises.

Neither mentioned trying to legalize immigrants already here. Just the opposite. Bush has made it clear he won't consider any immigration plan that even hints at granting amnesty for immigrants who broke the law to get here.

Last week Núñez appeared to be backing off on his call on Schwarzenegger to declare an immigration emergency. The concept, he said, needed to be "re-evaluated" in light of the real emergency brought on by Hurricane Katrina.

You have to grant Núñez this much: he is shaking up the immigration debate, even while making himself unpopular in some immigrant advocacy circles. On this Labor Day, trying to secure a permanent place for immigrant workers is an honorable goal. Whether his strategy will work is another question altogether.