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Pro-immigrant views air at forum
Today 11:33 am)


By Barbara Ferry | The New Mexican
September 29, 2006

When conservative leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives held field hearings on the topic of immigration around the country over the summer, they skipped Santa Fe.

It was evident why on Thursday as labor, business and religious leaders, state lawmakers, city officials and immigrant rights advocates held their own hearing at Santa Fe Community College.

While the House hearings focused on border enforcement and measures aimed at deterring illegal immigration, attendees at the Santa Fe's meeting extolled the benefits of immigration, applauded state lawmakers for passing immigrant-friendly legislation and lambasted Congress for rejecting a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented residents of the United States.

A proposal to build a 700-mile wall on parts of the Mexican border, which passed the House and is expected to be voted on in the Senate soon, also came under fire.


``We have a system... that we agree is broken, and Congress' response is to attempt to make it worse,'' said state Rep. Ken Martinez, D-Grants.
He noted New Mexico is ``running on a different track'' from cities and states that have adopted tough local laws to deter immigration.

Martinez predicted, for example, that New Mexico won't comply with the REAL ID act, a federal law that sets new requirements for driver's licenses and prohibits federally approved licenses from being issued to undocumented immigrants. Martinez said he might sponsor a bill in the upcoming session of the New Mexico Legislature to urge Congress to repeal the REAL ID Act. New Mexico is one of 11 states that issues licenses to undocumented immigrants.

U.S. District Judge Martha Vazquez of Santa Fe urged immigrants who qualify to apply for U.S. citizenship. Penalties for legal immigrants who commit minor crimes are much harsher than those for citizen violent offenders, she said.

``My father came to this country illegally and was deported,'' Vazquez said. ``If it weren't for the gift of being born in this country, I wouldn't be on the federal bench.''

The judge added, ``I lock up people like my father who came to this country. Sometimes just minor offenses cause them to serve years in custody.''

Duane Trythall, chairman of the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry, said current immigration laws, such as those requiring employers to verify their workers' immigration status, are not enforced.
``And if we have laws that are not enforced, you are obviously discriminating against employers who follow the law,'' he said.

Trythall said he found it difficult to understand why legislation can't be passed on an issue where business and labor agree.

Santa Fe Mayor David Coss said politics was the reason. ``These politics are very vicious. We need to protect our communities as much as we can from these vicious politics.''

Contact Barbara Ferry at bferry@sfnewmexican.com.