http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=456595

Personal face of immigration
Contentious debate reflected in more than just words in Waukesha
By SARAH LARIMER
slarimer@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 8, 2006
Waukesha - On any given day, Teresa Croal could be a chauffeur, a counselor or a translator.

Croal, an outreach worker with Catholic Charities in Waukesha, works with members of the Hispanic community - some of whom are illegal immigrants - helping connect them with employers, make sense of paperwork and even fill out employment forms.

"Most of them are here for the big dream. I am not immigration. I am not the border. I am not the one who's watching," Croal said. "I am not employed to watch. I am here to help them. If they get here, they get help."

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 5,563 Hispanics called Waukesha home in 2000, making up a about 9.5% of the population. In addition, an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 undocumented workers live and work in the area, said Anselmo Villarreal, executive director of La Casa de Esperanza, a social services agency focused on serving the Hispanic community. Local immigration advocates look for changes that would make it easier for immigrants to legally work in the country. U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) has proposed legislation that would tighten border controls, clamp down on employers who hire undocumented workers, and declare illegal immigrants and those who assist them to be felons.

Sensenbrenner represents Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District, which includes Waukesha.

The Judiciary Committee chairman introduced the original House bill on immigration policy reform, which did not include a plan for illegal immigrants to work toward citizenship.

Raj Bharwani, Sensenbrenner's spokesman, said the congressman's office has sent out roughly 2,000 pieces of mail in recent months to respond to constituents.

Overwhelmingly, Bharwani said, the response from the 5th District has been in line with Sensenbrenner's position"Ninety percent of the people that have contacted us from the district have been supportive of my boss's position and the house bill," Bharwani said.

Constituents, Bharwani said, are wary about the same issues as Sensenbrenner.

"There's security concerns, there's fairness concerns," Bharwani said.

Villarreal said he understands concerns about security, but said politicians shouldn't just focus on the Mexican border.

"It's important not to get confused. Terrorists are not going to be walking through the desert. They're going to be flying first-class. We learned that from 9-11," Villarreal said. "We definitely have to secure our borders, and we need to know who is here. I think that's very important."

On a local level, the Common Council recently changed the municipal code to include a statement that would require some permit applicants to be legal residents of the United States.

The change would affect applicants who seek Chapter 8 licenses or permits, which are used for a variety of activities, including permits for auctions, pool halls and the sale of tobacco products. Villarreal said he thought the change was fair.

"If I were (an) undocumented worker, I would never apply for a license, I would be happy under the system," Villarreal said.

La Casa, which serves about 10,000 people a year through a variety of educational, medical, child care and other social services programs, helps provide basic services to immigrants but does not aid undocumented workers find employment, Villarreal saidBut, Villarreal points out, illegal immigrants are often here because of the demand for their service in the workforce, often in jobs employers find difficult to fill.

"If we didn't have the jobs, and if, in this economy we didn't need their skills and their hard work, they wouldn't be here. So we have a problem here," Villarreal said. "We have a labor-force issue."

Croal said there are people in the community who say Hispanics come to the U.S. and Waukesha for the welfare and benefits, don't pay taxes for the services they get and send money back home.

She said some of that may be true of some of her clients but "we are taking care of them. But then, what else can we do when they are here already?" Croal asked. "Like I say, we are not the government. We are not the ones who are watching the border, and I think in the United States, basically, we pretty much take care of the families. We take care of children."

Croal said her clients often come to her scared about news reports of deportation.

"They didn't go to work because somebody said 'No, immigration is out there and they're going to arrest you and they're going to send you to Mexico.' So for that, the restaurant was not open," Croal said. "Some of my clients told me they didn't go to church. Some of them were going to leave the kids at home. They weren't going to send them to school because, you know, immigration was out there. They're very afraid they're going to be arrested in the street."

Her clients fill factory, landscaping, housekeeping and food-service positions, Croal said.

"There are a lot of new people coming every day," Croal said. "I have clients that I've had for years because the kids learn English but the parents don't. So the parents usually need the help to cope with the household and the children."

Croal said families often have trouble adjusting to a new culture and way of life.

"It's hard. I think it's hard for the families. You have children here, the culture is different, the customs are different and the kids grow up with this custom, with the Americanized way," Croal said.

"Parents kind of stay behind. So, I imagine it's very hard for parents because you have different cultures. I think the parents struggle with how the kids grow up and what they do. We are not used to that. It is very hard to adjust."

Legal immigration difficult
Legally crossing the border to work in the United States is a daunting task, said Catholic Charities immigration lawyer Barbara Graham.

Obtaining the proper paper work is often quiet a challenge and take years. Rules for permits and waivers delay the process, she said.

"Right now, if I mail in your file today, you're not going to go to down Ciudad Juarez (the location of the Mexican consulate) for a year and a half. And once you get down there, if you had this problem of 'Oh, God, I was in the United States for more than a year' and you want to come back, its going to take another six to eight months to process the waiver to get you back up here. Nobody wants to go to Juarez to process," Graham said.

"Everybody wants to do it up here if they can. And, if you have to leave and go to Juarez, and after the waiver to come back, the waiver's available only through one of your parents or through somebody you're married to. It's not available through your sons and your daughters and your kids."

Graham said her agency handled more than 1,000 immigration consults this past year.

"We get all these couples who are just brand new, just newly married," Graham said. "And we explain this process to them, and they all look at me like I need to get medicated. Because my government wouldn't treat me this way. My government wouldn't leave me here to be the only person to put food on the table, pay the rent, feed and clothe the kids while my husband's waiting in Juarez for a year just to get a waiver to come back in. But you explain it to them, and they leave in tears."