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Immigration debate intensifies across state
Economic unease on rise in suburbs
By Yvonne Abraham and Scott Helman, Globe Staff | July 3, 2006

WRKO radio host John DePetro's comment line was ablaze on a recent morning .

John from Kingston called to say that authorities here have to do something about illegal immigration.

``I think anyone in law enforcement who isn't enforcing the laws should be prosecuted," he said. Then Bill from Lowell was on the phone, saying undocumented immigrants should be banned ``from receiving any sorts of benefits, welfare . . . anything at all."

And on it went.

Just a year ago, DePetro got few takers on the issue of immigration. Now just the mention of the word brings a flood of calls. On the phone are people from Ashland and Wrentham who say they are distressed at emergency rooms crowded with immigrants they suspect are not here legally and at proposals to give those immigrants driver's licenses or in-state tuition rates.

The issue of immigration has exploded in Massachusetts, animating the gubernatorial race, spurring legislators to attempt crackdowns, lighting up talk radio lines, and sending both sides of the debate to rallies and protests.

While the fractious national debate over immigration is bringing new attention to the issue everywhere, in Massachusetts the intensity appears driven in large part by the changing living patterns of immigrants. The issue has become suburbanized, as some new arrivals have sought jobs and cheaper housing outside the major cities.

At the same time, some longtime Bay State residents are feeling strained as they struggle to keep pace with housing costs, taxes, and new expectations that they pay more for their healthcare and retirement. Analysts on both sides of the issue say longtime residents feel that no one is advocating for them, and efforts to win rights and benefits for immigrants who are here illegally touch a nerve.

The growing suburban unease is being met by increasing activism on the part of undocumented immigrants and their supporters, who are mobilizing for benefits and rights. Almost everywhere in Massachusetts, the fight is more visible.

``The real live impacts of immigration are being felt beyond urban centers," said Michael Graham, a WTKK radio talk show host who focuses almost exclusively on the issue. In ``Springfield and Medford people are saying, `What do you mean, I have to learn another language to order a doughnut? I don't live in New York. That's not how it's supposed to work here.' "

The people who are calling the radio shows are also deluging legislators' offices with demands for action, helping to spur a flurry of recent measures targeting undocumented immigrants.

State Senator Richard R. Tisei, a Wakefield Republican who has sponsored several of those measures, said he has received hundreds of calls from constituents this legislative session urging a tougher line against those living here illegally. Local police officers say they are fed up with people driving with fake licenses, he said. Business owners say they're tired of losing jobs to companies who employ undocumented workers who work for less.

State Representative Stephen P. LeDuc represents Marlborough, a city where the number of immigrants doubled during the 1990s to about 16 percent, with many coming from Brazil, India, and Guatemala. LeDuc said a man recently came up to him at a gas station and railed against proposals to grant legal residency to undocumented immigrants.

``You hear it in the coffee shop, your e-mail, or just general discussion," said LeDuc, a Democrat. ``It definitely hits a nerve."

Observers say strong emotions over immigration here began to surface about six months ago, when lawmakers debated a proposal to grant in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrants.

``The in-state tuition battle really hit a lot of people," said DePetro. ``People want to send their kids to the best college possible, and suddenly now these people are arguing that their kids deserve the same tuition rate as their own."

Supporters of the measure confidently predicted that the legislation would pass. But after a rush of e-mails and calls from opponents, it was overwhelmingly defeated.

Meanwhile, other events were propelling immigrant advocates to mobilize.

In December, the US House of Representatives passed an immigration reform bill that contained a series of crackdowns on undocumented immigrants. Immigrants gathered together to fight it.

``It was a two-month period when immigrants felt they were under the hammer," said Thomas Keown, spokesman for the Irish Immigration Center.

An Irish Immigration Lobby meeting at Dorchester's Florian Hall in February drew 800 mostly Irish immigrants, many of them undocumented, Keown said. They would never have ventured out a year ago, he said.

At Centro Presente, the organization that helped push Cambridge to renew its status as a sanctuary for immigrants, memberships were up 20 percent this spring, said Elena Letona, the center's executive director. Suddenly, she is being asked to speak in places she had rarely been before, like Arlington and Lexington.

Controversy over immigration is not new in Massachusetts, where a 2002 ballot measure to abolish bilingual education set off vigorous debate.

But demographics have made the issue more immediate for more people, specialists said. At the 2000 Census, about 1 in 7 Massachusetts residents was foreign-born, and since then, immigration, already at a 50-year high, has continued to accelerate. Of the estimated 1 million foreign-born residents of Massachusetts, about 200,000 are undocumented.

While many immigrants still come to cities like Boston, Chelsea, and New Bedford, they have also found their way into outlying cities and towns like Milford, and Weymouth.

In a diverse city like Boston, the presence of immigrants barely registers. But in smaller towns, immigrants are now visible in schools and stores and at bus stops and work sites. In Milford, where at least 1 in 10 is now foreign-born in an otherwise overwhelmingly white city, the impact of the recent immigrants has spurred new measures to deter undocumented immigrants from moving there.

In Weymouth, the foreign-born population has jumped 20 percent in recent years.

Brazilian businesses are proliferating, said Weymouth resident Bob Casimiro, president of the Massachusetts Coalition for Immigration Reform. He sometimes photographs people he suspects of being in the country illegally as they leave apartment complexes for work. ``It has reached critical mass," he said. ``And now everybody is talking about it."

Ali Noorani, executive director of the Massachusetts Refugee and Immigrant Advocacy Coalition, said some residents may fear immigrants because they are not accustomed to them, or feel economically threatened. `` People of color are moving outside the cities, taking jobs outside the cities; people don't know where they're from or the language they're speaking," said Noorani.

Immigrant advocates say politicians are exploiting that unease for political gain and using immigrants to sidestep debate on more important issues, such as the cost of housing and healthcare in Massachusetts. They say Governor Mitt Romney, exploring a run for president, is using the issue to make a national name for himself.

In June, after a Globe story revealed the presence of undocumented workers on state projects, Romney proposed using state troopers to enforce immigration law. Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom rejected the suggestion that Romney is motivated by politics. ``The governor made it clear from very early on in his term that the government should not be condoning illegal behavior," he said. ``I think people feel violated in a way. That people can come and go as they please threatens their own sense of security."

As the state GOP looks toward fall elections, it is trying to cast illegal immigration as an economic issue. Democrats, while warning that any attempt to use immigrants as scapegoats will backfire, plan to poll residents broadly about immigration as part of a survey of voter attitudes in coming weeks. Still, Phil Johnston, chairman of the state's Democratic Party, said he is convinced that it is not as important as other issues.

``I doubt it's up there with education, healthcare, jobs," he said.

Political leaders who don't see the issue as one of local voters' main priorities are ``out of touch," said Peter Skerry, a professor of political science at Boston College who specializes in immigration. ``They don't understand the concerns people have."

Globe correspondent Ari Bloomekatz contributed to this report. Yvonne Abraham can be reached at abraham@globe.com. Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com.