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Citizens group pushes for immigration laws
9-12 Delaware Patriots deny accusations of racism
By ESTEBAN PARRA • The News Journal • June 21, 2010


BOWERS BEACH -- Russ Murphy stood before nearly 100 people last week and told them the immigration legislation they were lobbying Delaware to enact would go nowhere before the legislative session ends next week.

"We've been ignored," said Murphy, a 65-year-old Milford resident who heads the 9-12 Delaware Patriots, a conservative group that wants Delaware to pass legislation similar to Oklahoma's 2007 immigration measure that was the nation's strictest until Arizona passed its controversial law recently.
Not only are they feeling ignored by state lawmakers, they also have to fend off accusations of racism.

"The reason they're tagging us as racist is because it's an easy way out, and it automatically takes away from the real problem. It focuses you as a racist instead of what the problem is, that people are here illegally and they are economically destroying this country -- bottom line," said Alex Garcia, a 49-year-old Magnolia resident and original Delaware Patriots member. "Has nothing to do with race whatsoever."

The group started in March 2009 with a few people who met in Murphy's kitchen. It now sponsors two monthly meetings in each of the state's three counties and advocates that only by following the Constitution will the country be able to navigate away from a path to destruction.

"The system is being exploited by people who know how to use the system," Murphy said. "Unfortunately, it is getting to the point where the piggy bank is running empty. The funds aren't there to support the entitlements that people are taking advantage of."

The group's goal is to get Delaware to pass a law similar to the Oklahoma measure, which among other things made it illegal to knowingly transport or house unauthorized immigrants and requires state contractors to check the immigration status of their workers.

The group gets much of its information by trolling the Internet for laws and statistics, including websites such as NumbersUSA and the Federation for American Immigration Reform -- groups that advocate lower immigration numbers. It also reaches out to fellow grass-roots groups in towns and states where immigration laws have been enacted.

Benjamin E. Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Council, which advocates comprehensive immigration reform, said many grass-roots groups have been responsible for pushing immigration legislation at the local and state levels. But he questioned some of the groups' tactics, saying that at times they capitalize on communities' fears and anxiety and use immigrants as scapegoats.

"There are some of those groups that are destructive and whose intentions, if they were truly known to the public, the public would disavow them categorically," he said. "But there are also other folks out there who are trying to get engaged to fix a really complex issue."

Garcia, whose father is American Indian and whose mother is Czech but became a U.S. citizen, said he grew up in a Hispanic community in Colorado.
"Look at my skin. My name is Garcia," he said. "I don't have a thing against Hispanic people whatsoever. I have a problem with illegal people in the United States."

If the Patriots are to get immigration laws enacted in Delaware, they must find out how immigration has affected the state, said Samuel B. Hoff, a political science professor at Delaware State University.

While the problem is not as prevalent in Delaware as it is in Arizona or other border states, he said, issues the group can focus on are the impact undocumented immigrants have had on the economy and the job market.
Statistics uncertain.

But this could be difficult, because accurate numbers are hard to come by.
Patriot members point to a report issued by U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) in which his newly formed group, the Reclaim American Jobs Caucus, estimates there were about 20,000 illegal immigrants employed or seeking work in Delaware, while there are 38,600 unemployed people in the state.

But the report compares a 2008 estimate of the number of illegal immigrants to the preliminary number of unemployed for April 2010.
Patriot members said illegal immigration costs the state $85 million to $90 million every year, but they said these are estimates.

"There is a lot that goes into the costs of illegal aliens -- illegal immigration -- from the free health care, schooling, public housing, food stamps, school lunches, English teachers, to the printing of Spanish signs," said Bob Cuncic, who chairs the Patriots' Kent County illegal immigration committee. "Not to mention the crime. Unless you are keeping daily figures, you can only estimate."

The Delaware Economic Development Office issued a controversial report in 2008 saying illegal immigration costs Delaware $65.83 million annually for social services, education and other costs. The study's validity was disputed in part because it took much of its data from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group on the Southern Poverty Law Center's list of U.S. hate groups.

The state Department of Education does not keep statistics on how many undocumented students it has or their cost.

Although undocumented immigrants are not eligible for food stamps, they can receive Medicaid, but only for emergency services and labor-delivery charges, said Carl Kanefsky, a spokesman for the state Department of Health and Social Services. Delaware spent about $7.5 million in Medicaid coverage last year, with the federal government paying 60 percent of that.
"The taxpayers pay for it, and we know the costs are high," said Cuncic, 69, of Smyrna.

The Patriots' push for state legislation began soon after it formed. The group divides its work among committees, including legislative, educational and illegal immigration panels.

Worried about jobs

Lynn Brannon, a 51-year-old Milton resident and a clerical worker, said she got involved after seeing the number of jobs going to immigrants.
"I have two stepdaughters who are very, very important to me, a bunch of nieces and nephews, and if we let this go unchecked, it's going to destroy their lives. And I can't stand by and watch that happen," she said.

While she is not opposed to legal immigration, Brannon said, in times of economic distress the country should cut back on the number of foreigners allowed to come here.

The Patriots got a break during an October town hall meeting in Milford when Cuncic presented documents to Sen. Bruce C. Ennis, D-Smyrna, on how states could form their own immigration laws. This included an article by Kris Kobach, a law professor from Missouri who helped Arizona and some small cities pass similar ordinances. Ennis was receptive to Cuncic, who is a constituent.

Patriots picked the Oklahoma law because it has stood up to legal challenges. The Delaware group was hopeful that something would come of their lobbying, but as the end of the legislative session nears, they don't believe it will happen.

"I think they did an end run on us," Murphy said at a Patriots meeting, adding that he felt slighted by state senators who on June 9 met with Hispanic advocates who objected to the legislation.

Sen. Robert Marshall, D-Wilmington West, said he did not invite the group because he was not familiar with it at the time of the meeting. He added that any immigration law the state takes up would have to take place next year, after the federal elections.

Cuncic said he was disappointed that the legislation went nowhere this session, but said, "January will soon be here before we know it, and the Oklahoma law will be pressed again."

Esteban Parra at 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.

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