Kern residents divided on reform plan
Local reaction to the Senate’s rejection Thursday of President Bush’s immigration reform bill came swiftly from both supporters and opponents.
"This proposed immigration legislation would have had a great impact here in Kern County," said a disappointed Matthew Park, executive director of the Kern County Farm Bureau.
Instead, he said, "We’re still going to have the problem of illegal immigrants from abroad."
However, Kern County Republican Party executive director Jack Duncan said, "I think the Senate did the right thing today. This piece of legislation was totally flawed and should not ever have been considered by the Senate or the Congress."
Speaking on his own behalf and not as local party spokesman, Duncan said a compromise piece of legislation that is both compassionate toward undocumented immigrants but also enforceable is necessary.
"We don’t have to load them up and send them all home," he said, "but we also just can’t have open borders."
Duncan said the bill fails because several provisions, including fines to be paid by those who entered the country illegally and other enforcement actions, could be altered or waived altogether after passage.
Park, however, is more worried about the stagnation of a still- unsolved problem.
Immigrants who have a chance of legalizing their status will try to do so still, Park said, but many who don’t have that option "will continue to do business as usual," meaning they will remain here illegally.
"The employers are still going to be faced with a shortage of U.S. citizen or legal resident workers," he said, "thus being forced to turn to hiring illegal immigrants.
"Immigrants are the only ones that would do a lot of this work. Our farmers, our people in agriculture just don’t see an interest among citizens to do the work that’s required. It’s very hard work," he said.
United Farm Workers president Arturo Rodriguez released a strongly worded statement:
"The UFW is extremely disappointed in the leadership of this nation. Republicans and President Bush have dangled hope in front of the eyes of millions of people again, saying they would work at reaching compromise and (a) solution for comprehensive immigration reform.
"Instead, they only showed the American voters how they can debate for endless hours and get nothing accomplished."
Park harbors some hope still, Duncan, some wariness.
"The Farm Bureau is very appreciative of our two U.S. senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, who both voted to have the Senate consider this bill," he said, "especially Sen. Feinstein who was a leading advocate with regard to the AgJOBS (Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act) portion of the bill.
"We haven’t given up," Park said. "It’s much too important, and the Farm Bureau is going to continue every effort to try to impress upon Congress how important immigration legislation is needed to agriculture specifically, and even more so locally here."
About local Kern Republicans, Duncan said, "We do not agree with the president." He said local party leaders would meet Thursday evening to consider a resolution to oppose the bill, which Duncan called "defeated but not dead."
Pat Lane, the owner of Lane Family Funeral Home in Delano and a three-year member of the board of directors for the Greater Delano Chamber of Commerce, said he personally views the national immigration debate through the lens of his Catholic faith.
"All men and women are created equally," he said, "whether they’re here illegally or not. I believe in treating everyone equally and giving everyone a shot in life.
"Our legislators really need to understand where the immigrant is coming from and why. It’s everybody’s dream to live their lives in a way that makes them happy and free," he said. "Why shouldn’t everyone have that opportunity?"
Lane is afraid the unresolved debate is going to keep undocumented immigrants in the shadows.
He gave a chilling example:
"When we put out a register book at a funeral, there are a lot of (immigrants) who don’t want to sign that book because they’re afraid it might get turned over to immigration," he said, "even though it’s just going to be given to the family."