[Los Angeles] Council calls for [ILLEGAL] immigrant rights

LA Daily News ^ | Wednesday, December 19, 2001 | Rick Orlov

[flamefront]

Stepping into a controversy, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously called Tuesday for legalization of illegal immigrants to ensure they have driver's licenses, safe housing, worker protections and adequate health care.

"We are not seeking any legislative action or blanket amnesty program, but we want to recognize that people can only live with dignity if they have access to health care, if they have a driver's license," said Councilman Eric Garcetti, who authored the resolution.

"Right now, these people live in sort of a shadowy area of our society. I think this helps our security by getting people out in the open where they can be recognized."

The measure was approved 12-0 without debate. It condemns the difficulties faced by illegal immigrants and says in part that "true legalization in the form of permanent legal status and citizenship ... should not be limited to any country or work industry."

In addition to providing access to driver's licenses, the measure urges that health care be provided along with access to clean and safe housing and working conditions, access to education, and a guarantee of minimum wages.

In adopting the resolution, which has no impact on local or state laws, the council put itself in the center of a debate that has raged in California for years.

Dan Stein, executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform in Washington, D.C., said the council's policy "would reward lawbreakers. What's sad is that they are people who think they're doing the right thing, but are misguided."

Tom Schiltgen, district director for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, said the agency would not take a position on the council's resolution. He said the agency endorses and promotes legal immigration.

"We think that is a good thing for the country and, of course, our responsibility also is to enforce those same laws," Schiltgen said. "We do not condone illegal immigration."

At the same time, he said the INS works with other law enforcement agencies to make sure people are not taken advantage of.

Garcetti said he was following proposals advanced by President George W. Bush after a summit with Mexican President Vicente Fox.

"And, since Sept. 11, this is even more important," Garcetti said. "Law enforcement supports a way to be able to identify people."

Gov. Gray Davis has opposed a measure that would give a blanket authority to issue driver's licenses to everyone, but has agreed to work on an approach that would balance public safety by developing some other method to insure the streets are safe.

"It's a delicate balancing act," spokeswoman Hillary McLean said. "The governor recognizes there is a need for something because people are driving and we want to see public safety needs are met."

Mayor James Hahn had no comment on the council action, but had been drawn into the debate earlier this year.

Following a trade mission to Mexico, the mayor said he supported a plan that would legalize residency for Mexican immigrants who have lived in the United States for years.

[FITZ]

And I think it will not happen till Cali and Texas, at minimum, no longer have a star on the blue. Texas really isn't that far behind Cali, at this point.

I don't know if Bush and Fox actually have losing a few states in mind or if they think the two countries will both share the SW. Now the Mexicans can be citizens of both the US and Mexico, they seem to have a region of the US set aside for both countries to share citizens and resources but only the Americans pay taxes for all the social programs and other handouts.

[FITZ]

Maybe it's not just the SW because those dual citizens can go anywhere in the US. It seems to be a one-way deal where Mexico has access to everything in the US but Americans are still restricted by Mexican immigration laws and other laws preventing them from buying land or building businesses in Mexico.

[Dimensio]

What part of "illegal" do you not understand ?

Do I really have to start using sarcasm tags? Did you not notice the wording of my statements? Do you honestly think that I don't realise the irony of asking why we should treat illegal immigrants like criminals, especially when I follow it up with "it's not like they are breaking any laws..."?

[flamefront]

These threads on illegal immigration always are very tricky to handle. People have to really work hard to jokingly be sarcastic since there are many different emotions surrounding all this. So many people just like to get the discussion steered over in to the sinkhole of trying to decide who really is the masked racist, for example.

He missed your sarcasm, it happens a lot since people can't hear your inflection in the middle of their escalating outrage. After all, who, but Orwell, would ever think we would actually see the self-contradiction written in a newspaper:
the Los Angeles City Council unanimously called Tuesday for legalization of illegal immigrants?

Also there have been a number of goofy disruptors on this issue that have shown up recently (but I don't see them now).

Take care, all, and have a good Christmas.