Immigration reform bill’s result relieves officials

Many local lawmakers applauded the death of the immigration reform bill on Thursday that would have legalized millions of illegal immigrants and said the issue will spark debate in the 2008 presidential race.

“It’s a dead issue in Congress,” said Huntington Beach Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. “I would hope the [presidential] candidates pay close attention to the lesson the Senate has just learned: Americans will oppose any bill that supports legalizing the status of those who are here illegally … they will not be bamboozled by Congress or presidential candidates.”

The Bush/Kennedy bill fell short of generating the 60 Senate votes needed, getting just 46 votes.

While conservative GOP legislators panned the bill from the beginning, others in the community said it represented progress, even if it wasn’t everything they wanted.

“I think that increasing border security is a must and I think that dealing with the people who are already here is a must, and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to try to send them all home,” said Costa Mesa attorney Chris Blank, who opposed a 2005 proposal to have Costa Mesa police enforce immigration law.

“This bill had both those elements, and although it may not have been perfect it was a step in a good direction.”

The bill would have increased the number of border patrol agents and created a system for employers to verify the legal status of workers they hire.

In addition, the bill would have created a temporary-worker program that would bring in 200,000 immigrants a year, and allowed eligible illegal immigrants to work in this country.

Many critics assailed the bill as offering amnesty to illegal immigrants.

“Giving amnesty to those that are here illegally is a slap in the face to those who are doing it the right way,” said Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor, who has pushed for local enforcement of immigration laws.

In Laguna Beach, where the city-sponsored Day Labor Site has been a flashpoint in the illegal immigration debate, Minuteman Project member Eileen Garcia declared victory for her side.

Garcia says she phoned and faxed California Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, and other legislators, daily for the past week to express her opposition to the bill.

“What happened today in the Senate is a direct result of the people rising up,” Garcia said. “I think that this is what the people want.”

Garcia wasn’t alone in contacting her senators. Paty Madueno, a Costa Mesa resident, wrote and e-mailed Boxer and Feinstein urging them to make amendments to the bill.

Madueno wanted to see legislation that would reunite families, but overall she wanted reform to help the immigrants whose labor drives the U.S. economy, she sad.

“They don’t want to look at the other side — ‘It’s good that you clean my house, it’s good that you cut my lawn, it’s good that you build houses, but it’s not good that you stay here,’” she said.

Others viewed the bill as a temporary Band-Aid.

“It would not have solved the illegal immigration problem; it would have expanded it and perpetuated it,” said Newport Beach Rep. John Campbell. “We have to enforce the immigration laws we have before we put new ones on the books.”

The federal bill’s demise was a victory for Republican conservatives who strongly opposed establishing pathways to lawful status for many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country.

“It’s up to them [the Senate] to fix this problem, to secure our borders and not to make this country look like Swiss cheese,” said Huntington Beach State Sen. Tom Harman. “Some rule of law needs to be followed. We’re just not enforcing that. The federal government is at fault. The bill was a demonstration of their ineptitude.”

David Peck of the Cross-Cultural Council, which oversees the operation of the Day Labor Site in Laguna Beach, said he is disappointed the bill foundered, but did not expect it would make a difference in the site’s operation.

“Clearly we need [immigration] reform in a number of ways,” Peck said. “To miss the opportunity is really disappointing.”

***

EDITOR’S NOTE: Customers at Westside Costa Mesa businesses react to the immigration bill’s demise on Thursday:

“Of course I was happy that it would go through, but now that it’s not going through I hope they can come to some type of agreement. Especially for people that have been here for more than 10 years, they should have some kind of law to help them.”

Ivonne Zavala

“I was kind of disappointed because we were expecting something for the people that help this country to grow, because they work really hard. Give them a work permit or something so they can be safe and get benefits too.”

Elsy Gutierrez

“I’m absolutely against it [the bill]. I have my own business and I can’t even afford health insurance, and part of the reason it’s so expensive is because of all the illegal immigrants just walking in. They have to do something to earn their spot here.”

Angela (no last name given)

“I’m not sure exactly what was included in the bill but I definitely think they need to do something about immigration. Actually, what I think they need to do is change the 14th Amendment…. I don’t think you should be rewarded for blatantly breaking the law.”

Dave Sperling

“I was expecting it to go forward. I did like it…. I thought it was very convenient [with a presidential election coming up] that they could go ahead and stop it.”

June Nunez