CAIR San Diego Joins Immigrant Rights Consortium of San Diego County

New immigration reform group forms
reform group forms
By: EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer
North County Times June 8, 2007
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/08/news/top_stories/21_54_286_7_07.txt

SAN DIEGO ---- A diverse group of religious leaders, labor unions, legal advocates and community leaders joined Thursday to call on Congress to pass immigration reform that would help legalize illegal immigrants, keep migrant families together and protect immigrants' rights.

The group, called the Immigrant Rights Consortium of San Diego County, is made up of 25 organizations. They include the American Immigration Lawyers Association of San Diego, the American Jewish Committee of San Diego, the Council on American-Islamic Relations of San Diego, the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice and several others.

More than a dozen members of the group gathered for a press conference in San Diego on the same day the U.S. Senate debated a controversial bill to overhaul the nation's immigration system.

Rabbi Laurie Coskey of Poway said immigration reform is needed because there are large numbers of workers who are critical to the local economy but live in fear of deportation. She said they often fail to report abuses at work because they are in the country illegally.

"So often, what we find is wonderful people doing the jobs that make up the backbone of our San Diego economy, yet they are fearful. They live in the shadows together with their families," said Coskey, who serves as the director of the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, a grass-roots group focusing on labor rights.

Consortium members said the group has objectives beyond immigration reform, such as opposing local policies that discriminate against immigrants, educating immigrants about their rights and showing the public the contributions immigrants make.

Some local anti-illegal immigration activists said the new group does not represent the views of most Americans on reform.

"As evidenced by the millions of angry phone calls, faxes and e-mails to their government 'representatives,' loyal Americans are fed up to the point of snapping with law-breaking illegal aliens," said Mike Spencer, who heads the Vista Citizens Brigade, a group of anti-illegal immigration activists in Vista.

Members of the consortium said at the press conference that they disagree with the assertion that most Americans don't want immigration reform. They said most Americans want fair immigration laws that protect the nation's borders and safeguard immigrant rights.

Andrea Guerrero, the chairwoman of the group, said the consortium hired a polling company to survey county residents and ask their views on immigration reform. She said the group will announce the poll's results next week.

Several members of the group said a compromise immigration reform bill being debated in the Senate this week is not perfect, but it could be improved as it moves to the House and later in negotiations.

The bill would help legalize millions of illegal immigrants, but would change the rules for future legal immigrants.

Republicans and Democrats have offered dozens of amendments to the bill in recent weeks, including proposals to eliminate its guest worker program and narrow the number of illegal immigrants who would be eligible to legalize their status.

That's why some members of the consortium said they can't say whether they support the bill until they see its final form.

"We've had millions of people march for humane immigration reform, but we've not seen that humane immigration reform bill out there, yet. That's what we're asking for," said Enrique Morones, who heads the immigrant rights group Border Angels, which is part of the consortium.

North County anti-illegal immigration activists said they believe the majority of the public does not want a bill that would legalize illegal immigrants.

"Americans and San Diegans want our borders secured first and enforcement of our immigration laws before we offer full rights and services to people who have broken our laws," said Jeff Schwilk, founder of the Oceanside-based San Diego Minutemen, a group of anti-illegal immigration activists.

"This new group does not appear to acknowledge these realities," Schwilk said referring to the consortium. "They should focus on helping legal immigrants assimilate into American society, and on protecting legal workers."

Edgar Hopida, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in San Diego, said the immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. He said Muslims and other immigrants often face years of waiting while the government conducts background checks to immigrate legally and become citizens.

Hopida said the Senate bill offers hope to those waiting because it has provisions to help reduce the immigration backlogs.

"A lot of people in our community are 'backlogged' three to five years and they've been legitimate green card holders who are trying to get their citizenship," Hopida said. "If you have an Arab-sounding name, more than likely, you're going to be delayed in security."

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.