April 7, 2006

StreetTalk by Carol Rosen

What do you think about the current immigration legislation that’s being discussed in the United States Congress, specifically House Bill HR4437? Do you think this is an issue that should be legislated?
(Asked at Yerba Buena and San Felipe)

“That particular law is outrageous. Those people have lived here a long time, it’s just outrageous. We need to tighten all our borders. We opened our door and now we are the minorities. I’ve worked since I was 11 years old. I made very little in Social Security and they can come here and start getting benefits. It’s not fair to the people who’ve worked so long. Yes, we do need some legislation and something needs to be done.”

Gene Fowler, 75
Evergreen
Retired


“I don’t pay any attention to politics and I haven’t gotten into it get, but I do know we need some kind of border legislation. ”

Nick Callaway, 22
Evergreen
Fox Racing


“I think there wasn’t much to stop them coming in legally. They broke the law and they shouldn’t have done it. They should be denied the privileges we enjoy. My parents came here from Germany. It took them five years to get their citizenship. It should work the same way for everyone.”

Steven Korn, 18
Evergreen
Senior, Evergreen Valley High School


“I think the [Wisconsin Representative F. James] Sensenbrenner Bill is too harsh and I think they will end up passing one out of the Senate. You can’t criminalize agencies and churches, and the Senate and House are so far apart that I don’t think we’ll have any legislation this year. There’s no easy answer and it’s going to anger some people no matter what they do. We already have legislation. We’ve done this before, given amnesty. What we need is a permanent solution, because we don’t have a good policy and I don’t think any of these bills will be a quick fix.”

Ralph Nichols, 47
Evergreen
Professor at Evergreen Valley College


“I think the bill [HR4437] is very narrowly focused and they’re not seeing the big picture and the role these immigrants play in our economy. It seems to be a greater push for votes than a way to fix the problem. Yes, we do need legislation. We don’t want to invite criminals into the country and we need to be careful of terrorism threats. We need to know who is coming into the country and who will stand up for them.”

Kelly Rodman, 30ish
Evergreen / Homemaker


“To be perfectly honest, I don’t know much about any of these bills, I’m not that well informed. But I do have strong opinions on the issue [wife is an immigrant— Vietnamese]. I don’t have a problem with immigrants that come here legally and that follow the system. I do have a problem with illegal immigrants, but I still can see both sides of the story. I think there are valid points to be made for both sides. I would liken what’s happening to illegal immigrants to a biological organism that has a selectively permeable membrane—it let’s some things in but not everything. Our country needs to be selective about who we let in and who we don’t. There has to be selection there, there’s a good reason why we have laws pertaining to immigration. If we let anyone in and take it to that extreme, that would not be a good thing. On the other hand, there are lots of low-paying and undesirable jobs these people are filling. From that point of view it’s a good thing. We need to have controls.”

Scott Boswell, 47
Evergreen / Engineer