Category Archives: News

Poizner define sus posiciones

El aspirante a gobernador se aferra a su lucha contra los indocumentados

Pilar Marrero/ pilar.marrero@laopinion.com | 2010-04-08 | La Opinión

ENTREVISTA

Muchos hemos visto el comercial en la televisión. Un carro está a punto de caer por un precipicio. Un aspirante a gobernador, Steve Poizner, dice que California es como ese carro, a punto de desplomarse. ¿La razón? California da muchos servicios a demasiada gente, principalmente a los que llama “inmigrantes ilegales”.

No es que Poizner no hable de otra cosa en su campaña por lograr la nominación republicana a la gubernatura, pero casi. A veces también habla de bajar los impuestos y de la necesidad de suspender la aplicación de las nuevas leyes ambientales para “traer empleos a California”.

Pero el tema de la inmigración indocumentada ha dominado su campaña en las últimas semanas, exacerbando su mensaje. De un manojo de comerciales de TV, la mayoría trata sobre ese tema. El tono no parece muy diferente de aquellos comerciales “Y ellos siguen llegando”, con imágenes de los que corrían por la frontera y que tanto efecto tuvieron en la reelección del entonces gobernador Pete Wilson, pero que afectaron negativamente la imagen de su partido en los años siguientes.

Poizner vino esta semana a La Opinión a explicar su punto de vista.

“Sé que no estaremos de acuerdo, que tendremos diferencias, pero agradezco que me escuchen”, dijo Poizner antes y después de la entrevista, solicitada por este periódico.

“La inmigración ilegal no es el único problema que enfrenta California, hay muchos otros temas, pero es un factor. Sobre todo lo es ahora en situación de crisis, porque tenemos que gastar tanto dinero de los contrientes. Un dinero que no alcanza en las escuelas, que están abrumadas, y en los es”, dijo Poizner.

“Tenemos que cortar impuestos para traer trabajos y tomar control de nuestro estado. Creo que si quitamos los incentivos, y uno de ellos son los servicios para los inmigrantes ilegales, ellos terminarán por no venir, y los que están aquí quizá terminen yéndose”.

Añadió el precandidato: “Gastamos miles de millones de dólares en estos servicios”.

No es la primera vez que alguien plantea la idea de que los indocumentados reciben mucho del estado y vienen aquí en parte por esa razón. Apuntamos que son pocos los servicios a los que una persona sin papeles puede acceder, aparte de educación básica, cuidado ario de emergencia y cuidado pre natal.

“Hemos estudiado esto”, señala Poizner. “Hay algunos servicios de no emergencias que pueden obtener, y también abortos. Estoy de acuerdo con que se les dé atención de emergencia. Además, es ley federal”.

California tiene un déficit que llegaría a los 20,000 millones de dólares este año. ¿Cuánto podrá ahorrar quitando esos servicios de no emergencia, los únicos que podría retirar, quizá, sin enfrentar demandas legales por antinconstitucionalidad?

“Cientos de millones”, señaló Poizner.

Es cuidadoso en expresar que no es un antiinmigrante “como algunos políticos que andan por ahí, algunos en mi partido”.

“Nada más lejos de la realidad. Hay quienes ni siquiera apoyan la inmigración legal. Yo creo que la inmigración legal es fabulosa y creo que debemos buscar la manera de tener una inmigración legal que pueda suplir las necesidades de nuestra economía. Pero no amnistía, no estoy a favor de la amnistía”.

El actual comisionado de seguros es una persona de hablar suave. Se preocupa por señalar que ha hecho mucho por la gente. “Quiero que me vean como a alguien que siente compasión, que quiere ayudar a la gente. Yo he construido escuelas chárter, enseñé un año en una escuela urbana de personas de bajos recursos”.

Insiste en que la verdadera solución es buscar la forma de ir “apagando” los imanes que traen gente a inmigrar a California. Los trabajos y, principalmente, los servicios. “Quiero cambiar el comportamiento de la gente. Que piense a la hora de venir, que aquí no van a encontrar trabajo, ni les vamos a dar servicios. Eso es lo que quiero lograr”.

No está claro el camino para alcanzar tal cosa. Pete wilson logró, en 1994, que se aprobara la Proposición 187 para expulsar a niños de las escuelas y quitarles cualquier servicio médico de no emergencia. Pero la medida fue hallada anticonstitucional e inhabilitada.

Poizner dice, en un comercial, que “lo llevaremos a la boleta”. “Otros estados han aprobado medidas para prohibir servicios a ilegales”, dice. “Nosotros también podemos hacerlo, aunque quiero que sepan que pienso hacerlo en forma muy compasiva, pensada, elegante. Que si vamos a quitar servicios sea poco a poco, con fechas a futuro, para ir retirando estos servicios de forma paulatina”.

“No porque los empleadores puedan ganar más por usar la mano de obra barata debemos permitir la ilegalidad. Todo lo que nos cuesta la inmigración ilegal, la educación, la salud. Yo creo que todos los californianos apreciarán a un candidato que habla con la verdad, sin un objetivo personal, sólo el bienestar de California. Yo digo lo que otros no se atreven a decir”, comentó.

¿Por qué su campaña se centra principalmente en este tema?, le preguntamos. ¿Es que es toda la solución para California?

“Fue el primer tema que escogí para mis comerciales, pero no todos ellos serán sobre inmigración ilegal”, dijo. “Aún tenemos mucha campaña por delante”.

Poizner entiende que “se malinterpreten avisos que sólo tienen 30 segundos para explicar un tema complicado”.

¿Cómo podremos tener una fuerza laboral educada en el futuro para competir con India, China, etc., si echamos de la escuela y la universidad a un segmento tan grande de la población?, le preguntamos.

“La pregunta es, ¿es bueno para el estado tener un montón de niños indocumentados en las escuelas? ¿Es bueno para los otros niños? ¿Es bueno para los inmigrantes legales? ¿puede nuestro sistema de educación manejarlo? Yo creo que no”, señaló.

Por el momento, la estrategia tiene sus limitaciones. Poizner sigue muy rezagado en todas las encuestas frente a su contrincante Meg Whitman. La ataca por haber invertido otros $20 millones para un total de $59 millones en su campaña.

“Creo que con eso esconde su debilidad como candidata”, dijo. “Además, creo que eso dice que está muy alejada de la realidad de las familias de California, que lo están pasando muy mal con la economía. Es casi obsceno”.

No obstante, Poizner, quien también es millonario y ha invertido 20 millones de su bolsillo en la campaña, dijo que probablemente invertirá más dinero. “No necesitamos gastar más que Whitman, pero sí difundir nuestro mensaje. Creo que su campaña es muy amplia pero poco profunda. Todavía tengo oportunidad”.

Source: La Opinión

Leonia church helps day laborers

Friday, April 9, 2010
LEONIA LIFE

Palisades Park — Holy Spirit Lutheran Church of Leonia (ELCA) recently received a $2,000 grant from Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey to help fund a lunch program for day laborers in Palisades Park. The program is held at Grace Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) in Palisades Park and is organized by the Leonia-based Community of Friends in Action, Inc.

Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey provides ity, and hope to those in New Jersey who are hurt, in need or have limited choices, regardless of religious affiliation or background. Their diversified social ministry is a not-for-profit organization that assists more than 3,500 people across the state. They work through local congregations and other non-profit organizations that define the specific needs of people in local communities. Lee Zandstra is the Director of Community Partnering and Lutheran Disaster Response for Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey.

The mission statement of Holy Spirit Lutheran Church of Leonia is “transforming lives through the love and hope of Christ.” The pastor of the church, Rev. Peggy Niederer, is also a member of the Board of the Community of Friends in Action, Inc. (CoFiA)

CoFiA addresses the needs of day laborers in eastern Bergen County by supplying lunch once a week to around 60 to 100 workers, between November and April; offering English language classes; distributing bags of food contributed by the Englewood-based Center for Food Action; and maintaining an informal “Workers Link” program that connects homeowners who need jobs done, with people who need work. CoFiA has also recently arranged with OSHA trainers to provide a program on workplace safety to a group of workers.

For more information about the various programs, visit www.communityoffriendsinaction.org or call 201-598-2253. For information about Holy Spirit Lutheran Church or the Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey, call Rev. Niederer at 201-403-4341 or Lee Zandstra at 609-699-4133.

Jornaleros arrestados se defienden

CRISTINA LOBO GUERRERO/EDLP | 2010-04-08 | La Raza

ELIZABETH, seek Nueva Jersey — Ocho de los 12 jornaleros arrestados el mes pasado por la policía de Elizabeth y denunciados a inmigración, se declararon ayer inocentes por el cargo de “quitar la paz de la ciudad”, durante una audiencia en la corte municipal.
Uno por uno los jóvenes, todos de nacionalidad hondureña, se declararon inocentes ante el juez municipal, por el cargo de “loitering”, que fue traducido en corte como quitar la paz de la ciudad en vez de deambular. El magistrado indicó que todos serán notificados por correo sobre la fecha en que se celebrará una nueva audiencia.

Los otros cuatro jóvenes que recibieron el mismo cargo, no pudieron comparecer ante la corte por encontrarse detenidos por el Servicio de Inmigración.

“Me siento muy contento de haber venido. Tengo mucha esperanza de que se va a hacer justicia”, dijo Luis Paz, uno de los jornaleros que fue arrestado durante una masiva redada realizada por miembros de la policía de Elizabeth.

El hecho se registró el 15 de marzo pasado, en la esquina de las calles Elizabeth y Smith, donde diariamente se congregan alrededor de 30 jornaleros.

El hecho llamó la atención, debido a que varios testigos indicaron que los jornaleros no estaban haciendo nada y que simplemente llegó un patrullero y empezó a ordenarles que pusieran las manos en la nuca para luego esposarlos. Maritza Chávez, directora de la Fundación Mundial Rescatando al Inmigrante de Elizabeth, explicó que lo más importante es que ninguno tuvo miedo de presentarse ante el tribunal.

maria.loboguerrero@eldiariony.com

Source: La Raza

Arizona: A State With Hate

Arizona state legislators are once again positioning themselves to be the most hate-based state in the union. Arizona State Senator Russell K. Pearce (R) is a perfect example of hate mongering and overt racism. I realize that terms like “hate monger” and “racist” are strong accusations but I can find no better terms to describe the current attempt to curb illegal immigration in the state of Arizona.

From Senator Pearce’s own website:

“Republicans and Democrats in DC are terrified to oppose illegal immigration out of fear that they will be labeled racist. This assertion is ridiculous. There is nothing racist about upholding the law.”

Senator Pearce’s proposed legislation (SB1070) has nothing to do with upholding the law and everything to do with racial discrimination. According to Jennifer Allen, executive director of Arizona based Border Action Network who is working to defeat the bill, local law enforcement must make the eradication of undocumented immigrants a priority over other public safety responsibilities. Without any form of training, local law enforcement will be given authority to arrest someone if they have probable cause to believe they are undocumented. Who do you think they will suspect? This construct sets up a blatant system for racial profiling. The nearly 2 million Latinos in the state of Arizona will become prime suspects solely based on ethnicity. The bill’s discriminatory tactics include attacks on day laborers and individuals that hire them as well as anyone who may transport, know, harbor, shield or protect undocumented immigrants. The bill represents nothing short of a witch-hunt with impunity. It sets up a system of law enforcement abuse that will drive immigrants, legal or not, deeper into the shadows of society.

When I was a child, I was out for a walk with my mother in a rural part of south San Diego County. We lived within walking distance of the U.S. Mexico border. This particular morning, like many others, I ran ahead to investigate the seasonal creek several hundred yards away. When I came back to meet up with my mother she was nowhere in sight. I looked everywhere and quickly ran home to tell my father. My family spent 24 hours searching for her — calling everyone we knew including law enforcement. The next morning we received a telephone call from Tijuana, MX. My mother had been picked up by U.S. Border Patrol and deported. When I ran ahead of her, a Border Patrol agent suspected my mother was in the U.S. illegally. She tried to convince the officer that she was “legal” but he didn’t believe her. My mother had deep brown skin and spoke poor English but had lived in the U.S. as a legal resident for 25 years. She had raised four children but was deported because of her ethnicity. It was a horrible case of racial profiling that scarred my mother and family for life.

State Senator Russell Pearce has been pushing racially motivated, anti-immigrant legislation in Arizona for years. He is endorsed by and has direct associations with known white supremacists Buffalo Rick Galeener and J.T. Ready amongst others. Rick Galeener was cited for publicly urinating in front of a Latino mother and her child.

J.T. Ready has publicly campaigned for Senator Pearce and has close ties to Neo-Nazi organizations. J.T. Ready has publicly stated, “I firmly believe in having a minefield across the border, this is 100% effective.” Senator Pearce did not return calls to comment on these associations nor has he denounced them publicly. Both Galeener and Ready have been monitored by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League and are classified as nativists, extremists and white supremacists but Senator Pearce remains silent.

Jennifer Allen of Border Action Network has collected and sent over 20,000 postcards to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer opposing the legislation, yet the governor continues to support the bill. The bill is opposed by the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police and dozens of Latino organizations and civil rights groups, yet the bill continues to make progress in the legislature. Scholars, lawyers, and fellow legislators believe Pearce’s push to rid the state of undocumented immigrants violates basic civil rights and constitutional law, yet the bill has strong Republican support. Hate crimes against Latinos are up 40 percent, yet John McCain and his primary challenger JD Hayworth claim they are tough on undocumented immigrants and neither of them have the courage to denounce the racially motivated legislation.

If Arizona lawmakers were interested in resolving the complex dilemma of immigration they would address poverty, trade imbalances, work visas, corporate greed and family reunification. Instead, leaders of the great state of Arizona have grabbed their pitch forks and nooses and are continuing to scapegoat the voiceless and vulnerable for cheap political victories. Hate begets hate and hate solves nothing.

Source: Huffington Post

New poll shows ’sea change’ in Californians’ attitudes toward illegal immigration

Ken McLaughlin
kmclaughlin@mercurynews.com

In a dramatic turnaround from 16 years ago, Californians now overwhelmingly favor giving illegal immigrants a “path to legalization” rather than punishing them by denying them a public education and social services, according to a poll unveiled Monday.

The survey of 1,515 registered voters showed that 67 percent of Californians support a two-pronged approach to solving the illegal immigration problem: implementing stronger enforcement at the border while setting up a legalization path for undocumented immigrants who admit they broke the law, perform community service, learn English and pay fines and back taxes.

Seventy percent favor stricter border controls and a temporary worker program that does not grant illegal immigrants citizenship and requires them to return to their homeland. But only 45 percent favor denying the undocumented an education and taxpayer-funded health and social services.

Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California, said the poll — sponsored by the Los Angeles Times and USC’s College of Letters, Arts and Sciences — showed there was a “sea change” in Californians’ attitudes toward illegal immigration since 1994. That’s when 59 percent of the state’s voters cast a ballot in favor of Proposition 187, the white-hot measure aimed at denying services to illegal immigrants. The proposition was later ruled unconstitutional by federal courts.

“The conventional wisdom has suggested that the level of support for denial of services had remained fairly constant,” said Schnur, who once worked for Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, a champion of Proposition 187. But the new poll, Schnur said, suggests otherwise.

One big reason for the change: Younger voters are less likely to favor cutting off services to the undocumented, Schnur said. In addition, the number of Latino voters has substantially increased since 1994.

Richard Hobbs, associate director of the San Jose-based Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network, said the poll results didn’t surprise him because he believes most fair-minded Californians realize that the current immigration policy is breaking up families. “There is widespread support to allow mixed-status families to be made whole,” he said.

But Yeh Ling-Ling, executive director of the Orinda-based Alliance for a Sustainable USA, a group that wants to see more restrictions on immigration, said the poll’s results are deceptive and will turn around once Californians begin paying attention to the renewed debate in Congress, expected later this year.

“Nobody ever told the people surveyed that amnesty will lead to an explosion of both legal and illegal immigration as newly naturalized citizens bring in their extended families,” she said.

The wide-ranging survey — which because of its large sampling size has a relatively small margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points — is the second in a series of polls sponsored by the college and the newspaper. The survey was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research in conjunction with American Viewpoint, a public-opinion research firm.

Other results included:

• Forty-six percent of voters are more likely to support a member of Congress or U.S. senator who supported the recently passed health care bill. Twenty-nine percent are less likely to support the lawmaker; it made no difference to 19 percent. The finding is not good news for statewide GOP candidates for governor and U.S. Senate who have vowed to repeal the law.

• GOP front-runner Meg Whitman is beating Democrat Jerry Brown 44 percent to 41 percent in the battle for governor. In the GOP primary, Whitman was beating Steve Poizner by a 3-1 ratio: 60 percent to 20 percent. Brown led Poizner by 53 percent to 22 percent.

• Whitman’s wall-to-wall TV and radio advertising campaign has resulted in an increase in favorable ratings from 17 percent in November to 30 percent now. Poizner, the target of Whitman attack ads, has seen his unfavorable ratings increase from 7 percent in November to 23 now.

• Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer beats a “ Republican” opponent by 48 percent to 34 percent. Former Silicon Valley Congressman Tom Campbell is winning in the GOP primary with 29 percent, compared with former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, with 25 percent. Conservative state Assemblyman Chuck Devore is trailing with 9 percent.

• Belying the “common wisdom” that most Republican primary voters hunger for a red-meat conservative candidate, 44 percent of likely GOP voters said they preferred a “centrist”; 45 percent preferred a “strong conservative.” The difference is statistically insignificant.

“As a Republican pollster, I was struck by how reasonable the Republican primary voter is today,” said Linda DiVall of American Viewpoint.

She noted that only 20 percent of Republican voters surveyed said that it’s “extremely important” for a candidate to be conservative. That, she said, indicates California Republicans this year are more interested in winning than nominating someone who is a true believer.

Contact Ken McLaughlin at kmclaughlin@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5552.