YOU won't be surprised to hear that emotions ran hot at a pro-immigration rally last weekend in Van Nuys. Emotions always run hot on both ends of the immigration debate. What's still missing is fervor in the middle, where the solutions reside.
Although it was billed as a "bi-partisan town hall meeting," Saturday's event at La Iglesia en el Camino (The Church on the Way) showcased speakers and audience members from only one side of the issue, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys.
Some of the talks were moving; the most memorable being three testimonials by Latinos who claim that - through no fault of their own - they've been hurt by the deportation policies of the Bush and Obama administrations.
How can anyone but a hardliner not feel some sympathy for a California State University, Northridge, student who found out only in her teen years that she is undocumented and watched with two younger sisters as their parents were deported to Colombia? Or a 13-year-old boy, born in the United States, who fears being uprooted to Mexico because his parents face deportation? Or four young children who are being cared for by their grandparents after their mother was deported and then murdered by gangsters in El Salvador?
These are reminders that when authorities aim
enforcement efforts at those guilty of illegal immigration, it's sometimes hard to avoid striking the innocent as well.Unfortunately, the rhetoric on immigration rarely highlights the complexity of the matter. Instead, from both extremes, we hear fiery claims to the moral high ground.
Not only is the shouting not going to win over opponents, it can turn off moderates.
To be fair, the Van Nuys event was one-sided because organizers had set out to buoy Latinos frustrated by what they see as a failure by President Obama to match 2008 campaign promises and halt stepped-up deportations of illegal immigrants.
But this is one issue on which everybody is frustrated. Across the spectrum, people want the federal government to fix a broken immigration system. Instead we see the battle fought piecemeal in city halls, state capitols and high-court chambers.
What's needed is comprehensive immigration reform to curb the flow of illegal immigrants, while also playing fair with legal-resident relatives, and meeting the need for migrant workers in agriculture and other industries.
Let last weekend's flareup of emotion over immigration inspire cooler heads to take charge of the conversation.
A Los Angeles Daily News editorial. To read more editorials from the Daily News, go to www.dailynews.com/opinions.
Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18176931?source=rss
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