L.A. Mayor Lashes Out Against Undocumented Immigrants
La Opinión, Commentary, Pilar Marrero, Translated by Elena Shore, Posted: Mar 14, 2005
Traducción al español
Like certain animals that seem docile but attack when they feel threatened, Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn awoke from a state of lethargy that lasted months – some would say years – and bared his teeth to avoid defeat this Tuesday.
It’s unfortunate that he didn’t wake up earlier to promote some of his successes, such as hiring a new police chief who has given new life to the LAPD, or leading a fight against division in Los Angeles. He didn’t remind the public that he supported police reform either, or that he helped create a new office for immigrants during his term as mayor.
It seems that every time the mayor takes a step forward, he takes another step back when he finds himself trapped. I’m not referring to the allegations of a conflict of interest in his administration – the alleged exchange of contracts for political contributions that impelled some of his officials to resign – or even the millionaire associated with his campaign who was fined for violating laws regulating political contributions for pocketing the money.
The mayor hasn’t been directly blamed for these incidents, though he has handled the political fallout very poorly, denying all responsibility for the actions of his appointed officials, and getting angrier each time he is asked about it.
This time, once again caught between a rock and a hard place, Mayor Hahn has listened to his lowest instincts and, during the last mayoral debate aired last Tuesday by CBS, he took it out against undocumented immigrants. Using inflammatory language that no other candidate would dare to say, he stated a
total fallacy: undocumented immigrants, he said, are “ruining” our economy.
Responding to a question from the audience on the topic, the other candidates were careful with their words and tried to find a middle ground.
Richard Alarcón said the issue of undocumented immigrants was a federal matter and that the federal government should pay the local costs, emphasizing that it was necessary to take advantage of the economic benefits of their labor.
Bernard Parks, who is African American, responded to the question by making himself a good example to many Latinos. He said that it was necessary to pay equal attention to the northern and southern borders, and not to be discriminatory or punish those who illegally hire undocumented workers.
Bob Hertzberg said that we should deport immigrants who are criminals – something that is already happening by and large – and then paused for a moment, at a loss for words about this “complicated theme that we all struggle with with difficulty.”
Antonio Villaraigosa said the country has the right to guard its borders and that it should punish employers who hire undocumented immigrants, but he added that we must have humanitarian policies that don’t deny services like education and healthcare.
Hahn answered the question last – and the calm mayor, who usually speaks slowly, gazing out to the horizon, suddenly seemed like an aggravated tiger.
He started talking about what an injustice it was for the Dodgers not to be able to import a Japanese player because there weren’t enough visas, only to later declare that “they are invading our borders because the federal government doesn’t do its job.”
The diatribe didn’t end there. He blamed employers who “invite these people,” and those who hire them and “decrease salaries and ruin our economy.”
Nor did the mayor forget to use the most offensive of all expressions referring to the undocumented – an expression that no other candidate said: illegal aliens or illegal foreigners, a term so commonly used among anti-immigrant groups, that the other side adopted the term “undocumented immigrants” to tone it down.
As if vacillating, Hahn went on to say, “I don’t blame those who are looking for a better life. I would do it too.” He added that it was necessary to provide them schooling to those who were already here.
It was like a hit and run.
It doesn’t escape us that Hahn could be trying to recover some of the white Anglo vote – or the conservative vote of any race – that helped elect him in 2001 and now may not be so easy to maintain as a result of his fight against the Valley’s attempt to secede.
What I don’t understand is why he has to do this by targeting a vulnerable group, launching an attack that has been completely refuted, saying that they “ruin the economy.” Could it be that the mayor hasn’t taken a walk around his own city? Has he not seen how hard undocumented immigrants work and fight day after day? Has he not noticed that the immigrant neighborhoods are the most powerful ones, that they have the most small businesses and are the most economically active?
As I said before, it’s too bad that every time the mayor takes a step forward, he takes another step back.
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