Agricultural Personnel Management Program
University of California

WASHINGTON - Area immigrant advocates and labor unions have formed a coalition to press the U.S. government to legalize undocumented immigrants, officials announced this week.

The National Capital Immigration Coalition (NCIC) unites 13 organizations from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia in efforts urging Congress and President George W. Bush for immigration law reform.

"We want to talk about the plight of immigrants in the United States," said Valerie Long, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 82, which represents more than 6,000 area janitors. "Joining with the other coalition members seems to us the prudent thing to do when working class people in this country are under attack."

The coalition will take part in the ongoing nationwide "One Million Voices for Legalization" drive, which plans to present Bush and Congress in October with 1 million signatures supporting amnesty for undocumented workers. The NCIC hopes to collect 15,000 signatures from the Washington area.

"We need to harness the strength and vitality of Washington's Latino and immigrant groups," said Saul Solorzano, director of the Central American Resource Center. "In the post-Sept. 11 atmosphere conservative groups have tried to make immigrants into scapegoats, but legalization will make our country more secure."

The United States has about 8 million illegal immigrants, with an estimated 3 million being Mexican.

The amnesty movement coincides with House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt's announcement that he plans to introduce legislation granting permanent residency to undocumented immigrants. Gephardt, D-Mo., made the announcement earlier this week at the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza in Miami.

Legalization is a controversial U.S. immigration issue. Bush and congressional Democrats talked last year about amnesty for illegal immigrants and Bush had begun serious discussions on the subject with Mexican President Vicente Fox.

The movement lost momentum and gained opponents, however, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"Before Sept. 11 we had made significant progress," said Eliseo Medina, SEIU executive vice president. "Now, regardless of their contributions, immigrants are being blamed for the country's problems. These are workers who helped rebuild the Pentagon."

Opponents say amnesty rewards people who have violated immigration law and leaves the United States vulnerable to future terrorist acts.

"When people say these are hardworking people who do us no offense, that is patently wrong," said John Keeley, a research associate at the Center for Immigration Studies, a pro-immigrant, low-immigration think tank. "These people break our laws. ... If the Mexican day laborer can cross our border with impunity, so can the Al-Qaeda terrorist. That comes from a lack of enforcement, and that comes from sense in Congress that it's no big deal."

Supporters counter that many illegal immigrants deserve legalization.

"We have a group of people who are contributing to our society, paying taxes," said Jim Graham, a Washington city council member supporting NCIC. "They are part of the productivity of our nation. But it's clear that a group of the power structure in this country want cheap labor only on their terms. We must bring these abusive practices to an end."