Agricultural Personnel Management Program
University of California

3/14/00 News Report -- Lexington [KY] Herald-Leader

FRANKFORT -- A state legislator yesterday blamed illegal Hispanic immigrants for spreading disease in Kentucky and draining the shelves of local food charities.

The comments came just before the House State Government Committee voted 14-1 to approve House Concurrent Resolution 116, which would urge the federal government to enforce immigration laws in Kentucky.

Rep. Lonnie Napier, R-Lancaster, cast the only "no'' vote. He told the resolution's sponsor, Rep. Fred Nesler, D-Mayfield, that the Napier family immigrated to the United States years ago.

"Yeah, well, but you were legal,'' Nesler responded.

"I don't know whether we were or not,'' Napier said, chuckling. "Probably not.''

Napier also noted that Kentucky farms have come to depend on cheap, migrant laborers, not all of whom enter the country legally.

Before the vote, Nesler said he didn't object to documented immigrants who work in Kentucky through government programs. But illegal immigrants whom Nesler described as "mostly your Mexicans'' have caused problems in his Western Kentucky district, he said.

"Whenever they come into a community, those people bring quite a bit of disease with them. The health departments in rural areas, of course, they have a big concern about that,'' testified Nesler, who is not a committee member.

Immigrants also take a big bite out of supplies at food banks for low-income families, Nesler said. And Rep. Charles Geveden, D-Wickliffe, said jails in his district are crowded by immigrants who are awaiting deportation by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The concurrent resolution, which proceeds to the House, simply would express the General Assembly's opinion; it would not have the effect of a law.

But it's regrettable that legislators would share such negative opinions of Hispanics, said two immigration advocates in Fayette County, who were not at the hearing but heard of the resolution from colleagues.

Thousands of Hispanics moved to Central Kentucky during the 1990s for jobs in tobacco fields and on horse farms, and they have changed the region in many positive ways, said Abdon Ibarra, immigration services coordinator for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.

"The resolution is sort of an emotional response to a complicated issue. If you really want a bottom line, though, I think you'll find that even the illegal immigrants put as much into the state culturally and economically as they take, if not more,'' Ibarra said.

Nick Valenzuela, chairman of the Migrant Network Coalition, said he was offended by the portrayal of Hispanics as disease carriers who rely on charity. Valenzuela already had known about the resolution but learned of Nesler's comments yesterday from a reporter.

"Obviously, statements like that greatly concern me,'' Valenzuela said. "I would consider that racist language. That's an ignorant viewpoint, and it's very short-sighted.''

By contrast, Ibarra and Valenzuela praised House Concurrent Resolution 53, which calls for a state government study of immigration in Kentucky and its impact on social services. Rep. Joe Barrows, D-Versailles, sponsored HCR 53, and it was easily passed by the House and Senate earlier this session.