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Mixed Reaction To Immigration Bill
SAN DIEGO — The Senate voted 68 to 32 on Thursday to pass a bill that would overhaul the nation’s immigration system while dramatically boosting border security.
In the border region, support for the bill was mixed, with criticism on both sides of the political spectrum.
The bill would provide a path to citizenship for an estimated 8 million of the 11 million immigrants currently living in the country illegally. It would also double the size of the Border Patrol to 40,000 agents and build 700 miles of new fencing.
After the vote tally was announced in the Senate, the chambers erupted in jubilant chants of "yes we can" from immigration supporters.
But in the office of Alliance San Diego, where pro-immigrant activists watched the vote on C-SPAN, the mood was somber.
“This vote is a vote for a pathway to citizenship but it’s also a vote for the most draconian border enforcement regime we’ve ever seen, and it’s difficult to celebrate it,” said Andrea Guerrero, executive director of Alliance San Diego.
Across town — and across the political spectrum — former U.S. Attorney Peter Nuñez is also not happy with the Senate’s bill. He doesn’t think the country needs more immigrants, even legal ones. And he isn’t happy with the border security provisions in the bill either.
Nuñez wants stronger provisions for workplace immigration enforcement.
“Jobs is why most people come here illegally," Nuñez said. "And if you don’t deal with jobs, you are not going to solve the problem.”
But the bill’s tough border security provisions are what got it enough Senate Republican votes to pass. Supporters hope Republicans in the House of Representatives will be similarly swayed.
Just a few minutes from the border, Uris Ramirez was playing checkers Thursday in front of the San Ysidro library.
Ramirez is originally from Mexico but he has been a legal U.S. resident since 1978. He said the U.S. should secure its borders, but that the bill goes too far.
"It’s creating a war-like environment," Ramirez said. "Because using drones, you only see that in countries that are at war, like Afghanistan, Iraq.”
Ramirez said Mexico should take responsibility for creating jobs so its citizens don’t have to migrate north.
The immigration reform bill now faces a huge challenge in the House. Many Republicans there want border enforcement but not a path to citizenship.
