By Andrew Benjamin
With the passage of the Secure Fence Act last month, the immigration debate has been stirred up once more.
“It is primarily a Homeland Security issue,” said Rep. Peter King (R NY) during his interview with WRHU 88.7 FM at a live community and radio forum co-sponsored by the radio station and the AVF Department.
The forum, which was held in Studio A and broadcast live on WRHU, began with a panel led by author Judith Sloan, Camilo Perdomo, a Colombian born attorney, activist Ninotchka Rosca and Juan, a Mexican immigrant whose last name was withheld. The guests were profiled in the book, Crossing the BLVD: Strangers, Neighbors, Aliens in a new America, which was co-authored by Sloan.
Perdomo came to America seeking asylum from Colombia. “I had wanted to be an attorney but was labeled unable to perform because of my sexual orientation,” said Perdomo. Sloan had also told the audience that a homophobic gang had attacked Perdomo while living in Colombia.
Rosca spoke of how she fled the Philippines to the United States to save herself from the dictatorial rule of Ferdinand Marcos. “I was held in a detention camp for political activists,” Rosca said. She was released, but when threatened with arrest again, she came to the United States, characterizing herself as a political prisoner.
Juan, spoke of his journey coming to America at age 12. With no money and little support, he had to perform many menial jobs, but he is currently finishing up his bachelor’s degree.
The debate became more heated during the second part of the forum that tackled the political aspects on immigration in the United States. The panel consisted of Gregory Maney, sociology professor, Nadia Marin, veteran immigrant activist, Ray Wysolmierski, president of the Greater Farmingville Association and Michael Cutler, Center for Immigration Studies Fellow.
Looking at the issue from a human rights perspective, Maney and Martin had a sympathetic view toward the plight of illegal immigrants. Maney talked about a study he conducted on day laborer hiring sites and found many human rights abuses. “The abuses range from workers that have yet to be paid for their work to unsafe working conditions,” said Maney.
Wysolmierski and Cutler were not on the same page however. “This is not an immigration problem,” said Wysolmierski. “What you have is an invasion-occupation-colonization problem.”
Cutler, a former Immigration and Naturalization Service agent, did not see why there should be any opposition to anti-illegal immigrant actions. “When the President says that we should legalize all illegal immigrants, he might as well offer to make water wet,” Cutler said. “Water is wet and illegal is illegal.”