For the last 25 years most of Ventura County has been represented in the House of Representatives by one of the country's most hardline congressmen on immigration issues. It has been Rep. Elton Gallegly's signature issue. With Gallegly's retirement, that will change. But in what direction?
It's unclear yet what will be the position of the Republican candidates on that issue -- most critically, whether they will support some sort of provision that would allow a path to legal residency for illegal immigrants who've lived here for a number of years.
But the four Democratic candidates spelled out their positions at last night's candidates' forum in Oxnard. My colleague Gretchen Wenner, who reported on the forum in today's Star, provides the following account of what was said:
David Pollock: In an unnamed reference Gallegly, Pollock said: Our Congressman we've had to live with the last 25 years... "has done more damage to Ventura County just on that one issue alone than any good he may have done...
"It's put an entire class of people in the shadows," he said, adding that comprehensive immigration reform makes sense. Pollock said there needs to be a method for people to come here to work, and to free up border control to focus on real threats to security.
Steve Bennett: "Elton Gallegly has used this and scapegoated the immigration policy shamelessly, in my opinion," he said. He asserted that it's important that the representative from Ventura County be a leader in Congress on the issue. They would need to support a way to earn citizenship, support children not being held accountable for the actions of their parents and so on. "The biggest thing we have to do is start to recognize that we are a country of immigrants," he said.
Jess Herrera: "I'm definitely in favor of immigration reform," he said.
"These issues usually come up when we have a downturn in the economy. When there are brown people in the fields" or washing dishes, he said, no one seems to notice when there's no downturn. "Let's help those people," he said. "You know they do all the dirty jobs."
David Cruz Thayne: "Nobody wants to tackle this difficult issue," he said. "For me this is not a difficult issue. You cannot deny the human spirit." You can put up fences and borders but people will continue to come here, he said. There's now a system where people come but are living in the shadows. "We have to give them opportunities to become citizens."
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