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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (116069)	10/2/2003 8:32:35 AM
From: lorne	Respond to of 281500

Resentment to mass immigration growing in U.S. Reuters News Service Oct. 1, 2003 chron.com WASHINGTON -- Opposition to mass immigration and resentment against newcomers appear to be growing in the United States, fueled by economic insecurity as well as fears arising from the Sept. 11 attacks, immigration experts say. In response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon two years ago, U.S. authorities have tried to tighten the nation's borders, cracked down on visa violators and made it considerably more difficult for foreigners to get visas. But they have largely failed to stem the flow of illegal immigrants across the Mexican border. In a few towns, citizens and civic leaders have protested against immigrants. In Holyoke, Mass., the city council last year voted 14 to 1 to reject $1 million in federal funds to support the relocation of 60 families from Somalia. The families were sent to another town. The mayor of Lewiston, Maine, pleaded last year for no more Somali immigrants to join the 1,200 who had already settled there, straining the city's resources. Citizens in Cayce, S.C., are also protesting a plan to settle African refugees, saying their arrival could depress school performance and lower property values. In Arizona, a movement is under way to place on next year's ballot a proposition to cut off state services to illegal immigrants. A recent poll showed 70 percent of voters would support it. California passed a similar resolution in 1994 but it was struck down by courts. "Anti-immigrant feeling always ebbs and flows based on the economy and right now it's the worst it's been for almost 20 years. Couple that with the fallout from Sept. 11 and it takes on a whole different hue," said Lavinia Limon, president of the Immigration and Refugee Services of America. In Long Island, New York, residents have been filling letter pages of local newspapers with calls for stepped up police action against illegal immigrants, deportations and penalties for those who employ them. A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee this week discussed proposed legislation to authorize and empower local and state authorities to arrest and detain illegal immigrants. The law would provide financial incentives for communities who enforce immigration laws and penalties for those that ignore them. "Since 9/11, Americans have become aware of the degree to which the government has lost control over immigration. It's been a complete breakdown of border and interior control that left us open to exploitation by terrorists as well as by illegal aliens," said David Ray, an associate director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group advocating restrictions on immigration. A poll last year by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations found that 60 percent of the public regards the present level of immigration to be a "critical threat to the vital interests of the United States." Fifty-five percent said immigration should be reduced. In the 1990s, some 11.2 million immigrants came to the United States. They and their 6.4 million children accounted for almost 70 percent of U.S. population growth over the decade, census figures showed. There are an estimated 8 million to 11 million illegal immigrants in the country. "Immigrants used to cluster in certain cities and regions. Now they are in every community and every state. Communities that don't have experience with immigrants can be suspicious at first but that generally wears off," said Frank Sharry, director of the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration think-tank. After Sept. 11, the government sharply cut the number of refugees it accepts from around 90,000 a year to 27,400 in fiscal 2002 and 28,000 this year. The U.S. Congress also recently allowed a law to take effect cutting the number of visas given to highly educated foreign workers from 195,000 a year to 65,000. This week, the administration transferred the review process for issuing visas from the State Department to the new Homeland Security Department. The government also wants to introduce a new system to photograph and fingerprint all visitors holding visas on their arrival to the country by the end of the year.