Media

Just yesterday, a letter from Tim Jenkins of Madison addressed the “facts” about immigration (or was it illegal immigration'). Funny thing is, just about every one of his points has a counterpoint somewhere on the Internet or in a different fact sheet about immigration in our country. Another Jenkins, Culpeper’s own Steve Jenkins — member of Town Council and immigration watchdog — was back in the news recently for comments about graffiti and illegal immigrants. In case you missed it, on April 28 the Star-Exponent published a report about vandalism in the town. The vandals spraypainted signs and symbols that relate to gang activity. It was reported that Steve Jenkins said, “This kind of stuff never occurred in the town of Culpeper until the presence of illegal aliens became fairly obvious to everybody.” Jenkins said he was connecting the dots to the illegal immigrants who have known ties to gangs. For every letter that supports Mr. Jenkins and his efforts for tighter control over the illegal population, there is a letter that displays opposition to these efforts. The letter to the editor that had me scratching my head, however, was on May 1 in which a Mr. Bob Marnell, from Viewtown, equated the possibility of swine flu (H1N1 virus) with the day laborers he saw congregating near a local store. Wow. I just have to think about that one for a few moments. Luckily, there are cooler heads prevailing at this time in our nation’s capital. Immigration reform is once again on the table. President Obama and key members of Congress are already working on a new, comprehensive overhaul to immigration policy. The president held a news conference a few weeks ago to outline the speed in which he would like to proceed with the change in the plan. The current system is not in good shape, he said. “It’s not good for American workers. It’s dangerous for Mexican would-be workers who are trying to cross a dangerous border. It is putting a strain on border communities, who oftentimes have to deal with a host of undocumented workers,” he said. “And it keeps those undocumented workers in the shadows, which means they can be exploited at the same time as they’re depressing U.S. wages.” Obama wants to convene a working group of legislators and experts to shape legislation this summer, and prepare a bill as early as the fall. “I see the process moving this first year,” he said. Will this plan and the road to creating it be a smooth one' Of course not. It’s about immigration. There seems to be one side or the other about this issue. On May 1, Business Week reported about the plan to change immigration policies. Political rhetoric aside, the article made a strong point about the strains and the growth in our economy due to the documented and undocumented workers in the U.S. Border states are feeling an overwhelming push when it comes to hospital care and public schools, due to the number of undocumented workers and their families. “And unskilled illegal immigrants can pressure wages of native-born Americans without high school diplomas.”