EDITORIAL
Make immigration
laws preventative
Illegal immigration has become a hot-button issue
recently In the western pari of the country. Californians,
expressing their frustration about illegal immigration,
passed Proposition 187. a measure that limits social and
economic benefits, including education and medical
care, that illegal immigrants and their families can
receive.
That same idea has come to Oregon.
Rep. Bill Markham. R Riddle, has proposed a similar
bill to the one in California, arguing that illegal immi
gration can become a large problem in Oregon just as it
has in California. He argues that tough stops need to Ire
taken.
Illegal immigration is a problem. However, the way to
stop it is not to punish the families of the illegal immi
grant. Proposition 187 and the equivalent measure pro
posed here in Oregon aro not answers to the problem.
They punish those who need the services most, such
as children and the elderly, while doing little to ensure
that illegal immigrants stay out of the United States.
Rather than cut off benefits such as education and
medical care to the families of illegal immigrants, more
emphasis should be placed on enforcing existing laws,
sue li as ones preventing the hiring of illegal immigrants
Current federal law mandates that the eligibility of a
person to work in America be checked at the time that
the person is hired. This would help to cut down on the
number of people who live In the country illegally, as it
is quite difficult to live without a job.
Illegal immigrants should be stopped from entering
the country, instead of punished once they gut here.
Steps are already being taken by the Border Patrol to
increase security along the southern border with Mexi
co. Physical security, such as fences, has been improved
along the border and additional staff have been placed
in certain areas. The impression that nothing is being
done to stop or slow the flow of illegal immigrants into
the country is ludicrous.
Bills like Proposition 187 are cathartic for some
because it gives the impression that they help to fight
the problem of illegal immigration. People who are des
perate enough to come to America Illegally will proba
bly find ways to stay bore.
To reduce the problem, illegal immigrants must bo
stopped from making the trip to the country. The way
the United States can do this is by enforcing current
laws and stopping people as they try to come into the
country illegally.
Proposition 187 was wrong for California and is just
as wrong in Oregon. Markham's bill to limit services to
illegal immigrants must be defeated by the Oregon Leg
islature There are better ways to combat illegal immi
f[ration. Oregon should have the courage to show it isn't
ooking for easy answers to solve difficult problems, but
the right ones.
Oregon Daily
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LOOKS LIKE
THEWS REACHED
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WITH ANVER'CA.
■ LETTERS
Share cake
While more famous Republi
cans (ire exposing their greed and
making fools of themselves in the
American government, Brian
Womac k does his l«*st for all of
us in the ODE (Feb 21)
He claims affirmative action
programs are the real cause for
rac ism For no good reason, since
whites and non whites, as we
know, are and have always been
treated, hired and generally con
sidered equal in the United
Stati-s, these programs make sum
that minorities get their share of
everybody's American cake Yes,
Brian's big cake too.
Now Brian, have you ever been
in grade school and some bigger
kid stole your sandwich or decid
ed to heat you up because he
didn't like the way you looked7
Do you remember now satisfying
and comforting it was to have a
parent or teacher make sure you
got your share of food or person
al Space? Mow- guild It was to
have your own affirmative action,
making sure that however pow
erless you were, you were treat
ed equally?
Now imagine that you are
grown up and your skin isn't
white You find yourself having
a harder time than your white
schoolmates finding a job. a
house, or even polite and effi
cient service from some people
and businesses Your parents
c an’t do much for you now No
teac her to go to You know you
are treated unfairly (and illegal
ly). hut without a |oti and a salary,
you won’t Ite able to hire a lawyer
to prove it
What would you do and how
would you feel7
While this situation and the
feelings it generates do not justi
fy violent and other illegal acts,
it can c ertainly explain some of
them. And if affirmative action
makes the lug kid a little resent
ful because he has to share and
he hasn't teamed to, it also puts
the other kid somewhat more at
peace with the society he lives
in.
Wake up. Brian Share your
cake There is enough for every
body.
Now what really gets to me and
what prompted mo to write this
letter is the quote at the end of
your paper You are otherwise
entitled to your opinion, as I am
to mine But I cannot believe you
had the guts to appropriate
MI.K's words, an appeal to tol
erance and generosity, to top off
your racist and selfish opinions,
in a country where governmen
tal politic s have now little to do
with ideology and where Repub
licans don't even have the scru
ples, or the simple prudenc e, to
hide what their agenda is really
about (motto "We have most of
it and we want more of it until
it’s all gone"), this grotesque
boldness fits, alas, perfectly.
Gftraldlne Poirat-Newcomb
French Instructor
Study abroad
Viele grude bus Stuttgart! I
know that usually (luring the
colder. wetter months in Eugene,
my thoughts used to drift off to
sunny, far away places...and
although the sun doesn't always
shine in Germany,! sure feel far
away from Eugene! There are
things 1 sometimes miss, like 24
hour convenient n stores, Allan
Brothers Menu an Mochas and
Oregon's beautiful landscape and
crazy people, but the experience
of being an exchange student in
another culture makes it easy to
live without those things for a
year.
1 am study ing architecture at
the Univonstat Stuttgart, w hich
is right in the center of the city
The education system is very dif
ferent here in Germany than what
1 was used to in Eugene — moti
vated students have a lot of free
dom to attend lei lures, go on
excursions or do research on
whatever interests them, hut less
motivated students don't find
anyone on their I lacks demand
ing assignments every few days.
(The real test comes at the end of
the term...!) Some students attend
the university for up to to years,
of course partially because thev
don't have to pay for their edu
cation. At any rate, their degree
gives them more than career
training, it gives them a good
education and an incredible abil
ity to see many sides of most
issues. Germans love discussion!
As an exchange student. I've
taken advantage of the ‘free’ aca
demic atmosphere to educate
myself about German life There
is more to German culture than
beer and bratwurst! It is a coun
try with a very rich history, some
very strong traditions, a lot of
diversity and a very carefully
planned social structure I've
really enjoyed looking at Euro
pean city planning, which man
ages to give a very high quality
lifestyle to an incredibly dense
population. People walk and ride
fakes much more in Europe than
in the States, giving the streets
a more pleasant atmosphere and
a stronger sense of community
In general, it is harder to meet
people, but once you get to know
them, the friendships are usual
ly very strong.
It's l*»en good for me to get out
of Eugene for a year, to realize
there are other ways of getting an
education, other ways to live and
to appreciate what we have in
Oregon! It has lieen an excellent
experience and I'm looking for
ward to the next months.
Regardless of where you go. a
year overseas will bring you and
the people you meet so much
happiness and understanding
It'll help you realize there are
very different ways of living than
what we are surrounded by in the
States — but it'll also make you
appreciate what we do have Do
it! Good luck!
Britta Weller
Exchange student
a
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