Citizenship

Jennifer Kho COSTA MESA -- Councilman Chris Steel asked the city attorney's office Tuesday to determine whether the city may legally require its commissioners to be United States citizens, introducing yet another point of contention into the already divisive debate about how to appoint residents to city panels. "I think it will be a benefit to the community if we require citizenship screening for city employees and particularly to appointees to the commissions," Steel said.

Jennifer Kho COSTA MESA -- With their decision to leave the process to appoint commissioners nearly unchanged, City Council members late Monday quietly put to rest, for now, their discussion about requiring citizenship screening for commission applicants. Councilman Chris Steel asked the city attorney's office earlier this month to determine if the city could legally require its commissioners to be United States citizens. But Steel did not broach the subject again Monday as council members voted to keep their method of voting as a whole for commissioners, even though the attorney concluded the city may require citizenship.

AT ISSUE: We asked readers: "Should cities require commissioner to be screened for citizenship status?" This is what people had to say. Why should there be any doubt? There should be no question about it. Is there any country other than the U.S. which would permit noncitizens to have their say in governing issues? Kudos to Chris Steel for addressing this very important subject and for standing up for his beliefs. And also a pat on the back for Latino activist Paty Madueno for her realistic and fair view on this matter.

President Bush's latest immigration reform plan could include special work visas for undocumented immigrants and let them apply for citizenship after returning home and paying a fine. Can you foresee Congress approving a proposal similar to the president's plan, and do you support any proposal that would allow those here illegally to establish legal residency in the U.S.? These proposals miss the point. We teach our kids not to cut in line, but we are saying it's OK here.

Now that you've had more time to study the proposed immigration reform bill, how would you improve it if you had a chance to rewrite it? Last week, the White House and the Senate announced a deal on "comprehensive illegal immigration reform" legislation. Contrary to claims by the bill's authors, it is nothing short of amnesty for 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. The bill does not go far enough in strengthening our borders or enhancing our national security.

When that pointless immigration bill was being bandied about in the news and Congress it included at least one gem that gave it some merit. That gem is the federal DREAM Act. It is one of the least controversial issues concerning immigration ? of course that?s not saying much. The DREAM Act is designed to help youths who are not citizens but came to America before they turned 16 and at least five years before the bill is enacted. In order to qualify for the benefits of the DREAM Act, the youngster must follow a few rules designed to encourage them to be assets to society.

When that pointless immigration bill was being bandied about in the news and Congress it included at least one gem that gave it some merit. That gem is the federal DREAM Act. It is one of the least controversial issues concerning immigration — of course that’s not saying much. The DREAM Act is designed to help youths who are not citizens but came to America before they turned 16 and at least five years before the bill is enacted. In order to qualify for the benefits of the DREAM Act, the youngster must follow a few rules designed to encourage them to be assets to society.

We have a problem, folks. In recent weeks, a whole herd of people have been galloping around Costa Mesa on high horses tossing around the dogeared card of racism. And I'm bothered by it. Not because I'm a closet Aryan secretly goose-stepping around the house in jackboots. I abhor the ignorance and fanaticism that fuels the hatred of any people, whatever the stripe of their ethnicity. But I hold in equal low regard high-minded demagoguery that seeks to make the battle against racism an industry, particularly when it is hypocritical rhetoric.

On May 30, the Newport Harbor Exchange Club, led by President Bob Jessen and Young Citizenship Chairman Bob Wood, accompanied by Wally Ziglar and Charlie Anderson, presented Websters’ Collegiate Dictionaries to fourth- and fifth-graders at Victoria Elementary School. Principal Judy Laakso introduced the team, which recognized fourth-grade winner Allison Rasmussen and fifth-grade winner Nathan Appelgate. The dictionaries today include a compact disk for computer use. Each student had prepared an essay on what citizenship means to them.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) has introduced a bill in Congress that would grant citizenship to the Pakistani doctor who helped CIA agents track down and kill Osama Bin Laden last spring. A special Pakistan government commission has recommended that Dr. Shakeel Afridi, chief surgeon at Jamrud Hospital in northwestern Khyber tribal agency, be charged with high treason for aiding in a foreign intelligence operation, according to the Daily Beast. The charge carries with it a possible death penalty.

As was discussed in this column on March 20, the immigration system in our country is not hard to repair, but the problem is that neither many Republicans nor Democrats actually want to do so. Why is that? Because many powerful Republicans want the continuing source of cheap labor, and many powerful Democrats want people to continue to come here illegally with the expectation that eventually they will vote for Democrats. Of course this dysfunctional system has caused such frustration that states like Utah and Arizona have been forced to take measures into their own hands — and who can really blame them?

Editor’s note: The following are in response to “World View: Thankful to be here,” Nov. 27. Welcome to the U.S.! I have proudly said this to several people who have become American citizens. Afterward I always think of some of the lyrics like “’Cause the flag still stands for freedom, and they can’t take that away” in Lee Greenwood’s song “Proud to be an American.” I don’t feel the same after reading your article.

The Costa Mesa City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to accept a $560,237 federal grant that will help struggling families stay in their homes. The decision comes two weeks after officials tabled the matter over concerns that the money might assist illegal immigrants. The two local nonprofits that will benefit from the grant, Mercy House and Serving People in Need, agreed to check the immigration status of their patrons to help allay the council’s concerns. Under federal law, Costa Mesa cannot require the nonprofit groups to check immigration status, but both organizations volunteered to do so. “We will only serve legal residents — that is our history.

On May 30, the Newport Harbor Exchange Club, led by President Bob Jessen and Young Citizenship Chairman Bob Wood, accompanied by Wally Ziglar and Charlie Anderson, presented Websters’ Collegiate Dictionaries to fourth- and fifth-graders at Victoria Elementary School. Principal Judy Laakso introduced the team, which recognized fourth-grade winner Allison Rasmussen and fifth-grade winner Nathan Appelgate. The dictionaries today include a compact disk for computer use. Each student had prepared an essay on what citizenship means to them.

Assemblyman Van Tran’s attempt to have the state screen and verify the immigration status of prisoners, just as authorities do in Costa Mesa, failed to make it out of an Assembly committee Wednesday. Tran hoped identifying and then deporting such prisoners would cut state costs to house them, as well as address the problem with overcrowding in California prisons. While the state’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is required to report any undocumented immigrants to the federal government as part of an administrative agreement, this bill would have required such checks under law, Tran said.

When that pointless immigration bill was being bandied about in the news and Congress it included at least one gem that gave it some merit. That gem is the federal DREAM Act. It is one of the least controversial issues concerning immigration — of course that’s not saying much. The DREAM Act is designed to help youths who are not citizens but came to America before they turned 16 and at least five years before the bill is enacted. In order to qualify for the benefits of the DREAM Act, the youngster must follow a few rules designed to encourage them to be assets to society.

When that pointless immigration bill was being bandied about in the news and Congress it included at least one gem that gave it some merit. That gem is the federal DREAM Act. It is one of the least controversial issues concerning immigration ? of course that?s not saying much. The DREAM Act is designed to help youths who are not citizens but came to America before they turned 16 and at least five years before the bill is enacted. In order to qualify for the benefits of the DREAM Act, the youngster must follow a few rules designed to encourage them to be assets to society.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has become an intriguing figure in Costa Mesa both as a physical presence and a symbol of the racial tension within the city. Since December, the federal agent has taken up residence in Costa Mesa Jail, screening arrestees for citizenship status. Since then, more than 460 people have been flagged for immigration violations. July was the busiest — 59 people were held after being arrested on suspicion of various crimes. Many have protested, claiming some of those detained were arrested for violations as minor as jaywalking.