From Daily Planet Staff Reports

Following a program titled “Immigration: Myths and Realities” last Wednesday night, keynote speaker Gerry Chapman fielded questions for nearly 30 minutes.

The program, sponsored by the fledgling Mountain Area Interfaith Forum, drew about 75 people to Beth Israel Synagogue in Asheville.

Among the questions that were voiced, a woman asked Chapman, “What’s your idea of the ideal immigration bill?”

“The McCain-Kennedy proposal,” he replied, noting that some standards have to be imposed, such as having a sponsor, a fine for entering the United States illegally and the ability to show that one has no history of serious criminal activity.

Someone asked Chapman about his view of state Sen. Kay R. Hagan, D-Guilford County, who is running for the U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole.

“She’s a great lady who has been in the state Senate for years,” Chapman said of Hagan. “She’s never been afraid of a debate.”
A woman asked, “Should there be quotas” on immigration?

“I think the answer woud be ‘yes,’” Chapman replied. “We’re not running on unlimited resources ... There is some limit before it begins to have a negative impact.”

A man asked, “What do we do with the human toll” of enforcing immigration policies? “What do you do with all these families” that are affected?

“That’s the hardest question we get,” Chapman answered. “They’re in the lights of the train wreck” of U.S. immigration policies.
Ultimately, though, he said, “For the people who are here in blended families, they must be made to pay a fine ... A solution is out there ... Those with serious criminal offenses — that family is probably out of here.”

Geri Solomon of International Link in Asheville asserted that “the (news) media likes to trigger reaction by using the terms ‘illegal alien.’ So we have that.”

A man noted that “there’s an awful lot of junk coming through e-mail and I have sent ‘reply all’ and said, ‘This is racist garbage,’ and they don’t send it to me anymore.” With a grin, he added, “I think I’ve annoyed some of my friends” by inadvertantly sending them the same message.

At that point, Chapman said, “It really strikes me there are parallels between the civil-rights movement and the (immigration) situation today ... The way we treat the undocumented workers — as if they’re disposable trash — is similar.”

For the U.S. civil-rights movement, “the way that (injustices) got changed was by speaking out and voting” for changes, Chapman said, urging the audience members to “become one-issue voters.”

As an illustration of the effectiveness of his “one-issue” admonition, the Greensboro attorney referred to a 1973 Jimmy Buffet song titled “Grapefruit-Juicy Fruit.” However, with a smile, he quickly added that much of the program’s audience appeared to be older and might not be familiar with Buffet’s song. In essence, he said, in quoting a lyric fragment, the song espouses simple pleasures as “good for the soul.”

In closing the night’s program, moderator Rob Cabelli, the rabbi at Beth Israel Synagogue and a MAIF member, announced, “We’re going to be holding more forums on immigration” in the future.”

Austin Rios, of Capilla de Santa Maria, added that “part of the public opinion is a changing of the tide,” which, he said, the MAIF is endeavoring to accomplish.