Supporters, critics of undocumented immigrants say reform is needed, but have different

approaches
By Tim Vandenack, published 5/21/16
GOSHEN Ignacio Nacho Zepeda, who manages the Goshen-based Spanish-language radio station
WKAM, knows there are immigrants who are here illegally in Elkhart County.
And he knows the reason, too.
We find work opportunities, which is why were here, he says.
Undocumented immigrants occupy a precarious space. On the one hand, by being here without proper
documentation, they arent legally allowed to work. But they still manage to find jobs as employers need
the labor pool, notes Zepeda, originally from Mexico but a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Dixie Robinson, a former Goshen City Council member who favors more forceful action to crack down on
undocumented immigration, has noticed the same thing, though shes no fan of the practice. Employers,
she maintains, know when they are hiring undocumented workers, even if they say they dont.
Weve put up with it for years, she laments.
As lawmakers wrestle with the thorny issue, both Robinson and Zepeda agree on one thing: The
immigration system needs reform.
U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski doesnt foresee a fix in the near term. Theres the U.S. presidential race to be
decided in November, she notes, which will receive much of the political focus going forward.
Nevertheless, immigration is a hot issue in the presidential campaign and the calls havent let up for some
sort of solution among immigrants, immigrant advocates, foes of illegal immigration and
others. Depending on who wins the presidential election, the issue could get a jolt.
Just biding our time, waiting to see what happens with the elections, said Bob Schrameyer of Goshen,
a backer of GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump and outspoken critic of undocumented
immigrants. Were just waiting. Its going to have to happen at the federal level.
Immigrants, meanwhile, are also waiting and watching. The strong talk of Trump, who has come down
hard on undocumented immigrants and called for construction of a wall between the United States and
Mexico to stem illegal immigration, leaves many of them wary.
Dublesa, a Mexican national now living in Elkhart whose husband, Luis, is an undocumented immigrant
from Guatemala, said Trumps rhetoric shakes their U.S.-born son. The boy worries his father could be
deported under a Trump administration.
He says, We cant go to Guatemala. They dont want to go. Theyre afraid. They hear news of whats
happening in Mexico, Guatemala and all Latin American countries, Dublesa said.
The Elkhart Truth agreed not to use the full names of Dublesa and Luis, who worry about problems with
immigration authorities.
PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP, DEPORT?
In 2013, the U.S. Senate approved a comprehensive immigration reform package, raising prospects of
some resolution. The plan called for beefed-up border security and a means for some of the nations 11
million or so undocumented immigrants to attain legal status here.
The plan eventually fizzled in the House and immigration reform remains elusive. Walorski, a Republican
who represents Elkhart County and north-central Indiana in Congress, said several standalone proposals
are in the works in the House. But that doesnt mean theyll come up for formal debate any time soon.
Were just not there in the House structure yet to have a bill come down, Walorski said.
Like many Republicans, she favors a piecemeal approach to the issue, dealing with things like border
security and new worker visa programs separately not in one massive bill like the 2013 Senate plan.
Shes open to the debate on whether to create a pathway to legal status in the country for
undocumented immigrants one of the stickiest points in the debate but offered few specifics.

The hint that I can offer is that I have been wide open on the issue and both sides of the issue continue
to talk to us. We seek out both sides as well, she said.
Thats a more measured stance than in 2012 during her first successful bid for the 2nd District House
seat, when she touted a zero-tolerance deportation policy for those who cross illegally.
Zepeda, whose radio station reaches many of the immigrant and Spanish-speaking households in Elkhart
County, hints at the need for reform that creates a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants.
He maintains that immigrants are important to the workforce here.
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton backs such an approach.
Its not easy for an immigrant to integrate into a community if you dont know if one day youll have to go
back. What do you do with your U.S. citizen children here? Zepeda said. Our hope is for immigration
reform one day that benefits those who have contributed for so long to this country.
STRAINING THE U.S. ECONOMY
For critics of undocumented immigrants, the focus has to be on assuring compliance with U.S. laws.
Schrameyer, head of Citizens for Immigration Law Enforcement, a dormant group opposed to illegal
immigration, called for more forceful action against those here illegally through rigorous enforcement of
existing laws and more deportations.
Officials cant round up all undocumented immigrants in the country, but I just think the fear of that has to
be out there, he said. Heightened action by immigration officials, he maintains, will lead more and more
undocumented immigrants to self-deport and return on their own to their home countries.
Robinson seeks more aggressive efforts against employers, which was the intent of a bill in the Indiana
General Assembly earlier this year that stalled. If undocumented immigrants cant get work, she said
theyll likely go back to their home countries. That would help fix what she sees as some of the problems
brought on here by their presence depressed wages and crowding in schools.
Rosy Meza, an Elkhart immigration attorney, offers a cautionary message and even proposes an end to
birthright citizenship, which grants automatic U.S. citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, including the
children of undocumented immigrants.
Mass deportation would be unusually cruel and infeasible, she said.
Whatever the case, illegal immigration puts pressure on the U.S. economy, she said, and the system can
only handle so much strain brought on by those coming here illegally. She noted the remittances many
immigrants send to family in their home countries, funds earned in the United States but not spent in the
U.S. economy, and the downward pressure undocumented labor can put on wages.
Granting U.S. entry to all comers sounds enlightened and it sounds compassionate, Meza said. But its
not because its impossible to sustain. Its not reality.
MAINTAINING THE LABOR FORCE
Immigrants and their advocates, meanwhile, point to the contribution to Elkhart County by immigrants
and, more generally, Latinos in the labor they provide.
Im not sure I would say immigrants are taking jobs. Id say jobs are available, said Gilberto Perez, an
associate professor of social work at Goshen College who has worked extensively with the countys
Latino population.
Truthfully, we feel accepted because as a labor force, were important, said Zepeda, also noting the
import of Latinos to the local economy as consumers.
Felipe Merino, a Goshen immigration attorney, warned that if not for the Latino population surge of the
past 25 or so years, manufacturers may have been hard-pressed to maintain their operations
here. Maybe they wouldnt be here. Maybe theyd be exporting jobs, he said.
Many immigrant advocates seek comprehensive reform, a pathway to some sort of legal status for
undocumented immigrants. But there are more immediate proposals and possibilities.

Luis, the undocumented immigrant from Guatemala now in Elkhart, said hed like Indiana leaders to
create a means for undocumented immigrants to get drivers licenses so they can more easily get around,
another common refrain in the immigrant community. As is, they cant because they lack Social Security
numbers, thus they run the risk of citations and more if caught driving.
Lifes OK, said Luis. If there were a way to get a work permit or a drivers license, better.
Leny Santiago, an undocumented immigrant living in Elkhart, touted President Obamas Deferred Action
for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program, or DAPA. Thats a companion
measure to Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which grants a means for younger
undocumented immigrants brought here by their parents to secure legal permission to stay, study and
work here.
DAPA, geared to the undocumented parents of U.S.-born children, would be a great opportunity. Wed be
here legally in a sense, said Santiago, a mother of four who would potentially benefit from the measure.
Still, Santiago may face a long wait. Just as efforts to come up with an immigration reform plan have
sputtered, DAPA, too, faces an uncertain future. Its currently in legal limbo, with the U.S. Supreme Court
expected to decide soon on a legal challenge from leaders in Texas, Indiana and elsewhere who sued to
halt it.