June 28, 2007

Palm Springs teen makes emotional plea for border reform

By JULIA GLICK
The Press-Enterprise

PALM SPRINGS - Hours after a bill to overhaul the nation's immigration system died on the Senate floor, a Palm Springs teenager wiped away tears and told a small audience why immigration reform could save her family.

"My mother and aunt were arrested on May 8, one month and three weeks ago, and since then I have tried to take up my mother's role at home," said 18-year-old Ana Leiva. "My mom was the backbone of our family. She paid all our bills and worried about our health and well-being."

Leiva said her mother entered the country illegally and obtained a work visa, but she failed to attend a last-minute immigration hearing in San Francisco. She received an order of deportation soon after and did not comply, Leiva told a Palm Springs Human Rights Commission meeting Thursday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Leiva's mother as part of a roundup of immigrants who did not comply with deportation orders.

Leiva, a U.S. citizen and recent graduate of Palm Springs High School, was part of the commission's panel intended to educate residents about the proposed Senate immigration bill. But the bill's apparent defeat in the Senate early Thursday left some panelists at a loss.

"The system that Ana's mother is caught up in is the same system I deal with every day," said immigration lawyer Nora Milner. "How can we untangle this morass of legislation?"

The meeting also drew heated debate in a city where conservative, wealthy retirees often live alongside left-leaning gay and lesbian residents with surprisingly little friction.

"I'm not a racist. I'm just fighting against illegality," said John Tymon, a Palm Springs resident and mayoral candidate.

"Go to the back of the line. None of us like people who cut in line. I know I don't."

Tymon, who carried a small American flag, added that he was happy the immigration bill had lost momentum.

Along with strict border enforcement measures, the bill would have included a pathway to citizenship for the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and a guest worker program.

While President Bush has pushed hard for ways for immigrants to legalize their status here, he also introduced the Secure Border Initiative in November 2005.

Among other enforcement provisions, the initiative has funded more Immigration and Customs Enforcement teams to apprehend fugitives such as Leiva's mother.

The May raids in the Palm Springs area were part of an enhanced nationwide effort to target and arrest immigrants who have failed to comply with deportation orders or who are known criminals, said Lori Haley, a spokeswoman with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The agency announced this month that it has seen its backlog of fugitive cases around the country decline for the first time since its inception in 2003.

"If people do receive an order by a judge, they should comply with that order," Haley said. "We are a nation of immigrants but we are also a nation of laws."

Haley said she could not speak to the details of the Palm Springs operations or the arrest of Leiva's mother.

Leiva, an honors student, said she had plans to go to Cal State Fullerton or another four-year school but scaled back her ambitions when her mother was taken away from her home. She said she now plans to attend a community college, College of the Desert, so she can stay home and support her family.

Students at Palm Springs High School held a car wash and raised thousands to help Leiva's family to get by without its breadwinner, said Catherine Linn, a Palm Springs High School teacher and panelist.

Her mother is now in an immigration processing and detention center in San Pedro, Leiva said.