Jesse Garcia discusses 'The Wall' and immigration

Jesse Garcia, of the Ogden City Council, visited Weber State University Nov. 1 for an Honors Issues Forum in the Shepherd Union Building. Garcia spoke briefly about immigration and then took nearly an hour's worth of questioning from students and faculty in attendance. Garcia, the descendent of Latinos who made their way to the New Mexico and Texas area in the 1800s, said he feels something must be done about immigration, however, disagrees with many of the current tactics governments seem to be implementing. "I feel that if they are here illegally, wherever they are from, and they aren't causing problems and they've been here for more than three years," Garcia said, "some sort of guest status should be established in order for them to gain citizenship." Garcia argued that the impact of immigration is not entirely a negative one, and that oftentimes the immigrants themselves are the victims. "In some instances, large corporations are bringing them in," Garcia said. "A few years ago, Wal-Mart was caught bringing them in. In this case, the immigrants were the victims. As a country, we must look at the individuals, at how long they have been here and what they are doing." Garcia's main opposition was against the inappropriate spending of unclaimed taxes paid by this group of illegal immigrants. Garcia said he feels that such money should be used to help them. "It is against the law," Garcia said, when speaking about illegal immigration. "But, how can we incarcerate all of them? We can't, we don't have that kind of jail space. They can't get welfare services because they don't have a social security number. Four years ago there was $4.9 billion in unclaimed taxes. Why not use this money to help them?" Ogden has one of the largest populations of Latinos and immigrants in the state. This information is determined by the census and school enrollment, though the estimated number of illegal immigrants was not provided. Nearly 27 to 30 percent of Ogden's population is Latino. When asked about the wall being built on the border of Mexico and the United States, Garcia responded in opposition. "I agree that something must be done, but one of the greatest walls in the world was just knocked down a few years ago, and we, a government that stands for freedom, opportunity and rights are now building one," Garcia said. "I am totally opposed to the wall. I feel there are other solutions." Garcia also refuted some of the reasoning for constructing the wall. "They argue that it will protect us from terrorists like those of 9/11," said Garcia. "But none of the terrorists of 9/11 came in through the southern border; they all came through the northern border. What are we doing about that? Garcia said that he feels there is a certain prejudice against Latinos and that the United States tries to use them as scape goats. He said that he feels it could be a mutually beneficial relationship if the nations of South America, Mexico and the United States would work together. "Mexico and South America are very oil rich," Garcia said. "Why are we in the Middle East fighting for the oil when we could have it cheaper just down the road from us. This would also stimulate their economy." Also discussed was school enrollment of the Hispanic community. "This is another system broken in Ogden city," Garcia said. "The drop out rate in Ogden is up to 70 percent. When I was in high school here in Ogden, I remember teachers saying to me, 'You might as well drop out now because you won't graduate anyways and there are still crops to be picked.' To find out such comments are still being made upsets me. We need to start young and welcome them." What are the solutions to Utah's education problem? Garcia provided a couple of solutions. "Utah is 53 in per child spending. We're behind Puerto Rico and other territories, and that bothers me," Garcia said. "The alcohol tax should go back to the educational fund." Another topic he briefly addressed was the Nov. 7 election. "The average age for voting in this community is 67 years old," Garcia said. "The last election only 17 percent voted in Ogden. It's very important, if you want your voice heard you have to vote. I've never party line voted in my life, I've always understood who was running and what they stood for." The next HIF will be poet and American Liaison Tom Jones Nov 15 in the Kendall Visual Arts Center at Lindquist Lecture.

You can leave a message for reporter Jordan Yospe by calling 626-7655.