Battleground for immigration issue increasingly comes as close as your next City Coun

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Battleground for immigration issue increasingly comes as close as your next City Council meeting
The debate over immigration reform is shifting from Washington and Sacramento to Inland city halls.
Frustrated by what they see as the federal government's failure to address illegal immigration, several city councils have passed resolutions supporting Arizona's new law, which requires police to investigate the immigration status of those they stop and suspect are in the country unlawfully.
Councils also are considering laws requiring businesses to use the federal E-Verify system to ensure their employees are legally able to work in the United States. So far, most of the councils taking such action are in southwest Riverside County.
Activists and others concerned about border security have gone city to city in recent weeks to urge council members to pass their own E-Verify ordinances. Some are affiliated with the grassroots Tea Party movement, which advocates conservative principles, including strict enforcement of immigration laws.
Hemet and Lake Elsinore have passed pro-Arizona resolutions, while Menifee's council approved a resolution criticizing California cities pushing for an Arizona boycott. The resolutions are largely symbolic, and Hemet police have said their city's resolution won't change how they operate.
Menifee passed an E-Verify law, Lake Elsinore gave preliminary approval of its own version and Temecula is set to consider an employment verification law on Tuesday. Murrieta is studying E-Verify.
"When we go to city councils, we're kind of asking people who live in that city to lead the charge," said Ted Wegener, a Tea Party activist from Menifee. "I think the councils are more receptive to that."
Immigration is a local issue, Wegener said, because illegal immigrants pose a burden to local schools and government services. He said he and others try to go to cities where their message will get a good reception.
Jennaya Dunlap, an immigrants' rights advocate from Temecula, said recent council actions threaten to alienate residents and "fan the flames of racial discrimination and anti-immigrant sentiment."
"It doesn't make sense for a city to support another state's law, and I don't think it's an appropriate issue for the council," she said.
Dunlap's group, the Inland Empire Rapid Response Network, is holding a rally before Tuesday's Temecula council meeting. The event will focus on how the group believes cities' attempts at immigration enforcement hurt families, according to a news release.
new battlegrounds
Council meetings have become battlegrounds for both sides of the immigration debate. Many don't live in the cities where the meetings take place.
A small group of speakers urged the Murrieta council on Tuesday to pass an E-Verify ordinance. They said they belonged to various local conservative groups and organized their trip to the City Council via e-mail lists.
Temecula resident Patrice Lynes told the council that, with neighboring cities requiring E-Verify, Murrieta shouldn't be the only holdout.
"Illegal aliens will flock to Murrieta to find work," Lynes said.
What's going on in the Inland area mirrors a national trend, said Kevin Johnson, dean of the UC Davis School of Law.
Cities across the country are passing immigration-related laws, such as barring landlords from renting to illegal immigrants, he said. Immigration is finding its way onto council agendas regardless of whether a region is liberal or conservative, Johnson said.
'got to start somewhere'
Several Inland council members said they wouldn't have to weigh in on immigration if the federal government did its job.
"You've got to start somewhere because the federal government is not doing it," Lake Elsinore Councilman Daryl Hickman said.
Menifee Mayor Wallace Edgerton said he usually opposes local governments taking positions on state and federal matters.
"By taking stands on issues where you have no authority, you're inclined to be posturing and pontificating and trying to garner favor from the people who are putting the pressure on you for whatever reason, good or bad," he said.
But the federal government, Edgerton said, failed in its responsibility to secure the borders.
"If I were a congressman ... I'd hang my head in shame," he said.
Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge, board president of the National League of Cities, said he doesn't anticipate his council taking on immigration.
"You can't have 19,000 cities and towns with different immigration policies," Loveridge said.
"This is really the role and responsibility of the federal government, and Congress needs to step up and pass immigration legislation," he said. "That's where I think the focus should be."
At least one local elected leader wanted to challenge Arizona. Mark Orozco, a Beaumont Unified School District board member, said Arizona's law could lead to racial profiling. He would rather see border states meet to draft a comprehensive crime-fighting strategy.
Orozco said he hasn't put forward a resolution because he doesn't think the board would support it.
"The board is very conservative," he said. "It would die without a second."
'The last straw'
Karthick Ramakrishnan, an associate professor of political science at UC Riverside and an expert on immigration trends, said the economic downturn is a major factor for cities' involvement in immigration.
When the economy started to slump, people blamed Wall Street and the mortgage industry, he said. As the recession dragged on, the anger shifted to illegal immigrants, Ramakrishnan said.
Edgerton echoed Ramakrishnan's comments.
"(People lose their jobs and) can't find a job that pays to the level that they were making when they made their original commitment on their mortgage," Edgerton said. "It's in that environment, when you see foreign nationals coming in and taking an American's job -- that's what I think was the last straw."
Ramakrishnan said immigration will continue to be a local issue as long as the economy falters and Washington doesn't act.
Meanwhile, Wegener said he and others will continue to visit city councils where they think they'll find a receptive audience.
"As more and more of these cities come on board, it's becoming easier to convince these cities it's a good idea," he said.
Staff writer John F. Hill contributed to this report.
Reach Jeff Horseman at 951-375-3727 or jhorseman@PE.com
Immigration
and City Hall
Some Inland city councils are addressing immigration issues.
HEMET
Passed a resolution in support of Arizona's new immigration law.
MENIFEE
Passed a resolution criticizing California cities that want to boycott Arizona. Enacted an ordinance requiring businesses to use the E-Verify system to ensure their employees can legally work in the United States.
MURRIETA
The council asked administrators to research E-Verify.
LAKE ELSINORE
Passed a resolution backing Arizona's law. An E-Verify law is up for final passage at a future meeting.
TEMECULA
An employment verification law is on Tuesday's council agenda.
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