Immigration debate is nothing new, says expert

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MALTA - After nearly 30 years spent helping Latino immigrants assimilate to the United States and find jobs, Marco Lenis believes the current anti-immigration hysteria among some activists and politicians is &#8220nothing new.” Lenis, the head of Vocational Rehabilitation Management of Rockford, was at Kishwaukee College on Tuesday to speak to about 60 people as part of the DeKalb County Economic Development Corp.'s final &#8220Business Roundtable” of the season. In the 1920s, it was Italians, Poles and Greeks the federal government tried to keep out, said Lenis, who also is the former president and CEO of La Voz Latina, a Rockford-based advocacy and resource group for Latinos. During World War II, the country reversed course, inviting in temporary Mexican workers because so many American males were in the armed forces, he said. He emphasized that the United States is a &#8220country of immigrants” - a common refrain among those dubious of efforts to stem immigration. Regardless of where the immigrants came from, or whether they came in the 1600s or in 2006, &#8220the same things happen, it's just a different century,” he said. Tuesday's presentation was advertised as a way for employers and workers to get practical answers to questions arising from Latinos' growing presence in the work force, but most of the discussion turned on themes common to the immigration debate nationally. Lenis maintained that Latinos' willingness to work for less money than native-born Americans helps the economy by keeping prices low - especially when the United States has to compete with less-developed countries where workers make far less. He also said there are 70 million baby boomers heading toward retirement, and &#8220somebody has to take those places.” After the forum, Lenis also rejected another commonly heard contention about immigration from those more predisposed to limiting the influx of foreign workers - that Americans would take many of the jobs illegal immigrants do if they paid a living wage. There are jobs that Americans - and second- and third-generation immigrants, for that matter - simply won't take, he argued, perhaps for reasons of &#8220pride.” Plus, &#8220Pay(ing) more is not the answer because (in) the rest of the world, we have to be competitive,” he said. Lenis said he believes immigrants should learn English, often referred to by Latinos as the &#8220business language.” &#8220If you don't learn English, you're going to be condemned to make very little money,” he said. In response to a question from the audience, Lenis said he had a dim view of congressional efforts to pass a major overhaul of federal immigration law - saying politicians would rather spend their time on an issue with more political than practical ramifications, such as gay marriage. &#8220They're wasting their time because they don't want to touch that third rail,” he said. The Senate has passed a bill that would give most illegal immigrants a way to become citizens, while the House has passed a measure focused more on punitive steps to curb illegal immigration. On Tuesday, House Speaker Dennis Hastert signaled that a conference committee to work out differences between the bills could be a long time in coming, saying hearings should be held on the Senate bill before Congress acts. Chris Rickert can be reached at crickert@daily-chronicle.com.