Activists Push for Fox-Bush Deal on Immigration Amnesty

One of the upbeat surveys mentioned by the pro-immigrant group was conducted by the Service Employees International Union, which boasts that it is the nation's largest union of immigrant workers and has staked out a strong pro-amnesty position. The poll found that 59% of respondents approved a plan to "legalize a limited number of undocumented immigrants." Approval dropped only slightly, to 56%, when the politically charged word "amnesty" was used in the question.

The union also organized Thursday's news conference at the Walgreens store on the corner of Vermont Avenue and 6th Street in a heavily immigrant neighborhood west of downtown Los Angeles. Organizers said they chose that site to show how immigrants--both lawful and illegal--benefit the economy by spurring commerce.

"Immigrants have changed this community for the good," said Father David O'Connell, pastor of two nearby Roman Catholic parishes with large undocumented populations.

Speeches by the priest, union leaders, business owners and workers were intended to demonstrate a broad range of support for amnesty. On Monday, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who backs amnesty and has been a champion of immigrant workers, is scheduled to be among those in attendance at Cardinal Roger Mahony's Labor Day Mass at St. Vincent Church in L.A.'s West Adams district. The prospective amnesty is likely to be a major topic among more than 1,000 workers, labor leaders and public officials expected to attend the service, including Gov. Gray Davis.

The UCLA study championed at Thursday's rally was conducted by the university's North American Integration and Development Center. The study, which fully backed the Mexican government's proposals for an amnesty and other changes in U.S. immigration policies, found through computer modeling that illegal immigrants contribute at least $300 billion annually to the nation's economy. Conflicting studies on the question of whether immigrants harm or supplement the economy have long been part of the immigration debate.

"Immigrants give far more than they take," said the author, Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, a professor of urban planning in the School for Public Policy and Social Research. In a telephone interview, Hinojosa acknowledged that the report was timed to come out before next week's summit.

Critics called the study biased and said it ignored the costs of absorbing an illegal immigrant population that lags in education levels.

"It's difficult to make a case that mass unskilled immigration is good for the United States," said Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington group that favors diminished immigration.

Last month, Camarota's center released its own report challenging the benefits of Mexican immigration. That release date too, Camarota acknowledged, was designed to influence discussions as the Bush-Fox summit approached.

"You have to make hay when the sun is shining," he said.