It's an afternoon gathering of Hispanic families in Georgetown, Delaware. Fifteen years ago, Georgetown was a predominantly Anglo-American small town, full of old Victorian houses and old-fashioned American traditions and values. But in the 1990s Hispanic immigrants began moving to town. Mike Wyatt is mayor of Georgetown, "They were never really visible to anybody riding through to probably 1992-1993. And then it was all of a sudden, ‘Where did all these people come from?’"
They came from Central American countries, such as Guatemala, in search of jobs and better lives: primarily, by working in three large chicken processing plants in the area. At first there was some resistance from local townspeople toward outsiders. But as more Hispanic workers came, some set up businesses and became vital to the local economy. Mr. Wyatt estimates almost half the population of Georgetown is now Hispanic. "The economy of Georgetown, Sussex County, chicken plants, poultry, I would hate to imagine what it would be like without the Hispanic workers. They have to be the ones keeping it going," he says.
It is communities like Georgetown that are caught in the firestorm surrounding immigration legislation. Mr. Wyatt estimates that 80 to 90 percent of Hispanic workers in the area could be in the country illegally, and says they are able to gain employment through forged documents. “We see it all the time, the police department sees is all the time. It is rumored that you can go places in Pennsylvania and some places get an insurance card, a license plate for your car, driver’s license, social security card, all for a fee. And up front, everything looks legal."
There are two schools of thought in immigration reform. One wants to close down the borders, deport all illegal immigrants, and jail employers and others who provide assistance to the illegals. The other wants some form of amnesty and a program that allows people to come to the U.S. at least temporarily as guest workers. Jessica Eckerd is Executive Director of the Eagle Forum, a conservative organization that supports border security first, and no amnesty for illegal workers. "When the person chooses to come here through the proper channels in a legal way, we see the benefits of those legal immigrants. When an immigrant comes here who breaks the law, who is draining our schools and our health care system, and the American tax payers fund those things, then we see a negative impact."
Zaida Guajardo is deputy director for "La Esperanza," a social services organization in Georgetown. She advocates immigration reform, some form of amnesty, and a guest worker program. Her organization does not ask people their status, and could be penalized if tougher immigration laws go into effect. "The fact that we will be penalized, even fines and incarceration, I think is ridiculous. I think that rather than penalizing or having such a strict bill, we have go to find a way to, I guess, work with immigration reform."
The U.S. Senate has been split on the issue. And the fate of many small communities around the U.S., like Georgetown, hangs in the balance. No one in this town wants to see the harsher measure pass. "I believe the local economy, as far as the chicken producers, I honestly believe they would be shut down,” says Mayor Wyatt. “There are that many employees that work there. There is probably that many that are illegal. I don't know if companies could stand that."
这是特拉华州乔治敦拉美裔移民聚会的一个下午。15年前，德拉瓦州乔治敦是一个以英裔美国人为主的小镇。小镇上到处是维多利亚式的房子，保留着保守的传统和价值理念。到20世纪90年代，拉美裔移民开始搬迁到这个小镇上。乔治敦市市长怀亚特说：“1992年以前，人们从镇上经过，几乎看不见拉美裔移民。后来不知道从哪里一下子就来了这么多人。”
很多移民从危地马拉等中美洲国家到美国来寻找工作，并寻求更好的生活。他们主要是在当地的三个大型鸡肉加工厂工作。当地的小镇居民起初对外来客有些抵触。不过随着越来越多的拉美裔劳工来到这里，有人创办商业，对当地的经济发展起到重要的作用。怀亚特市长估计，现在乔治敦几乎半数的人口是拉美裔移民。他说：“萨塞克斯郡乔治敦的经济主要依靠鸡肉加工厂、家禽业，很难想象没有这些拉美裔工人，这里会是什么样。要想维持经济发展，就离不开这些工人。”
象乔治敦这样的社区也受到移民立法问题的影响。怀亚特估计当地可能有80%到90%的拉美裔劳工是非法居留在美国，他们利用伪造文件获得工作。他说：“我们经常看到伪造文件，警察局也经常看到伪造文件。有传闻说，你可以去宾西法尼亚州的某个地方，弄到保险卡、汽车牌照、驾驶执照、社会安全卡，这些都可以花钱买到。公然进行交易，一切看起来好像都是合法的。”
在移民改革这个问题上有两种不同的想法。一些人想关闭边界，遣返所有的非法移民，把雇佣非法移民的雇主和其他为非法移民提供帮助的人关进监狱。还有一些人则希望国会通过立法，给非法移民某种形式的大赦，并且允许外国人作为临时客工来美国。埃卡德是保守派组织鹰派论坛的执行主任。这个组织提倡首先保障边界安全，禁止大赦非法劳工。埃卡德说：“当一个人选择通过正当渠道以合法的形式来到这个国家时，我们看到美国受益于合法移民。但是当一个移民非法来到这里，耗尽我们的学校和医疗保健系统的资源，美国纳税人花钱资助这些设施，那么我们看到的是负面影响。”
瓜哈尔多是乔治敦的一个社会服务组织的副主任。她提倡实行移民改革、某种形式的大赦和外来劳工计划。她所在的社会服务组织不查问申请者的身份。如果更严厉的移民法生效，这个组织就可能会受到处罚。瓜哈尔多说：“事实上，我们可能会受到处罚，甚至被罚款和监禁。我认为这种做法很荒唐。我认为不应该施行处罚或是制定这样一个严格的法案，而是要找到一个办法配合移民改革。”
美国参议院在这个问题上也存有分歧。在美国各地，有许多象乔治敦这样的小社区的命运仍然悬而未决。在这个小镇上没有人想看到国会通过更严厉的措施。
怀亚特市长说：“当地经济会受到影响，我真地认为鸡肉加工厂会关闭。许多工人在那里工作，或许很多人都是非法移民。我不知道这些公司能否维持下去。
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