(The following article was originally published in the August 2007 issue of the now defunct Sierra Madre Village Voice. However, it was felt because of the Eagle’s emphasis this month on illegal immigration that it was worth reprinting. This article, perhaps more than any other, puts the issue of day laborers loitering and soliciting work in Memorial Park in a historical context. This is neither a new problem nor is our city government’s refusal to enforce our laws a new phenomenon. Ed.)

The other day my editor, Hail Hamilton, was doing some research in the Sierra Madre Library about Memorial Park. Archivist Debbie Henderson was kind enough to show him an article published August 31, 1995 in the now defunct “Sierra Madre News.” The article was about day-workers and those hiring them in the Park. That afternoon he shared it with me. I was flabbergasted! I was also disgusted!

More than 10 years have past and still the city has done nothing to take back the park for the taxpayers who own it and pay for its upkeep. And to add insult to injury, the same lame excuses were given then as now by city officials about the cost of losing this readily availably source of cheap labor to the economy of our little foothill community. I asked Hail if I could write a story on the decade-long abuse of the park.

The article “Cheap Labor Not So Cheap” is by Felicia Wood. I’m not sure if she still lives in Sierra Madre or if she’s still even alive. But what she wrote then rings as true today as it did in 1995. She describes to a tee the day-worker issue as it then existed. You be the judge. The following is a transcript of her article as it was originally published:

“Driving by or walking by Memorial Park in the morning, you notice a group of men hanging about. Sometimes you will see a truck pull up and some of the men, day-workers jump in. They appear somewhat out of place in quiet Sierra Madre, an area that seems removed from the problems that plague other communities. But these day-workers, waiting in the park to be chosen for a job, bring home some very crucial issues.

“Carl Griffen, of Jeff Nelson Construction in Sierra Madre, served as Mayor from 1980-84 and has worked in the construction industry for 50 years. Speaking of the day-workers, Griffen said, ‘We (Jeff Nelson Construction) won’t hire them.’ As these workers do not have the sane overhead as licensed or unionized construction workers, they can work much cheaper.

“Employers who pay the workers in cash also do not usually pay the appropriate taxes and worker’s compensation insurance. There is a reported 90% or higher correlation between cash payments and nonpayment of taxes. Also, when they pick workers up by the truckload, little time or resources are put into making sure they legitimately have a right to work in the U.S.

“‘The illegal alien situation is ruining the construction industry,’ Griffen continued. ‘It is interfering with the labor situation and taking away jobs by allowing those who hire illegal aliens to charge less fees.’ Often, when someone needs a job done, they will either hire the workers directly or hire a company that takes advantage of the cheaper labor which means legitimate businesses cannot compete.

“Ken Pedroza of Gem’s Plumbing, however does not seem to have a problem with the day-workers in the park. ‘If they are legal, then I guess there’s nothing wrong with them being there,’ Pedroza commented. The plumbing industry however does not seem as hard hit because of some of the skill level and communications required.

“Chief Surgent noted that the day-workers are not violating any laws or civic codes. The Police receive periodic complaints about the workers, about once every two months according to Surgent. ‘We have a Spanish speaking officer who talks to them about once a month,’ Surgent said. ‘We tell them to keep the park clean, to keep the bathrooms clean and not to be hassling anybody.’

“Asked whether he felt that the day-workers were hurting the construction and building companies in town, Surgent responded, ‘I can’t really say, but a lot of our contractors use them.’

“In the long run, the ones who will really hurt from the day-workers situation will be the legitimate companies who refuse to hire the cheaper labor. The city and county will suffer too, from the nonpayment of taxes and the deterioration of the legitimate industries.”

Is this deja vu or what? Here we are nearly 20 years later and the city still refuses to enforce the law. The fact is that when the 1986 Simpson-Magnolia Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan there were specific provisions included in the bill for the enforcement of immigration and labor law violations. These provisions included arrest; confinement and deportation of illegal aliens working without proper documents, there were also additional penalties for the use of fraudulent documents, and sanctions and fines against employers who hired illegal aliens without first checking their right to work in the U.S.

Furthermore, local law enforcement agencies were given the legal authority to apprehend and report illegal aliens to the federal government. They were also required to notify federal agencies of employers suspected of hiring illegal aliens. Next time you hear a politician who says they’re “tough” on illegal immigration—ignore them. It doesn’t matter whether they’re Democrats or Republicans—ignore them, they’re lying.

Today’s politicians don’t care about the struggling middle class. They don’t care how hard you work. They don’t care that middle class Americans pay more taxes relative to their incomes than anyone else on the planet. They don’t care about your kid’s future. They don’t care about our declining public schools. They don’t care about the elderly. They don’t care about the 40 million Americans with no health insurance. They don’t care about the rising cost of health care and prescription drugs. And they damn well don’t care about bringing our soldiers home for Christmas. All they care about is enlisting new party members and keeping the endless flow of cheap labor going for their corporate buddies who keep them in office.

The Kennedy’s, McCain’s, Feinstein’s, Boxer’s, Pelgosi’s, Villaraigosa’s and all the rest of the “amnesty—open border” crowd are part of the problem, not part of the solution. It’s not the system that needs “reform,” it’s the “reformers” who need to begin enforcing the existing laws. We legally admit 2 million immigrants a year into the U.S.—more than all the countries on the face of the earth combined. The U.S. is hardly a nation that doesn’t welcome immigrants.

Memorial Park is emblematic of a deeper and much more serious problem—the lack of responsibility of our public officials. Memorial Park is symbolic of our city’s lack of leadership. Memorial Park is a glaring example of our elected representatives not doing their job—and not doing their job for years! Making excuses for not enforcing our laws or drafting better laws to take back Memorial Park is pure bunk. Enough is enough—RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP IS NEEDED AND IT IS NEEDED NOW!

President Harry Truman once said: “There’s nothing new under the sun—just history we’ve forgotten.” These are wise words coming from a wise man. Most of us weren’t even born when “Give ‘em hell Harry” was President. So we can’t remember just how unpopular he was while he was in office. But his unpopularity didn’t stop him from doing his job.

Harry believed that while he was the occupant of the White House his job was to lead the country. Leadership for Harry was earned. He had earned it in WWI leading artillery Company B. He had earned it dropping the Bomb to end the war against Japanese. He had earned it firing General Douglas MacArthur for insubordination. None of these were easy or altogether popular decisions. Even the use of the atomic bomb was fraught with uncertainty. Harry said: “The buck stops here” in the Oval Office and “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

Apparently, “leadership” doesn’t have the same meaning now as it did in President Truman’s time. Leaders at all levels of government—federal, state and especially local—have chosen to abdicate their responsibility to lead. Harry said it correctly long ago, “Leaders lead, by leading—that’s their job.” Harry also said, “GOOD LEADERS LEAD BY EXAMPLE. GREAT LEADERS LEAD BY WELCOMING CHALLENGE AND OVERCOMING IT—REGARDLESS OF PERSONAL SACRIFICE!”

(Please read the two accompanying articles “Memorial Park—Problems & Solutions” and “Memorial Park—Where Lawlessness Rules”. One article explains in why Memorial Park—next door to city hall and the police department—continues to be used as a day worker hiring site. The other article offers legal solutions to the problem. It also serves notice that our city government is not in compliance with federal law. It is a sad commentary that our public officials, who are responsible for executing and enforcing our laws, stubbornly refuse to do so. When will the City Council act? Ed.)