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A study shows that 12 percent of the population in Napa County are there illegally. The debate going on over the results of research featured in the Napa Valley Register indicates that residents are talking around the actual issue.
The Register story reported that:
"Alicia Jaramillo, president of the Napa County Hispanic Network, said ... that Napa’s number would likely be higher than most. With agriculture as the county’s main economic engine, a high population of undocumented immigrants is to be expected, Jaramillo said. Other wine growing counties, however, fell short of Napa’s double digit figures."
The debate among residents in Napa centers on the damage immigrants here illegally do to the economy, job market, etc. Or, it focuses on the value the immigrants provide by working hard, paying taxes, etc.
Immigrant workers flock to the Napa Valley to work the vineyards. They don't head here for the weather or access to fine dining. So, if there's an issue with 12 of every 100 Napa area residents being in the valley illegally, it would center on the Napa-based businesses that employ immigrants in the United States illegally.
Go ahead and read all 100-plus comments about the Register story. It's available at:
http://bit.ly/o1cjdM
Try to find a resident who specifically mentions that the industry that drives the Napa Valley economy is the industry that attracts, then employs illegal immigrants.
The immigrants are here. They're working jobs that the average unemployed American doesn't necessarily fight to get. Teenagers and out-of-work sales folks rarely fight for jobs in the vineyards.
U.S. immigration laws are easily circumvented.
The problem that can be addressed, should be addressed, is how Napa Valley businesses so easily hire the immigrants who cause such a stir among Napa Valley residents.
There's not a word in Register about how many of the 12 percent of said immigrants work the vineyards. There's no mention of which wineries routinely hire immigrants lacking official documentation. Seems odd, doesn't it?
Blame the government.
Blame the immigrants here illegally.
Just make sure we all agree that there are Napa Valley business folks attracting the immigrants, giving them work (which they do very well and very faithfully) and then keeping them in the valley.
Residents who have a problem with information in the study on immigration have a problem with the wine industry in the Napa Valley.
3 comments:
Any suggestions of how an average local citizen can make a positive difference?
Anonymous...Thanks a million for reading. I hope you'll check out the other stuff I've written and will write. Some of the answers to question...how do you make a difference?...might be answered in other stuff about other towns.
My experience in newspapering helps me understand how the tone and tenor of discussions about things like immigration gets controlled by the business community, through the newspaper content.
The same thing happens up in Eureka where there's constant debate over whether or not a Wal-Mart store is good or bad for the community. The local private business owners, who advertise in the media and mix n' mingle with the publishers and news folk at service club functions, have their voices heard. The folks who can afford to shop at small local stores have their voices heard. Both have their viewpoints represented by the media coverage.
It's clear that the folks up north who'll shop at a Wal-Mart, who don't find objection with Wal-Mart business practices, are reduced to making their voices heard in creative ways.
You aren't going to have the editor of the newspaper send a reporter out to talk to local citizens to see what you think about immigration in the Napa Valley.
The first thing you need is...somebody to state the obvious and open the door for you to comment. I hope, I plan to, open that door so that people who see the immigration study story can get here where they can find somebody who knows the media and knows the Napa Valley has no problem admitting that if they have a problem will illegals living in the valley then...they have a big problem with the people who run vineyards and own wineries.
To make a difference, you have to be part of a discussion...and now the discussion is started...without the namby pamby protect-our-wineries approach in the newspaper or the comments section of the newspaper.
Hopefully...people will find their way here...clarify their thoughts and then go with confidence to share their thoughts in the community.
Long answer...maybe not that great. I'll write more and MY voice will become clearer, I hope.
Thanks for reading.
Ted
I would like to see a comprehensive collection of data collected and published in the newspaper. (Statistics and information of immigration policies and services, illegal immigrants, and the impact to the specific surrounding Napa Valley, etc.)
The data is so diverse it is difficult for an average citizen to be informed unless they spend quite a bit of time researching. Unless this topic touches someone specifically there is no specific relevance to the person researching this topic. The importance of investigative reporting is paramount in these scenarios.
Wal-Mart and the effect of big box stores is another area that people have difficulty understanding. If the data was presented in an easy to understand way there would be less indifference.
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