Faculty panel focuses on immigration trends

As part of Cal State Long Beach's October immigration symposium, a three-member panel discussion was presented on Wednesday, in the University Student Union, entitled ÔÔHistorical Perspectives on Immigration in California."

The symposium, which began Oct. 4, explores various avenues of the immigration issue via its weekly events.

The Wednesday panel, which was moderated by Federico Sanchez, acting associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, included Nancy QuamWicham, a professor in CSULB's history department, and Norma Chinchilla, a professor of sociology and director of the CSULB women's studies program. Chinchilla has also written numerous published articles on Central America.

After Sanchez delivered his introduction about the present state of immigration in the "Golden State," Quam-Wicham focused on the history of immigration in America and California.

Chinese railroad workers, who built the railroad system in the United States during the 1860s, were used as an example of how poorly non-white immigrants were treated by the white majority.

"The Chinese were barely considered human beings," Quam -Wicham said. "The belief was that they had evolved from a different species; their racial characteristics made possible for them to exist under harsher conditions then white men could.''

In 1865, 90 percent of the railroad workers were Chinese, because no whites would work under those conditions, Quam-Wicham said.

Economic conditions also had great influence on how non-European immigrants were treated.

During the Great Depression, the greatest oppression against aliens could be observed, Quam-Wicham said.

The present backlash against illegal aliens in California became the main focus of Chinchilla's speech.

ÔÔThe focus has shifted from people coming to take away jobs, to people coming to live on welfare,'' Chinchilla said.

More problems are created by legal immigrants than by illegal ones, Chinchilla said she believes.

"It's the benefits that legal aliens receive, from which illegal immigrants are excluded, that cost the government a fortune,'' Chinchilla explained.

Chinchilla also argued that the idea that immigrants who have children in the United States, merely to collect welfare is totally unrealistic.

"Basically, [state officials] count every Latina that gives birth in a hospital in California," Chinchilla said.