BUILD BRIDGES, NOT WALLS

By Michael S. Wyman

We need to legalize the right of all immigrants to work and live in our county, as long as they present no danger to themselves or our citizens.

"We should be building bridges, not walls," said Mike Wyman, candidate for Attorney General on the Green Party ticket, on the occasion of the Mayday march for Immigrant Rights. "Criminalizing poor immigrants, walling up America, this is not the way to deal with immigration issues," Wyman said.

Wyman, an advocate of full legalization for undocumented workers in our country, promised to adopt a policy of non-cooperation with the Immigration and Naturalization Service if elected to the office of Attorney General, the highest law enforcement post in the State of California.

"I would set an example for prosecutors offices everywhere," said Wyman, "and issue an advisory to local law enforcement that they refrain from committing any resources to support deportation proceedings by the INS unless crimes against individuals or property are at issue."

"In those cases, the accused should be brought properly to trial, not deported," Wyman said.

Wyman, an attorney residing in Marin County, has been an advocate of immigration reform since he was a student at Hastings school of Law.

"The bias of the immigration laws has always been obvious to me," Wyman recollected.

"In this country, trained engineers, scientists and business people sponsored by U.S. corporations receive green cards as a matter of course, but poor immigrants, who have nothing to offer but their manual labor, have to sneak across our borders, many at the cost of their lives."

"We have legalized the brain drain," Wyman concluded, "and criminalized the `brawn' drain."

"This discrimination needs to end," said Wyman. "Immigrants who come here to work in the agriculture, construction or service industries should have the same rights to a green card as any other immigrant."

"To deny any immigrant that equality is arguably a violation of equal protection and due process under our constitution, and the laws that allow it should be overturned."

Wyman promised that he would act to enjoin the enforcement of such laws if elected Attorney General of California.

On May 1st, Wyman marched with other Green Party candidates at the immigrant rights demonstration in San Francisco. The Green Party presence was visible and boisterous, and included Peter Camejo, the Green Party candidate for governor, who spoke at the rally which followed the demonstration.

"May 1st marks the beginning of a new civil rights movement," said Peter Camejo, candidate for Governor on the Green Party ticket.

Rally supporters were protesting legislation that would have criminalized undocumented workers living in the United States. They also protested the construction of walls along the border with Mexico, which have made crossing into the U.S. increasingly perilous for immigrants. Last year, over 500 immigrants died while trying to cross the border with Mexico.