Stop immigration flood

Nearly 200 people attended a Rohnert Park conference Saturday about maintaining American sovereignty in the face of rising globalism, and stemming the tide of illegal immigration from Mexico.

Speakers played to the fears of a receptive audience, espousing views that warned of a possible merger of the United States with Mexico and Canada into a North American Union, and denouncing "anchor babies," a term used to describe children born in America to illegal immigrants that they claim overwhelm schools and the nation's system of medical care.

But other attendees said the overriding message of the annual conference of the Eagle Forum of California was to get America to simply enforce the laws that exist.

"It's not a hate thing or a prejudice thing," Scott Weiss, a salesman from Santa Rosa, said during a break. "It's about laws. We either live by the rule of law or we don't."

Eagle Forum is a conservative group founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1967 that claims a national membership of 80,000 people. It focuses on social issues, describing itself as a pro-family, anti-feminist and supporting establishment of English as the official language of the United States.

According to its Web site, Eagle Forum opposes all variations of amnesty and guest-worker visas. Its first task is to assimilate the millions of non-English-speaking foreign nationals who are legal residents, the Web site states.

The daylong conference at the Doubletree Hotel included talks from conservative speakers such as Schlafly, columnist Jerome Corsi and U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, a former Republican presidential candidate from San Diego County.

It drew people from across the state, including a large contingent from Sonoma County, said Orlean Koehle, state president, who spoke about the emergence of the North American Union and its European parallel.

Pamphlets floated around the room urging a boycott on Mexican travel and vendors offered documentaries claiming to debunk global warming, among other issues.

No opposing views were voiced, but Roberto Garcia, a United Farm Workers organizer in Santa Rosa who plans to be part of an immigrant march today in celebration of Cesar Chavez, said Eagle Forum members appear to live in a bubble when it comes to the issue of immigration.

"How about we focus on who's preparing their dinner tonight?" said Garcia, who did not attend. "That nice wine they like to sip? Who picked those grapes? They don't take into consideration that it is the immigrant community that keeps our country, the U. S. of A., moving forward."

Among the most strident speakers was Barbara Coe, an anti-illegal immigration leader from Anaheim, who said the flood of illegal immigrants is overwhelming public schools, hospitals and the criminal justice system.

"How ironic that our government slams the front door on terrorists, but they are welcomed via the back door," said Coe, director of the California Coalition of Immigration Control.

"Taxpayers are footing the bill for these so-called instant citizens," Coe said, referring to children born in the United States to immigrants.

The meeting drew a large number of senior citizens. Among the few younger people to attend was Joseph Nicolini, 20, of Lodi.

Standing in the lobby with his brother Paul, 16, Nicolini said the government must stop subsidizing illegals and close off the border.

"It's our country and we don't want to see it go down," Nicolini said.

Koehle, who makes her home in Santa Rosa, has organized several statewide meetings in Sonoma County. She called the focus of this year's conference, American sovereignty, one of the key issues facing the nation.

"We feel this is a major concern," she said.