ustxtxb_obs_1985_12_06_50_00012-00000_000.pdf

attack on Patamera, a town in the guerrilla-occupied zone of Chalatenango province, where houses and a health clinic were demolished. Witnesses to the attack stated that no guerrilla troops were near the town on the day of the raid. But the State Department’s assessment of conditions in El Salvador has carried the day in Congress, not the evidence traced by America’s Watch and other human rights organizations. Through private State Department briefings and other means of influence, the Administration has lined up a troop of congressional Republicans opposing the bill. Many of these Republicans and some Democrats, including Romano Mazzoli, D-Ken. , the chairman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the bill mouth the State Department position on conditions in El Salvador. “There is no clear, uncontroverted evidence that . .. the people who are deported are experiencing any kind of personal endangerment,” Mazzoli asserted after the November 7 hearing. “They [supporters of the bill] couldn’t even prove . . . without argument that there was even random violence or random danger.” The Administration and some members of Congress focus their opposition on the “negative effects” of allowing Salvadorans temporary protection. The tempest in Congress over illegal immigration has provided them a convenient hook: the so-called “magnet effect.” Salvadorans come to the U.S. to find jobs and take money out of the country, Administration officials say, not to escape the violence of civil war. “An intelligent and industrious Salvadoran weighing the decision to try illegal immigration to the U.S. knows that one of the risks is deportation, which might occur before he has had a chance to earn back the costs of the journey. If we remove that possibility of deportation, it is logical to suggest that illegal entry becomes a more attractive investment,” Dietrich testified before a congressional panel. The argument that Salvadorans are economic migrants is belied by statistics. Before 1980, there were only 94,000 Salvadorans living in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau. There are now approximately 500,000 of these immigrants in this country a clear indication that most came after the escalation of the current violence. A study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that “the fear of political violence is an important and probably the dominant motivation of Salvadorans who have migrated to the U.S. since the beginning of 1979.” But these findings are ignored by those who are determined to see this bill fail. Particularly significant among these voices is that of Mazzoli, who, as chairman of the subcommittee, can steer the legislation where he wants. He has indicated that, unless pressured, he will block the bill from proceeding any further in the legislative process. Rep. John Bryant, D-Dallas, sits on the subcommittee and is a co-sponsor of the bill. Bryant’s aide said the congressman will “do everything he can” to push the bill, but, in this case, where the chairman is so vehemently opposed, no small amount of pressure can change the bill’s dead-end course. While the bill’s supporters remain optimistic about its chances for passage, they do express frustration at the Administration’s effectiveness in galvanizing opposition in Congress. Jim McGovern, an aide to Moakley, says the opposition grasps for any slippery red herring it can find to challenge the bill. “The bottom line is we don’t think they have any arguments,” he said. The crux of the position the Administration does take, said McGovern, suggests that “we only value human life if it fits into our geo-political plans.” If You Like Texas and Britain… You’ll LOVE The Jalapetio Empire Nobody can joke about Texas and Texans like a Texan, and University of Texas journalism professor Joe Bill Vogel \(the double first name helps verify The Jalapeno Empire. The premise of the book is hilarious. After the battle of San Jacinto, the Republic of Texas declines to join the United States. The British, French and Mexicans guarantee Texas independence to keep the U.S. from expanding to the West and to ensure the Mexican borders are protected from U.S. invasion. While a British-Texan might wear a gun, he also wears a pith helmet, drinks tea, and carries an umbrella as protection against the hot Texas sun. and overlooks the Colorado River in Austin. Lord Lynton Baynes Gage LBG to the media is prime minister of this mythical republic and is full of pithy and pompous sayings such as “On the eighth day the Lord made Texans and He hasn’t really had a day of rest since.” Author Vogel writes with his tongue firmly implanted in his cheek, wending his way through a humorous distortion of Texas history, myth and politics. He manages to poke fun at about every sacred Texas cow and leaves the reader grinning. $12.95 and we pay the sales tax and shipping charges. Available at your favorite bookstore or order from EAKIN PRESS * P.O. Box 23066 * Austin, Texas 78735 MasterCard and Visa Telephone orders accepted. Add $1.00 extra and we will mail to the person of your choice with a Christmas card from you. 12 DECEMBER 6, 1985