Margaret Rebecchi, a retired teacher in San Benito County, shared a personal story at a recent San Benito County board meeting to explain why she feels immigration reform is important.
Rebecchi’s father came to the United States from Mexico in the 1940s as a farmworker – crossing the border into the country illegally with some of his children. Rebecchi was the first of the children to be born in the United States.
“My mother was from the United States,” Rebecchi said at the May 6 meeting. “But my father and siblings were deported.”
Rebecchi was one of more than a dozen residents who shared their stories of life as an immigrant or as the child of immigrants in relation to Supervisor Robert Rivas’ request that the county board adopt a resolution to support “comprehensive immigration reform that addresses full legalization with a path to citizenship and future immigration of families and workers.”
“It calls on national leaders – federal leaders – to make changes,” Rivas said. “It is symbolic, but it is a resolution to encourage our national leaders.”
Rivas cited a study that suggested 62,000 undocumented people live in the Monterey and San Benito county areas.
Rebecchi said while she and her siblings worked in the fields as children, they all grew up to be professionals.
Monica Rivera shared the story of how her father came to the United States when he was 18 months old, brought over by his parents from Mexico.
“He had no say in coming here and I never thought of him as illegal because, how can a human being be illegal?” she said.
She said her father was a successful business owner who paid taxes and was a contributing member of the community.
“It’s very personal to me,” she said. “My grandparents decided to leave their native home and come here to start a life.”
A 30-year-old architect designer shared his experience of coming to America as a 10-year-old from Mexico City. He said he graduated from San Benito High School in 2002, when he enrolled at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
“I couldn’t apply for financial aid, grants or loans,” he said. “My family – my parents and myself – paid for it. And I got community scholarships.”
Another immigrant from Oaxaca spoke through a translator urging the supervisors to approve the resolution.
“It will help people who work in the fields have better voices,” she said, with the help of a translator.
Natasha Wist said she volunteers with an immigrant center for women.
“Not one of them does not come from a family with one or more people that are undocumented,” she said. “The emotional and financial cost is enormous.”
Mickie Luna, the national vice president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, thanked the supervisors for bringing the issue to the forefront.
“We need to start addressing this at a local level,” she said.
Robert Bernosky, the chairman of the San Benito County Republican Central Committee, urged the supervisors not to sign a resolution on the issue.
“I’d like to see comprehensive reform to right wrongs in terms of past wrongs,” he said. “But that’s not why you were elected. We have the state and federal government for that. … It’s not your purview. It’s just not your jurisdiction.”
The five supervisors unanimously supported the resolution.
“Immigration reform will increase the size of the workforce and productivity,” Rivas said. “Legalized workers will earn higher wages that they can invest back into the economy.”
Supervisor Anthony Botelho said it was time for local agencies to take up the issue.
“We have been waiting for the federal government to do reform for what seems like decades so I thank everyone who came before the board today,” he said. “I grew up with a lot of people who maybe their documents were not quite right. They worked hard and they were our friends and family.”
