Called ‘Gutter Politics’ : Telegram on Illegal Aliens by Romney Is Condemned

Supervisorial candidate Clyde Romney’s assertion that North County is plagued by “gangs” of illegal immigrants “looking for work or homes to rob” was branded as racist Tuesday by two San Diego Latino rights activists.

Herman Baca, chairman of the Committee on Chicano Rights, described Romney’s comments as part of “a cheap political campaign appealing to the lowest instincts of the American public.”

“Individuals commit crimes, not whole nationalities or ethnic groups,” Baca said in an interview. “Illegal aliens have become convenient scapegoats for any problems that exist in American society.”

Jess Haro, a former San Diego city councilman and chairman of the Chicano Federation, said Romney’s comments were “inciteful” and “totally irresponsible.”

“He did this for one purpose only--to exploit a situation, to get elected,” Haro said. “It’s alien bashing . . . based on what he said, he has got to be a racist.”

Romney’s comments were included in a telegram he sent to Harold Ezell, western regional commissioner for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Romney, an Escondido lawyer who is running for the 5th District supervisor’s seat against Oceanside Councilman John MacDonald, asked Ezell to establish an office of the Border Patrol in central North County to handle increased complaints about illegal immigrants in the area.

Romney said the Border Patrol’s stepped-up efforts to apprehend aliens along the border have forced more illegal immigrants to settle in North County before heading to Los Angeles and beyond.

“Nowhere else in San Diego County do you find the huge gangs of illegal aliens that line our streets, shake down our schoolchildren, spread diseases like malaria and roam our neighborhoods, looking for work or homes to rob,” the telegram said.

“We are under siege in North County, and we have been deserted by those whose job it is to protect us from this flood of aliens.”

In an interview Tuesday, Romney said the word “gangs” may have been a poor choice to describe the groups of aliens who stand on North County streets waiting for work.

“It means a large gathering of people,” Romney said. “I never intended to suggest that these are organized street criminals, the way that term can be interpreted.”

But Romney said Carlsbad parents have told him that aliens are “hitting up their children for lunch money,” and he cited recent accounts of an outbreak of malaria near Agua Hedionda Lagoon as the source of his comments about aliens spreading disease. Romney also said he would stick by his description of North County as a “combat zone.”

“People in this area are very, very upset,” he said. “There are areas where people have put bars on their windows because they’ve been broken into, areas where homes and side yards are used as thoroughfares where people are cutting through on their way to gathering points in total disregard of the privacy a person has the right to expect. We are under assault right now in North County.”

Romney said he did not mean his remarks to be inflammatory. He said he regrets using the language he did “if it takes anything away from what was a very serious proposal.”

“I didn’t intend to interject any powerful emotions into the issue with my choice of words,” Romney said. “I was only attempting to point out as forcefully as possible to Mr. Ezell the kinds of concerns I have been hearing on the campaign trail for the past many months. . . .

“I would rather keep the debate on the subject of whether or not we can expect that kind of support from the U.S. Border Patrol.”