Marchers Assail Veto of Funds to Teach Immigrants English

Felipa Zepeda was at a loss for words when a stranger stopped her to ask why she was marching with 2,500 others through the streets of Boyle Heights on Saturday.

The excitement of the colorful parade wending through the heart of the community had nothing to do with her hesitation. The problem was that the question was asked in English--and Zepeda speaks only Spanish.

But that was precisely the problem that the Fontana woman and other sign-carrying marchers were decrying as they protested Gov. Pete Wilson’s veto of legislation that would have funded English-language classes for immigrants next year.

Those marching along Soto and Brooklyn avenues complained that the veto was mean-spirited and hypocritical, especially because Californians voted by a nearly three-fourths margin five years ago to make English the official state language.

To make certain everyone got the point, they carried banners in both Spanish and English that read: “For Pete’s Sake, Remember the Hispanic Voters” and “Governor Wilson, When You Deny Us English You Cripple Your Work Force.”

Wilson’s action on Oct. 10 killed Senate Bill 112, which sought to funnel $65 million in federal funds into English proficiency classes for California’s 1.6 million newly legalized immigrants. The money would have been allocated through the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which spawned the amnesty program for illegal aliens.

“We want to participate in the economy of the greatest state in the nation,” said Juan Jose Gutierrez, who helped organize the march and a protest rally at the State Street Recreation Center.

State Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles), who authored the bill, told the marchers that an effort will be made to override the veto. If that fails, he said, the legislation will be reintroduced and other sources of money for English classes will be sought.

The governor “tells us on one hand he wants us to speak English,” Torres said. “But he removes the money to make it happen.”

Spokesmen for Wilson could not be reached for comment Saturday. But Torres said the governor had told him that he felt the money could be better spent on medical treatment for immigrants in county hospitals.

Torres repeated his comments in Spanish to those marchers not proficient in English. Several other speakers did the same, including Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Hernandez and the march’s leader, activist Bert Corona.

“This is supposed to be a land of democracy,” Hernandez said. “Yet we deny people a voice.”

At the back of the crowd, Zepeda, a 42-year-old mother of four, turned to a bystander who volunteered to translate for her.

“She says she wants to learn to speak English,” said Aramis Vela, 26, an engineering student at Cal Poly Pomona. “She says being able to speak English helps everybody. She says she came from Mexico 23 years ago, but has never had a facility to go to to learn English.”

Vela said he was lucky enough to learn English in junior high school 12 years ago when he moved here from El Salvador.

“You can’t advance without it,” he said. “You can’t find any job other than menial work if you don’t speak English.

“People want to be able to blend into society. And you can’t do that without an education.”