Forum Urged on Public Aid for Illegal Immigrants

THOUSAND OAKS — Opening the divisive issue of whether government should help undocumented immigrants, Councilwoman Elois Zeanah is calling for a public hearing to discuss whether city money should be used to assist people who are here illegally.

Zeanah’s request comes after a city code enforcement crackdown this spring on a shantytown--just two blocks from Thousand Oaks Boulevard--where 50 Latino immigrants were living in tool sheds, shacks and small houses.

Many of those living on the less-than-one-acre property acknowledged being undocumented immigrants, and Zeanah is asking the City Council to consider whether Thousand Oaks officials should question people’s citizenship status during future code sweeps.

“I’m getting a lot of complaints from people who are upset with what they have read in the newspaper about that raid,” Zeanah said. “Our city official in charge of code enforcement [said] that it’s not his job to ask if people are illegal, and a lot of residents are not happy about that.”

On a much wider scope, Zeanah suggests in a report to the council that Thousand Oaks may want to formulate a general policy regarding financial assistance to illegal immigrants.

She argues city leaders need to debate “the ethics and legality” of whether city services should be offered to noncitizens along with citizens. It is also important, she added, for Thousand Oaks to decide if it is appropriate to give money to social service groups known to work with illegal immigrants.

“Passions are rising, and we as leaders should bring this to a close,” Zeanah said.

Indeed, some social service workers are concerned that Thousand Oaks may be fostering a climate of intolerance.

“We don’t ask for papers just because people have brown skin,” said Mary Ann Decaen of Catholic Charities. “There are council members that would love us to be INS agents. I bristle at that.”

Many of the complaints that Zeanah wants to take to the council involve Many Mansions, an affordable housing group that has come under fire by anti-illegal immigrant activists.

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Horacio and Susan Grana, a Thousand Oaks couple who campaigned for Proposition 187, are strongly against government assistance to illegal immigrants.

They have been spearheading a group protesting the actions of Many Mansions because the nonprofit housing provider has supported the shantytown’s 30 or so displaced dwellers. Many Mansions officials have argued Thousand Oaks should have done more to help those who were displaced find a new home--regardless of whether they were legal immigrants.

The Granas, who said they came to the United States legally from Argentina and Venezuela, contend Many Mansions is an organization that uses government money to help illegal immigrants--charges that deeply offend Many Mansions representatives.

“They’ve said they’re going to help illegals, and they should be helping our people,” Susan Grana said. “Many Mansions should be behind our people, the people who really pay taxes and deserve it.”

The Granas have launched a protest against Community House, an 11-unit transitional housing project Many Mansions is building just a block from the former shantytown.

In fliers and a petition they have circulated, they argue Many Mansions will eventually turn the project into a homeless drop-in center that will bring crime and lower property values.

But Otto Stoll, co-chairman of Many Mansions, said he is angered by such characterizations.

The Community House, he said, will provide apartments at little or no cost to struggling residents, letting them build up savings so they can become financially independent.

“I don’t care if people don’t like what we’re doing,” he said. “But don’t tell me we’re attracting crime and problems from across the state and even other countries. The Granas have it in their heads that we’re safe harbor for illegal aliens. That’s just not true.”

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Zeanah said she has received numerous complaints about Community House from residents other than the Granas.

Consequently, she said she is asking the City Council to hold a hearing on Community House to make sure the facility is not converted to a homeless drop-in center. The development was unanimously approved by the city’s Planning Commission in 1990.

Zeanah, who attended the groundbreaking for Community House earlier this year, said she is extremely supportive of Many Mansions’ goal of providing affordable housing, and simply wants to ease what she sees as a growing resentment against the group in the community.

“I think Many Mansions’ reputation is suffering, and I would hope they would be accepting of this,” Zeanah said. “I also think the residents’ concerns are valid.”

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Stoll criticized Zeanah for dragging Community House into a political debate, suggesting her proposed public hearing would only give a platform for those who want to bash illegal immigrants.

“If she wants to have a meeting on her own time, we’ll be there,” Stoll said. “But this is a waste of taxpayer money.”

Although Many Mansions officials deny helping illegal immigrants, they also defend their presence, saying illegal immigrants play an important role in Thousand Oaks.

“I would say just about everybody in this community benefits, directly or indirectly, from the illegals,” said Dan Hardy, the group’s executive director. “The businesses hire them--country clubs, fast-food places, the list goes on and on. . . . They’re not here for the housing, they’re here to work.”

Olav Hassel, the city’s housing services director, said Thousand Oaks does not have a policy prohibiting charities that receive city money from housing undocumented immigrants. City Council members frequently award contributions to Many Mansions, including $187,000 toward Community House and $50,000 annually for a counseling program, he said.

Federal housing laws dictate that federal money cannot be used to assist illegal immigrants, and Many Mansions received more than $1 million in federal money to build Community House, Hassel said.

Applicants for Many Mansions’ apartments must go through a background check that requires a valid Social Security number, Stoll said.

Rules at Community House, once it is open for business, will be even more strict, with alcohol banned and tenants required to undergo periodic drug testing, Stoll added.

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Social activists who have been working with the city to develop a program to help people living in slums said they are troubled by the Granas’ accusations.

“I think it indicates a climate of ignorance,” said Karen Ingram, director of Lutheran Social Services for Ventura County. “Fear, ignorance and prejudice.”

Horacio Grana--who has written letters to President Clinton, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and numerous other leaders regarding what he sees as their reluctance to properly prosecute illegal immigrants--said he is one of many Thousand Oaks residents angry over the city’s stance on the issue.

Horacio Grana’s political views have gotten him into run-ins with authorities.

When he sent a letter to the home of federal Judge Mariana Pfaelzer in 1995, criticizing her decision to block implementation of Proposition 187 until further legal review, two U.S. Marshalls appeared at his door, asking who had put him up to the letter-writing job. Grana remains bitter over the experience.

“They tried to intimidate me, but I didn’t back down,” he said. “We need for people to understand what is what. These people, the illegals, are destroying everything.”