Rescue California

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Transcript of gubernatorial recall debate

September 24, 2003

Page 11

the people who pick our food and put it on our table are these immigrants. They are also the same people who work hard every day. They pay their taxes. They stay out of trouble with the law. Thirty percent of the construction, 40 percent of the hotels, all these folks who are here, who are working, they are taking care of their families. They are paying taxes. You know, for them not to be able to have a driver's license or to be able to put their kids in school is just plain wrong.

CAMEJO: I just want to say this, the people we are talking about are the lowest paid workers in California who work the hardest, who pay taxes and receive almost no benefits. They are essential to our economy. We loosely use this word, I think totally inappropriately, illegal. No one is going to arrest them. If somebody is illegal, you arrest them. But nobody is going to arrest them because they are essential to California. Everybody knows they are here to stay. They are part of our family. We have to end this apartheid system that we have toward them. They are part of our community and are essential to our economy. I really object to this term illegal. I mean, you know, in the first debate I referred to who came over here totally illegally and it was European Americans who came over here. But they are here. So give them a driver's license, give them their rights. I'm not going to object to that. But these are the people of the indigenous people of this continent. Let's understand that if your economic situation was the same as theirs, you would do exactly the same thing. People all over the world are moving through borders to try to feed their families. Let's look at this as a human problem we face, not as criminality. These are part of our families. We need to help them and work with them and give them medical insurance and the cost that will come about, they are paying for it because right now they are contributing as taxpayers.

SCHWARZENGGER: We have to make sure that every child in California is insured. That is the most important thing. I'm very passionate about children's issues. It is very important because they cannot fend for themselves. The children, we have a healthy family program here in California, and it is a very, very good program (unintelligible). The only problem with the program right now is that only two-thirds of the people that are eligible are not having this health care. And because the government has not done a good job in reaching out and finding the people and letting them know to sign up and find easy ways for them to sign up. Two-thirds of the people that are eligible do not have the child care. It is really terrible. If I become governor l would immediately go out there (unintelligible) and get it out so everyone knows about it and every one signs up because we must insure our families, the low-income families, especially the children.