To say that Yeh Ling-Ling is worried about illegal immigration to the United States would be a serious understatement.

She is passionate about the issue, advocating strict fines for businesses that employ illegal immigrants, laws to make sure they get no public benefits and a wall along our borders.

“We have to have that kind of wall to protect (ourselves),” Yeh, director of the Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America, said. Though she said she’s not specifically targeting Mexico, it is the country of origin for most illegal immigrants in the U.S.

A legal immigrant (she was born in Vietnam), Yeh is passionately opposed to any kind of amnesty program for the 12 million illegal immigrants already in the United States.

“Frankly, any taxes that most newcomers will pay will not offset (the cost of absorbing them into the system),” she said.

This Saturday, Yeh will be one of seven featured speakers at a conference in Anderson titled “Taking America Back.” About 50 people will probably come to the event, which is hosted by the Indiana Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement (IFIRE), an approximately 400-member organization based in Valparaiso. It will take place at the Days Inn from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend, paying $30 at the door; lunch will not be included for late registrations.

They chose Anderson primarily because the city is in the district of Rep. Mike Pence, R-6th District.

“(His immigration plan) amounts to amnesty,” Indiana IFIRE director Cheree Calabro said. “We wanted to shine the light, to point out the problem. It’s not something that should be passed. If we need to vote Pence out, that’s something we should do.”

In July, Pence proposed a plan to tighten border security, introduce a guest worker program, and send illegal immigrants back to their home country to obtain visas for legal reentry.

A spokesman for Pence’s office had no comment on the conference.

Local immigrants said the anti-immigrant movement takes the country a few steps backward.

“It makes us feel like the way it was 50 years ago,” said Griselda Garcia, who owns the Mercadito Garcia’s market with her husband, Joe. “We’ve developed so much since then, why go back?”

The Garcias are both Mexican immigrants. They’ve lived in the U.S. for more than 30 years and in Anderson since 1993.

They said the concept of a wall separating the two countries would be a waste of public money.

“That’d be going a bit too far,” Joe Garcia said. “A wall would not keep anyone out. They would go over it, under it, find a way to get in.”

But, they said, increased border security is necessary to keep the country safe from terrorists. To help manage the illegal population, they advocated stricter penalties for employers.

Mayor Kevin Smith said he wasn’t aware that the conference was coming to town, or the group holding it, but he had welcoming words for immigrants.

“The U.S. has been filled by waves of immigration throughout our history. I think the desire of people immigrating to the U.S. is democracy, people wanting to live in a free society,” he said. “It bodes well for the U.S. from that standpoint. The reality is, the immigrants of today will be our schoolteachers, policemen, bank presidents and lawyers.”

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If you go:
What: Anti-immigration meeting
When: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
Where: Days Inn, 5901 S. Scatterfield Road
Hosted By: Indiana Toleration for Immigration Reform and Enforcement
Cost: $30 at the door (does not include lunch)
For information: (219) 916-2085