Will Immigration Issues Trump Homelessness?

To have the largest demonstration in history, more than even the Vietnam War protests, occur here in Los Angeles, I’m a little worried.

Of course, I am worried about the direction the U.S. Congress is going in terms of immigration reform, but more urgently… I’m worried that the political and public attention that is currently focused on homelessness in Los Angeles will dissipate.

Those of us who have been struggling to resolve homelessness for the last decade have all along said to one another—“I wonder how long all of this community attention on homelessness will last?”

For years, we have been encountering the “Nathaniel’s” (the person LAT columnist Steve Lopez writes about in his column). We struggled to help homeless people with mental illness or drug addiction access permanent housing when no one noticed.

Now we worry that this public focus on homelessness—from newspaper reporters to the Governor, from the County to the city—will change to the hotly contested, highly emotional, debate on immigration.

To see these active high school students from our local schools march on our streets because they are worried about the legal status of their parents is moving. It definitely attracts attention.

Will this become the “tipping point” away from concentrating on homelessness toward another emotional societal problem—illegal immigration?

I certainly hope not. Both issues need to be addressed.