I've written it before in this space, and it bears repeating: There is nothing inherently racist about opposing illegal immigration. For that matter, there's nothing particularly racist about wanting to limit legal immigration, either. Every nation has the absolute right to control its borders and decide who can, and can't, move there from other countries.

But it also bears pointing out that an awful lot of racists are opposed to immigration legal and illegal. And a ton of racist imagery and rhetoric seems to attach itself to the anti-immigration movement.

What brings this to mind is a May 27 commentary by Escondido City Councilwoman Marie Waldron ( "Amnesty bill an outrage" ) detailing her opposition to the proposed immigration reform bill being debated in the U.S. Senate.

In her commentary, Waldron bemoaned being called a "racist" for her "efforts to combat illegal immigration" - apparently referring to her support for the withdrawn-for-now city rental ordinance that would have required landlords to rent only to those who could prove legal residence or citizenship, as well as the proposed overnight parking ban.

But if Waldron is being accused of racism, perhaps she should reread her own commentary before claiming it's simply for supporting efforts to combat illegal immigration. For to Waldron's shame, in her commentary she seemed to slip into commingling Latino heritage and illegal immigration to the point that her attacks on illegal immigration could very easily be read as attacks on all things Mexican.

When she writes, as she did in her commentary, that "our health, economy, security, values, heritage, culture, language, neighborhoods are under full attack," she's drifting away from addressing issues legitimately raised by illegal immigration (school overcrowding, health care costs, infrastructure overload, etc.) to an attack on those who are different from us simply because they are different.

It's not only insulting, but it displays a profound ignorance of history. Ever since the Spanish brought the first European influence to the area, California has had a large segment of Spanish-speakers, and the subsequent waves of English-speakers haven't changed the fact that the Spanish streak is part and parcel of what makes California California.

Or has she forgotten that "Escondido" is Spanish for "hidden"?

Look, there are some serious problems in Escondido not of the current City Council's making. The massive apartment complexes along the eastern side's Valley Parkway/Washington/Mission corridor are not only an aesthetic eyesore, but have become a policing challenge over the years, if only due to the density of human beings they represent over single-family homes. Proposition 13 stripped local governments of much of their ability to raise money to address local concerns locally, and the move from downtown shopping districts to regional malls has also represented a challenge (although one that Escondido is currently meeting far better than most cities, I'd argue).

But blaming everything on Spanish-speakers not only distracts from the above issues that need our local attention, but also insults those locals whose Spanish-speaking families were here before the Anglos arrived.

It's a muddying of the waters we don't need.

- Contact columnist Jim Trageser at (760) 631-6628 or jtrageser@nctimes.com.