Immigrant Song

Once again, in the accident that killed Nanuma Lavulavu, Deputy Kinnett doesn't appear to have been cited, much less reprimanded by his employer.

As New Times readers may recall, Sheriff Joe Arpaio refuses to talk to us. His spokesman declined to take any questions. But the sheriff has told other reporters that he's closed the Lavulavu case without further investigation into Kinnett's actions. Nothing in the files I saw contradicted that statement.

Perez-Bojorquez has been charged with second-degree murder. Case closed.

Who's surprised by that? It's easier for Sheriff Joe to direct all the blame to a coked-up Mexican guy than to continue an inquiry that could reflect badly on his own man.

Nanuma Lavulavu is dead, and figuring out exactly what happened that night in west Phoenix won't bring her back.

But making Lavulavu a martyr for the anti-immigration cause won't do that, either. If anything, it's an insult to Lavulavu and the complicated life she lived.

In some of the anti-immigration blogs that have adopted Lavulavu as their heroine, writers insist that despite her foreign-sounding name, Lavulavu wasn't an immigrant. They claim that she's Hawaiian.

That may fit a simplistic worldview — the Mexican is the killer, the American is the innocent victim — but it doesn't fit the facts.

Nanuma Lavulavu immigrated to this country from Tonga when she was 31 years old. At the time, she and her husband, Samuela, were well on their way to having six children, making them one of those big families that anti-immigration types like to whine about. (You know: "I don't hate illegals, I just don't understand why they have to have so many damn kids when we have to pay for their schools and their medical care.")

After moving to Oakland, and then Utah, the Lavulavus' story was no get-rich-quick tale of white-collar work and white picket fences. In 1997, records show, Lavulavu's husband was arrested. He was charged with forging papers, part of a scheme to obtain fake Utah birth certificates for his fellow immigrants.

Samuela Lavulavu eventually pleaded guilty to three felonies. After he violated his parole, he did a few months in jail. (His brother, a member of the Tongan parliament, also pleaded guilty to charges related to the scheme.)

If these guys were Mexicans, you can imagine what Laurie Roberts would be saying.

Deport them now!

But here's the thing. Nanuma Lavulavu's life is no more an argument that we should kick out foreigners than her death was. For all the difficulties that the Lavulavus must have had in this country, theirs really is the classic immigrant story.

And that's because of their kids.

Nanuma Lavulavu and her husband may not have had an easy time of it here. But according www.lavulavufamily.com, a Web site put up by friends of the family, their children have found success. One works for U.S. Airways. One is a manager at a concrete company. Another served a tour of duty as a United States Marine in Iraq.

These days, we demand instant success from our immigrants. Why can't they speak English? Why should we pay their emergency room bills?

We want people moving here to come with precisely the right papers, to fit in immediately, to thrive in the bourgeois class.

But that's not the immigrant story. It never has been.

It's terribly difficult to move to a country with a different language, and different customs, from your own. The reason many immigrants keep going, and keep working, is that they want things to be better for their children.

That's what the Lavulavus did. And despite the horrible accident that took their mother's life, I can only hope that the six Lavulavu children, and their children, continue to believe in this country and continue to thrive here.

REPUBLIC ESCAPEES

Trouble continues to plague Arizona's largest daily newspaper.

As I wrote last month, the Arizona Republic has been plagued with high-profile departures ("It's a Wrap," June 7). Since then, even more reporters have said their goodbyes, including such big names as Jodie Snyder, who covered health care for years, and Stephanie Paterik, who covered tourism. They've gone to Banner Health and Phoenix Magazine, respectively. Hal Mattern, a 28-year veteran who used to write the paper's "Biz Buzz," is also leaving for a PR job.

But it's a circulation move that has northern Arizona readers in a tizzy. Last week, the Republic announced that it was halting distribution to Page and Tuba City. A Republic executive told the Arizona Daily Sun that the area was just too far away to provide "consistent, high-quality service."

Dick Hile has lived in Page nearly 30 years and subscribed to the Republic for all of them. But now, he'll start his days without a copy of the paper on his doorstep.

"It's really a shame," he says. "The rest of Arizona is thriving, growing, and doing well — and they're just ignoring it."

With the change, the Republic loses only 300-something subscribers. But Hile thinks the paper may grow to regret its rejection.

"They're doing us a disservice," he says, "but they're also shooting themselves in the foot."

TRIBUNE TROUBLES