The talk of the nation was immigration and how Arizonans have a different view on the issue when an NPR program was broadcast in front of a live audience at the Stevie Eller Dance Theater yesterday.

Neal Conan, host of “”Talk of the Nation,”” took a closer look at immigration and how it has affected individual lives in a segment called “”The View from Arizona: Scenes from the Border.”” The talk corresponded with President Bush’s visit earlier this week to Yuma, where he announced that border policies are working and said it’s time to adopt a temporary guest-worker program.

Ed Curry, a chili farmer in Arizona who was a panelist on the show, said there is not enough legal labor in the United States, and Americans just don’t want to do the kind of back-breaking work that is required in the agriculture business.

“”I’m tired of feeling like a criminal trying to harvest my crops,”” Curry said. “”Any vegetable, any fruit, is harvested by illegal aliens.””

Conan asked if a higher wage might sway more Americans to do the work, but Curry said he could offer $50 an hour and no one would do the work because it is such hard labor.

A farmer from Illinois and a restaurant worker in Flagstaff both called in to echo Curry’s comments that their businesses would also fail were it not for the work of illegal immigrants.
The panelists took questions from the audience of more than 250 in addition to fielding phone calls.

In the second hour of the show, the discussion turned toward values and ethics and examined the responses to the Arizona Daily Star’s survey “”Choices We Make.”” The survey asked 10 questions in 10 categories to gauge the collective values and ethics of Tucson-area residents. A similar poll was posted on NPR’s “”Blog of the Nation.””

Stephanie Innes, a faith and values reporter for the Star and a panelist, said some of the questions such as “”Would you serve dinner guests something that accidentally fell on the kitchen floor?”” were fun while some were serious, such as “”If you saw what appeared to be an undocumented immigrant in distress, would you stop and help?””

The vast majority of respondents, 83 percent, said they believe health care should be a right and not just a privilege for those who can afford it, and 82 percent said they believe hospitals should not turn away undocumented immigrants who need emergency care but do not have the money to pay for it.