Lawmaker’s remark on “wetbacks” causes concern

Monday, Feb. 8, 1999 | 11:23 a.m.

Marvel, a former Battle Mountain rancher and senior Republican in the Nevada Assembly, said the term had been used to describe Mexican workers, but now they're called "green cards."

During a Ways and Means hearing last Friday on restoring the adobe exterior of the Lost City Museum in southern Nevada. Marvel asked why somebody doesn't hire "wetbacks" to do the job.

Marvel later told reporters he was referring to "Mexican artisans" who worked at ranches and knew how to construct or repair adobe buildings.

Ways and Means Chairman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, said Marvel "should use some discretion." But he added, "We all know John is not a racist."

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