Immigration and the United States
Being Mexican-American, I have a high level of empathy for what immigrants have gone through to get to the U.S. and the difficulty in establishing themselves in a country that is so openly hostile to them. Although there are exceptions, the current is definitely flowing against immigrants as evidenced by the many local and Federal policies that have been proposed and accepted in response to the influx of immigrants to this country over the last few decades. The 60's and 70's, could be characterized as a very open and tolerant period in our history where bilingual education and multiculturalism was given legitimacy. The public mood was different. Immigrants were not seen as outsiders, brown skinned hucksters peddling peanuts, sucking up available social services, but part of the fabric of the nation, an important and welcome part. It's sad to see how this initial openness and tolerance has eroded to the point it has today, even in the face of economic realities.
As long as there are poor people in the world, who are willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary for a chance at grabbing the proverbial "brass ring" there will be people attempting to enter the United States, legally or not. We can't expect our southern neighbors to wallow in poverty, part of the 60% or so of the population of Mexican who live on a daily amount of money that would barely buy us an ice cream cone. They see how we live and they see how they live. They see the comparison apparently, you'd have to be as stupid as a carrot not to, and that's enough of a beacon to illuminate their sense of hopelessness in their own situation.
It also does not help that in the U.S. we subsidize our farmers. If they have a bad year, the government is there to help. Our southern neighbors don't have that luxury. If they have a bad year, they might lose their farm. Nobody is there to bail them out. Over the last decade, hundreds of farmers have lost their farms and land due to acts of God, and the fact that it's impossible to compete with farmers in the U.S. who have a ready made safety net in times of trouble. If you were a farmer in Mexico and lost everything or were barely making ends meet, and you had a wife and kids to feed and maintain, what would you do? Would you go out into your field and start crying? Probably not. You would do everything in your power to provide for your family even if it meant selling oranges on the street or hustling work at a local Home Depot. It's human nature to survive.
It should also be pointed out that like it or not, the entire western section of the U.S. was owned at one time by Mexico. The imperialistic policies of the U.S. in the 1800's otherwise known as the "Monroe Doctrine" period pried away this section of land from the Mexicans. They didn't give it away mind you, they were pushed into a war and gave up their land under duress. Ironically, before this, there was a time when whites entering California, were actually immigrating into Mexico, now we treat them as if they were undesirables, unfit to share the same geographic space we do. We did the same thing with American Indians. It's kind of our M.O. Our nation broke over 500 treaties in order to maintain the expansion west to the detriment of an entire culture who had been here thousands of years. Isn't this type of cultural subjugation a form of racism?
I also find it annoying how people use labels to quantify a group of people, as if by simplifying their existence, we can simplify the issue of immigrants and immigration. The immigration debate is highly complex. It's visceral and emotional. The players involved, especially on the political side, know the stakes are high. The decisions made unfortunately will not so much stem for what's best for the country, and all the people residing in it, but on the momentum of "spin," that intangible buzz that breeds and formulates broad opinions that set the tone and stage for legislative particularities.
All over the world we are seeing groups of people pitted against each other; sectarian violence in Iraq, racial and social turmoil in France between the hopelessly poor and the well off bourgeois, left wing rebel attacks against the Colombian government, the list is endless. We are a world at war. For whatever reason human beings have a difficult time accepting others. It's an issue that defies definition.
However, the immigration issue does not have to become an issue if we all just accept the fact that the world we inhabit cannot be conveniently divided in separate tribes, cliques, clans and groups. In our own nation, we need to take off our cultural binders and understand that people are motivated by their personal needs; in this case, the need to better oneself, provide for ones family, establish a better life. Almost without exception people who come here come to work, not vacation. They are taking advantage of an opportunity. They cannot be faulted for that.
Lastly, we cannot legislate away a person's ability to improve their lot. Whether illegal immigration is "right" or "wrong" isn't even part of the equation. Anyone living the same set of circumstances that drives people to come here at whatever the sacrifice would do the same. Even if it meant that a law was being broken. Anybody who denies this is denying the cornerstone of the human condition, hope.
As long as there are poor people in the world, who are willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary for a chance at grabbing the proverbial "brass ring" there will be people attempting to enter the United States, legally or not. We can't expect our southern neighbors to wallow in poverty, part of the 60% or so of the population of Mexican who live on a daily amount of money that would barely buy us an ice cream cone. They see how we live and they see how they live. They see the comparison apparently, you'd have to be as stupid as a carrot not to, and that's enough of a beacon to illuminate their sense of hopelessness in their own situation.
It also does not help that in the U.S. we subsidize our farmers. If they have a bad year, the government is there to help. Our southern neighbors don't have that luxury. If they have a bad year, they might lose their farm. Nobody is there to bail them out. Over the last decade, hundreds of farmers have lost their farms and land due to acts of God, and the fact that it's impossible to compete with farmers in the U.S. who have a ready made safety net in times of trouble. If you were a farmer in Mexico and lost everything or were barely making ends meet, and you had a wife and kids to feed and maintain, what would you do? Would you go out into your field and start crying? Probably not. You would do everything in your power to provide for your family even if it meant selling oranges on the street or hustling work at a local Home Depot. It's human nature to survive.
It should also be pointed out that like it or not, the entire western section of the U.S. was owned at one time by Mexico. The imperialistic policies of the U.S. in the 1800's otherwise known as the "Monroe Doctrine" period pried away this section of land from the Mexicans. They didn't give it away mind you, they were pushed into a war and gave up their land under duress. Ironically, before this, there was a time when whites entering California, were actually immigrating into Mexico, now we treat them as if they were undesirables, unfit to share the same geographic space we do. We did the same thing with American Indians. It's kind of our M.O. Our nation broke over 500 treaties in order to maintain the expansion west to the detriment of an entire culture who had been here thousands of years. Isn't this type of cultural subjugation a form of racism?
I also find it annoying how people use labels to quantify a group of people, as if by simplifying their existence, we can simplify the issue of immigrants and immigration. The immigration debate is highly complex. It's visceral and emotional. The players involved, especially on the political side, know the stakes are high. The decisions made unfortunately will not so much stem for what's best for the country, and all the people residing in it, but on the momentum of "spin," that intangible buzz that breeds and formulates broad opinions that set the tone and stage for legislative particularities.
All over the world we are seeing groups of people pitted against each other; sectarian violence in Iraq, racial and social turmoil in France between the hopelessly poor and the well off bourgeois, left wing rebel attacks against the Colombian government, the list is endless. We are a world at war. For whatever reason human beings have a difficult time accepting others. It's an issue that defies definition.
However, the immigration issue does not have to become an issue if we all just accept the fact that the world we inhabit cannot be conveniently divided in separate tribes, cliques, clans and groups. In our own nation, we need to take off our cultural binders and understand that people are motivated by their personal needs; in this case, the need to better oneself, provide for ones family, establish a better life. Almost without exception people who come here come to work, not vacation. They are taking advantage of an opportunity. They cannot be faulted for that.
Lastly, we cannot legislate away a person's ability to improve their lot. Whether illegal immigration is "right" or "wrong" isn't even part of the equation. Anyone living the same set of circumstances that drives people to come here at whatever the sacrifice would do the same. Even if it meant that a law was being broken. Anybody who denies this is denying the cornerstone of the human condition, hope.
posted by Luciano at 11:23 AM
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