Published on Facebook, today...
As we speak, controversy is erupting nationwide over the tough new immigration law that was just signed by Arizona's governor. What it states is that law enforcement in Arizona can now ask to see documentation of citizenship status if they suspect that the person they're dealing with may be in the country illegally. Proponents of the bill say it's a response to the abject failure of Washington to deal with what's perceived to be a crisis at the border. Opponents of the bill fear that it will lead to Hispanic people being harassed by police due to their skin color. Protests on both sides are erupting and it seems likely that Arizona will become ground zero for a new debate on immigration reform in America.
For me, personally, its easy to understand illegal immigration. Having watched my parents go through all seven circles of bureaucratic hell just to get a green card- and then seven more circles just to get citizenship, there is no denying that the process of doing the citizenship thing legally is a helluva lot more difficult than doing it illegally. It's easier to swim (or walk) across the Rio Grande than it is to go fifty rounds with the fine people of the INS, which has all the appeal of a prostate exam- but without the healthy dollop of vaseline on the glove. It's no wonder people enter this country illegally- because this country goes out of its way to make doing it legally as difficult as humanly possible. So on that score, the government has only itself to blame. When you don't provide incentives for people to follow the law, they're going to break the law.
Pragmatically, as well, we need undocumented labor. I know, someone's probably reading this and thinking 'no we don't- those people from Mexico are taking our jobs' but really and truly, they're not. I don't see whole hosts of white people in a rush to pick avocados or strawberries for $2 an hour. I'm not seeing a lot of white folks wanting to break into the wonderful world of janitorial work or meat packing. These jobs are shit jobs- and as with all immigrants, whether legal or illegal, people coming into this country do the jobs that people who already live here are oftentimes unwilling to do. They do them extremely well, work damn hard and a lot of times do extremely well for themselves. It is essentially that whole 'American dream' thing we've been told about and they shouldn't be victimized for wanting to achieve it.
If white folks want someone to freak out about, let them look at the highly skilled immigrants taking jobs at our universities. If we must play the 'they're taking our jobs' game of slightly xenophobic fun, let's be real here: the research aspect of our universities drives innovation in this country and that is a well-paying field dominated by immigrants from India and China especially. Post 9-11, we flung up immigration controls that made it harder to get talent from there to here- and with their own countries becoming more economically attractive, many of them are staying home and working for the universities there. America loses out either way- we don't want to learn calculus and we don't want to scrub toilets with toothbrushes either. What's a nation to do?
Well, say no to amnesty for a start. I know there are many people out there in favor of some kind of amnesty, but I say no that, just on general principle. No one cut my family a break and we crossed every T and dotted every I. If we must have amnesty, let it be for absolutely everyone- and include people trying to do this legally as well. (And cut costs while you're doing it! $675 to become a citizen in this country! Let's have a discount week or something, shall we?) Any other amnesty can be seen as nothing more than a patronizing political statement, whichever party does it. It's a vote-getting mechanism, nothing more.
So if not amnesty, then what? Pragmatically, we do need to recognize that we will have illegal immigrants whether we pass draconian laws like the one in Arizona or not. So I would get behind a two-fold effort:
1. Bring back the Bracero Program: the Bracero Program ran from the early 40s to the early 60s and allowed Mexican agricultural workers to be employed legally to do work in the United States. This would be massively complicated to bring back, but could also serve as a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already here. Employers could register to participate in the program, the government could make sure said employers are paying fair wages and treating workers well. Workers could register- and say after a period of five years with no criminal record, could be automatically awarded a green card to stay legally in the United States. Provide an easier, less bureaucratic path to citizenship and residency for people and I'm sure they will bite.
2. Ease Up For Innovation: People having been warning about this for some years now, but I'm going to add my voice to the chorus- we need scientists. Until we go to Mars or something else that's big and symbolic enough to inspire a generation of kids to fall in love with math and science, we need math and science people from all over the world. The best and brightest should want to- and need to come here. We shouldn't make it more difficult for them, we should make it easier.
Basically, this issue is in sore need of some sensible pragmatism. Essentially requiring that Hispanics carry citizenship papers just in case some over zealous police officer questions their status smacks of fascism in my book and is open-ended enough to invite all kinds of abuse, despite the protests to the contrary. Enforcing the law is one thing, but we need to dis-incentivize illegal immigration if we are going to seriously tackle this problem- clean up the bureaucracy, provide people with a simple, easy to understand path to citizenship-- and then, for those who chose not to follow that path, then we can enforce the law.
At the end of the day, America needs to remember that we are a nation of immigrants. The Statue of Liberty says 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to be free..." we should welcome people and give them a way to become Americans- not demonize people because of the color of their skin. Citizenship should be earned- but it should be easy to earn, even if it does cost $675 to become a citizen.
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