Happy Monday, everyone! I came across this article while surfing on cnn.com today. I thought it was interesting in light of the exercise we did on immigration/immigrant students. See everyone Thursday, have a good week!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/31/navarrette.opinion/index.html
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4 comments:
Erika was having trouble getting logged on, so she asked me to post this reply for her:
"I find it funny that the United States is so set on stopping the illegal immigration when many of the jobs they have, most Americans would never think about doing for a career. They blame the Mexicans that are immigrating for taking their jobs. However most of the people who are saying this wouldn't do the jobs they are taking.
In the article I see that it points out a main factor. We say we don't need them and don't want them here, but??... We still hire them to do the work we don't want to do for cheap. They are here anyway and why not, right? Overall the whole system with immigration is a mess, and we need to just be open to change."
I agree that the whole immigration system is just one huge mess. The article did not surprise me one bit-except perhaps how honest the woman was in the beginning. Her honesty makes me think she really doesn't understand how (in my opinion) damaging her position on the issue is. She seems frustrated with the issue, using words like "invasion", and then admitting to hiring undocumented workers in her home because they "were here anyway". Wherever you stand on an issue, your life should reflect your values.
As far as immigration goes I find it most helpful to think about the issue in two parts-political and humanitarian. The humanitarian issue deals with the people, their struggles, relationships between cultures, safety, etc... The political issue deals with border legislation, history of land, history of legislation, etc... I hear a lot about the political issue, but I would love to hear more about the humanitarian issue.
I worked with an organization this summer called Boarder Angels. This organization focused on the humanitarian issue of undocumented workers. While working with Boarder Angels I learned that every day someone dies crossing the boarder. I know that many people would say-well they shouldn't have been crossing the boarder-but there is more to the story. In Mexico coyotes can make a lot of money crossing people into the U.S. They don't inform people that it is a three day walk from Mexico to the U.S through a desert. Some people think that it is a three hour walk and only bring enough food and water for three hours.(and dang, is it hot!) Now you might be thinking-well they should know that the dessert is more massive than three hours. Once again-there is more to the story. If you stand on the U.S/Mexican boarder between California and Tijauna and look at Mexico you see development. If you look at the U.S. you see desert. The U.S. does not use the land facing Mexico, but if you lived in Mexico you may think people want to live on the boarder.
ANYWAYS, Boarder Angels was started by a man who was tired of people dying in the dessert. He placed water stations throughout the dessert for people to at least hydrate themselves. His organization is completely legal-(he doesn't bring or encourage people to come to the U.S) In fact, Enrique spends a lot of time in Mexico telling people NOT to come, telling them how dangerous it really is. As far as the political issue goes, I learned that reform isn't about opening our boarders or amnesty. Immigration reform according to the mission of Boarder Angles means equal opportunity. People don't want to jump to the start of the list-they want an opportunity to get on the list.
Immigration is a complex issue that everyone is incredibly divided on. If anyone is interested there is a film, boarder wars that tells the story from a few different perspectives. (including Enriques!)
I don't know much about American policy concerning immigration. What I can relate to is the humanitarian aspect of mexican imigrants in the U.S. We have immigrants here, it is a reality. Some are families who travel the crop circuit looking to harvest the crops we eat. Large corporately owned farms provide temporary housing for these folks and their children. Some even have access to temporay schools. The work is hard and the money earned gets these families from place to place to work. We also have families in Urban settings who have come in to the U.S. illegally and born children who have lived here and attended schools all their lives. We have many undocumented immigrants from Mexico here who work, are responsible and are just trying to provide a better life for their families. It is sad the harsh conditions some have risked to even get here but they are here now. I think we should adopt some type of amnesty program for these families and their children to stay and become tax paying citizens. All people seem to do is complain about illegal immigrants but no-one it seems is into a solution to change things. I think anyone who is here and wants to stay and work to improve their life should have a way to do that. My hat is off to the border angels for at least making sure that people don't perish in the dessert from thirst.I am gratful to those who take action to make life more positive inthe face of such extreme circumstances.
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