Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone who has read and reads this blog. Hope everyone has a happy 2008!

Exposing immigration hypocrisy

Here is an article I found, I think it makes a good point.

By Laurie Muelder

The Register-Mail

GALESBURG -

GUEST COLUMN — It is a given in human history that governing is simplified by identifying and blaming an “other.”

The word barbarian comes from a Greek word for those who didn’t speak Greek. Any time a society is struggling, whether from the heavy hand of the powerful, from rapid change, or from economic distress, the rulers/leaders can distract their subjects/citizens by raising fears of some group they describe as different. For the Russian czars and Hitler the others were the Jews. Here in the United States (in addition to African Americans) the others have been, successively, those whose ancestry was not English, not northern European, not western European, and, finally, not southern or eastern European, which for nativists is where we are today.

In the 1700s colonial population grew rapidly as Scottish, Irish and German immigrants joined the English settlers and African slaves. Between the 1840s and the Civil War Irish immigrants were increasingly maligned; the Know-Nothing Party formed to resist continued German immigration and the sudden rise in Irish immigrants after the potato famine in Ireland. The Know-Nothings promised to stop what they described as a “cultural invasion” by the Catholic Irish who were portrayed as lazy, promiscuous drunks whose first loyalty was to the pope.

Before 1880, Germans, Irish, English and Scandinavians made up 85 percent of immigrants arriving in the United States. After 1880 there was a dramatic shift — by 1896 Italians, Hungarians, eastern European Jews, Turks, Armenians, Poles, Russians, and other Slavic people accounted for 85 percent of all immigrants.

Prejudice also shifted from the Irish to southern and eastern Europeans. Then, as now, politicians were able to use resentments and suspicions of immigrants to divide and govern. Between the 1880s and the 1920s, nativists passed immigration restrictions they claimed would preserve the purity of the nation’s “racial stock.” Under the 1924 Johnson-Reed Act, immigration from southern and eastern Europe was choked off and the immigration of Jews trying to flee Germany was blocked. The perception of racial difference also hurt Chinese immigrants in the west. Recruited to work on the railroads in the 1860s, they became the target of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

Cheap, or free, immigrant labor built the United States economy into the most powerful in the world. Our immigration has been both voluntary and forced. We had forced immigration both in the slave trade and in the annexation of half of Mexico by the Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo in 1848, which ended the Mexican-American War. This, far more than traditional immigration, is the reason that a significant number of Latinos in the Southwest live in the United States rather than Mexico — we absorbed the land they lived on.

Periodically in the 20th century, we initiated guest labor programs, bringing Mexican workers into the southwest as non-citizen farm workers. In the 1990s, we imposed the NAFTA treaty, which devastated the Mexican economy. More than a million Mexican jobs were lost in the first year of NAFTA; more than a million peasant farmers have lost their land. Some of these people are heading north to save their families from starvation.

The lies told about earlier immigrants are now aimed at Mexicans and Central Americans. Anti-immigration groups must endorse historical immigration because nearly all citizens are descended from immigrants. Their objection is to the source of today’s immigrants. In 1900, the overwhelming majority (85 percent) came from Europe, and only 2.5 percent from Latin America and Asia combined. By 1990 Latin and Asian immigrants accounted for two-thirds of all immigration.

Demagogues like Lou Dobbs, Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh misrepresent reality, railing against immigrants as “them,” describing them as an economic drain and a cultural threat. Dobbs sounds as if hordes of brown people are pouring across our borders daily. In fact, the Census Bureau says less than 1.5 percent of the population is undocumented and most didn’t sneak over any border, but came on a visa staying when it expired. Dobbs rants about the cost to U.S. taxpayers, but according to Business Week, immigrants receive about $5 billion in welfare benefits and $11.5 billion in primary and secondary education benefits, but pay more than $70.3 billion in taxes. Our new immigrants are learning English and assimilating just as our relatives did. Those who fulminate about immigration are hypocritical.

One part of the Republican coalition (and some Democrats) wants an ongoing supply of cheap, easily exploitable labor while another wants to keep the U.S. safely Anglo. The president wants permanent status for those here illegally because they contribute so much to the economy, and simultaneously says they are so dangerous we need to fence our southern border to keep them out. As former Texas Congresswoman Barbara Jordan suggested, we need to honor our mottoes, act as an accepting and caring people, and deal reasonably, rationally, and fairly with the real issues of immigration.

Laurie Muelder of Galesburg taught English and social studies for 20 years at Churchill Jr. High and now substitute teaches for the Galesburg School District. She’s a former writer on the Community Roundtable.

A year in review…immigration

It has been a year of heartbreak. Of pain. Of watching other people slowly taking away the dignity of immigrants as human beings as they are deemed unworthy of compassion. Everyday the line between terrorist and immigrant is slowly eroding. We have become the enemy while the real enemy is out there doing god knows what. We are deemed inferior because of our culture, because Americans believe that immigrants will change them for the worse.

On May, an immigration reform was worked out. It was deemed an ‘amnesty’, forgiveness for criminals so it didn’t pass. Following that defeat most things just went to hell with the immigration issue and giving a clear victory for the anti-immigrant forces for this year. More raids have happened making everyone who is an immigrant shake in fear. Of course, it makes it okay to make ‘them’ shake in fear, they are ‘them’ after all, and not ‘us’. Another defeat followed at New York as it attempted to give licenses everyone, even illegal immigrants. The anti-immigrant uproar followed and such plans were scrapped. It was all done for the sake of national security and not rewarding criminals. I would have believed that knowing were everyone lives and have picture IDs would be more productive to fight crime but that most happen in some bizarro world. The Dream Act went up again and thousands of students who could have become Americans and do good work for the society that raised them saw their dreams disappear in a puff of smoke.

‘Till We Have Faces has a reaction of a friend who wanted the Dream Act to pass, I think this person speaks for a lot of Dreamers.

“He just appeared sad and listless for a while. But it wasn’t ’til on Thursday (a day after it failed?), after we watched Ugly Betty, that he completely broke down. We both seemed to have enjoyed the show, so I really did not see it coming. After the show had ended, we began to talk about our days. He began to explain to me that he had finally been able to narrow down a topic for his thesis next semester when he discussed it with a professor earlier that day. As he was explaining, he was trying to smile, and he was gesturing his hands (he always does that when he explains things). Suddenly, he stopped talking and his hands kept on moving–the words wouldn’t, couldn’t be uttered. Then, he broke down in tears. He then brought his hands to cover his face as the tears streamed down. Immediately, I said, “I’ll go get tissue.”

As for me. How did I feel? Disappointed but I knew it was going to happen. I always have hope of good things happening, even though I tell myself to not have any, but I don’t listen to myself. I end up disappointed and sad. It is a harsh reality immigrants have to face. Most people who know me can see how depressive I can get because of it all, but not really understand the pain it really causes. How our situation haunts us is something we and very close friends know. This year I’ve come to cope with most things. My friends are there for me, even when some of them make mistakes. Thank you guys again!

2007 was a year of defeats. There is a lot of blame to go around of course. The Republicans for blocking any chance of a sensible and realistic reform. Democrats for not voicing their opinions any higher and letting the Republicans do all the talking. The Latino community for its inability to rise as one. Those who are pro-immigrant for not unifying. And I, for not raising my voice until this late in the game. But that was 2007, and we are moving on to 2008, and I hope things get better. I also hope to not be disappointed…

The Truth

“Immigrants today, however, have no one to fight for them. Indeed, they are precluded from the fight. With our current attitudes, we complain about them working the high-skilled jobs for which they have been qualified through education and experience, and we sit by silently and allow them to do the jobs that we are unwilling to perform. In the midst of this hypocrisy, we do not even allow them a foothold to secure their rights, in spite of a marked tradition of doing so in the past. This fact constitutes perhaps the most damning aspect against any argument that aliens are not a suspect class…They cannot better their situation and must rely on citizens to take up their causes. They are silenced and shut out of the legal debate.” This was written by Judge Liotti from New York as he thinks it is unconstitutional to deny licenses to immigrants. Fellow blogger Open Border Lobby has more on that, and thanks for the quote by the way.

I believe the quote to be true, going along in the same lines of my earlier post, Silence that kills. It is a killer silence that only immigrants or very close friends of immigrants can understand. It is heartbreaking. I blog in order to break that silence and to allow my voice to be heard. It is the only thing I can do.

Misconceptions

I was speaking to a friend of mine about immigration. In the conversation I was talking to her about the fact that there is no way for me to get my residence status. My friend didn’t believe me, and went on to say that she knew people that had gotten their statuses fixed. I don’t know anything about her friends and my friend didn’t end believing me. The next day I came back with what I believe is the truth, that there is no way for me to get my green card. Aside from marriage that is. She still didn’t believe me and said that I was giving up too easily. I think that there is nothing to give up to if I don’t even have a chance to do anything in the first place.

That conversation reminded me of someone who believed he was going to get his legal status fixed. My old pastor at the evangelical church my dad goes to. He found someone, a lawyer apparently, who told him he knew of a way to give him the fabled green card. My pastor believed him and started paying for the man’s ’services’. Of course, it was scam. The so-called lawyer was tricking immigrants into paying him money and he would in exchange give him forgeries. This ‘lawyer’ was captured by ICE, and all the people whom he was ‘helping’ were also brought in. Now my old pastor is facing deportation charges. He hired a real lawyer and is now fighting to stay. The man has two kids, both which are less than five years old. The judge who is presiding over his case is being merciful. The pastor has been allowed to stay in hope of an immigration reform happening. It is not and now the pastor is being forced to stall for as long as he can so he be with his family. I would have thought that someone like him would be more likely to stay. He is a pastor, leader of a community of people, spreading the word of God, and family values. But no, it is not happening. If he is deported, the pastor is going to come back again. He has a choice, if deported in winter he is going to face the freezing nights of the desert. If deported on the summer, well, he will face the ungodly hot temperatures. I hope he is deported in the between, but even with that, the journey wouldn’t be easy.

I feel bad for him and the kids. Before I came to the states, I lived without a father for about 2 to 3 years. It is not the best of things, I always felt jealous of most of the other kids who had their dads with them. My father probably missed my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade years of schooling, including what I believe to be my proudest moment in front of an audience. I made my mom cry, in a good way. I hope for the best for that family, especially for those kids.

So no, as far as I and thousands of other students know, there is no way for us to get our residency. If there was a way, I sure as hell wouldn’t be worrying about my situation and would have applied for whatever program. Residency is what matters. The green card, because after the green card comes the citizenship, not the other way around. There is no line for us to get into, mainly people like me, other students who have had no choice of being in this country in the first place. Our only hopes are the Dream Act or an immigration reform.

A year in review…video games

Video games. My only addiction that can rival my writing addiction. It is an expensive addiction too, one which I am trying to control. I write about video games and movies because they are a large part of my life. My life, not being easy or stress free, is very dificult so most of the time I need something that I can use for escape. Video games have done that for me, they are my escape and keep me sane to some degree. Make me forget of who I am for at least a bit and I value that highly. Anyways, read on if you like or interested in video games and if not, well, don’t.

Another year of great games has come and gone. This year also saw my first purchase of a console outside of Nintendo. No, the PS1 I owned is borrowed from a friend. I bought a PS2 of course. I’ve always wanted to play some games I never got a chance to because of my allegiance to Nintendo and its high quality. Also, I had money this time around and that is very important. I also got to play the Xbox 360 thanks to my roommate and Bioshock…which is one of the best games. I can’t really have a category for that system since I don’t own it and aside Bioshock, the only other game I played on it was Halo and that is certainly not the game of the year.

So, console of the year I’ll give it to the Wii. The Nintendo 64 I have has brought me great nostalgia moments, such as beating Jet Force Gemini for the first time and replaying Rayman 2 but it is not number 1. The PS2 brought me the opportunity to play God of War, God of War 2, FFXII, Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, and other games. Those games were great but stood no chance against the Wii for the following reason. Super Mario Galaxy. That is all I need to say right there. That game is by far one of the best games I’ve ever played, it is the definition of fun and craziness. The musical score is excellent as well.

64 Game of the Year will be Jet Force Gemini, it is the reason I have the console in the first place. Sorry Perfect Dark, the other RARE game won it.

PS2 Game of the Year will be Shadow of the Colossus. It is short, there isn’t that much to do in it. There is slowdown and camera problems. But it is an experience worth having. It is the only other game that I can put in the same sentence as a Legend of Zelda game. For those who know me and the video games I play, that is saying a lot.

Wii Game of the Year. Super Mario Galaxy. That is all. It is the definition of fun. Metroid, Strikers, Zak and Wiki, Galaxy Wars just do not cut it.

Most addictive game. There were only real 2 choices in this category. One is Galaxy Wars for the Wii. Hardcore game. Easy to learn, hard to master. Great fun. But as always, with addiction there is a game that stands above the rest. Civilization. Or Civilization IV in this case. The process of starting with one individual to conquering the entire planet is just…addictive. Can’t really say much else.

There is much to look forward to in 2008. Wait, who am I kidding. I’m only waiting for one game, Super Smash Brothers Brawl. That game will probably be the only game I’ll need for the rest of the year after February.

A year in review…movies

AvP 2, or Alien vs. Predator 2: Requiem. I don’t know why it has that subtitle. Anyways, that was the last movie of the year that I saw. People will probably think it is a sucky movie, like these people, but I don’t care. I’ve always had a soft spot for those franchises since I saw those movies in Mexico and they may make me think about my old life. The same with Star Wars and Back to the Future.

2007 was a good year for movies. Since I was in school I was able to go see movies without having to depend on my dad. I either went to the big movie theater or the small one where more indie films were shown. So here we are, the movies that I like the best. I know this is not about immigration, maybe I’ll write something about that later, or maybe not. Immigration is an inescapable part of my life, but not the only thing.

Horror. I want to say that I liked The Host the best only because the friend I went to see it with jumped when something happened. I don’t remember clearly what it was. It is a Korean film and I highly recommend watching foreign films, they are great even if they have subtitles. I’ve also seen Resident Evil: Extinction (I think that’s the subtitle) but that’s not really horror. It was okay, not the worse but not the best. So my pick for the best horror movie I’ve seen will go to 28 Weeks Later, only because I actually jumped myself at the beginning of the film and I give it props because that had not happened since I watched Alien when I was 7.

Comedy: I’ll say Hot Fuzz for this one. It is one of the best films action comedies I’ve ever seen. Warning, if you have an aversion to violence, do not watch this film! Yes, Superbad and Knocked Up were great films, not being on the top spot does not make them any lesser. I laughed out loud when I saw them.

Animated: I’ve seen very few animated films this year, in fact, only 3 I think. Paprika, a Japanese anime film. The problem with that is that I didn’t understand it. Great animation though. Ratatoille (I think that’s how it’s spelled) is great film. Another great Pixar achievement. But ultimately, my favorite animated film was The Simpsons Movie. Spider-pig won it for me. No, I didn’t see Shrek 3 and have no desire to.

Action: This was a tough choice since there were two actions films I liked the best, Live Free or Die Hard (aka Die Hard 4) or The Bourne Ultimatum. Both were great, had lots of action. Tough choice, I’ll give it to…ah, I can’t decide. Oh what the hell, McClane wins it.

Sci-fi: I’m going to give this one to Transformers. Giant transforming robots kick ass. Hollywood, we need more giant robots.

Fantasy: I’ve seen Stardust, Harry Potter 5 and the Golden Compass. While I liked all those films, but I am actually a Jedi and I’m going bend the laws of time and space. Ok, fine, Jedis cannot do that…I wish they did though. I liked Pan’s Labyrinth the best. Yeah, it came in 2006 but I saw it on 2007 so I say it was the best. Not for the squeamish, or little kids. It is another subtitled film too. But it is very, very original.

Most badass (is that even spelled correctly) film is a new category. That goes to 300. THIS IS SPARTA! Great line. The only real competetion for me was Grindhouse, the Machete trailer in particular, but 300 wins it.

Weirdest film: It went between two movies on DVD I saw this year. Memento, which was great. Loved the concept. But I’m going to give it to David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. Okay, that was just…wow. I can’t even explain it. Note to self, watch more David Lynch’s films.

Greatest disappointment: Spiderman 3. What the hell happened there? Too much crying, and than the writers seemed to have been fired halfway through the movie. I really wanted to like it but it was a disappointment. One good thing out of it though was that the last time I saw it was in my college theater and the commentary people made during the movie made it worth it.

Am I a shadow?

Humanity? Do I deserve it? Am I even human? Apparently not, according to lots of people. Lou Dobbs, and Bill O’Reilly are some of the more famous people saying that. That’s their message, I’m evil and the scum of the earth.

I’ve been told that I should be shot, mauled by a tiger, and squashed like a cockroach.

I’m the biggest threat to national security it seems from most things I read now. I’m the scapegoat to all problems and the extreme has become the mainstream. Dehumanization seems to be the price of being an immigrant now.

And for those of us who took this challenge (of trying to get to college) the price is higher still. Everything is on the line. Give up a family home, a community, our sheltered homes to see a glimpse of another world. We pay more money, work harder, live in paranoia and fear because students are no different than any other immigrant. That glimpse of another world is heartbreaking, to see the freedom of others, the joy that one wants to so desperately have. To face all the obstacles all college students face plus a jealousy that is hard to comprehend, an abyss of solitude that is hard be overcome and cope with, and to know that at the end of this hard road one will probably achieve nothing. Not a job with my degree, no because we don’t deserve to use our talents for the good of the country. At the end of everything, I am a shadow pretending to be real, I am voiceless pretending to speak, I am undocumented pretending to be you. That’s what dehumanization makes me want to say, that’s what all the anti-immigrants want me to feel, but f**k that. I am a person, far more human than those inhumane men and women who assault those who can’t defend themselves. I can see that now, after all the suffering and loneliness. I am a shadow because I have to be, but I know I’m much more than that, not an alien but human.

Writing=being god

A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it is to be God. Sydney Sheldon.

The quote above is a basic illustration of how I feel about writing. The feeling of control over the destiny of others is an intoxicating feeling, like the one of any drug. Very hard to match. Writing is a paradox. It is hard as hell…and yet one doesn’t mind being hard. It is time consuming but time can fly. It can be torturous and yet so amazing. What drives people to write? I have no idea, I don’t even know why I write but I know I do and I enjoy it immensely, even when I’m complaining about it.

Silence that kills

This is an editorial for all those who don’t do anything. For those who stand in the sidelines. This editorial has been on my mind for a long time. It made me want to do something for myself, to raise my voice. Ultimately, this blog is the result of that. It was written in Spanish and I’ve translated it for the benefit of everyone. From Univision to you, Jorge Ramos, the most recognized news anchor in the Spanish speaking networks and someone I admire.

Silence that kills
The undocumented stand alone
By Jorge Ramos Avalos

It is as if they became mute. As if they didn’t have mouths. As if they didn’t have vocal cords. Almost no one defends undocumented immigrants in the US. And it is that silence that kills the hope and aspirations of 12 million people.
The new enemy
Something terrible has happened in the US. Out of nowhere undocumented immigrants have become the new enemies. Terrorists are now below them. I’m not exaggerating. Listen to latest presidential debates y you will see how the candidates dedicate more time to attack undocumented immigrants than the terrorists.
Bush’s government, that for many years have spoke about ‘compassion’ for undocumented, now hunts them down with the worse raids in the country in the last decade.
Osama bin Laden has not been captured, but undocumented Mexican immigrant, Elvira Arellano has. And the voices of the anti-immigrants multiply with impunity in the American radio and television. They attack relentlessly, and no one answers back. And because there is no other voice, most people assume that the anti-immigrants most be correct.
Unfavorable polls
This lack of a good message for immigrants can also be seen in polls. The network ABC made a poll in September in which 54% of Americans say that immigrants hurt the country.
Only 34% said that immigrants help. It can be seen, the anti-immigrants have won, for the time being, the immigrant debate.
Attacks of 2001
But lets get clear that of the 19 terrorists that killed almost 3 thousand Americans on 9/11 no one was Latino and crossed the border by Mexico.
The shouts of the anti-immigrants have drowned the voices of reason.
Why does this silence exist? The Mexican government of president Felipe Calderon, for various motives, has stayed out of the debate. I don’t see any Mexican diplomat in CNN or Fox News, in Congress defending their own, talking about the how good immigrants are and denouncing their dehumanization.
President Calderon has not even visited any of the Mexican communities in the US
I understand that distancing away from subject because his predecessor, Vicente Fox, empathized with immigrant debate but got no results. Maybe they already gave up and are now waiting for a new American president to start the talks again.
Unjustifiable Silence
But that’s not justify your silence against the avalanche of attacks against immigrants. The Mexican government is not the only one who is quiet. There are many and different groups in the US. But they haven’t been able to get a clear and effective message.
Worse still, after the failure of Washington in its attempts at an immigration reform, they left the door wide open to those who have false, flimsy, and even racist information in respect to immigrants.
The message in favor of immigrants should include the following arguments: they are not criminals or terrorists, they do give back to the services they receive, they pay taxes; create jobs, maintain low inflation, replace workers who retire, they farm our food and build our homes;, it is true that they broke the law but so have millions of Americans and thousands of employers, they can become allies in the fight against terrorism, they have more faith in the opportunities that the US offers than the many Americans, they reinforce family values, believe in education for progress, rejuvenate the country’s population, they are giving the US a new language for free, they learn English quickly, they are a bridge to Latin America, their mere presence promotes tolerance to diversity, they would be ready to die for this country (there are immigrants fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan), and in general, they make the US a better country.
Not heard, not seen
That is the message: immigrants help the US and for that we have help them. But this message is not heard because many do not raise their voices
“We have to have a side”, wrote Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Prize winner and survivor of the Holocaust, in his book Night. “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Action is the remedy against indifference. Indifference is the worse enemy we have.”
We have to apply the Wiesel’s lesson for the situation immigrants now live in. There are silences that kill. Being quiet against all the attacks against them is the greatest danger for all. That silence affects immigrants and erodes the values of tolerance, openness, and generosity that for decades have distinguished American society.
The US can and should regain that wonderful tradition of open arms for foreigners and the weak. That is what it truly means to be “American”.

First Arizona, now Florida

First Arizona, now Florida. I believe Florida will only follow after the country sees what happens in Arizona. Everyone who cares about immigration will now look at that state to see how the economy is affected. But I mentioned before, I think we all what the future results of the new law will be.

“Maybe we should have the tiger from the San Francisco Zoo patrol the border-that’ll keep the mexicans down in their barrios and out of the United States where they don’t belong. The Minutemen are right-shoot a few and the rest will reconsider!!” tquinton from the Washington Post link.

First of all, I have to give props to this individual. He is original in his way he wants to kill immigrants, with a tiger. I’ve heard lots of ways of killing all immigrants but by far this is the most original method I’ve heard of in a while. Unfortunately, after saying that he just reverts back to the usual, lets gun them down.

That my friends is the rhetoric of today. It is disgusting. I’ve really don’t know how else to describe it. Is this the America of today? Is this what everyone really wants? Has America being on the mountaintop for too long to have lost its humanity for others who are less fortunate than them. It hasn’t lost its humanity, not fully at least. I know people who would never think like this, it is thanks to them that I’m still here. I wonder though, 20 to 30 years from now, what will people say about all this. Will it be looked at with embarrasment as past immigration waves are looked? I know it will, history seems to be repeating itself which is a shame and embarrassment all into itself.

Blogging for a week…

So, it has been a week since I started writing this blog. To all those who have read anything in it, thank you. I have to apologize for all the typos and grammar mistakes. I’m a living a paradox, I love to write and yet suck (at least in the grammar sense I think) at it. I’ll get better at it, I promise. Anyways, I welcome any suggestions that you might have, comments, concerns, hate letters. Its all good.

Oh, and more than one person has tried to comment and the comment has not appeared because it has been caught by the spam detector. Sorry about that, it was not my intention to stop anyone from commenting. I’m still learning the ropes of this so again, sorry.

Employers and sanctions

“Sanction employers! They are being anti-American. They deserve to go jail!” That is the cry of many of the anti-immigrant forces when it comes to immigration. But what is what really happens. Employers don’t get arrested and more immigrants are deported. So basically what happens is nothing. The only thing situations like that do create is fear in the immigrant communities. I know most anti-immigrants, from their privileged backgrounds wouldn’t understand that concept, living in fear. Allow me to illustrate.

Living in fear is seeing your father go to work, not knowing whether he is going to come back. Living in fear is hearing the dog outside and thinking it is ICE. Living in fear means that getting in car can also mean the last time you see this country. Living in fear is being afraid of meeting new people, of people finding out your terrible secret because in the end, they could turn you in. It is not pretty to live like this and I wouldn’t recommend it. I don’t think my argument will resonate with anti-immigrant people, that is fine, they can keep living their lives while I keep my humanity.

North Carolina and Undocumented Students

Arizona is not the only place where immigration is a big deal, North Carolina is another state dealing with this complex issue. Here is an opinion from Richard Stevens, Republican senator from Cary, NC. Here are some of his reasons to be against immigration, followed by my own thoughts on the matter, in italics and bold.

IN GENERAL:

“The key word in all of this discussion and debate, which folks seem to be forgetting, is ‘illegal.’ I hate this kind of thinking. Yes, they are illegally here. But so were Americans doing a revolution against their own country. So was the Underground railroad. So was marching out in against Jim Crow laws and segregation. Those people broke the ‘law’. Would any anti-immigrant person tell them to stop it because what they are doing is illegal. Yes, the students broke the law by following their parents but it is not their fault. It is against the law for them to be in our country. Americans don’t get free tuition when we travel in other countries. Americans don’t need to go to other countries, they are a first world country. I also highly doubt any immigrant will call it traveling, what they do. Why should we build a reward system that encourages illegal activity? Ilegal activity, breathing? Going to school? So should students be punished for the mistakes of the parents. We need to fix our immigration policy. Let’s bring people here legally, and then we’ll address all the problems. We’ve been a generous nation for centuries, but we’ve done it legally. … Again, before the year 1918 there was no term of illegal alien. Immigrants didn’t even need passports to come. We’re trying to fix things in a piecemeal way at the state level, and that’s not going to work.”

ON COMPETITION:

“We have a waiting list of North Carolinians, taxpayers, who would like to go to our community colleges, and they can’t. We’ve got North Carolinians who want to send their children to UNC-Chapel Hill, and they get denied. Well, there are only 27 undocumented in the UNC system, I’m sure they were good enough to be admitted. People should not be denied admission because they are illegal, they should be denied because they are not good enough. Every seat that is given to an illegal immigrant is taking the seat from a North Carolinian who is a taxpayer, and that is wrong.” Immigrants do pay taxes. Even through fraudulent means, they still do. Money does get taken away from their checks. Also, while the parents might have fraudulent documents, usually the kids don’t. It is quite a shock to them when they find out that they are illegal, we are speaking about students who came when they were babies.

“Competition is fine, and immigration is fine. Our country was built on immigration. The key difference here is that we’re talking about people in this country illegally.” I’m sure all immigrants would like to come into the country legally, they just can’t. When one wants to survive, they will do anything.

ON THE BENEFITS OF EDUCATION:

“How are they going to get a job? It’s illegal to get a job if they don’t have legal status. Go look at our university system. There’s a very elaborate process to verify citizenship to become an employee. We’re training people for what? Jobs they can’t get. We’re building false hope.” Well, would the good senator like an uneducated group of people or teachers and scientists? Would he rather have them join gangs? I think hope is good, hope keeps students in school.

ON THE ARGUMENT THAT CHILDREN WHO COME ILLEGALLY WITH THEIR PARENTS SHOULDN’T BE PUNISHED:

“By the time they go to the university, they’re adults. They’re still illegal, and now they’re an adult illegal.” Stevens said they should return to their home countries. We are talking about students who came when they were less than a year old to ten. Anyone within that age range has no home country, America is their country by no choice of their own.

ON THE ASSERTION THAT OUT-OF-STATE TUITION MORE THAN COVERS THE COST OF A STUDENT’S EDUCATION:

“County taxpayers pay for the buildings. Immigrants pay taxes. Tuition doesn’t cover the cost of those buildings. Look at the total cost of the education, not just the instructional cost. Look at the buildings, the overhead costs of the programs, the operating costs. Even out-of-state people are subsidized” So the good senator is more worried about buildings than the future of a child?

ON THE UNC SYSTEM’S STUDY:

“I can’t imagine, in my wildest imagination, the General Assembly of this state passing a bill to give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. So if you’re going to do a study and you know the outcome, you’re wasting your time, in my opinion.” Why don’t you wait for the results, you might be surprised.

ON PUBLIC REACTION:

“Young people right now are applying to colleges in this state. Here’s a parent who has been paying taxes in this state for years, and the spot their child would like to take is going to be taken by someone who’s here illegally. And then we’re suggesting subsidizing that? It angers people.” There is no subsidizing, they are competing. Again, we are talking about kids who go to school with citizens. They are friends with citizens. They play video games, sports, go out like any one else. The good senator here is judging them on the sins of their parents which is appalling. And again, the parents do pay taxes. Sales tax, property tax, tax taken out of their checks, even if they have fraudulent documents. Anti-immigrant people say that they don’t want criminals who have fraudulent documents, that’s fine. I’m sure if you were to ask any parent if they would give up their living and go back to their country of origin so their kids could go to school and stay here, they would accept in a heartbeat.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays…and you know the rest.

For those who have happened to have stumbled onto this blog, I just want to say, Merry Christmas! If you are not Christian, well, Happy Holidays!

Yes, I’m even parting that message to all anti-immigrant people. Just because they are wrong does not make them any less deserving of the holiday spirit. In order to be truly tolerant, one has to tolerate intolerance, and I’m trying my best to do that. And for those who are pro-immigrant, thanks for trying to make the world a better and more humane place to live in. Anyways, I hope everyone gets what they want and enjoy the night with family and friends. If you know Spanish, Feliz Navidad! Peace to everyone!