The Illegal Immigration Debate

Here's some excerpts from conversations regarding the subject of Illegal Immigration and views on the recent protests...Any thoughtful, non-incendiary comments are appreciated.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I sent this poem out recently and got the following response:

A reminder…..

“We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen alter be neglected.”

The alter is America and it is being neglected.

We are a country of laws. I feel that those who want change the laws should be citizens of our country. Protesters, legal or not, should show a little more respect to the millions of men and women who entered the country legally. Men, women and children waited in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, they waited in fear that they would not be let into the country. Perhaps in this day and age this is too much to ask of others.

The real question is this “Do we allow the wishes of the few, to rule the majority? If that is the case then we no longer have liberty.”

The problem is difficult………and it will be laws that can make it right.

I recall another robed woman, one that stands with scales and a blindfold, her name is Justice.

There is right, there is wrong, and we determine what is law by our vote, it should be the voice of the majority not the few.

I then responded with this...

I agree that America is being neglected - at the expense of military imperialism and to the advantage of big business.

We are a country of laws – and those illegal immigrants who are employed are employed by Americans, and they do work for America – many have been working here for years – often for lawmakers and lawyers as nannies and housekeepers – I know there are lots in DC! They don’t want to break the laws – they want to change the laws. In yesterdays protests (albeit perhaps not in earlier protests) American flags were being waved proudly, and pro-American sentiment was rampant – those immigrants of yesteryear felt the same sentiments they came to this country (NOT always LEGALLY) hoping that the shining star that WAS America would allow them to make a new life for themselves and their children.

Now suddenly we have declared that the door is SHUT – no more will we welcome people who don’t meet some pre-established standard. Never mind that they do the work that most Americans are unwilling to do, never mind that they allow our economy to grow providing higher wage jobs for Americans while they break their backs building our houses, picking our crops in the hot summer sun, bussing our tables and washing our dishes, never mind that they are trying to escape a level of poverty that would BOGGLE the mind of the average American.
(See http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/bg1713.cfm for more on this subject)

The problem is that the majority no longer rules in America – a small minority “rules” our country – big businessmen who break the rules and then get away with it, lobbies controlled by these businessmen control most of the political will – and then they (the big businesses and lobbies) pull off the ultimate diversion – they get the PR machine rolling and convince everyone that all their problems are caused by these immigrants. They are easily identifiable – they are a different color, they speak differently – (As one person put it “I HATE it when I go to a fast food restaurant and the person on the speaker has an accent”) – easy to point the finger at. Then they prey on our natural tendency to fear the “unknown” and they make us afraid of them – and we buy right into their fear tactics – just like they want us to.

So that we forget that NOT all of our problems are caused by these people, we forget that they are in fact, generally a productive part of our society. And that MANY of them are hard working family members just trying to get themselves out of poverty, living in their own country on less than $5/day. And we forget that many immigrants are LEGALLY here – but if they are out protesting in the streets we automatically assume they are illegal because they speak funny or look different. And we start fearing them, and we start hating them, and we start sending out messages to boycott their boycott – and “Quick feed the capitalism machine” that’ll fixem! And the big businessmen smile because they know their trick has worked…

And then – worst of all the “fear machine” makes us forget the basic tenets that our country was built upon. We forget that this country was built on the right to protest, we forget that this country was built on the rights of free speech and the right to assemble and petition the government – we forget that it is our duty to honor these rights as citizens of the US – we forget the very first Amendment in the Bill of Rights! The LAW of all LAWS in our Country – and we forget it.

Bill of Rights
Amendment I: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances

These people are our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends – we are all immigrants. Imagine living in a wasteland – doing backbreaking labor everyday – heat and sweat and hunger constantly surrounding you – but right next door is this beautiful shining castle, with green lawns, and feasts and music and light. But there is a fence around it with a sign that says – “Sorry you can’t come in – you have to stay outside because you might ruin the party” – would you try to climb the fence? I know I would, over and over again…

Lady Justice is crying in America...

(Photo Credit to: Shivakumar Shankar at http://web.njit.edu/~ss228/Statue%20of%20Liberty.htm)