Arizona has been under intense criticism for its new law on illegal immigrants. Was this law racially motivated? I don't know. I can say it's not written that way. Will it be applied in some heavy-handed way that will result in some legal U.S. residents getting inconvenienced, hassled or abused? I doubt it -- at least not any more than what already happens. We have to do something about our porous borders. But I expect most police officers will continue to do exactly what they've been doing, this law won't change anything for the cop on the street.
A couple of things that are certainly true... First, we created this problem; agriculture and business in the USA created this problem. This is absolutely true. If there were no jobs, they wouldn't come here. Years ago, a Latino troubador sang this plaintiff verse about how Texas aristocracy used to adjust the water levels in the Rio Grande at harvest time, lowering the flow so that workers could easily cross...
Here's why I think this entire situation is so unjust... The southwestern United States was settled originally, thousands of years ago, by peoples who first hunted, wandered and farmed. They existed here without the help of any modern "civilized" nation -- without electricity, without AIR CONDITIONING. This land was taken from them, immorally and illegally, as if they were inconsequential and had no rights. Remember the part of our nation's founding credo that said "...all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights?" That's "all men," not just legal United States citizens!
In the 1530s, the Spanish invaded South and Central America and Mexico -- and almost as soon began moving north; Euro-settlement of the southwest began in 1598 along the Rio Bravo (Grande) in what became New Mexico. In the early 1800s, Spain was kicked out through revolution and by the 1830s the land became part of the Mexican Republic. Finally, in 1846, with no good reason other than that we could and that Mexico could not effectively resist for long, we took the land away from them. Oh, but we treated them OK, right (?) -- we did buy the last little piece -- the land between the present-day border and the Gila River. (The Gadsden Purchase, 1852 or 53)
So... Mexican people of Indian and Spanish descent have been living, working and dying here for 500 years or more. Spanish (as well as the aboriginal languages that pre-date Spanish) was and is the language of the American southwest, despite what we American late-comers think. Sorry, arrogant American, but those are the facts. The only reason this land is now ours is that we took it by force from a people who weren't strong enough to hold it. That makes it right, eh? The strong abuse the weak, simply because they can? So don't tell me they don't belong here. This was their land long before it was ours, and if they took it back by force, it would be what this nation deserved, based on our past bad behavior. What goes around comes around, as they say.
Is that going to happen? You know it won't. But we still have a problem... how do we deal with the very real problem of illegals in our country, especially the security issues that result?
Why not do the right thing for a change? Why not create a win-win solution to the illegal immigration problem?
First, eliminate the possibility of employment for them and they won't come. We should vigorously prosecute ANY employer, personal or corporate, that hires someone who isn't legal here -- but we need to give the employers the means to figure that out quickly and accurately. If we can control the purchase of guns, we can do the same thing with people. Do it more than once -- hire an illegal -- and get closed down, out of business, forever.
That said, we need these foreign workers (that's why they came here) -- so make it easy for them to come here and get a job. Create a guest worker program for legitimate law-abiding Mexican citizens -- and others too. Give deserving people a work visa. If they come and can't get work, they'll leave. For those illegals already here -- require them to go back to their own country to get the proper authorizations and visas. END of problem -- and we didn't have to resort to an illegal, unwanted amnesty to do it.
What about the "anchor babies?" If a person is born here, that has always meant you were a citizen whether your parents were legal or not. I think it would be a mistake to change that now.
But, there have also been a few instances where some of these kids, born elsewhere but here with undocumented parents all their lives, have been discovered to be illegal -- in high school or college even, and they get deported (or the public screams for them to be). These kids should have an avenue to citizenship even if we can't give it to them based on birth -- they are not responsible for their parents' mistakes or illegal acts. What jerks we would be to punish children for the acts of their parents. How unconscionable it would be to deport an effectively-American child to a strange land. Yet, this is what some of our citizens want. I hope we never become that officially mean.
Those of us who are native to the southwest, many of us (or our families), came here because the Hispanic culture already here was attractive to us; relaxed, laid-back, friendly... the proverbial land of mañana! Personally, I like my home with Mexicans in it. They are mostly good, hard-working family-oriented people -- the very kind of people that we think make good Americans just like other waves of immigrants before them.
One way or the other, there's going to come a day -- soon -- when the Caucasian-American is the minority here, because these boogers out-breed us. Get used to it, aprenda a hablar -- and be nice to them now. Maybe they won't treat us like we've treated them...
Viva la México!
A couple of things that are certainly true... First, we created this problem; agriculture and business in the USA created this problem. This is absolutely true. If there were no jobs, they wouldn't come here. Years ago, a Latino troubador sang this plaintiff verse about how Texas aristocracy used to adjust the water levels in the Rio Grande at harvest time, lowering the flow so that workers could easily cross...
American ranchin', consists of a mansion, where illegal immigrants do much of the labor by hand. They sneak 'em through Customs, 'till time comes to bust 'em and haul 'em back over the border to their own native land. With a ragged sombrero, and not much dinero, they'll be back again when the old Rio Grande gets down low; Is this a good neighbor, to take all his labor, then chase him back over the border 'til he's needed again.Two, I don't think the illegals are the drain on our society that people think they are. If I hire an illegal you can bet that I will withhold all taxes and fees from their paychecks (if not, I am breaking the law and I cannot take that risk). The illegals just don't get the credit for the withholdings-- and the government keeps the money. This is a fact -- I used to do the payroll at a large business that routinely hired illegals. By the way, they were almost always the most reliable employees we had. For the most part, they don't participate in social services programs either -- they don't want to risk getting caught and deported. They avoid encounters with the "system."
Here's why I think this entire situation is so unjust... The southwestern United States was settled originally, thousands of years ago, by peoples who first hunted, wandered and farmed. They existed here without the help of any modern "civilized" nation -- without electricity, without AIR CONDITIONING. This land was taken from them, immorally and illegally, as if they were inconsequential and had no rights. Remember the part of our nation's founding credo that said "...all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights?" That's "all men," not just legal United States citizens!
In the 1530s, the Spanish invaded South and Central America and Mexico -- and almost as soon began moving north; Euro-settlement of the southwest began in 1598 along the Rio Bravo (Grande) in what became New Mexico. In the early 1800s, Spain was kicked out through revolution and by the 1830s the land became part of the Mexican Republic. Finally, in 1846, with no good reason other than that we could and that Mexico could not effectively resist for long, we took the land away from them. Oh, but we treated them OK, right (?) -- we did buy the last little piece -- the land between the present-day border and the Gila River. (The Gadsden Purchase, 1852 or 53)
So... Mexican people of Indian and Spanish descent have been living, working and dying here for 500 years or more. Spanish (as well as the aboriginal languages that pre-date Spanish) was and is the language of the American southwest, despite what we American late-comers think. Sorry, arrogant American, but those are the facts. The only reason this land is now ours is that we took it by force from a people who weren't strong enough to hold it. That makes it right, eh? The strong abuse the weak, simply because they can? So don't tell me they don't belong here. This was their land long before it was ours, and if they took it back by force, it would be what this nation deserved, based on our past bad behavior. What goes around comes around, as they say.
Is that going to happen? You know it won't. But we still have a problem... how do we deal with the very real problem of illegals in our country, especially the security issues that result?
Why not do the right thing for a change? Why not create a win-win solution to the illegal immigration problem?
First, eliminate the possibility of employment for them and they won't come. We should vigorously prosecute ANY employer, personal or corporate, that hires someone who isn't legal here -- but we need to give the employers the means to figure that out quickly and accurately. If we can control the purchase of guns, we can do the same thing with people. Do it more than once -- hire an illegal -- and get closed down, out of business, forever.
That said, we need these foreign workers (that's why they came here) -- so make it easy for them to come here and get a job. Create a guest worker program for legitimate law-abiding Mexican citizens -- and others too. Give deserving people a work visa. If they come and can't get work, they'll leave. For those illegals already here -- require them to go back to their own country to get the proper authorizations and visas. END of problem -- and we didn't have to resort to an illegal, unwanted amnesty to do it.
What about the "anchor babies?" If a person is born here, that has always meant you were a citizen whether your parents were legal or not. I think it would be a mistake to change that now.
But, there have also been a few instances where some of these kids, born elsewhere but here with undocumented parents all their lives, have been discovered to be illegal -- in high school or college even, and they get deported (or the public screams for them to be). These kids should have an avenue to citizenship even if we can't give it to them based on birth -- they are not responsible for their parents' mistakes or illegal acts. What jerks we would be to punish children for the acts of their parents. How unconscionable it would be to deport an effectively-American child to a strange land. Yet, this is what some of our citizens want. I hope we never become that officially mean.
Those of us who are native to the southwest, many of us (or our families), came here because the Hispanic culture already here was attractive to us; relaxed, laid-back, friendly... the proverbial land of mañana! Personally, I like my home with Mexicans in it. They are mostly good, hard-working family-oriented people -- the very kind of people that we think make good Americans just like other waves of immigrants before them.
One way or the other, there's going to come a day -- soon -- when the Caucasian-American is the minority here, because these boogers out-breed us. Get used to it, aprenda a hablar -- and be nice to them now. Maybe they won't treat us like we've treated them...
Viva la México!
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