May 6, 2005 – Illegal Immigration - At a Tipping Point

 

Almost two years ago, I ranted about illegal immigration.  And since the issue is now hotter than ever, I thought it was time to revisit my own opinions and views to see if they had changed.    Well, guess what - they have not.   If nothing else, at least I am consistent.  Here in Southern California, like many areas in the Southwest region, one of the issues simmering at the top of our over-flowing melting pot is illegal immigration.  Something has got to be done to deal with the problem, and soon.  The question I asked before, and the question I continue to ask, is why, when you ask for the enforcement of our own immigration laws, does it automatically equate one with being a racist?   Whenever someone mentions controlling illegal immigration, out spews hate from the other side, presuming anyone who dares raise issue of illegal immigration to be a redneck, intolerant racist.   Maybe.  I don’t know.  Could it be that folks just want the law followed?  Nah, of course not.  Well, call me a racist, but I have had enough of illegal immigration.   And, more to the point, I have had enough of the politicians and businessmen who have sold out the interests of its legal residents and citizens in favor of foreign interests, and turned a blind eye on the social and economic costs associated with its policies. 

 

Maybe it is just me, but things seem to be close to a tipping point.  People are really fed up.  For example, a group of citizens recently started an effort, calling themselves the “the Minutemen” to watch the US-Mexican border:  they want to “assist” border patrol agents in finding and tracking those crossing illegally.   Was this a good idea?   Well, part of me says yes.  If government is not going to do it, someone has to.  At the same time, I do not want this country falling into lawlessness and anarchy – which is likely if citizens begin to feel that they have to enforce the laws because no one else will.  Some of these “Minutemen” were armed, and, some of these men were most likely “rednecks” only there because they do not like folks whose skin is not as white as theirs or who do not speak English.   But many, and I do believe many, were regular citizens who have just said “enough” -  all they want is someone, anyone, to stop our federal and state governments from continuing to be illegal immigration enablers.  Simply put, these folks want our government to force businesses to follow the laws on the books, and dedicate the resources necessary to protect our borders. 

 

Now I do not know the internal conflicts of those who participated in the Minuteman project, but I do know my own.  It is similar to hating the message, but not the messenger.  To me, the blame here does not lie with those trying to come over here to make a better life.  I cannot fault them for wanting to do that: I probably would do the same, even if that meant crossing illegally and taking a job that does not pay a fair wage.  And, I am not one of those wackos who think the way to solve the problem is to deny illegal immigrants benefits – let’s be real.   That is not a humane thing to do.  It is not the right thing to do.  Once someone is here, well, you have to treat people like people.  Kids need to be educated, and folks need to have access to medical care. Case closed.

 

For the record, I do not support subsidizing higher education for those who come here illegally.  Something just does not seem right to me about providing illegal immigrants with the same tuition breaks to California’s state universities and colleges as legal residents receive.  Why should these kids be treated better than a legal resident from Nevada, or Iowa?  I was always taught that if you break the rules, you get punished, not rewarded.  And, for the record, since those who want to will already paint me as a racist, let me say that it no longer makes sense to me to grant US-born children or illegal immigrant or travelers with granting automatic citizenship.  The assumption that if you are born in the United States, regardless of the circumstances, automatically makes you a citizen needs to be revisited.  To me, the child of an illegal immigrant should not be granted citizen status just because his or her mother was able to cross the border, or, fly in from Europe or Asia, just in time to give birth.   Call me whatever you want, but I something is very wrong with they way other people are playing our system and using it against us. 

 

I understand that in many ways illegal immigration brings down the costs of the goods and services we consume. And, we need to provide certain basic benefits to these folks because in truth, we are just paying for in taxes what we apparently do not want to pay for out of pocket when we spend our money.  But, if we are willing to purchase goods from an exploited labor market, then we also have to be willing to pay the social costs associated with this deal.   Illegal immigrants constitute a cheap labor pool that is exploited by you and me, and everyone who wants to get things cheaper.  I do not think, however, that these are jobs Americans will not do: they just will not do it for what is basically slave wages.  Jobs once held by your neighbor, you dad, maybe even your mother, are now being done by illegal immigrants for a fraction of the wages one paid.  And just because today we get a cheaper pizza or a head of lettuce, or the framing on your house is a little less expensively, or your kitchen tile is that much cheaper do finish, does not mean we are not going to pay in the long run.  We either pay up front, or we pay as we do now, with an ongoing drip of social and economic costs.  We are paying, our kids our paying, our infrastructure is paying, and those over here doing these jobs are paying.   You never get something for nothing. 

Immigration laws are on the books for a reason, and just because we save some coin, does not mean we should turn a blind eye to what is legal and what is illegal.  It is time for those responsible for this mess to be held accountable.  First on the list:  those who truly benefit from illegal immigration - corporate America.  In a phrase - shame on you.  Next, our government, for enabling and even encouraging illegal immigration, putting out a welcome mat for the sole purpose of padding the profits of their political donors.  Our federal government is encouraging the continued exploitation of those who are desperate, so that someone’s bottom line improves.  It is nothing more than one step up from slave trading to me.  Find the weak, exploit them, and then continue to count the money as it rolls in.  Just as bad are politicians who look to illegal immigrants as a pool of future voters – courting the possibility of political allegiance rather than serving the interests of those who vote today.   It is time for these people to be voted out of office.   It is all about the bottom line.  It is time to make someone accountable for that line.  It is time.

 

Illegal immigration has become a festering sore that is eating California, and for that matter, probably Texas and Arizona, from within.  Recently, a billboard went up advertising a Spanish TV Station that said Los Angeles CA (with the CA crossed out) and Mexico written in its place.  Basically, the message – LA is already part of Mexico, deal with it.  People went nuts, and were livid.  Whether or not this billboard merely recognizes a growing reality of my city is not the point, it made people sit up and take notice.  Add to that stories of hospitals closing because they have to absorb the health care cost of illegal immigrants (costs that should be paid by the federal government), over-crowded schools, a Mexican government that provides both a safe-haven to suspected murderers and a how-to book on crossing the border, race riots in some high schools, and a border so porous that any terrorist, let alone a determined illegal immigrant, can get in if he or she really wants to, and you  have a ticking time bomb.  It is about ready to explode.

 

Democrat or Republican, it does not matter - no one wants to address the issue of “illegal immigration” – because all are afraid of offending possible voters.  Well you know what, I vote, and I am sick of my government’s failure to lead on this matter.  President Bush wants to give everyone guess worker passes to help out business.  Senators Kennedy and McCain are looking at giving illegal immigrants legal status.  Some fool in Iowa wanted to legalize all of the farm workers there.  Why?  Because he thought they were all good Christians, and that they would support his far-right political agenda.  Give me a friggin break.  I sit here, pay my taxes, treat people decently, and I might as well be invisible.  No one seems to give a rat’s ass about my vote.  No, just pay your taxes, support the “war on terror” and shut your mouth.  I am done.    

Maybe it me getting older, maybe it is the ongoing fiscal crises facing our federal and state governments, or maybe it is being tired of everyone speaking a language other than English when I go to the store, but something has got to be done, and soon.  My solution is simple – find a way to protect our borders, and stop the flood of illegal immigration. Case closed.  We can deal with the people here – perhaps granting some of them legal status under certain circumstances once we are sure the border has become protecting.  Make the federal government enforce the laws on hiring so that business can no longer use these people like a commodity – wanting a larger and larger illegal labor pool to exploit so that they can continue to depress wages.  I have an idea, why not use the Patriot Act for something that actually protects the country and its citizens – go after the businesses that exploit those most vulnerable.  For good measure, we should limit automatic citizenship to children of legal residents, not anyone who just happens to be born in the United States.   It is time for things to change.  It is time to realize that our government is part of the problem, not part of the solution.  Call me racist, call me a pragmatist, call me fed up, but something has to be done about illegal immigration before people do take the law into their own hands.  Because we are at a tipping point: the clock is ticking. 

 

Like it or not, that’s my opinion, and I’m entitled to it. . .