I've checked out of sick bay and returned to the bridge. To be less dorky, I'm finally beginning to break the grip of the cold/flu that has kicked my ass for over a week. I'm glad to have the energy to do something besides drag myself to and from work. So, on that note...
I never (well, hardly ever) claim to have all the answers and the immigration issue is no different. I see valid reasoning on both sides of the argument. My maternal grandparents emmigrated from Ecuador and ,sixty-some years later, are still proud that they became American citizens. In a way I find undocumented workers disrespectful to my grandparents and all others who did it "the right way" . As always, the answer lies somewhere in between the two extreme sides of the argument. I know that we can't leave things as they are, but I also know it doesn't do much good to round up all the "illegals", toss them out and build a heavily armed moat. However, I will leave the problem solving to deeper thinkers than I. I want to talk about what I feel has been missing from most of the punditry, commentary, expertise, etc on this debate: Compassion.
I believe Chris mentioned it briefly in his post and a Washington Post columnist wrote about it today, but other than that I haven't seen much mention of the fact that the people we are talking about are just that: people. Most of the millions of undocumented workers who risk everything to even reach the States are decent hard-working people. They are simply trying to carve out a better life for themselves. While it is true that they can be a burden to the system, we musn't forget that these folks are humans, not some statistics to be manipulated. They have hopes, dreams and fears like the rest of us. They also have a stronger work ethic and kinder manner than a lot of US citizens I know.
I have worked closely with both Mexican and Chinese immigrants in the past. Most of them left their families for years at a time so they could earn higher wages. I've often heard one side of a tearful phone conversation as these guys spoke briefly with their faraway families. (I never understood much of the Chinese conversations, but you could get the gist.) I know that most of the guys worked long hours, lived in crowded apartments and and sent the bulk of their paycheck home. I don't think I would have the balls to leave my family, travel across an ocean or a dangerous desert just to work some crappy job. I respect them for that. I also always enjoyed talking and joking with them and listening to some of their stories of home. I think it helps to dig a little deeper and get some more of the story. Like a homeless person or a drug addict, these workers are not two-dimensional stereotypes. Now I'm not saying I'm going to throw money at every panhandler(far from it), but it doesn't mean I can't volunteer at a shelter or help a homeless guy get a warm meal in the dead of winter. Likewise with the undocumented workers; we must look a little deeper and convey our respect and dignity for these people who are looking to improve their lot.
Well said.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand what you mean when you say that people working around the system disrespect the people who worked through the system. I think one of the differences is that generations ago, the immigration process 'worked', while today it seems very broken. In past generations (and with many well documented exceptions that I'll choose to ignore for now), the default position seemed to be Permit a person to immigrate unless there is a really good reason not to -- today the default position seems to be to Deny immigration unless there is a really good reason to let them in. Today immigrants are depicted/inferred as a blight and a drain on our society; in the past immigrants were viewed as contributors to the American story (again, with many hateful exceptions).
That's just a theory. And as someone who played by the rules to immigrate, I really do know what you mean.
Thanks for sharing your experience of working with recent immigrants. This debate has such an Us vs. Them undercurrent, and I think your examples help to humanize the discussion.
I have to agree with everything you said Bryan. Compassion is missing. We should never penalize humanitarian workers like those in the Catholic diocese of LA that work so hard to provide basics for undocumented workers. I believe the compromise lies in respecting legal aliens (like my parents, your grandparents) by upping the quota for those workers who want to come in and work and making it easier for them to become documented workers. If they are legal they are also much less likely to be exploited. We can't fool ourselves into thinking that we can keep them out. So let us let them in, document them and make them legal. Not all of them want to become citizens. We can have a successful guest worker/Day worker program. If they want to become citizens then they should not ask for special treatment and pass the requirements, including learning english like everyone else. As a side benefit it will be easier to spot the terrorists if the flow of illegals is gotten down to a trickle.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, wolske has it wrong. Since the early part of the 20th century there have been tight restrictions on quotas. If a country hit a quota then no matter if there was no good reason to keep them out...they were out. It was started to up the number of people coming from Protestant countries and keep the number of Catholics down. Not a lot of people realize that.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing is that people like my father had to jump through hoops to get here. He had to have a return plane ticket. His father had to post a bond so he had proof that he would never be a burden to the United States of America. He had to prove he had a job. There were mounds of paperwork to fill out and he had to wait a very long time for the visa approval. There was definately no air of "permit a person to immigrate unless there is a really good reason not to."
Mary
mary - fair enough, I made my comments without any real basis. it was more of an opinion/assumption. you always hear of the big immigrant rush into America in the early part of the century, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there were so many restrictions even that long ago...
ReplyDeleteone of the "hateful exceptions" that I was thinking of was the limitations on Catholics, and I think specifically Irish, back in the day. but again, I didn't have any good references so I didn't get too specific.
Wolske,
ReplyDeleteYou are spot on about the limitations on Catholics. It still exists today but nobody mentions it. The quota system that was put in place after the big Ellis Island rush still are in place today. That is why there is such a problem with imigrants from Mexico. Catholic bashing is the last bastion of acceptable, even encouraged bigotry. That said, I think the whole "I'm offended thing" has gotten way out of hand and way too politically correct. My husband always jokes that as a Conservative, Republican, faithful to the teaching Authority of the Catholic Church, Jesus loving straight, happily married white male he is the last acceptable target of hate left in America.