Immigration policies in America have always been based on the
fact that those who have arrived try to protect what they have from
those who are still in the process of arriving. This is the root
cause of much of the class distinction, where ethnicity is a
determinant of economic success.
Immigration policies in America have always been based on the fact that those who have arrived try to protect what they have from those who are still in the process of arriving. This is the root cause of much of the class distinction, where ethnicity is a determinant of economic success.
Every day, we are given conflicting messages, much like the voices in the head of a schizophrenic, unable to understand what is happening and frightful of what might happen. Even worse, there are those who would make immigration into a wedge issue for the 2006 Congressional Campaign.
George Allen (Dem. VA), secure in his senatorial seat, took the issue to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference and posed securing our borders from illegal immigration as a major theme, tying the fears associated with immigration to Homeland Security and the sector of a new 9/11.
The fears are real and not necessarily partisan. Arizona’s Democratic Governor, Janet Napolitano, sent a contingent of the National Guard to the Arizona Border to augment the Border Patrol. Officially, the this is not intended to militarize the border but rather to take over some normal border crossing duties so that the Border Patrol can do just that, patrol.
The pressure on government to do something, anything, is so strong that she had little choice but to take some action.
The anti-immigrant organizations such as the Minutemen, continue to gain support and funding from those who use gangs, drugs and crime to incite fear. Organizations like Americans for Legal Immigration load their web site with scare tactic headlines such as “Illegal Brazilian charged with rape and kidnapping may have HIV.”
California has a long tradition of opposition to illegal immigration, often as a code name for being against the social change implied by the growth of the Hispanic minority in California. Republican Governor Pete Wilson was the champion of Proposition 187 that targeted California’s non-registered immigrant population with a denial of all non-emergency services.
At that time, the non-registered immigrant population of California was estimated to be 1.6 million.
According to new evidence release this month by the Pew Hispanic Center and California’s Field Poll, a lot of things have changed. For one thing, the numbers have gone up significantly.
According to the Pew Hispanic Center study published this month, “Unauthorized migrants accounted for about 4.9 percent of the civilian labor force in March 2005, or about 7.2 million workers out of a labor force of 148 million.” Americans for Legal Immigration would tell you that America would not have any unemployment if you sent all the illegals back home.
The State of California estimates (November 2005) that there are now about 2.5 million undocumented aliens in the state with nearly 2 million being in Southern California followed by the San Joaquin Valley. From the days of Pete Wilson’s failures with Proposition 187 to today, we have failed in finding a solution to this problem.
The other significant change is that most people in California now believe that illegal immigrants are taking jobs that others don’t want and that there should be a guest worker program that would lead to attaining the rights of citizenship
The Republican Party, whose current Senatorial Candidate, Dick Mountjoy, was the true author of Proposition 187 when he was in the State Senate appears to be out of step with most California voters on this issue.
It is also clear that there is a sizable Republican minority who still believe strongly that Mountjoy and Pete Wilson were correct, and voted for Minuteman Jim Gilchrist on the American Independent Party ticket in a congressional runoff race last December.
Our Republican congressional delegation talks about guest worker programs, but fails to vote for them. Central Valley Republican Congressmen Pombo voted for an immigration bill (HR 4337) that had no guest worker provisions and then tells the farmers that he supports AgJobs. Every other San Joaquin Valley congressman of either party voted against it.
California Democrats are not much more helpful. Even ardent supporters of La Raza like Fabian Nuñez find themselves in the position of considering the situation on the border with Mexico to be an emergency.
It should be clear to all is that there can be no solution to the problems of immigration until such time as there is less pressure on other populations to move away from where they are.
That single fact, if recognized, will bring about significant change in American policy. We need to realize that it is in our interests to see Mexico reach a level of economic development that approximates that of the United States.
When we tell the world that they should allow free competition for our products, but then do not allow free competition to supply the labor inherent in those products, then we only dive deeper into our schizophrenic xenophobia. We have only wrapped it in more acceptable language.
