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Immigrants shaped Birmingham, too
Sunday, July 10, 2005
ISABEL RUBIO

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free ..." Most of us recognize these words from our American history classes, words that welcomed millions of immigrants to this country as they gazed upon the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor.

These words capture the very essence of the founding principles of our nation. Today, many of our new immigrants never see Lady Liberty because they have to risk their lives to cross the blazing hot, harsh and treacherous landscape of the Sonora Desert in Northern Mexico to show up in our schools, churches and stores right here in Birmingham and surrounding areas.

My Latino brothers and sisters who arrive in America with next to nothing gladly take work at local chicken processing plants working the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift in conditions no one would envy. As a result, we continue to enjoy this staple of our American cuisine at reasonable prices. These same immigrants work under the hot sun on Sand Mountain picking homegrown tomatoes for us to enjoy in our summer salads. And they do it all without complaint, but rather with gratitude because they have a job and a chance for a better way of life in America.
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This means that today we are facing a challenge at both the national and community level. We must recognize that our immigration system is broken and must to be fixed. You may think this is an issue for other communities. That is not so.

Even here in Birmingham, all we have to do is look at how dependent we have become on the immigrant work force; just look at the crews working on construction sites or landscaping projects. The Latino immigration wave is here, and if statistics are true, it is not going to recede anytime soon.

Last week's Fourth of July holiday was celebrated by many Latinos with particular gusto because it allowed them to acknowledge the freedom and opportunity afforded to them in their adopted country. But this Independence Day also offered an opportunity for all of us to reflect on the future of our nation and the role immigrants will play in it.

In May, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., introduced bipartisan, comprehensive, common-sense reform with the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act. This legislation presents the first serious chance in years to get control of our immigration system. They understand the problem: a mismatch between immigration policies that say "stay out," while economic and labor market realities say "since you're here, please work at jobs without labor protections earning ten times the wages you could earn at home." These senators go beyond simple diagnosis to provide an achievable prescription for real reform.

Their proposal? To modernize our immigration laws so that they address the needs of our economy and the human rights of immigrants rather than wishfully thinking that immigrants will simply stay away.

The proposal recognizes that immigration happens, but not enough of it happens legally. To remedy this, they propose expanding legal avenues for immigration while simultaneously creating a worker verification system and an enforcement agenda - at the border and in the workplace - with teeth. The idea is to replace an illegal and chaotic flow of desperate people with a safe, legal and orderly process. It's not intended to increase immigration, but rather to increase the percentage that occurs in the open, with background checks and visas, as opposed to smugglers leading deadly desert crossings.

This proposed legislation would allow officials to punish smugglers, document forgers, and employers who refuse to play by the new rules. It lets the Border Patrol focus on hunting down terrorists, violent criminals and drug runners, while workers seeking opportunity are allowed to enter legally and safely.

A new immigration system must restore the rule of law, as opposed to continuing to cobble together a system built on the shaky foundation of illegality. The Secure America Act provides a fair and workable way for undocumented immigrants to come forward, register with the government, make amends, and get at the back of the line to earn legal residency. The fines are stiff; the process will take many years to complete, but the wink, wink and look-the-other-way nature of the current system will be eliminated. The proposal also includes funds for states and cities to defray immigrant-related costs.

This bill is a compromise and it doesn't make everyone happy. But it is the best shot we have to restore order to the deeply-held American virtues of immigration. For border security, national security and economic security, it is necessary. For the protection of workers' rights - immigrant and native-born alike - it is imperative. It is just as essential for economic growth and expanded opportunity here in the United States.

Having "immigrated" to Alabama from Mississippi, I have always been interested to learn the roles so many European immigrants played in laying the foundation of this community. Those were people who crossed oceans and left loved ones behind in order to pursue the opportunities that waited here. (In those days, opportunity often meant taking a low-wage job in a dirty and dangerous coal mine and suffering horrible working conditions or selling staples from backpacks.) Yet today, many of their descendants stand as pillars of our community. Their stories should makes us all wonder about those in today's Latino community who are working at hard, low-paying jobs, laying new foundations for Birmingham's future generations. Isabel Rubio is the executive director for the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the lives of Latinos in Alabama. She can be reached at 205-591-5545 or via e-mail at irubio@hispanicinterest.org.