Thread: TX: (re Tancredo & Hunter) Welcome to America

Welcome to America
The Brownsville Herald
April 26, 2008 - 10:33PM

For the better part of a decade now, South Texas residents, as well as Hispanics across the country, have endured the calls for shipping them all back to Mexico in the name of protecting this great country.



Even before 9/11, anti-Hispanic sentiment simmered in many communities as conservatives blamed immigrants for stealing welfare payments and filling hospital emergency rooms and prisons - all factually incorrect. Those terrorist attacks, however, led many xenophobes to grab the opportunity to insist that the steady flow of immigrants - Mexicans, mainly - were putting our country at risk. Many insisted that their only targets were illegal immigrants, but since it's impossible to tell who's a legal resident simply by appearance, many native Americans have suffered open hatred and threats.



Many people apparently have forgotten, conveniently, that Hispanics found this place in 1492, nearly 130 years before the Mayflower ever set sail, and that many of those suffering discrimination trace their American lineage back more than 500 years.



Sadly, some of the most vocal nativists are members of Congress. U.S. Reps. Tom Tancredo of Colorado and Duncan Hunter of California in particular have led the anti-immigrant charge, and have been among the strongest supporters for building a cage around the United States to keep foreigners out.



Well, guess who's coming to town?



Tancredo and Hunter are both expected to be in town this weekend and participate in a hearing of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Monday at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.



We welcome them. After all, this is America, and it is their home. We don't doubt, however, that they will find it a different place than they might be used to.



Where they might fear the influence of other cultures, South Texas shows how the interdependence of two peoples can strengthen both, and that the United States influences Mexico much more heavily than it is influenced by them. Perhaps they'll notice that those of us who live along the border aren't worried about terrorists streaming across to do us harm. Sure, we recognize the risk, just as we know we can be victims of neighborhood crime, auto accidents or other mishaps. We know, however, that life is filled with risks, and we can't deprive our neighbors of their fundamental rights in the name of creating false senses of security.



Where they might be used to hearing calls insisting that people love America, right or wrong, or leave it, here they will find people who in the greatest American tradition have opted instead to stay and fight to make their nation stronger and better. It is here, after all, that the first battle of the Mexican-American War and the last battle of the Civil War were fought, and it's no secret that proportionally, Hispanics have received more decorations for valor defending this country than any other demographic group. Our children, brothers and cousins continue to sign up willingly to fight for America on foreign soil, even as many question our motives and tactics in those operations.



Msrs. Tancredo and Hunter can expect to receive respect and deference along with candor and questions. That won't come simply because of the offices they hold or who they are, but because that's how Americans treat their fellow man, no matter where he's from.



Welcome to America, gentlemen.

www.brownsvilleherald.com

Should be "Welcome to the Invasion" or "See the Impact Zone".

Hispanics found this place in 1492

Ignorance speaks for itself.

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue, with the Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria. The European Queen of Spain, Isabella sent Columbus who was from Genoa (now Italy), which found the Americas.

Leif Ericsson another European arrived in North America prior to his death in 1020.

Dixie