http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/oped/ci_4082815

Give full amnesty to all immigrants in the United States John M. GALLAGHER


Inside Bay Area

AS the House and Senate continue to argue over the more draconian immigration bills presented to them, the case for amnesty that millions of immigrants and civil rights organizations have been arguing for has not been brought to the table — yet.

The historic demonstrations by ordinary people on May 1 (International Worker's Day, started in the United States over the fight for the eight-hour work day) brought the demand for amnesty to the forefront of these marches.

However, little has been mentioned about this option for the undocumented workers living in the United States.

First of all, no human being looking for a way to feed their family, escape poverty, or simply trying to survive, should be labeled by politicians and media pundits as alien, terrorists, illegal, or otherwise.

This terminology alone divides people into categories and encourages racial divisions and racist ideas to take hold, creating an "us vs. them" attitude.

These are hard-working families that deserve to be treated with the same respect and dignity that everyone expects, be they documented or undocumented.

It just is not equal treatment under the law when millions of dollars and whole corporations can cross state and national borders without a raise of a finger, yet when people try to cross the same border, 5,000 national guardsmen are sent to stop them.

This policy begs the question: Do we live in a society or an economy?

Furthermore, considering all the hoopla given to Bill Gates and Warren Buffet recently, it is interesting to note that the undocumented (and documented) worker pays more taxes as a percentage of their income than do these billionaires after all the tax breaks, write-offs, and subsidies.

This country was built by immigrants from all over the planet — Europeans trying to seek refuge from the brutal monarchies of the time, Asians looking for better opportunities, Latin Americans looking to get away from political strife, and Africans brought here during the slave trade.

This country would not be what it is today had it not been for the immigrant populations who built it.

As these populations came to America during different periods of time, racist ideas also came around as a divide-and-conquer tool used by those in power.

For example, during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, Congress was debating the racist Asian Exclusion Act, blaming the Asian community for the lack of jobs. This was able to divide the Irish and Chinese workers and keep wages low.

Moreover, during Reconstruction, the newly freed African-American population was blamed for taking jobs from the poor white community, creating an environment impossible to form unions able to fight for better wages for both races.

It is in times like these you see the development of racist groups like the KKK, Aryan Nation, etc.

We are witnessing again the turning back of the clock to scapegoating the immigrant population in politics.

The two bills in the House and Senate being debated differ only in their levels of barbarity.

One argues for the criminalization of undocumented worker status with a prison sentence of five years and deportation, while the other argues for second-class citizenship status via a guest worker program.

The first option is not only cruel and unusual but also would divert funds from our schools and hospitals.

The second option is a modern form of slavery. These guest workers would not be allowed to form unions, destroying the standards for wage laws and benefits, which will in turn drag documented and undocumented workers' wages down in a competitive labor market race to the bottom.

We are witnessing, again, the rise in the number of groups like the Minutemen and Fremont's own East Bay Coalition for Border Security.

But as the counter-demonstrations against these groups and the massive May 1 demonstrations for immigrant rights show, people support the immigrant community and will continue to challenge the backward ideas of such groups.

Instead, the only humane way forward is to give full amnesty to all immigrants.


John Gallagher teaches fourth grade at Forest Park Elementary School in the Fremont Unified School District. He has been a Tri-City resident for 32 years.