Thread: Illegal Immigration Not So Simple

Another Bleeding Heart:

Illegal Immigration Not So Simple
Submitted by themeanesthag on Tue, 08/14/2007 - 2:23pm.
Tags: Effective government • Better future
http://www.progressiveu.org/172359-ille ... -so-simple

I’m a new member in the Progressive U community, and I’ve been reading a lot of posts about illegal immigration in the past couple of days. Maybe it’s because I’m from California and I’ve grown up with Mexican immigration, both legal and illegal, being an issue close to home, but I find many of the comments on these posts extremely off. I’m assuming that many of these people who are so adamant on illegal immigrants being deported feel so because they don’t know anyone who is an illegal immigrant and they certainly do not know the motivations behind their actions.

It's very easy to judge a group of people when you are so disassociated from their lives. I grew up in the Central Valley in California where many illegal immigrants from Mexico live and work in the fields. In the summer the factories around here, particularly the tomato factories, start what they ominously call "the season" in which the workers pull 8 to 12 hour shifts seven days a week for about six months. They have to work this hard because the tomatoes must be picked and processed immediately once they are ripe. These go into brands like Contadina, Del Monte, and SK Foods (that make La Victoria salsa, etc.). I know this for certain because my mother has worked in one of these factories for about 20 years.

This also means that those people who work in the fields (and I can promise you that absolutely none of them are white) have to work even longer hours and do much more strenuous backbreaking labor. It’s no joke, having to handpick vegetables all day in the summertime in central California is no fun job. The average temperature is well over 100 degrees, and out in the fields there is no shade. It’s a job that I’m glad I’ll never have to work. It’s a job that nobody who is white would do, and it’s been proven year after year as the only people who DO work out there are Mexican, and many times illegal immigrants.

What would happen to the agricultural economy if these indispensable workers were not available for people to hire? It’s definitely unfair to them that they are paid such low wages, but our economy depends upon it. If you ask any intelligent economist they’ll tell you that California (as well as many other states) are so heavily reliant on these immigrants that if they were to disappear, we’d have a serious problem on our hands. Whether or not we could find other people to do the terrible jobs that these immigrants do, they certainly wouldn’t do it for the same pitiful wages. Unless we are willing to pay much higher prices for our produce (to encourage whites to work out in the fields you’d definitely have to raise the wages to over $10), we have no right to complain about a group of people who are willing to do the same work for under the minimum wage.

I have never been entirely convinced by either side of the immigration battle. I understand the concern for the U.S. economy and a desire to improve things like education and healthcare. But considering that the U.S. government spends about half of their budget on war and defense, I doubt that any extra money resulting from the deportation of illegal immigrants would go towards those areas we so desperately need reformed. I’m also concerned that we have been manipulated by the media and the government into believing that immigrants are the enemy. It seems more likely that immigrants are being played as a scapegoat for our sagging economy, when it is really a result of constant conflict and poor management. The issue of illegal immigrants is always brought up in a time when we should be worrying about other things, like the Iraq War and the dealings of a sketchy administration.

Besides all the general debates on the immigrant issue, I grew up with one of my best friends and her family being illegal immigrants. Her family is very hardworking and they are upstanding citizens. My friend and her siblings have always gotten good grades and worked hard at school, and she is currently in college at UC Santa Cruz. She is graduating this year and is going to attend medical school to become a pediatrician. She is still an illegal immigrant, but she grew up in California and has always considered herself to be an American. Now, she only needs to take a test to be naturalized and she will legally be an American citizen. She is a perfect example of how people’s assumptions about immigrants are very misguided, and often times they are simply trying to establish themselves in a place where their children have opportunities. Their ultimate plans are not to screw the system; they just do what they have to do to offer their children the best chances. I doubt my friend would ever have gotten to college and would certainly never plan on being a doctor if she had grown up in Mexico. Over here, her father was able to get a good job and his children were able to go to better schools. In the end, they had a better life here.

Although I do not hold any concrete opinions in regards to the immigration issue, I just want people to realize that the issue is a very complicated one and that they should not condemn a group of people without knowing anything about them. Many of them come over here and work their way up, using their money to help their own families in Mexico so that those other family members can join them in America. All I’d ask of anyone is to keep an open mind and not judge a group of people without having ever met any of them.

I went over to the Website that this article was posted on. It was called ProgressiveU. I expected general agreement with this writer, but surprisingly, in the "Related Papers" section found two articles expressing the oppositie view and a fair number of agreeing comments. Looks like about 50/50, even on ProgressiveU.

In a very unoffical, unscientific sample of the public, I think I am noticing that a number of women, who at first glance might seem to be "liberals" have become outspoken about securing our border and reversing the tide of illegal immigration. It has to be the motherly instinct--of wanting a safe and secure community for your own children.

We are winning!!

First off, I don't know about everyone else - but I have known many illegal immigrants. I even like a lot of them.

But one doesn't have to have ever met or seen an illegal to know how much more insurance, taxes, healthcare we are paying. They can see the changes in our neighborhoods. They can read the stories, the few that get published, of the crimes.

People can 'feel' the effects of illegal immigration. It doesn't matter whether they are nice or not or why they are here. WE simply cannot afford them. It is depriving our familiesa and destroying our nation.

I don't care how upstanding they are, they broke the law. Twice. Once coming across the border, then more than likely using false documents which is a felony. They come in the door a criminal, then try to convince America that they are upstanding citizens. Maybe, many of them are, but many of them are not, as we see from the Violent Crimes Institute and in the news everyday. Illegal is illegal.

I AM FROM CALIFORNIA. I HAVE LIVED HERE MY ENTIRE LIFE. I GREW UP IN A TOWN THAT WAS ROUGHLY ONE THIRD MEXICAN, ONE THIRD ITALIAN AND ONE THIRD CAUCASIAN. I HAVE PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE. THE PERSON WHO WROTE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH ILLEGLAL IMMIGRANTS. ANYONE WHO HAS THIS EXPERIENCE IS AGAINST ILLEGLAL IMMIGRATION.....EVEN LEGAL IMMIGRANTS....IN MY EXPERIENCE.

Originally Posted by Captainron

I went over to the Website that this article was posted on. It was called ProgressiveU. I expected general agreement with this writer, but surprisingly, in the "Related Papers" section found two articles expressing the oppositie view and a fair number of agreeing comments. Looks like about 50/50, even on ProgressiveU.

In a very unoffical, unscientific sample of the public, I think I am noticing that a number of women, who at first glance might seem to be "liberals" have become outspoken about securing our border and reversing the tide of illegal immigration. It has to be the motherly instinct--of wanting a safe and secure community for your own children.

We are winning!!

Yes. Even on "Latino Pride" sites, I have seen this. We are beating them even on their own turf. We are indeed winning.