Thread: I Can See Mexico From My House: Why I Support SB 1070

I Can See Mexico From My House: Why I Support SB 1070
April 26, 2010
* By Danielle Chavez

My name is Danielle Adriana Chavez. I grew up in south Texas on the border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas. I can actually see Mexico from my house. I am Hispanic of Mexican and Spanish origin, and I support SB 1070.

Before you assume I'm a crazy racist and start shouting insults at me from the other side of the computer screen, read my argument for supporting the law.

I am Hispanic. My dad's side of the family all immigrated here-legally-at one point or another. I am of Israeli heritage, Jewish on my mother's side of the family. My grandmother immigrated to the United States mere decades ago when she was near my age. She came to this country legally. I am a child of extremely mixed heritage. I am anything but racist. My family came over here legally. Everyone else's should too.

SB 1070 is not about targeting Hispanics or Jews or Filipinos or any one specific ethnic group. SB 1070 is about enforcing the idea that illegal immigration is just that: illegal.

For those of you that do not support SB 1070, have you actually read it?

"Requires a reasonable attempt to be made to determine the immigration status of a person during any legitimate contact made by an official or agency of the state or a county, city, town or political subdivision (political subdivision) if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S."

One can only assume that "legitimate contact" refers to being pulled over or stopped by the police for already doing something illegal. And reasonable suspicion probably refers to, oh, failure to provide valid identification...?

No one is going to get stopped on the street for "looking Hispanic" or speaking Spanish.

And if I wake up tomorrow and do get stopped on the street and asked to show my ID, I will be more than happy to oblige. As a citizen and a reaper of the benefits of this country, it is my responsibility to follow the laws enacted by state and federal legislatures. When you travel into Mexico, you are required to show your passport. Why should we not require identification when tables are turned the other way around?

I also feel the need to rebuttal against some of the ridiculous comments I've heard since the bill has passed.

"Hitler required people that looked Jewish to show their documents. We're going to become Nazi Germany!!!"

My family was IN the Holocaust. In fact, I am missing chunks of my family tree because of that horrific event. The difference between my ancestors and illegal aliens is that my great great grandparents were legal residents of the countries they occupied. No one is insisting on a search on anyone with a Hispanic last name or brown skin.

"Don't speak Spanish! You'll get arrested!"

What do you think an illegal immigrant is? I was particularly offended by this comment because an entire side of my family speaks Spanish on a regular basis. My father's first language was Spanish. Spanish is a well-known language in this country. Comments such as this one are more racist than the actual bill-not that the bill is racist.

And nowhere in the bill can the words "Hispanic," "Latino," "Chicano," "Spanish," or "Mexican" be found. So tell me, why does everyone assume only Hispanics will be targeted?

As a resident of a border town in deep south Texas, I have seen immigration first-hand--both legal and illegal. I witnessed close friends being notified that their paperwork finally went through and they were now citizens of our great nation. Watching someone gain citizenship into this country is a beautiful thing to experience. I have heard stories from Mexican immigrants who have said they would never even consider dual-citizenship because their heart and their allegiance belongs to the United States and the United States only.

I have also seen my friends' cleaning ladies disappeared week after week after not being able to re-enter the country, and I have seen hoards of students denied funding for college because, despite their lack of financial security, they were never properly documented and therefore, ineligible for financial aid.

I have also grownup hearing and reading stories about mothers coming over from Mexico just to have all their children on American soil-making these "anchor babies" eligible for all the benefits that are paid for by citizens' tax dollars. Mothers feed off of their children's benefits and live in fear of being deported.

Enforcing immigration laws isn't about racial profiling or kicking out people whose paperwork didn't go through the system. Enforcing immigration laws is about keeping people safe.

In addition to stories about cleaning ladies, lack of college funding, and anchor babies, I cannot even estimate the number of news stories I have seen and read that show just why being a legal citizen of this country is so necessary.

Years ago, I was watching our local evening news. A family appeared on the screen with their faces blurred out. One of the women was holding a little girl in her arms and appeared distressed. The translation given by the reporter said that the family had lost their other little girl. Because they were undocumented immigrants, they could not go to the police for help.

Because this family had not sent in their paperwork and legally immigrated into the county, they were missing a child-a baby girl-and could not ask the authorities for help for fear of being deported.

SB 1070 should send a positive message out to the citizens of our nation, as well as the rest of the world. Immigrating to this country legally is important. Immigrate legally and you can reap all the benefits of this great country.

Other nations in the world require passports for entry. In fact, people argued FOR the health care bill because "all the other countries are doing it." All the other countries, I'm sure, support legal immigration and frown upon entering their borders without the proper documentation-so why not support this law if "all the other countries are doing it" as well?

I do support further immigration reform. It should be easier to immigrate into this country legally, but using difficulty as an excuse to trespassing America's borders doesn't cut it.

Enforcing the idea that all citizens and residents of this country be documented ensures that everyone's wants and needs are accounted for. Being a legal immigrant and a citizen of this country guarantees you a vote and a voice in our nation. Isn't this something that everyone in America should strive for? Isn't this what makes us the great democracy the rest of the world sees us as?

I am a loud and proud Latina, but if mis padres came here legally, so can yours.


http://oneoldvet.com/

http://texasgopvote.com

Yes another "Hispanic" legal immigrant steps forward. I'll bet Obama and the Democrats don't get this family's votes in November.

Keep pandering to "minorities" and trying to divide this country Obama. The more you and the Democrats divide the stronger we unite.

I love the "oneoldvet" link!

I live in El Paso, Texas. No doubt everyone has heard what is happening here and with our "sister city" Juarez. I have lived here all my life....51 years. I thought I would live here forever but not anymore. The minute we are able to financially to so....we're leaving. El Paso is no longer in Texas or the United States it seems. We apparently now live in Mexico and that is something we never signed up for. THOUSANDS of Mexican citizens have run to El Paso and they have basically taken over. English doesn't seem to really be the primary language here anymore. Everything in our local society revolves around "Mexican". We're at the point now where we almost can't even buy groceries that either aren't made in Mexico or are Mexican oriented. I am bilingual and always have been but I'm an Anglo. When I was growing up and going to school, Spanish was mandatory for the first six years. I am married to a Mexican American who was born here. Our three children, because of their Hispanic surname were automatically placed in the Bilingual classes every year in elementary school and we had to fight to have them removed. You see....the Bilingual program gets all the funding and the more kids in those classes, the more money the school gets. The Bilingual program is a total joke. Those kids don't really learn English, their language is more "Spanglish". I was a bilingual tutor for a 2nd grade class and I saw first hand that the teachers almost always spoke in Spanish to those kids and that extended to even outside the school. I quit that job when I was reprimanded for speaking English. When our oldest son went to school for the first year, it just so happened that the school in our district was comprised of all Hispanics. The people in the office didn't even speak English. He was tormented and abused by the Hispanic kids so I asked the district to transfer him to another school that was nearby but not in our official district. My request was denied because my reason was deemed to be "prejudiced". I am not a prejudiced person at all but I do resent the illegals that now dominate our city. Not because of their ethnicity or race but because of their appalling behavior. They seem to be professional whiners about their "rights" in our country. They are people who are out to scam the system for whatever they can get. They have complete disdain for Anglos and let us know. The don't care one bean about doing anything right or the legal way and they all seem to get away with it. They could care less about the American Way, what they are really doing is taking over our country to turn it into a pseudo Mexico. What I really can't understand is why they can bitch and protest about their rights in our country but apparently do absolutely nothing to make things right in their own country. Mexico is the way it is because they do nothing to stop what is happening. They are using all that violence and corruption as an excuse to give for coming here. I know people who live in Juarez and when I talk to them about the things that are going on there....they act like it's not happening and they don't even seem to care what is happening. All they care about is coming to the USA and hooking up to whatever they can get. Why do they have to come to the US? Why can't they simply move to other parts of Mexico that aren't as horrible as Juarez or other places that are controlled by corruption, criminals and cartels? The truth is....they don't want to make the effort.
All of these people who are protesting what is happening in Arizona and protesting about what Americans want to do about illegal immigration are themselves either illegals, former illegals who managed to get amnesty or are legals that have relatives and friends who are here illegally and that includes people who protest that are members of our own government.
It is those people who continue to insist that it's actually discrimination and racial bashing. If they weren't those that I have described...then they wouldn't be protesting. What I want to know is this.....why is Hispanic "THE" ethnic group? I don't see a lot of other immigrants, legal or illegal doing all this protesting. Why is it that every where you go things are in English and Spanish and not in all the other languages? Here in El Paso the bilingual classes in the schools means SPANISH. There are lots of other groups here that don't speak English or Spanish but their kids aren't placed in the bilingual classes, they're mainstreamed into the English only classes. We tried to put our kids in Headstart programs so that they could start school earlier only to learn that to qualify you must be at the low income level and or, non-English speaking but that only applies to SPANISH speakers. We have very high property taxes because we get to pay for all the freebies these people get. The illegals have no problem hooking up to the freebies and having anchor babies because the people that are in charge of those government offices are also illegals or former illegals. I cannot and have not been able to get a job and at this point in time, I feel sure that it's because I am Anglo. Speaking Spanish should be a plus for me to get a job but apparently not. I'm tired of hearing those cliches about "cheap Mexican Labor" and how they don't get paid well and are abused. That is a lie. Those people make more than I have ever made. I would be more than happy to pick fruit, be a maid or whatever else those jobs are but the truth is....I am not hired or even considered. Like I said....whenever it is possible we will be leaving this hell hole. I'm sick to death of these people. Not because they are Hispanic but because they are system cheaters, they are slobs, they have not morals and they are rude. I don't care what your race or ethnicity is...if you're not going to play by the rules of society and follow the laws of our country, I don't want you here.

Welcome elpasoborn! I know exactly how you feel. I worked in the schools and saw the gimme gimme attitude of the illegals and their supporters.

THANK YOU MAYDAY! It's very refreshing to be able to air my opinions and read those of others where it actually matters when it comes to this fight.

My oldest son lives in New Jersey and I went to visit him a couple of years ago. I was absolutely shocked and awed by the fact that I saw no Mexican people there. Not to mention that their stores were actually clean, neat and organized. The only time you see that here in El Paso is if it's a really high end place. We used to like to go out and eat at various places but not anymore. The trouble with those people is that they live and die to eat and shop. Every restaurant that has anything remotely close to "all you can eat" or a buffet is crammed packed. Their kids are allowed to touch all the food making our stomachs churn at the thought. They run around screaming and playing and the managers of the places do nothing. The bargain grocery places like Walmart are packed like a Sardine can because those people take their entire family with them when they go anywhere. Moms, dads, aunt's uncles, cousins and of course they all have a zillion children. They don't give a damn what their children do. The stores are trashed because they do it. They have no clue what a trash can is...they just throw their trash anywhere. I've seen mothers who throw dirty diapers under their car because they're too lazy to walk to the can that's a few feet away. Really, there is no end to the things that I could say about what we endure on a daily basis. I can't tell you how amusing it is for me to listen to them make remarks about me in Spanish not knowing that I can understand every word they are saying. I let them go on and on and then I'll turn around and in Spanish say something about it. Their mouths drop open. Like it's totally beyond the possibility that I can actually speak their language. I'd forgotten to mention before that Mexican Americans....people who have lived in the US all their lives legally or immigrated legally, don't like those people either and are equally appalled by their abuse of government assistance and they are just as disgusted by what is happening in our country. Another thing we object to is that they are not trying to do things the American way...they run their businesses and their lives and homes just exactly as they would in Mexico....in a very sub-standard way. They don't care about Health laws, public safety laws, etc. they do everything the "cheap" way. What really ticks me off too is that they pretend to live in Mexico....they have property there, but live here. They drive with Mexican plates on their cars and they don't have to pay sales tax in the United States! They buy tons of things in bulk, don't pay the sales tax and then take that stuff back across the border and resell it in Mexico. Really, they have a scam operation for just about everything. And because El Paso is the "sister city", Mexican students who go to our local university get the luxury of paying in-state tuition but if any of us have lived here for years and years and then live out of state for a year or more and then move back, we have to pay out of state tuition unless we have been living back here for more than a year. None of this would happen for any foreigners in Mexico. Just check out their very strict and intimidating laws concerning immigration legal or illegal to THEIR country.

I also lived in El Paso for some four years and know exactly what you're talking about and feel for you.
Even here in the Vegas area I had a friend tell me just recently that he wasn't hired because he wasn't bilingual/spanish speaker. That is B.S.
There's much more that I can say but it has mostly been covered by your thoughtful posting.

I know how you feel elpasoborn. It's like that where I am, too.

I can't tell you how amusing it is for me to listen to them make remarks about me in Spanish not knowing that I can understand every word they are saying. I let them go on and on and then I'll turn around and in Spanish say something about it. Their mouths drop open. Like it's totally beyond the possibility that I can actually speak their language.

I do the same thing.

What a great post, as well as some nice replies. I moved from Detroit to Chula Vista, CA, and I agree with what all of you are saying. Sometimes I can't even order food because the restaurant worker doesn't speak English. This is especially prevalent when I am near the San Ysidro port of entry. I don't go to the McDonald's down there anymore because they greet you at the drive-thru in Spanish. Even though I speak decent Spanish, I refuse to be greeted in that language.

Originally Posted by vegasvic

I also lived in El Paso for some four years and know exactly what you're talking about and feel for you.
Even here in the Vegas area I had a friend tell me just recently that he wasn't hired because he wasn't bilingual/spanish speaker. That is B.S.
There's much more that I can say but it has mostly been covered by your thoughtful posting.

Yes vegasvic your right...same thing happened to my friend here in Vegas she doesn't speak spanish and they told she didn't get the job because of that..things are getting way out of hand....this is America!!!! We speak English here.....my friend has been out of work for a year!!!!

Kathyet