A Day Without Immigrants- April 10, 2006 - Page 2

[ChasingPeace]

Originally Posted by ihathi

The bottom line is that there is no legal means by which poor, undereducated latin americans can get work visas in the U.S. (much less citizenship). And yet there have always been jobs for them here.

For decades, we have had administrations that pay lip-service to "securing our southern border," but then fail to enforce any laws that would keep employers from taking advantage of the undocumented immigrant's labor. (I read somewhere that President Bush's personal chef came here illegally...) Some want to blame these immigrants for settling here, but the fact is that they have been [I]allowed[I] to settle for decades now. And imagine: if you had to choose between living in extreme povery in Guatemala or working in a job in L.A. that could support you and your whole extended family, what would you choose?

The following is from a letter written by Cardinal Archibishop Roger Mahony of L.A. (published in the NY Times on March 22):

"The unspoken truth of the immigration debate is that at the same time our nation benefits economically from the presence of undocumented workers, we turn a blind eye when they are exploited by employers. They work in industries that are vital to our economy yet they have little legal protection and no opportunity to contribute fully to our nation... While we gladly accept their taxes and sweat, we do not acknowledge or uphold their basic labor rights..."

Well said! I'd also like to point out: 1) to Tinas3muskateers, the immigration laws have become much harsher since your father came here. It was much easier to legally come to the US prior to 1986, and became more difficult in the mid-1990s, 2) legal immigration is expensive. Check out the filing fees: http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/index.htm
3) immigration laws are designed to exclude the poor.

[Danelle78]

Originally Posted by ChasingPeace

Well said! I'd also like to point out: 1) to Tinas3muskateers, the immigration laws have become much harsher since your father came here. It was much easier to legally come to the US prior to 1986, and became more difficult in the mid-1990s, 2) legal immigration is expensive. Check out the filing fees: http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/index.htm
3) immigration laws are designed to exclude the poor.

:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me
Emma Lazarus, New York City, 1883
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/LIBE...zaruspoem.html

Well, that was 1883, should we add: "Thanks for the work, now go home?"

[oetien]

Originally Posted by ChasingPeace

Well said! I'd also like to point out: 1) to Tinas3muskateers, the immigration laws have become much harsher since your father came here. It was much easier to legally come to the US prior to 1986, and became more difficult in the mid-1990s, 2) legal immigration is expensive. Check out the filing fees: http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/index.htm
3) immigration laws are designed to exclude the poor.

: ITA!

[Deirdre]

Thanks so much for posting this information!

[Mariposa]

my DH and DD are marching in our local Day of Action. my DH came here illegally. his brothers are here illegally, own cars, own houses, pay taxes and work hard. me and DD2 didn't go because she is so small and it is quite warm out.

i don't know what the answer is, but we have to do something about the people already here. they should have built a huge wall all along the border YEARS ago if they really didn't want to deal with this. they didn't.

i can see both sides of this debate, but treating people that came here illegally as felons is not the answer. sure, some ARE felons, but the majority just want a better life. who can blame them?

[Mariposa]

just wanted to add. legal immigration is hard. the paperwork, the fees, just dealing with the way that some immigration officers treat you is difficult. my H wanted to just give up many times. we applied in 1998, didn't get an interview until 2001, then it took them almost 5 years to finally get him his greencard. they sent his file to the wrong place and we went over and over trying to get it and they could never seem to find it. many were rude and clearly on a powertrip. (especially the woman who interviewed us).

i am a u.s. citizen and of course speak english, i also know my rights. i can't imagine how intimidating it must be to deal with them and not have a good command of english language or be afraid of them. heck, i was afraid of them sometimes.

[Mariposa]

Originally Posted by ihathi

The bottom line is that there is no legal means by which poor, undereducated latin americans can get work visas in the U.S. (much less citizenship). And yet there have always been jobs for them here.

For decades, we have had administrations that pay lip-service to "securing our southern border," but then fail to enforce any laws that would keep employers from taking advantage of the undocumented immigrant's labor. (I read somewhere that President Bush's personal chef came here illegally...) Some want to blame these immigrants for settling here, but the fact is that they have been [I]allowed[I] to settle for decades now. And imagine: if you had to choose between living in extreme povery in Guatemala or working in a job in L.A. that could support you and your whole extended family, what would you choose?

The following is from a letter written by Cardinal Archibishop Roger Mahony of L.A. (published in the NY Times on March 22):

"The unspoken truth of the immigration debate is that at the same time our nation benefits economically from the presence of undocumented workers, we turn a blind eye when they are exploited by employers. They work in industries that are vital to our economy yet they have little legal protection and no opportunity to contribute fully to our nation... While we gladly accept their taxes and sweat, we do not acknowledge or uphold their basic labor rights..."

very true. i don't even think most of the american people realize what would happen if one day all the undocumented workers just didn't show up for work. the housekeeping staff at a hospital my friend works at didn't show up today to go to the march, the nurses were freaked out. (heaven forbid they empty some trash cans and help out, and yes i am a nurse, i know how busy it is, but i have emptied trashes in patient's rooms many a time.)

i don't even think most american realize that they probably know many undocumented immigrants and don't even know they are undocumented! maybe this will open some eyes.

[oetien]

Originally Posted by Mariposa

i don't even think most american realize that they probably know many undocumented immigrants and don't even know they are undocumented! maybe this will open some eyes.

so true!

[ihathi]

Originally Posted by Mariposa

i don't even think most american realize that they probably know many undocumented immigrants and don't even know they are undocumented! maybe this will open some eyes.

My own uncle has been sending anti-immigrant propaganda to my family members through e-mail. This uncle gets along well with DH and knows that my immediate family adores him. We can only imagine that it never occurred to him that DH doesn't have papers. What would he think if he learned that DH has been here illegally for 17 years?

I dread learning that it wouldn't change his perspective at all to know our status. But I know that this is where the process of educating the American public has to begin...