The Immigration Hot Potato - Part One
In light of the amount of information to cover, I'm making this a series until there is a resolution.
Immigration reform is not a luxury, it is a necessity. This country needs it now. We just simply cannot have illegal alien flowing in freely, working freely, being abused by employers, not knowing if they pay taxes, and not knowing the final net contribution they bring to the USA. And I'm talking illegal aliens of ALL nationalities NOT just illegals from Central and South America.
However, I still think senators need to wake up and secure our borders and enforce our current laws first. By borders I mean the South border and the North border, and stricter regulations on those who come by air and sea.
In the past week we saw massess of illegal aliens and pro-illegal alien groups march not requesting immigration reform, but rather demanding amnesty and rights. I think the attitude of demanding, of believing they were entitled to something, that veil of "USA owes us" was what people found insulting. The foreing flag outpour was a way of materializing the attitude; of making it tangible. The situation was made worse with the incidents in which the American flag was "attacked" or demeaned. And some people now think banning the American Flag is the solution.
Cries of Reconquista abounded, but people in general seem to forget that the term only applies to Mexicans. Yes they are the majority of the illegal alien population (and of the Hispanic population), but as has been said Hispanics are not one cohesive group. We have similarities - mainly we all speak Spanish (most of us; some still speak indigenous languages or portuguese) and we used to be mainly Catholic. Some of us don't even like the terms of Hispanic and/or Latino as they are constructed terms.
But we are NOT one people. Amongst our ranks are nations who are enemies of each other - Peru/Chile, Bolivia/Chile, Peru/Ecuador, Venezuela/Colombia, Mexico/Guatemala and so on. If we look at the history, we will see the conflicts among these nations and the negative sentiments still harbored today. Some of us are more pro-American than others, some of us assimilate better than others, yet that does not mean we have forgotten our heritage. This debate has not only divided the nation, but it has divided the legal immigrant community, and also the Hispanic population of the USA.
Few counter protests have happened, but it seems that the backlash over what has been identified as anti-Americanism is producing some demonstrations. Frankly, I think all against amnesty should be taking the streets and letting our senators know how we feel and think about this Hot Potato. They are worried about votes - immigrant votes when they should be worried about the Citizens votes that put them there in the first place.
Illegal immigration previous posts
To be continued tomorrow....
USA, Anti-American, Homeland Security, Immigration, Illegal Immigration, HR4437
Immigration reform is not a luxury, it is a necessity. This country needs it now. We just simply cannot have illegal alien flowing in freely, working freely, being abused by employers, not knowing if they pay taxes, and not knowing the final net contribution they bring to the USA. And I'm talking illegal aliens of ALL nationalities NOT just illegals from Central and South America.
However, I still think senators need to wake up and secure our borders and enforce our current laws first. By borders I mean the South border and the North border, and stricter regulations on those who come by air and sea.
In the past week we saw massess of illegal aliens and pro-illegal alien groups march not requesting immigration reform, but rather demanding amnesty and rights. I think the attitude of demanding, of believing they were entitled to something, that veil of "USA owes us" was what people found insulting. The foreing flag outpour was a way of materializing the attitude; of making it tangible. The situation was made worse with the incidents in which the American flag was "attacked" or demeaned. And some people now think banning the American Flag is the solution.
Cries of Reconquista abounded, but people in general seem to forget that the term only applies to Mexicans. Yes they are the majority of the illegal alien population (and of the Hispanic population), but as has been said Hispanics are not one cohesive group. We have similarities - mainly we all speak Spanish (most of us; some still speak indigenous languages or portuguese) and we used to be mainly Catholic. Some of us don't even like the terms of Hispanic and/or Latino as they are constructed terms.
But we are NOT one people. Amongst our ranks are nations who are enemies of each other - Peru/Chile, Bolivia/Chile, Peru/Ecuador, Venezuela/Colombia, Mexico/Guatemala and so on. If we look at the history, we will see the conflicts among these nations and the negative sentiments still harbored today. Some of us are more pro-American than others, some of us assimilate better than others, yet that does not mean we have forgotten our heritage. This debate has not only divided the nation, but it has divided the legal immigrant community, and also the Hispanic population of the USA.
Few counter protests have happened, but it seems that the backlash over what has been identified as anti-Americanism is producing some demonstrations. Frankly, I think all against amnesty should be taking the streets and letting our senators know how we feel and think about this Hot Potato. They are worried about votes - immigrant votes when they should be worried about the Citizens votes that put them there in the first place.
Illegal immigration previous posts
To be continued tomorrow....
USA, Anti-American, Homeland Security, Immigration, Illegal Immigration, HR4437
posted by La Ventanita at 5:57 PM
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