Illegal Immigration a political cache turned Pandora's Box
Isabel P. Ball
April 10, 2006
Illegal Immigration is an on again off again, more than anything else, a political issue. After all, it was the politicians and their lopsided policies, using the illegal immigrants as a political cache that had helped create, burgeon this monster size of humanity from various places of the world, 56 percent from Mexico, to huddle in the US over a period of time. Here, to settle like the frontiersmen of the young America, they are claiming a stake for rights for residency, better yet, an instant citizenship, aggressively using the clout of their humungous numbers. On the opposing side, American citizens wants no more of the illegal aliens, demanding total closure of the borders, and apprehend them like felons to ship back to their homes of origin.
Illegal immigrants in America have always been tagged as harbingers of everything negative to happen to the American society and economy. They have been said to be usurping the jobs from the citizens, contributing to the slump in minimum wage, to being a burden on social services that are funded by the tax paying citizens. The influx of the third world poor, characterizing the bulk of the illegal immigrants, is said to create a new class of poor status quo in the country, without doubt is unpleasant.
More and more jobs are lost to the immigrants only because, from the midst, grew a new breed of business operated by the astute and marginal profiteers who sustain the working force mainly on hiring illegal workers. Starving for income, illegal workers would work for no benefits and below the minimum wages having been from countries where wages have been incomparably in the dumps. From this, comes a popular argument espoused by Bush and McCain, that America’s economy would be severely affected from the displacement caused by deportations of illegal immigrants. These politicians don’t see the issue as simply a matter of business people skirting the law for gains of their own self only.
Another contention is a sense of law and parity. America is a country of laws, and just about anyone caught violating it is penalized or punished accordingly. As it is, America has its doors always opened to legal immigrants coming through the legal channel of having to face an immigration officer at the entry posts, and be documented with the immigration. This process is long and tedious, as this writer can attest. 20 long years was what it took for my two brothers for their petition papers to be acted upon by the Visa Center. Had I preferred the easy way of bringing them into the country, the illegal way, they could have been here way back. But the anxiety over a consciousness of having committed illegality was a strong deterrent to us.
Though America was a country of immigrants, that long held mindset has its limit, and needs to be debunked by the Mexican sentimentalists and by other illegals. An attempt to stem illegal immigration was tested in 1986, when Republican President Ronald Reagan granted amnesty to 3.6 million illegal aliens in the U.S. It was decidedly the most sensible solution to abating and putting a handle on the increasing problem of illegal immigration from across the border. The motivation, though acclaimed as humanitarian, had some political overtones of a subtle creation of political base and indebtedness to emanate from the group, a source of votes, if you will, to rely on to favor the Republicans in every election. Antonio Gonzalez’, executive director of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, which is dedicated to increasing Latino political involvement has seemed to concur "The way you get youth to vote is to have a sort of revolution, an evil enemy to fight," he said. "That has just been handed to us by [the Republicans]. We ought to send them a thank-you letter."
In the political podiums, “political gains” can be heard hurled at the Republicans, recently from the Democratic Chair Howard Dean.
Massive numbers at 12 million, since it has been in the frontline news, illegal immigration has been topics of heated debates in TV and radio circuits, in the congress halls lending credence to the urgency in tackling a prodigious problem confronting America nowadays. This was highlighted with a high priority meeting between Bush, Fox, and with a Canadian diplomat, Mr. Martin in Cancun, Mexico emphatic on the issues of terrorism. Terrorists are using Mexico and Canada as entry points into the US. More than coincidental, the conference is occurring at the judgment phase of the 9/11 Terrorist Zacarias Mossaui. Equally, critical issues relate to illegal drugs, thugs and gangsters from all the over the world sowing horrific anarchy into the US, and the poor peoples of the world lured to America’s freedom and opportunity.
As the topic heats up, so do the protests and demonstrations. A deluge of humanity are flooding the freeways of some major cities in the country, in Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, in Los Angeles, Dallas, and in Maryland, with more planned demonstrations to flood the streets in other cities. Concernedly, "It is offensive and outrageous for people who have broken the law to demand to be treated equally," said Rep. John Culberson, a Houston Republican who said federal authorities should have deployed buses to round up illegal immigrants at the marches. "It's as if we had mass protests of trespassers after they're caught, demanding the same rights as homeowners."
Bush, a proponent of the visitors visa and Fox, the foxy Mexican leader who could not dismount his high horse Spanish countenance, as always, is cynical and sore at the treatment of his Mexican constituents in the US. Seething with indignation, just like his citizens, of a mindset of a California that once belonged to Mexico. A mutual acrimony much like the one felt by India and Pakistan over Kashmir, has characterized the feeling between the two friends or foe, depending on the political climate.
In the fray of contentions, the Mexicans are reviving the issue of colonization. In essence, they are being desperately immature, ingrate, and outright stupid. Past is past, and the way to patch up and reconcile is an acceptance that in a conquest battle the pattern of history has been that the powerful conquers and colonizes the weak. History has had its course, and into the annals it has been deemed that the southwest was appended to America over a win from the Spanish conquistadors and its revolutionary descendants.
Behind the seething determination by the Mexicans to re-conquer the southwest is a strategy much like that of the Trojan Horse in the person of the illegals. A seeming political ploy to grow in massive numbers, then overtake the present system and reclaim the lost territories back to them, and entire America, possibly?
The renewed focus on illegal immigration brings to light hosts of problems now made visible from past experiences, consequence of some political bad decisions. An amnesty granted to illegal immigrants by the former President Ronald Reagan, in my estimate, backfired, and now the illegals have ballooned to almost 12 million lurking in the shadows. Now being threatened, they are there standing at the forefront of the battle for their rights, questionably. Instead of abating, illegals continue to exploit the American humanitarian hearts, and passing through the inefficacious sealed borders, by the hundred thousands a day, with hopes that another amnesty will come along and accommodate them into the mainstream, just as easily as a signature from the President of the United States. Meantime, modern day minutemen and women have joined in voluntarily to patrol and monitor the borders causing more irritation to the illegal Mexicans.
American sentiments have changed. The huge number of illegal comprising 12% of the entire U.S. population is indeed worrisome, considering the government provided assistances ranging from Medicaid, food, and free elementary and intermediate education. I recall an acquaintance, a former INS worker at the border, disgusts at the parody of the American policy to capture illegals, then feed them at the McDonald and also provide them physical check up before being returned to Mexico. He resigned extremely displeased that his tax money is being disrespected. One US Senator says illegal immigration’s future impact on social security is one big scary scenario that has to be factored into the controversy. With fertility rates high among the illegal immigrants, that alone should pose a threatening stance of a Mexican domination in the near future that could turn the tide to Mexicans/Latinos dominating the political, social, and economic landscape of America.
A Mexican/Latino attitude and behavior, in power, I fear, would create a values convulsion here in America. Heathen and undisciplined, these illegals are demanding to right a wrong, insisting through protests and demonstrations, that they have not violated the sanctity of legal entry procedure, and they detest tag name felons. Just watch, such behavior is now on display around the nation.
Change that is sure to occur in the offing saddens me, an immigrant, fascinated with the grandeur and marvel of America, carved and chiseled by the humanists minds but rigidly reasonable forefathers. By the loss of reason from peoples shall be the beginning of civilization's crumble.
Illegal immigrants in America have always been tagged as harbingers of everything negative to happen to the American society and economy. They have been said to be usurping the jobs from the citizens, contributing to the slump in minimum wage, to being a burden on social services that are funded by the tax paying citizens. The influx of the third world poor, characterizing the bulk of the illegal immigrants, is said to create a new class of poor status quo in the country, without doubt is unpleasant.
More and more jobs are lost to the immigrants only because, from the midst, grew a new breed of business operated by the astute and marginal profiteers who sustain the working force mainly on hiring illegal workers. Starving for income, illegal workers would work for no benefits and below the minimum wages having been from countries where wages have been incomparably in the dumps. From this, comes a popular argument espoused by Bush and McCain, that America’s economy would be severely affected from the displacement caused by deportations of illegal immigrants. These politicians don’t see the issue as simply a matter of business people skirting the law for gains of their own self only.
Another contention is a sense of law and parity. America is a country of laws, and just about anyone caught violating it is penalized or punished accordingly. As it is, America has its doors always opened to legal immigrants coming through the legal channel of having to face an immigration officer at the entry posts, and be documented with the immigration. This process is long and tedious, as this writer can attest. 20 long years was what it took for my two brothers for their petition papers to be acted upon by the Visa Center. Had I preferred the easy way of bringing them into the country, the illegal way, they could have been here way back. But the anxiety over a consciousness of having committed illegality was a strong deterrent to us.
Though America was a country of immigrants, that long held mindset has its limit, and needs to be debunked by the Mexican sentimentalists and by other illegals. An attempt to stem illegal immigration was tested in 1986, when Republican President Ronald Reagan granted amnesty to 3.6 million illegal aliens in the U.S. It was decidedly the most sensible solution to abating and putting a handle on the increasing problem of illegal immigration from across the border. The motivation, though acclaimed as humanitarian, had some political overtones of a subtle creation of political base and indebtedness to emanate from the group, a source of votes, if you will, to rely on to favor the Republicans in every election. Antonio Gonzalez’, executive director of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, which is dedicated to increasing Latino political involvement has seemed to concur "The way you get youth to vote is to have a sort of revolution, an evil enemy to fight," he said. "That has just been handed to us by [the Republicans]. We ought to send them a thank-you letter."
In the political podiums, “political gains” can be heard hurled at the Republicans, recently from the Democratic Chair Howard Dean.
Massive numbers at 12 million, since it has been in the frontline news, illegal immigration has been topics of heated debates in TV and radio circuits, in the congress halls lending credence to the urgency in tackling a prodigious problem confronting America nowadays. This was highlighted with a high priority meeting between Bush, Fox, and with a Canadian diplomat, Mr. Martin in Cancun, Mexico emphatic on the issues of terrorism. Terrorists are using Mexico and Canada as entry points into the US. More than coincidental, the conference is occurring at the judgment phase of the 9/11 Terrorist Zacarias Mossaui. Equally, critical issues relate to illegal drugs, thugs and gangsters from all the over the world sowing horrific anarchy into the US, and the poor peoples of the world lured to America’s freedom and opportunity.
As the topic heats up, so do the protests and demonstrations. A deluge of humanity are flooding the freeways of some major cities in the country, in Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, in Los Angeles, Dallas, and in Maryland, with more planned demonstrations to flood the streets in other cities. Concernedly, "It is offensive and outrageous for people who have broken the law to demand to be treated equally," said Rep. John Culberson, a Houston Republican who said federal authorities should have deployed buses to round up illegal immigrants at the marches. "It's as if we had mass protests of trespassers after they're caught, demanding the same rights as homeowners."
Bush, a proponent of the visitors visa and Fox, the foxy Mexican leader who could not dismount his high horse Spanish countenance, as always, is cynical and sore at the treatment of his Mexican constituents in the US. Seething with indignation, just like his citizens, of a mindset of a California that once belonged to Mexico. A mutual acrimony much like the one felt by India and Pakistan over Kashmir, has characterized the feeling between the two friends or foe, depending on the political climate.
In the fray of contentions, the Mexicans are reviving the issue of colonization. In essence, they are being desperately immature, ingrate, and outright stupid. Past is past, and the way to patch up and reconcile is an acceptance that in a conquest battle the pattern of history has been that the powerful conquers and colonizes the weak. History has had its course, and into the annals it has been deemed that the southwest was appended to America over a win from the Spanish conquistadors and its revolutionary descendants.
Behind the seething determination by the Mexicans to re-conquer the southwest is a strategy much like that of the Trojan Horse in the person of the illegals. A seeming political ploy to grow in massive numbers, then overtake the present system and reclaim the lost territories back to them, and entire America, possibly?
The renewed focus on illegal immigration brings to light hosts of problems now made visible from past experiences, consequence of some political bad decisions. An amnesty granted to illegal immigrants by the former President Ronald Reagan, in my estimate, backfired, and now the illegals have ballooned to almost 12 million lurking in the shadows. Now being threatened, they are there standing at the forefront of the battle for their rights, questionably. Instead of abating, illegals continue to exploit the American humanitarian hearts, and passing through the inefficacious sealed borders, by the hundred thousands a day, with hopes that another amnesty will come along and accommodate them into the mainstream, just as easily as a signature from the President of the United States. Meantime, modern day minutemen and women have joined in voluntarily to patrol and monitor the borders causing more irritation to the illegal Mexicans.
American sentiments have changed. The huge number of illegal comprising 12% of the entire U.S. population is indeed worrisome, considering the government provided assistances ranging from Medicaid, food, and free elementary and intermediate education. I recall an acquaintance, a former INS worker at the border, disgusts at the parody of the American policy to capture illegals, then feed them at the McDonald and also provide them physical check up before being returned to Mexico. He resigned extremely displeased that his tax money is being disrespected. One US Senator says illegal immigration’s future impact on social security is one big scary scenario that has to be factored into the controversy. With fertility rates high among the illegal immigrants, that alone should pose a threatening stance of a Mexican domination in the near future that could turn the tide to Mexicans/Latinos dominating the political, social, and economic landscape of America.
A Mexican/Latino attitude and behavior, in power, I fear, would create a values convulsion here in America. Heathen and undisciplined, these illegals are demanding to right a wrong, insisting through protests and demonstrations, that they have not violated the sanctity of legal entry procedure, and they detest tag name felons. Just watch, such behavior is now on display around the nation.
Change that is sure to occur in the offing saddens me, an immigrant, fascinated with the grandeur and marvel of America, carved and chiseled by the humanists minds but rigidly reasonable forefathers. By the loss of reason from peoples shall be the beginning of civilization's crumble.
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