Alliance of White Anti-Racists Everywhere – Los Angeles
American Dream
Stop Racist Hate in Immigration Debate
01 year ago
We need to stop the racist rhetoric coded in the immigration debate.
Did you see the latest from conservative George Will? In his recent syndicated column, he argues that not all children born on American soil are really citizens. For example, if the parents are undocumented, then their baby born in the U.S.A. shouldn’t be a citizen. Will seems particularly concerned about “illegal immigrant mothers” who are giving birth in public hospitals in Los Angeles.
When I was sitting in history class in school, one thing my teachers kept telling me was how unique our country was. We are a nation of immigrants. Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free!
I don’t remember my teachers telling me that it mattered who the masses’ parents were.
In fact, people coming from Europe often were escaping societies that focused too much on ancestry. In the United States, you can pursue the American Dream, no matter who your parents are.
Of course, we do have laws that regulate immigration, and we are in the middle of a debate about comprehensive immigration reform. But why should we punish the children for the decisions their parents made? If a child was born in this country, why should she have fewer legal rights just because of her ancestry?
That kind of thinking sounds like racism to me.
This argument about who should be citizens connects with many people’s concern that the complexion of America is changing. They seem to be stressed that someday soon, by the year 2050, there will be no clear ethnic/racial majority in our country. They are worried that more and more babies of color are being born and growing up as citizens in the United States.
It reminds me of the crazy talk at the recent Tea Party convention when Rep. Tancredo (R-Colo.) said that the reason Pres. Obama was elected was because of failed policies to regulate who votes. He said that Obama supporters were “people who could not even spell the word ‘vote’ or say it in English.” Then they even raised questions about Pres. Obama’s citizenship. Some extreme groups seem obsessed with the question about whether someone is really a citizen or not.
I find these discussions about citizenship to be coded racism. If you are not white, then your citizenship seems to be in question.
But in the United States, we are better than that.
One of Will’s main arguments is that the writers of the 14th amendment to the Constitution did not consider the problem of illegal immigration “because in 1868 there were and never had been any illegal immigrants because no law ever had restricted immigration.”
How might some American Indians and others respond to this statement?
Consider the Trail of Tears (1838-39) when thousands of Cherokee Indians died as Pres. Jackson moved them from their land. For some, maybe the white settlers (USA citizens) were the original illegal immigrants.
Yes, let’s invite different points of view into the immigration debate, but let’s keep out hate.
It is Time for Humane Immigration Reform
01 year ago
It is time to address the United States’ broken immigration system. Through comprehensive immigration reform many in the United States could benefit. The current immigration system weakens our economy and betrays human values. For many, the American dream remains elusive because our immigration system is broken. But, although reform is needed, pushing for legislative reformisn ’t the only way we can help our local immigrant communities. The most important thing we can do is help change lives, and no change is greater than the opportunity to apply for citizenship.
Comprehensive immigration reform would level the playing field for all workers by providing crackdowns on those who are manipulating our economy. For most, living here without documents places them in danger. Some of these immigrants work long hours in jobs that most of us could not stand to do day after one day – jobs that demand manual labor in harsh working conditions.
Providing 12 million undocumented immigrants a path to legalization would end unfair job competition, lift wages and increase tax revenue, whereas deporting 12 million undocumented immigrants would cost the United States dearly.
These costs are seen when some families of deported parents, who maybe previously never received public assistance from local agencies (that already face large cuts in funding); now have to request it because of the absence of a spouse. If the deported parent would have been allowed to stay in the United States to raise and support that family both financially and emotionally, the family would be liable to have more independent success. Nobody dreams of starting a family to later have that family taken from them.
It is a proven fact that children, our future, do better when they have a strong connection with both parents. A strong bond with one’s parents has long-term community benefits.
With few days left to shape the immigration dialogue across this great country, it is time for all of us to be involved in discussions with our communities and our leaders. Let’s make humane immigration reform possible in this country.
The Disappeared In America
02 years ago
Across the U.S. hundreds of thousands of good people have disappeared without warning; some say it happened in the blink of an eye. No, it is not the Divine Rapture. People have disappeared because they believed in the American dream. More than 369,000 people who believed in the dream and worked toward making the dream become a reality are being held in detention facilities for following it.
Recently, there has been a focus on how our broken immigration system is turning the American dream into a nightmare for those who are working to make it their own. As the New Year approached, Jean Montrevil, who worked not just to make the dream a reality for himself and his family but also for others, was snatched up when he appeared for his regular immigration check in. Jean Montrevil is an example of the American story that is a model of redemption. The type of story that Frank Capra made movies about and for which people shed tears. Montrevil paid his debt to society, with a three year stint in prison for a conviction in 1989. Since that time Montrevil has given back to the community and the country with hard work and dedication to the American dream.
There is also the case of Nurul Alam who gave all the people that he met kindness and joy by selling fruit and giving his heart. Suddenly, Alam was gone from his usual location on Park Avenue in New York City, leaving patrons and friends to wonder what had happened to him. These are just a couple of the cases taking place in cities around the country to thousands of people who are trying to make the American dream a reality for themselves and others in this country.
Many have suffered inhumane treatment while in U. S. custody. Family separation and the jailing of children were detailed in the New Yorker article, The Lost Children. Recent reports, such as the one by Human Rights Watch, US: Immigration Detention Neglects Health, have described the lack of concern for the health of those detained. Other reports detail the inappropriate treatment of people, held by order of the U.S. government, sometimes leading to death according to a NY Times article.
The government has turned to a policy of disappearing people that have been victimized by the broken immigration system in the U.S., a broken immigration system that criminalizes thoughts of or striving for the American dream. When did we decide that it was good that America should be mentioned in the same breath as Argentina, the Soviet Union, Iran, and others where people were routinely rounded up and disappeared?
While people are calling for reform of the detention system, let us not forget it is just one of the symptoms of a broken immigration system. Let us work to develop a just and humane immigration system that meets the ideals that we value as Americans. Let us work towards the ideals and values that are looked upon as the shining example of what we want nations of the world to be.