http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0331-25.htm
Published on Friday, March 31, 2006 by TruthDig
Immigration 101 for Beginners and Non-Texans
by Molly Ivins
In 1983, I was a judge at the Terlingua Chili Cookoff, and my memory
of the events may not be perfect—for example, for years I’ve been claiming
Jimmy Carter was president at the time, but that’s the kind of detail one
often loses track of in Terlingua.
Anyway, it was ’83 or some year right around there when we held The
Fence climbing contest. See, people talked about building The Fence back
then, too. The Fence along the Mexican border. To keep Them out.
At the time, the proposal was quite specific—a 17-foot cyclone fence
with bob wire at the top. So a test fence was built at Terlingua, and the
First-Ever Terlingua Memorial Over, Under or Through Mexican Fence Climbing
Contest took place. Prize: a case of Lone Star beer. Winning time: 30
seconds.
I tell this story to make the one single point about the border and
immigration we know to be true: The Fence will not work. No fence will work.
The Great darn Wall of China will not work. Do not build a fence. It will
not work. They will come anyway. Over, under or through.
Some of you think a fence will work because Israel has one. Israel is
a very small country. Anyone who says a fence can fix this problem is a
demagogue and an ass.
Numero Two-o, should you actually want to stop Mexicans and OTMs
(other than Mexicans) from coming to the United States, here is how to do
it: Find an illegal worker at a large corporation. This is not
difficult—brooms and mops are big tipoffs. Then put the CEO of that
corporation in prison for two or more years for violating the law against
hiring illegal workers.
Got it? You can also imprison the corporate official who actually
hired the illegal and, just to make sure, put some Betty Sue
Billups—housewife, preferably one with blond hair in a flip—in the joint for
a two-year stretch for hiring a Mexican gardener. Thus Americans are
reminded that the law says it is illegal to hire illegal workers and that
anyone who hires one is responsible for verifying whether or not his or her
papers are in order. If you get fooled and one slips by you, too bad, you go
to jail anyway. When there are no jobs for illegal workers, they do not
come. Got it?
Of course, this has been proposed before, because there is nothing new
in the immigration debate. As the current issue of Texas Monthly reminds us,
the old bracero program dating from World War II was actually amended in
1952 to pass the “Texas proviso,” shielding employers of illegal workers
from criminal penalties. They got the exemption because Texas growers flat
refused to pay the required bracero wage of 30 cents an hour. Instead of
punishing Texas growers for breaking the law, Congress rewarded them.
In 1986, the Reagan administration took a shot at immigration reform
and reinstated penalties on employers. They weren’t enforced worth a darn,
of course. In 2004, only three American companies were threatened with fines
for hiring illegal workers. Doesn’t work if you don’t enforce it.
This brings us to the great Republican divide on the issue.
Conservatives, in general, are anti-immigrant for the same reasons they have
always been anti-immigrant—a proud tradition in our nation of immigrants
going back to the days of the Founders, when Ben Franklin thought we were
going to be overrun by Germans. But Business likes illegal workers. The
Chamber of Commerce lobbies for them. It’s lobbying now for a new bracero
program. What a bonanza for Bidness.
Old-fashioned anti-immigrant prejudice always brings out some
old-fashioned racists. This time around, they have started claiming that
Mexicans can’t assimilate. A sillier idea I’ve never heard. Why don’t they
come to Texas and meet up with Lars Gonzales, Erin Rodriguez and Bubba at
the bowling alley. They can drink some Lone Star, listen to some conjunto
and chill.
Racists seem obsessed by the idea that illegal workers—the
hardest-working, poorest people in America—are somehow getting away with
something, sneaking goodies that should be for Americans. You can always
avoid this problem by having no social services. This is the refreshing
Texas model, and it works a treat.
Aren’t y’all grateful that we’re down here doing exactly nothing for
the people of our state, legal or illegal? Think what a terrible message it
would send if you swapped Texas with Vermont, and they all got healthcare.
In Texas, we never worry about illegals taking advantage of social benefits
provided by our taxpayers. Incredibly clever, no?
One nice thing about the benefit of long experience with la frontera
is that we in Texas don’t have to run around getting all hysterical about
immigrants. The border is porous. When you want cheap labor, you open it up;
when you don’t, you shut it down. It works to our benefit—it always has.
Molly Ivins is the former editor of the liberal monthly The Texas
Observer. She is the bestselling author of several books including Who Let
the Dogs In?
© 2006 Creators Syndicate
***
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lizbeth Mateo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, March 31, 2006 10:15 PM
Subject: RE: [lacollectivenetwork] Re: [scaf] Riverside walk outs, rubber
bullets, Tear gas, y mas...
I am happy to see that students are awakening, looking at their
surroundings, and identifying the issues that affect them directly and their
gente. I support student walkouts and any peaceful method of resistance, but
I do have concerns about what happened this past week. I think that blocking
freeways and causing trouble was not a very good strategy. Sure they made
their point, sure they got the attention of the media and government
officials, but in my opinion we don't need to cause trouble. The traffic in
this city is already crazy enough and blocking freeways, causing single
individials to get late to their jobs or wherever they had to go is not the
way to get anyones simpathy and support. We need all the support we can get,
and a living proof that people can make a point in a peaceful and orderly
manner are the more than half a million people that came together last
Saturday.
I support 100% that students are taking the initiative to address issues
that affect them, and it's now that we need to support them and most
importantly educate them. Unfortunatelly I feel like there were some
students that used these walked-outs as an excuse to miss school. I am not
in anyway discouraging nor critizising these students. I feel so proud of
them, but I also believe that they should get better informed. I have met a
lot of students who are "undocumented", but unfortunately have no idea or
have never heard about the "Dream Act" or the "Students Adjustment Act", nor
do they know that in the state of CA undocumented students can go to college
thanks to the AB540 Law. The key here is to EDUCATE the youth, because they
will eventually take matter into their own hands, in fact they already did.
EDUCATION is one of the keys to success.
I have encountered many people who tell me that I am wasting my time in
college because I'm learning what "they" want me to learn, and I always tell
these people, my friends, that yes I'm learning what they want me to learn
in school, but I'm also learning outside of school. I don't do everything by
the book, but I do believe that we should learn the laws and rules of this
country, so we can fight back. I have heard people saying that "one cannot
destroy the master with his own tools", but I believe that we can use some
of those tools to fight back. We must learn the laws of this country, know
our universal human rights, so we can challenge and prove that we know what
we're talking about, that we won't get scared that easily and that we will
fight back no matter what. Hopefully we would never use violence to fight
back.
My heart is with all the people who have take the initiative to fight back,
to take actions against this vicious and racist law. Our people made his/her
story last Saturday and continue to make it. We need to get informed and
educated. I have lately been away from any political or revolutionary
movement of resistance against this government because I needed to take care
of certain personal issues, but I now feel the need to do something for our
people. Please let know how I can help. I might not be able do to as much as
I wish but I will for sure try my best.
Thanks so much for all what you guys have done. My respects for all and each
of those 500,000 + people who peacefully got together last saturday, and to
the organizers of this megamarch. keep up the good work and please inform me
in which way I can help.
Love and peace!!!!
Lizbeth.
"Prefiero morir peleando de pie que vivir el resto de mi vida de rodillas"
"I'll rather die fighting on my feet than to live the rest of my life in my
knees" - Zapata
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
