Turning immigration around
by Debbie Jordan
Phoenix Progressive Examiner
January 16, 2009
A dear friend in Texas recently noted that the Wyoming legislature is about to pass laws fashioned after the tough standards enacted by Oklahoma in 2007. They would prevent people in the target group, namely Hispanic immigrants, from receiving such state services as unemployment insurance and health services. Other parts of the law would make it a felony to aid or harbor anyone who is in the U.S. illegally.
Many people consider the stereotypical immigrant to be from Latin America. Wyoming doesn’t have the level of problems their southern neighbors do, but one co-sponsor of the bill, Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (R-Cheyenne) describes it as a pre-emptive measure, designed to prevent the state from becoming a haven for illegals.
On the other hand, as he has done for years, Roger Cardinal Mahoney of Los Angeles continues to emphasize the need to solve immigration in more humane fashion. He insists it’s one of the most important issues the new administration must address.
Many people are frustrated about the perceived cost of illegal immigrants to their local economy. What they don’t understand is how much these people actually contribute to the vitality, in both money and labor, of the areas in which they live and work. What’s more, the stereotypical image of an undocumented immigrant is a person from a Latin American country with a large family, including several American-born children.
Yet, the fact is, illegal aliens are just as likely to come from outside of Latin America. In fact, in the 1970s and ‘80s, a large percentage of the population of Ireland made their way into the U.S. and remained long past the expiration date of any documentation they might have had. But that was before the economic boom of the ‘90s that turned one of the poorest European countries into the nation that now has the greatest illegal alien problem in western Europe. That’s because so many poor people are sneaking into Eire illegally from other countries.
On the surface, one might assume this is an example of prosperity biting the newly rich country in the rear. But there’s another lesson here. People leave their homes when local jobs don’t pay enough for families to live, risking all to go to find better-paying jobs. The solution must be to do what was done in Ireland--all over the world!
The solution is to end poverty everywhere, not just in one place or another. I’ve been writing about that for years, in my columns, and now in my book, The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace. One of these days, perhaps my dream will become a reality. And when there’s no more poverty, there will be no more reason for people to sneak into countries illegally.
http://www.examiner.com/x-1892-Phoenix-Progressive-Examiner~y2009m1d16-Turning-immigration-around
