Political officials, human rights advocates and others have plenty to say about immigration and the Northwest Detention Center, but most of it doesn't make any sense.
Mar 26, 2009
By Paul Schrag
The Weekly Volcano
Immigration policy in America is downright un-American. And confusing. Not just for people who come to America seeking asylum, work, or opportunity. For everybody. People arriving in America with hopes of becoming citizens face a dire challenge, say local immigrant rights advocates such as Colleen Waterhouse, who volunteers with legal advocacy group Court Watch.
“It’s an incredibly complicated process,” says Waterhouse. “Most people who were born here couldn’t pass the citizenship test.”
To put this all in perspective, imagine Emma Lazarus writing an update to The New Colossus, an almost universally recognized verse, part of which adorns the Statue of Liberty. You know, the simple verse about arriving in America when it was a haven for people from other countries.
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teaming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I will lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
That is, if they can get past the gunboats, border checkpoints, government contracted, gun-toting hillbillies in pickup trucks, random highway stops, aerial surveillance, and electric fences. Also, prepare the tired and poor to wade through a complex and varied series of applications if they want to be allowed to stay. The application process can take years to complete in many cases. That is, if there are any applications available. America has only so much room these days. Also, try and quell their fears about being imprisoned and exiled if their applications aren’t approved.
Some may be welcomed if they have a particular professional background or large amounts of money to invest.
Less-skilled workers might be allowed to enter temporarily if labor markets are short on less-skilled workers, but they should know that they’ll be booted out once they’re no longer needed.
For those seeking political asylum, we may not have room. Tell them to go ahead and try, but also tell them that the likelihood of being sent back to a country where they face execution, torture and/or death is significant.
For those who think they can just show up, think again. America now spends billions of dollars per year hunting down immigrants who slip through the net of security that chokes our borders.
For those who are desperate, the U.S. labor market will probably find some use for them. If they can find work, they can join the undocumented droves that collectively contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy and its tax base. Tell them that the construction, manufacturing and restaurant industries will probably make good use of them — documented or not. America needs to keep those labor costs down. Profit margins are shrinking. But you should probably warn them that at any moment their doors could be kicked in and they could be dragged away with black bags over their heads.
Honestly, huddled masses, it’s a crapshoot at best. The lamp went out. The golden door is now only slightly ajar. Welcome to America anyway.
That’s right. We’re going to talk about immigration some more. Apparently the private prison on the Tacoma Tideflats is still there. The Northwest Detention Center, currently expanding to make room for another 500 prisoners, opened the thousand-bed version in 2004 with strong support from city of Tacoma officials. It’s a way station for undocumented immigrants from Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and other states. The facility is one of hundreds, and its owners are cashing in on a federal effort called Operation End Game, which aims to deport all undocumented immigrants from the United States by 2012. It’s part of one of the largest police operations in U.S. history.
http://www.weeklyvolcano.com/2009-03-26/cover/3583/
