Immigrant
paranoia runs rampant
Crossing the Mexican-American border is
only a prelude to the further difficulties
that Latino immigrants have to experience
in the United States. Once immigrants arrive
in the United States, a number of problems
surface. However, the most severe are the
raids that are conducted by the Immigration
and Naturalization Services.
The INS stages the raids by first receiving
information on an employer of immigrant
workers. Then the INS agents go to the location
and are in a uniform that any person would
mistake as if they were about to engage
in warfare. The INS agents block off all
the possible exits and begin the raid. They
hunt down Latino immigrant workers like
rabbits, shackle them with their steel handcuffs,
put them into a confined space in the back
of a van and ultimately transport the immigrants
back to their country of citizenship.
The INS conducts a raid, without even pondering
why Latinos come to the United States, or
without realizing that the person they just
transported back may have a wife, husband,
son, daughter or parents living in the United
States. INS raids are an excuse to blame
immigrant workers whenever the United States
experiences economic problems. Furthermore,
raids are an obvious reflection of the xenophobia
that a significant portion of United States
obtains.
Raids are infrequently reported in newspapers
or on television. When they are reported,
the information is very poor, lacking facts
and only documenting the number of workers
arrested.
The truth is there is a huge economic disparity
between the United Stated and Mexico. Therefore,
as long there is a demand for jobs in the
United States, undocumented workers will
continue to come. Latino workers have become
the epitome of the notion of supply and
demand.
The Mexican-American television journalist,
Jorge Ramos, effectively describes the relationship
between the United States and immigrant
workers in his book “The Other Face of America,”.
Ramos writes, “When the United States needs
workers, the undocumented immigrant is lured
and tolerated. When he is not needed, however,
the United States tries to throw him out,
just like a disposable object.”
In short, victims of raids have their lives
stripped from them and flushed down the
toilet. So, if immigrants do come back to
the United States, they have to start all
over again. I would predict many do come
back. Reason being is that if a person earns
two to five dollars a day working in Mexico,
and can earn the same wage in only and hour
by working in the United States, then it
is not too hard to assume which country
a person would rather work in. However,
the INS seems not to take that into consideration
and opts to just deport the immigrants blinded
by the traumas it feeds to immigrant workers.
Solving the immigration ‘problem’ is impossible.
As long as there is a demand for work in
the United States, and shortage of jobs
in countries south of the border, immigrants
will continue to come. No matter how many
border patrols are on the job, or how high
the United States builds its border walls,
immigrants will continue to find ways to
cross the border.
Blaming immigration on the employers that
are hiring immigrants is useless. We can
only blame the economic system that governs
the world. I know this may be hard to swallow
after the horrible attacks of Sept.11, but
an alternative on tackling the immigration
‘problem’ is accepting the fact that our
country is changing. Instead of denying
the change and trying to halt the movement
by conducting raids, society should embrace
it and realize that immigrant workers are
contributing to the U.S. economy.
Oscar Montealegre is a journalism major
at Cal State Long Beach.
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