That’s what we always hear but it depends on a lot of things. Where you were born, did you get an education, did you work hard, and are you a member of a minority group? All of those things, and many others, figure into what opportunities might be offered.
If you happen to be among the 11.7 million illegal immigrants known to be in this country the opportunities so loudly touted are few and far between. Even the ridiculous advice of a former presidential nominee to “self deport” has gained some traction as Hispanics have been returning to their native countries finding nothing here that offers a better life than the home they fled with hope in their hearts.
There is more than a little interest in immigration reform and most of it is driven, not by humanitarian concerns, but by the politicians’ realization that election to public office is becoming increasingly difficult without the Hispanic vote.
The real mistakes that have led us to our current crisis do not fall to recent administrations or the Congress. It’s refreshing to realize that they are not to blame for everything. It happened a half century ago when the US-Mexican border was quite porous and our southern neighbors knew they could find jobs as migrant workers.
As difficult and underpaid as that work was, it was better than what they had at home and so they came. At first it was a trickle and then it became a torrent. The horror stories that have grown out of illegal immigration are legion and when goods and services, like medical care, began to be consumed by non-citizens everyone sat up and took notice.
It was particularly true in the southwest because of their proximity to the border. By the mid-1980s large metropolitan areas in the east began seeing more Hispanics and the intensity for immigration reform grew. Close the borders, build fences, send them to jail . . . all options that have been tried and failed.
Our new-found non-English speaking friends did not sit around doing nothing; they took jobs that Americans did not want. They opened lawn services, they worked in the building trades, the held the STOP-GO signs on highway construction, they became house painters, and many other low skill positions.
They are nearly all part time which means no benefits, but at least they worked. A small number brought with them criminal backgrounds and continued to ply their trade here, but most simply tried to get by.
Then the next tier of problems came: they began to have children. What were we to do with them? The question is only one of the many vexing issues that immigration reform must face.
If there were simple answers, they long since would have surfaced. In some ways it is comparable to the national debt: We know it’s there but let’s not do anything about it. Margaret Mitchell’s closing line in Gone With the Wind has proven prophetic: “I’ll think about that tomorrow.”
Well, friends and neighbors, tomorrow is here. We should not be punitive to those who have taken advantage of our legal laxity in border crossings but we must find a way to stem the mounting problem.
The immigrants, illegal or documented, have made an enormous contribution to our economy. We have taken advantage of them with underpayment and discrimination while expecting them to work for us. We owe them fairness, citizenship opportunities, and acceptance into the increasingly diverse fabric of America. Those with a felony-ridden past should be excluded and, if already here, deported. For everyone else, maybe we should give some thought to how to make the Land of Opportunity more than just an empty slogan.
This country was built on the backs of the immigrants. We owe our ancestors respect for their vision of what the United States could become and make it a continuing reality.
– Hayden Hollingsworth
