A controversial topic sure to incite many to name calling and some to blows. From the far left to the far right to the middle, immigration is a hot topic. As risk to the country's security increased, the requirements to be able to enter the US changed. I tend to lean conservatively on most topics, but on this topic I find myself in disagreement with many of the elected representatives. I think that is because of my life experiences. I wasn't raised in an area with a lot of cultural diversity, though as I grew older there was a dramatic increase in the number of latin, mostly mexican, families who moved to the area following the construction boom up to 2008. I had increased exposure to the culture, the talents, and even reverse discrimination. Yes it does exist. Many I came into contact with were honestly hard working people, who just wanted a better life. Yes, sometimes it was difficult, working in a healthcare field and being unable to communicate. I'll admit, on occasion I thought, you're in the US, learn the language. There were the occasional trouble makers, but proportionally no more than the "white majority". Then I had the opportunity to go to Central America. There I was immersed in a culture so different than what I had been used to, I didn't hardly speak the language and I was trying, but it took time, and effort, and patience from all involved. I had many resources to help me learn the language too. First of all that I was able to read, and that I had lots of books. And I had patient people who corrected me when I messed up, and understood me or translated for me when I didn't always express myself exactly how I needed to. I also saw first hand what it really means to be poor. Growing up my family were "poor". We didn't travel, we drove old cars, we didn't even really have electronics. In fact my family didn't get internet in the house until 2012. Yes 2012. But, the first time I walked into a house made of plastic sheeting and garbage strapped over bamboo poles, and perched on one of two wobbly metal frame stools that had been salvaged from the garbage and "refurbished" with some plastic cord to make a seat, and was offered a cup of corn coffee from a pot sitting at the edge of an oil barrel stove ingeniously rigged so the elderly grandma wouldn't have to be crouched over an open flame at ground level, I knew this is poor. I met families that live 8 people in a one room hut, with walls made up of blankets or plastic that are raised in the day to make the open space needed. I watched children, with stomaches bloated with hunger pick up the sometimes bruised, sometimes fermenting or moldy, fallen fruit from trees and pick it over to be able to have something in their bellies. I saw the gangs, that recruit these small children with promises of food, money, and the promise that they won't be forced to live like they had. I saw them become sucked into these groups out of desperation to be able to have something better than what they had. And I understood. These people just want an opportunity. An opportunity to be able to better their lives without having to result to the violence of gang life. I understand how a mother can send her child on a trecherous journey across many countries to go and live, even if it is illegally, in another country. It is a combination of hope, and desperation. Those mothers know that if their children stay there in that situation they are likely to be recruited into gangs, killed, or imprisioned. Those mothers hope that the odds improve by sending their babies to a family member who has found a better life. Where there is the possibility that they will be recruited to a gang, killed, or imprisioned, but it is not a certainty.
I think back on the history of the US. The US is made of people who are decendents of those who came to the US fleeing violence, fleeing poverty, fleeing discrimination, hoping for a better life. Hoping for opportunities. Is that not what the Statue of Liberty says? Engraven into her pedestal is a poem written by a Jewish American poet.
"“The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus
"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!"” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!"” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Now are there issues with immigration? Absolutely. Is there a legal system? Well yes, but have you ever tried to go through the legal system? As a 6+ generation American citizen, who married a foreign national, I'm in agreement that the system is broken, inefficient, tedious, and frustrating.
I don't believe the answer to our immigration system is "throw 'em back" like they are fish that we caught and didn't want. They are coming. South of our border is a war. A war so fierce that in desperation parents send their children thousands of miles with the hope that far away they will find a better life. There is an issue. And until we address the issue, and make efforts to resolve the issue it won't get better. They are looking toward the US and still believe what our forefathers believed, that this is the land of opportunity. That ingenuity and entrepreneur skills can thrive in this country. I believe it too.
