Last 301 - US Immigration laws (Click for More)
This week we saw the ratification by US president George W. Bush of a Bill that will allow for the building of a fence along the US - Mexico Border. Now the interesting thing is that this controversial policy towards illegal immigration is sparking reactions among mainstream media and the latin community inside and outside the US (myself included).
last301
For starters, I was able to watch an episode of the TV hit "Ugly Betty" some days ago where Betty's dad (Ignacio Suarez) confessed his status as an illegal immigrant in the US. This may very well be fiction, but surely reflects the reality of many immigrant families living in the US... The reality of a working community in a country that does not reckognize their rights or status as full members society.
Having said this I want to advocate for immigrant rights here and cannot belive the stance some US citizens are taking towards the issue, not to mention the hipocricy of US politicians... An economy such as the American one NEEDS the influx of this kind of cheap labour, and it just seems absurd to me that some people don't even realize how important this is for them, especially when the average US citizen does not want to make the "dirty work" that this society demands. Here is where the poor immigant is willing to do the type of work the US citizen does not want to do. If you cut out the immigrant, who is going to clean up the bathrooms, drive the taxis, and sell the Big Macs? Makes me sick to think about it and then see how ungrateful the American society can be when they don't even acknowledge how important the immigrant worker is for them... Even if you stop and think for a moment, the US citizen is himself an immigrant as well, be it 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th generation. The USA is, has been, and always will be a country of immigrants...
Finally, I want to share this video parody made on the subject a couple of days ago by some Colombian video bloggers. Part of it is in Spanish, but the important juice is in English, so you will be able to get it... or at least I hope so, jeje :) Check them out, very funny stuff indeed, and makes you wonder about the ethic and moral validity of US policies Re: immigrant rights... I smell a great deal of hipocricy in US policies when I see such arrogant meassures, but hey! that in reality nothing new, right? One more reason to love the Republicans! (Irony).
Good night everyone,
RuizSKBO
1 comment:
That video was absolutely hilarious. Thanks for sharing. Ya, I think the unilingual would still get it.
It's absurd that there would be such an attitude toward immigration. Not only is it "cheap labour" as you put it, but a way of adding/mixing/learning about culture and language. So will Spanish stop being taught in the schools? What's the point of learning it if immigration laws are to be tighter, and there won't be anyone to speak it with? If a law is created against immigration, what message are they in turn passing along to the children they are educating about other cultures or about their relationship to their neighbours down south.
I'm not an immigrant myself, but a child of two immigrants from two different corners of the world. And I agree that almost all of us have an immigrant heritage. Clearly I understand the importance to immigration. Half my family left Africa as refugees, and it's little wonder why the US wasn't selected as their destination. Sure we may be talking about a difference between illegal and legal immigration, but often illegal immigration is because of desperation of some sort, or because the laws are too absurd for it to ever be legal anyway. What would have happened if there was a fence built around all countries?
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