Utah- The immigration debate in Utah has become quite contentious as both sides square off again during this year’s legislative session. Much like the rest of country, immigration in Utah is characterized largely as a Hispanic issue. More precisely, it has become a Mexican issue. While proximity provides an advantage for Mexicans to get to the United States legally or illegally, the truth is, people continue to come to America from all over the world for essentially the same reasons that they have always come – for religious, economic and political freedom.
The best counter to the call to seal the borders, to lock them up, pack them up and ship them back, is the photography that was posted on my Facebook page this week showing what appears to be a group of Mexicans with placards protesting the whiteman’s illegal occupation of America.
My response is, “I blame the Native Americans for not having and enforcing a stringent Indians Only policy in 1492.” While the ‘little guys’ on both sides of the divide are trading insults, the deal was long sealed between the presidents of both nations. It’s called NAFTA. The US Chamber of Commerce champions the status quo to provide US corporations with cheap labor. “If all the Mexicans were sent packing, the price of lettuce would increase. Fruits will rot in fields and there will be no one to make your beds in hotels.” This statement confirms that all immigrants are not created equal. While the President and Congress lacks the will to fix the problem, states like Arizona and Utah play political football with what is constitutionally the responsibility of the federal government. In the mean time, what happens to the computer engineers from India or the nurses from the Philippines? Unless they married a US citizen, they remain at the back of the line while waiting more than ten years to be legalized.
To some, amnesty is an unpalatable word but it was President Ronald Reagan who supported the last amnesty program. The problem is, that was the amnesty to end all amnesty. Today, there are twice as many undocumented individuals in the United States than there were during the 1980s. Even if we make Mexico the 51st state as some suggest, there will be people from the rest of the world who will come to these shores. Brace yourselves; the next wave of immigrants will be the freedom loving people from Arab countries now in political tumult. We make distinctions and allowances for refugees. Perhaps, that’s because they are usually invited through an international process involving the United Nations. That’s an idea; let’s get even more politically correct. Illegal immigrants became the undocumented. Now make them all refugees. Problem solved.
Ozwald Balfour is a naturalized US citizen from Trinidad in the Caribbean. Balfour came to this country in 1975 before his 21st birthday. He earned a degree in International Communications – Media & International Politics from the University of Utah in 1984. Balfour is an independent media professional working in print, radio, TV and on-line distribution. He lives with his family in Utah.
The best counter to the call to seal the borders, to lock them up, pack them up and ship them back, is the photography that was posted on my Facebook page this week showing what appears to be a group of Mexicans with placards protesting the whiteman’s illegal occupation of America.
My response is, “I blame the Native Americans for not having and enforcing a stringent Indians Only policy in 1492.” While the ‘little guys’ on both sides of the divide are trading insults, the deal was long sealed between the presidents of both nations. It’s called NAFTA. The US Chamber of Commerce champions the status quo to provide US corporations with cheap labor. “If all the Mexicans were sent packing, the price of lettuce would increase. Fruits will rot in fields and there will be no one to make your beds in hotels.” This statement confirms that all immigrants are not created equal. While the President and Congress lacks the will to fix the problem, states like Arizona and Utah play political football with what is constitutionally the responsibility of the federal government. In the mean time, what happens to the computer engineers from India or the nurses from the Philippines? Unless they married a US citizen, they remain at the back of the line while waiting more than ten years to be legalized.
To some, amnesty is an unpalatable word but it was President Ronald Reagan who supported the last amnesty program. The problem is, that was the amnesty to end all amnesty. Today, there are twice as many undocumented individuals in the United States than there were during the 1980s. Even if we make Mexico the 51st state as some suggest, there will be people from the rest of the world who will come to these shores. Brace yourselves; the next wave of immigrants will be the freedom loving people from Arab countries now in political tumult. We make distinctions and allowances for refugees. Perhaps, that’s because they are usually invited through an international process involving the United Nations. That’s an idea; let’s get even more politically correct. Illegal immigrants became the undocumented. Now make them all refugees. Problem solved.
Ozwald Balfour is a naturalized US citizen from Trinidad in the Caribbean. Balfour came to this country in 1975 before his 21st birthday. He earned a degree in International Communications – Media & International Politics from the University of Utah in 1984. Balfour is an independent media professional working in print, radio, TV and on-line distribution. He lives with his family in Utah.
