What these people are demanding would be, at its essence, the equivalent of me sneaking across the border to France and then declaring that I -- because I pay taxes to the European Union on all goods and services I buy -- am now entitled to European Union and French citizenship.
The real problem here is not the United States or its immigration policies. The real problem here is Mexico, because obviously it's so bad there that millions of Mexicans are willing to brave miles of sun-scorched desert to get out. That is, the problem is not one of United States immigration, it's a problem of Mexican emmigration. As such it is just that -- Mexico's problem, not ours. The United States cannot afford to open up its borders, higher wages, and better living conditions to millions of Mexicans just to "be nice." It doesn't work that way.
So why isn't anyone calling for reform in Mexico? Better yet, why isn't Mexico working on its own problems? Simple -- why bother fixing the problems if your citizens are leaving by the millions anyway? It may sound harsh, but maybe the only way things will ever get better in Mexico is if the United States actually DOES lock up the border and not allow anyone else in.
And that's what I have to say about that.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
About Me
Matt's Twitter Feed
Flickr PhotoStream
www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from coffeewithrain. Make your own badge here.
Stuff You Really Should Check Out
Highly Effective Procrastination Tools
News to Read When It's Raining
Posts
Blog Archive
-
▼
2006
(323)
-
▼
April
(26)
- Right Wing Parade/Maisingers
- Unbelievable.
- Guess What I Did?
- Guten Morgen, heiße Liebe!
- Ugh.
- First Day Of School
- Relaxation
- Good Morning!
- Home Away From Home
- The Test
- If At First You Don't Succeed...Make A Last-Ditch ...
- Newbies
- Yup, It's Here.
- Easter
- VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
- Lazy Day
- Bureaucracy Exists In The States Too
- It Is Finished.
- So Close!
- Real Quick
- The (Un)romantic Rhine
- Here Goes Nothing
- Traveling with Grandparents Rocks
- Money Does, In Fact, Buy Happiness (Or At Least A ...
- Grueße aus Berlin
- Oh Man
-
▼
April
(26)
7 comments:
maybe the US should buy mexico. kind of like how people buy real estate and then fix it up and sell it for profit. mexico could be to the United States what a split level two-bedroom is to a real estate mogul. i'm just kidding, of course. ha. :-\
Your analogy about going to France is flawed, because these protests are aimed at providing citizenship to people who have been in the United States for many years already and who have jobs... that's emphasized throughout the article. I'll be very interested to see how things turn out on Monday... if successful, the daily flow of society will come to a screeching halt and people will realise how much of an integral role immigrants in the U.S. play.
Weren't we once illegal immigrants, too? I think the difference was that Mexicans are looking for jobs and just trying to integrate into society, but we basically just killed most of the natives living here when we arrived.
And if you are right and the problem DOES lie in Mexico, then I would suggest that everyone stop worrying about countries far away in the Middle East and start using that money to help our next-door neighbors, which will obviously also have a direct effect on life in the United States since Mexico is so close.
And that's what I have to say about that. :)
No, my analogy with France is not flawed, because that's exactly what these illegal immigrants do -- sneak across the border, get a job, thereby paying taxes, and now demanding amnesty. That does not entitle them to U.S. citizenship. I don't care how long they've been illegally residing in our country -- it doesn't mean they deserve citizenship.
The only thing that protest on Monday is going to prove -- if anything -- is that the United States has ignored the problem of illegal immigration far too long and allowed itself to become dependent on a force of illegal workers. It will emphasize the need to close the border.
Also, the notion of whether Mexicans are actually trying to actively "integrate into society" is HIGHLY debatable. I can think of several million cases in Arizona that would suggest otherwise. From my personal experience I see very, very few immigrants in Arizona assimilating into U.S. culture and society. Instead, they retain their own customs and most importantly their own language in the name of "preserving their own culture." I'm all for not forgetting your roots, but when you move to a foreign country you learn the new language and you use it. You don't see us walking around Germany expecting everyone to speak English to us.
I agree that more time and money should be spent on helping Mexico get its act together.
I agree with you Matthew.
I know I just don't get it, I mean(i am old) I a returning student here at Portland State, and I just don't get it, there been so many protests, I live downtown,one block from the college and a big protest is planned for monday, they think it will hurt our economy, but up north here they hate brown people, i know my childrens are indonesian-dutch and they get so much crap. the nothern state will feel nothing about this, it is just going to make racism worst for them. What a person to do.
"A study by Simmons Market Research found that 19% of the Hispanic population speak only Spanish while 9% speak only English, 55% have limited English proficiency and 17% are fully English-Spanish bilingual." (Source: Wikipedia)
Only 19% of Hispanic immigrants have no English skills. To me, that would suggest that the vast majority of Hispanic immigrants ARE trying to learn English and adapt to a new culture. And you have to consider the reasons WHY the other 19% can't speak English. Many immigrants are very poor and struggle just to find enough money to eat the smallest amount of food every day. I'd say that for them, paying for food is more important than paying for an English class. Let's be honest: in a country that's so xenophobic and monolingual, it just MAKES SENSE for them to learn English, just to survive. Any immigrant who is given a feasible way to do this DOES do it.
And even while they adapt their outside lives to live in the United States, I'm GLAD that they are trying to preserve their own valuable cultural customs and language at home. You do the same thing, Matt. Even though you speak German at the university, you come home to other American friends, speak English with them, and preserve certain American customs like Thanksgiving, for example. Don't blame them for doing the same thing.
I admit... actually providing full citizenship to them is a tricky question. But we should do SOMETHING. At least make it legal for them to work, provide them with government subsidized English courses, anything... just so they can stop hiding.
You're forgetting somewhat conveniently, John, that the study ALSO found that 55% of the Hispanic population has "limited" English skills. This means that NEARLY 75% OF THE HISPANIC POPULATION SURVEYED HERE HAS LIMITED OR NO ENGLISH SKILLS. And according to you, they've been in our country for quite some time, now haven't they? All this survey does is prove my point.
A further problem with this study is that there's no definition here of what "limited" means (do they just know a couple words, or can they form simple sentences?). I'm not going to argue with you about this particular aspect of the issue. I live in Arizona, and I run into many Hispanics EVERY DAY who barely speak a word of English. That's my experience, and I'm not going to debate statistics over this with you. It's a waste of my time and it's not conclusive.
I JUST wrote up there that I have NO PROBLEM with them preserving their culture. Yes, we do the same thing in our American circle of friends in that we speak English with each other and celebrate our American holidays. HOWEVER, at the same time, we have all also gone to great lengths to absorb the German way of life. One important thing to remember here as well is that we're only here for a year - we are visitors. We have not moved here with the intention of staying indefinitely. If I had done that and stayed for a good 10 years or so, I can guarantee you that at the end of those 10 years I would not only be speaking German fluently but would also no longer be celebrating Thanksgiving or other American holidays. That's what it means to assimilate. I don't see that same trend in my experience among the Hispanic population of Phoenix.
Post a Comment