Lately, our sheriff has come under some intense scrutiny because he has been asking citizens for their citizenship papers during patrols. The papers have been hilarious to me, because they keep quoting people as saying things like “I am afraid to go outside to take my children to school, because I am illegal.” And “He is racially profiling the Mexicans to find illegal Mexicans!” People are outraged. Not once has anyone followed up with the idea that 1. You might want to be a little afraid to go outside anyway, if you are illegal since, technically, you are breaking the law and can be deported at any time. 2. Putting your picture in the paper with the caption “illegal woman is afraid to go outside” will probably draw more suspicion to you than walking your kid to school. 3. We live 10 minutes from Mexico, and 99 percent of the population looks like they have some Hispanic heritage. You would be racially profiling to actively seek out and question someone who was NOT Latin. That being said, I want to put my feelings on immigration out in the interweb.
1. If you make it to the country you should be allowed to stay. Period. That is how we all got here. (Except for Red Kuulei, but anyway.) A few caveats: 1. You must register for citizenship, and you can’t be a dual citizen. If W can’t be a dual citizen, then nobody else can.
2. I don’t care if you learn English, but please don’t roll your eyes at me when I can’t speak your language. I won’t roll my eyes at you. And don’t expect the ballots and all of the other forms to be translated into a billion languages. That will cost WAY too much money, and wouldn’t you rather have decent schools than forms?
3. You can’t open a restaurant unless you have skills. Just because you are from another country does not make you a chef, and we have way too many crappy eateries as it is. Same with Nail Salons. You better have mad skills to bring to the plate; otherwise you are just wasting your money. That should be a part of the citizenship registration.
That is it. Idealistic, yes, but I don’t think it is too much to ask. If someone wants to come here badly enough, they will get here any way that they can. It is not even July, yet, and we have already been finding bodies in the desert, left by the coyotes. At least one undocumented person dies a week from the heat, or from the journey. We should let them come, sign up, and stay. A little more melting in our pot will do us good, I think.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
I lift my lamp beside the Gol-Den-Shorrre!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
6 comments:
Yet another example of how awesome your local paper is.
I like your rules.
"We" have been finding bodies? What... you and Jooj on a "let's identify the dessert botanicals" and fall upon a dead body? I say you deport back to Utah --- as much as I don't like the state.
I like the Melting Pot desserts.
I'm with you on the melting...we used to melt and what became of us when we mixed was simply interesting.
Now we all just clump together stubbornly in our designated corners (do pots have corners?) of the pot and hurl insults at one another. Not so yummy anymore.
Duh, Hen, I find dead migrants EVERYWHERE. They are like Starbucks.
Sugar--I am going to start mailing you articles. Above the fold the other day wa more breaking coverage of the way the busses have no air conditioning. Above the fold, front page.
CW--YOu are awesome. I am in love with your latest posts.
Amen. Amen. (and) AMEN. Especially on the crappy eateries part.
That was on the front page? No mention of the dozens of women that have disappeared in your valley only to turn up in the desert dead?
I don't know, but it seems to me that if you want to catch the guy(s) that are killing girls, maybe you ought to stop looking at the perils of public transport. Just my two centavos. Then again, amusement trumps justice, no?
Post a Comment