Illegal Immigration Final Parenthesis.docx

1、Illegal Immigration Final ParenthesisMichelle EbyProfessor HurstENG 3133 Apr. 2009Crossing the LineThe agents were very careful. If they alarmed the workers, panic would break out and people would run from the lines. The company wouldnt get their product out for the day. So quietly, one by one, comp

2、any supervisors pulled the fated workers off the lines. The workers, bemused, put down their equipment and followed to a room in which the agents waited, ready to put them in handcuffs and transport them to detention areas far from their homes. To keep people from becoming suspicious, other workers

3、were called randomly for other reasons and then sent back to the lines. It was all done very carefully. No one figured out what was going on until people didnt come back. Sounds like something that took place in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union doesnt it? But no, this true story took place in the Un

4、ited States, at the Smithfield Foods pork slaughterhouse in Tar Heel, North Carolina (Bacon 12-13). The workers being pulled off the lines were illegal Latino immigrants who had been turned in by their supervisors to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), or what the workers call la migra

5、. They were sent to jails as far away as Georgia.Illegal immigration is a complicated topic and one that inspires very little neutrality. Most people have an automatic negative reaction, which is completely natural. We dont like to think of our borders being invaded by a flood of foreigners out to “

6、steal” our jobs or overpopulate our already overpopulated areas. Even the language we use reflects this reaction. Prefacing anything with the word “illegal” is unlikely to generate positive emotions. I do not aim to disagree with these concerned people; I do, however, wish to maintain that illegal i

7、mmigration is a far more complex issue than many people realize and that most of our solutions thus far have, if anything, done more harm than good.We hear a lot about the threat of illegal immigration and the Border Patrol from the United States point of view, so, for the sake of perspective, lets

8、look at the Latin-American side of the issue.Poverty runs rampant in southern Mexico, particularly in the state of Oaxaca, from which a surprisingly large percentage of the immigrants come. Globalization has hit this farming state hard. Its primary product is corn, but the United States also grows c

9、orn and does so with far more efficiency and success than its southern neighbor. Since the North American Free Trade Agreement, The United States has been selling its cheaper corn to Mexico, thus leaving very little market for Oaxaca and other corn-growing Mexican states (Bacon 25).Moreover, it isnt

10、 just the corn farmers who are suffering. Even people completely unrelated to the farming profession, like teachers, experience grave poverty. The average teacher earns $220 (2200 pesos) every two weeks, much of which goes toward purchasing things like chalk and pencils and curriculum for their stud

11、ents (as the teacher is expected to purchase these things out of pocket). If the teachers protest, or strike for better wages, the government persecutes them (Bacon 27), regardless of the fact that Mexicos Constitution guarantees “el derecho de asociarse o reunirse pacficamente con cualquier objeto

12、lcito” (Constitucin Art. 9o) or the right to associate or assemble peacefully with any lawful objective.For the people of Oaxaca and many other areas in Mexico, Central America, and South America, migration is not simply a matter of better opportunityit is a matter of survival. There simply is not e

13、nough money or food where they live. And honestly, to them, working illegally in the United States doesnt seem like a big deal. Most of these desperate immigrants are not looking to commit crimes or work the system to get free money. They only want to work, perhaps find some field or factory where t

14、hey can earn more in a day than they would earn in a week back in Mexico, even at below minimum wage. It likely doesnt even occur to them that they are stealing jobs, and most cant figure out why the U.S. government is so against them. If they do think about it, theyre likely, if anything, to think

15、theyre doing America a favor by working for less than everyone else. An article written by the Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles points out that, since immigrant workers are paid less than the natives at all levels of education and knowledge and are still equally productive, they contribute si

16、gnificantly to the U.S. economy (specifically the California economy during a specific time period, according to the article) (Osuna 928). Being more informed about the U.S. economy than the average Mexican, he does recognize and acknowledge that the immigrants taking low-paying jobs can be a bit of

17、 a problem for low-skilled native workers in areas of high immigration, but he doesnt see how it has a negative effect on the economy overall (Osuna 929).Moreover, the United States has always been portrayed as the land of opportunity, where the streets are paved in gold and everyone is well-fed and

18、 comfortable. One likely would not consider it a serious crime to keep loose change dropped by a millionaire, especially if one is desperate for money. The immigrants know it is a crime, of course, but they have their families to think of, the future of their children to provide for, and in their mi

19、nds, crossing a border and doing legitimate work for less pay than everyone else could not possibly cause trouble for a rich country like los Estados Unidos. It is more a game than anything elseget past la migra and youre home free (or, more accurately, free from home). The extremes they go to in or

20、der to do so are a measure of their desperation. Interestingly, our heightened border security has had very little effect on the level of illegal immigration, and virtually none on how often the immigrants are apprehended before crossing (Cornelius fig. 5). This is because fighting illegal immigrati

21、on is like fighting the Borg on Star Trek. For non-Trekkie readers, the Borg are aliens who, for reasons far too complicated to take time to explain, have an almost endless capacity to adapt to weapons used against them, thus rendering said weapons ineffective. The protagonists have to continuously

22、update their battle gear in a never-ending cycle. When we implement new methods to stop immigrants, they find new ways of getting around our methods. A perfect example of this phenomenon is the fence that is currently being built along the Texas border, described in a recent ABC News report. It does

23、 virtually nothing. Immigrants climb over it or come under it or cut holes in it (Stossel par. 12-13). What good is a fence if you can cut holes in it? Even where the fence is impenetrable, immigrants still find ways around it. They can cross at an area that isnt fenced, of which there are many, or

24、swim around in the ocean or the Rio Grande, a practice from which the old term “wetback” originated. Even if they are caught and deported, they will keep coming back until they succeed. They can also enter legally with visitor permits or tourist visas and simply overstay their welcome. Records show

25、that almost half of all illegal immigrants, and about a quarter of those from Mexico and Central America, enter by this method (“Modes” par. 5).However, our heightened border security has made the trek across the border much more risky for illegal immigrants. They are just as eager and willing to cr

26、oss as they always were, perhaps more so as economic hardship spreads throughout the world; however, the trip is now far more expensive and far more dangerous. Years ago, if you wanted to migrate illegally from Mexico to America, and wanted your passage to be fairly risk-free, you would hire a smugg

27、ler, or coyote. These days, you are insane not to hire a coyote (Cornelius par. 11). The business of actually being a coyote has also changed and become more organized, and prices have skyrocketed. In the last ten years, the price to hire a coyote has gone from about $750 to nearly $2000 (Cornelius

28、fig.10), both because the process is more expensive and because their services are in higher demand. On the upside (for the immigrants, at least), using a coyote almost guarantees your success in getting past la migra (Cornelius par. 13).However, la migra is not the only thing the immigrants have to

29、 get past. With so many urban areas being constantly patrolled and/or walled off by the INS, immigrants often have to travel through areas where the land itself is against them. Temperatures in the Sonora desert can reach the triple digits, and areas where water can be found are few and far between

30、(not to mention the fact that the Border Patrol typically watches these areas in order to catch thirsty immigrants Urrea 91). The Devils Highway tells the story of a group of twenty-six men from Mexico who tried to cross the desert and got lost. Twelve survived (Urrea, inside front cover).But what o

31、f those who do get through?Many people point to Americas historical tendency to welcome with open arms people from all over the world, especially those coming from impossible situations. After all, the symbol of our country, the Statue of Liberty, reads,Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled mas

32、ses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.I lift my lamp beside the golden door.These people argue that we have a responsibility as a fortunate country to aid those who are less fortunate. I agree with them, at least in prin

33、ciple. The problem is more that we do not actually have very much to offer the tired and poor, aside from handouts, which is not what most of them want. They want jobs, and we have few to give them. Thus, regardless of the desperation and determination of these starving and impoverished Latin Americans, the United States is