Immigrants

by reenee, Santa Maria

Get ready boys and girls, the next 66 days until the November 7th election will bring out the best and worst in people as always. One of this year's hot button topics is of course, immigration. Even Janet Napolitano, governor of Arizona, has announced that she's heading to Mexico during her re-election bid. It's the issue.

Both sides have valid arguments. To be fair, it also has to be said that both sides have idiotic arguments.

Let's start with this one: "We need to deport the 11 million illegal immigrants that are already here."

Yeah, good luck with that one.

How about this one? "Let's grant amnesty to all of them and allow them to become citizens."

That one isn't going to fly either.

It's obvious that something has to be done. It's also obvious that the nitwits in power aren't going to do anything. Perhaps the borders can be made more secure, but how would that help this country if Mexico is not doing anything to help their citizens? There are people living there without things that we take for granted. You know, simple things like running water inside of the house or a toilet, or perhaps electricity.

Most of us don't think about these conveniences since we have a decent roof over our heads, instead of cardboard or tar paper. The people that you see among us have already been through the most brutal of journeys just to labor in our agricultural fields. They are not here to make people angry, they are here to fill a need that no one else will. There are extended families living in less than desirable conditions in order to survive. Cultural differences aside, they all are not the sloppy and dirty and lacking in manners that so many say they are. Whether we like to admit it or not, the sloppy and dirty and lacking in manners type are in every ethinicity and socio-economic group on this planet.

The immigration issues that people are arguing over are not new. While working for the Jackson County Education District in Medford, Oregon, in the 80s, I met many, many immigrant families. They were hard working decent people who were there to harvest the fruit that you see beautifully packaged by Harry & David. I found family after family living in small shacks with smudge pots as heaters. Forget running water. If they were lucky, there was a sprinkler nearby.

I'd like to believe that the conditions for these workers have improved.

Now, the immigration proponents feel that marching in the streets again is going to make a difference to the lawmakers. Perhaps a few in Congress will try to appeal to this side, what with it being an election year, but in the end, nothing will be done, again. It's a complex issue and there are too many dodo birds in Congress, that we put there by the way, protecting their own special interests to tackle something this huge. Look at what happened when Alan Simpson, the former Senator from Wyoming tried to do something in the 80s. The only thing that really took off with any success back then was the hugely profitable industry that sprang up to make forged passports and forged green cards.

Meanwhile, immigrants from Mexico and further south will continue their attempt to enter this country at greater and greater peril to themselves. Let's face it, immigration has been an ongoing problem in this country since Leif Erickson and Christopher Columbus came ashore.