Why I Hate the Immigration Debate
by Felicia Tripp Folsom
Asian Reporter [Portland, Or.] 26 Jun 2007, 6. Ethnic NewsWatch (ENW). ProQuest. City College of San Francisco. 4 Oct. 2007 <http://www.proquest.com/>
Copyright Asian Reporter Jun 26, 2007

MY TURN
	
Last week I went to pick up my daughter from school and the first thing she said was, "Mommy, will Maria's mom go to jail for being Mexican?" I responded, "Huh?" She replied, "I heard that Maria's cousin's mom was at work and these bad people snatched her up and sent her to jail for being Mexican and I do not want Maria to lose her mommy because she is Mexican."
It is a sad day in America when my child thinks that being from a certain country will land you in jail.
This led me to think about being an immigrant, the immigration debate, and why I find this country at times so confusing. Let's put it out there. Immigration has occurred in record numbers during the past decade and will continue adding to the U.S. population and, more importantly, its workforce for years to come. It is also a fact that this country must resolve how immigration is regulated.
Every restaurant, warehouse, landscape, construction, agriculture, and childcare-related field has a huge immigrant population, workers who are both documented and undocumented. And we rely on these workers who pick, prepare and serve our food, wash our dishes, watch our children, and construct our houses and highways. These folks participate by contributing to our economy. There is no denying that immigration has impacted the workforce over the past decade, and our dependence on the immigrant worker has grown.
Let's not kid ourselves. Today, baby boomers are approaching retirement age while the generations that followed them have opted to have fewer children. The product of these two factors is an economy that faces a hard time finding enough workers to fill the jobs that are being created or that are being vacated by older workers. While productivity gains obtained through the use of technology can relieve some of the manpower needs in our highly developed economy, when it comes to service industries, the labor crunch is very real.
Last week we were all talking about the ICE raid at Del Monte and all I thought was, is this really necessary? What point was the government making when it took a bunch of people without regard for those they left behind - especially their children - and hauled them off to a detainment center? The big stink I hear is, "Well they are here on stolen Social security cards." And yes, it is wrong, but if you were poor and all you wanted to do was feed your family and create better economic opportunities, what would you do?
When rich people participate in illegal activity, albeit in a much more sophisticated way, people do not react with this sort of outcry. And yet California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger makes comments that encourage people to stop watching Spanish television and instead learn to speak English. This only adds fuel to fire. This is why I hate the immigration debate. I hate the immigration debate because it fails to take humanity into consideration, and has become more focused on race and socioeconomic background than anything else.
When we talk about immigration in this country, we turn our heads and fail to recognize all the benefits that immigrants contribute to our great Country. We choose to focus on the negative perceptions, and realities, associated with immigration. For God's sake we are all immigrants, with the exception of Native Americans. What is wrong with us? Why can't we come up with an amnesty program that allows people who are here without documentation to continue to work in labor-type jobs that result in family wage income and contribute to our economy? If you were an immigrant, what would you do to support and feed your family?
Our federal government needs to step up and support comprehensive immigration reform that takes into account humanity and our country's reliance on immigrant labor.
One day, when my daughter is picking up my grandchild, maybe this debate will finally be over.