Everywhere I go this week, folks are talking about the great immigration debate. My students, my colleagues, my friends — even strangers in Starbucks are animatedly weighing in on the recent demonstrations here in Los Angeles and the ongoing policy struggle in Washington.
I find that when I think about immigration, I have two equally powerful, emotional, visceral reactions. Naturally, these reactions contradict each other.
Reaction one is rooted in my sense of myself as (on my mother’s side) a sixth-generation Californian. All four of my maternal great-grandparents, and two of my great-great grandparents, were born in this state. Not many folks can say that. When my ancestors arrived here (for the Gold Rush, mostly), they found a state of perhaps a million people. When my mother was growing up, California had seven million; in my childhood, California had twenty — and today, we have thirty-six million.
My childhood was divided between our house in Carmel and a family ranch in the hills northeast of San Jose. For as long as I can remember, we’ve been making that two-hour drive between these two homes with some regularity. And I’ve watched as field after field has been covered with new houses; I’ve watched the cattle and farms of my childhood (and I’m only 38!) disappear beneath "Redwood Estates" or "Glendalough Ranches" or "Belleview Manor" or whatever godawful pretentious name the developers have bestowed on their ticky-tacky tract homes. (I grew up singing the "ticky-tacky boxes" song). My mother and my grandmother bemoaned the loss of the rural, bucolic, and (I suppose) privileged life they had known, and I grew up bemoaning it with them. In college, I studied the phenomenon of false nostalgia, and ruefully recognized myself as a first-rate practitioner thereof!
I’ve been a Sierra Club member for a long time. If there’s one "religion" my family shares, it’s a commitment to preserving the environment. Republicans and Democrats, Christians and Wiccans (I have three Wiccan cousins), we are all passionate "no-growth" types. I was raised on the vaguely misanthropic nature-worshipping poetry of Robinson Jeffers, and as a child and an adult, some of my happiest times were and are in the mountains or on the beaches of my native state — alone! I may be an extrovert, but this extrovert recharges himself in wildness.
So I look at the population growth, and my first reaction is "Dammit, we don’t need any more people! We need fewer Californians!" I want to close the borders not only to immigrants from abroad, but from elsewhere in the United States. When a drought comes again, as it will, where on earth will we get our water? What will happen to our state parks as population pressures grow and grow? What will happen to a way of life that even in my childhood I knew was vanishing?
So that’s reaction one. I think those thoughts for a while, and then another voice kicks in: "Hugo", I tell myself, "you’re a snob and an elitist. Your family got here first and stole more, and now you want to pull up the drawbridge. Besides, affluent whites such as yourself consume more and waste more than most poor migrant families do; I’m fairly confident that Hugo (even with his conservation efforts) produces more garbage per annum than your average undocumented laborer. "
Of course, as I think those thoughts, my faith starts to kick in. I ask myself the perennial question, "What Would Jesus Do?" I recall Deuteronomy on welcoming strangers. I think about the gospel of radical love that stretches beyond borders, and I end up overwhelmed with guilt for my initial xenophobia. Instead, I cry "Throw open the borders! Make all God’s children welcome! The Lord will provide (the water, the food, the freeways); we all have plenty, let’s share our abundance!" I launch into impassioned and self-satisfying rhetoric about the biblical imperative to love my neighbor (without checking his immigration status). I get drunk on a satisfying cocktail of white guilt and religious zeal, and next thing you know, I want to chant "si se puede" and march in the streets, hire the next day laborer I see — and when he’s through, I want to overpay him, hug him, and invite his family for dinner.
I share these two reactions not to be self-deprecating but to be candid about the deeply emotional and confused nature of my own feelings about immigration. Of course, I am capable of rising above both a reflexive nativism and a naive Christianity. I’m aware that saying "throw open the borders and welcome everyone, ’cause God will provide" is no more of a realistic solution than "build a really really big fence." As a person of faith, I can’t hide from serious policy issues behind either my beliefs or my fears, even though it is tempting to do so. It’s clear that we do need a sensible border policy, and it’s also clear that we have to a better job of addressing the root causes of migration. Building an economically healthy and truly democratic Latin America is the only way to cope with the problem long-term.
But charting a sensible middle-ground course is difficult. What is key, clearly, is that those of us who have emotional reactions to this issue — and in Southern California, who doesn’t? — must be willing to consider intelligent, thoughtful compromises. We must be honest with ourselves about our real fears, and be honest too about the long-term costs of the very solutions we propose. And as we do this, we must be very, very kind to each other.
Hugo,
I totally understand what you saying. My parents came to this country in the early 70’s, legally. My niece is 2nd generation Californian. although my parents are immigrants, I am not in favor for illegal immigrants. I guess my conservative side comes up when I see communities such as China town and Pico area, along with other regions in downtown LA. I feel like my parents worked so hard to come to this country, not by crossing the boarder, but flying over 5,000 miles overseas. Why should it be easier for those South/North of us to come to the US? By all means I AM NOT A RACIST, but my feelings towards immigration is split- But there are certain jobs that they [immigrants] do that I or people I know will NOT do. I.E. pool cleaner, gardener, the cook at my favorite Mexican joint. The lifestyle that I have been raised with and the community I come from has not “opened my eyes to the life of immigrants” By the time I was born my parents were set, they had already bought their home, and were successful. Yet again I UNDERSTAND why so many people want to come here… the United States. My parents grew up in a communist run country, the states was their escape. But I don’t know why these people don’t do it the legal way? Glendale used to be a smaller town when my family 1st moved here, now you cant drive down Brand Blvd. without hitting traffic. I know what my fear is about immigration- but I feel like if I address it here I WILL get some angry remarks- but oh well, I don’t want to offend anyone. My fears about immigration is that I DONT want my community to lose its ranking. I don’t want Glendale or other affluent cities to become the homes of the lower classes. I know I sound like a snob, but why should my parents move when they worked so hard to move to a community that (used to be) or kinda still is for middle-upper middle class families?
Well, plenty of citizens would garden and clean — if they were guaranteed a legitimate wage. It’s not that US citizens won’t do menial work; it’s that they will (rightly) demand just compensation that employers are not willing to pay.
Hugo & Manolo, why assume that the immigration policies being discussed will either create more “lower-class” neighborhoods or free up space in your beautiful rural/suburban areas?
Criminalizing and deporting all illegal immigrants is hardly feasible, even if that horrible xenophobic law is passed. What we need is not only “sensible border policy” and a good look at the “root causes of migration” but a good look at the rest of our economic policies that allow for the exploitation of people in our society, both immigrants and native-born. An ideal immigration policy debate would examine what the real hope of economic advancement is for those who come here to become citizens and are willing to work very hard to do so.
Manolo, not wanting to live near “lower-class” people does not make you sound like a snob, it means you are a snob.
Manolo,
There are very few job categories that the US gov’t tracks which are staffed either entirely or predominantly by illegals. Stoop labor is certainly one, but while restaurant dishwashers, meatpackers, construction, and gardening have a lot of illegals composing their workforce, they also have citizen labor taking up most of the jobs, so the “Jobs that Americans won’t do” line doesn’t really reflect reality for Americans are indeed doing those jobs.
Hugo,
I’m not a biblical scholar so I can’t point to scripture but I’m under the impression that there is some religious lesson that says one should help those closer to you before embarking on helping those who are further removed. In concrete terms I feel that my compassion should first go to the devastation I see in communities peopled by my fellow Americans, and then I should look to help foreigners. The New York Times reports:
They also reported on an earlier study:
The influx of illegals into the unskilled labor market directly harms our own citizens who have the least amount of job security. To chose to bend the law and accomodate illegals has a direct cost to our own lower class.
For those who need a more selfish reason to be opposed to the presence of illegals in our midst, all they need do is look at their pocketbooks. The National Academy of Science report on the illegal immigration problem found that there is a direct lifetime gov’t subsidy, net of all economic benefits that illegals do produce, of $89,000 per illegal without a high school level of education. Need I point out that the vast majority of illegals being coyoted across the border are indeed not in possession of high school and college levels of education. Further, as Robert Samuelson pointed out in the Washington Post:
Lastly, the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that the level of workforce participation is decreasing (Workers/total popualtion) and the biggest declines are seen in the Black community and the Teen community. At the same time the number of applications for Social Security Disability Income benefits has increased 75% from 2000 to 2005. These are people who are trying to claim that they are incapable of doing work. Imagine a 75% increase over 5 years! I think it’s safe to say that a good number of those applicants are discouraged workers who are being forced out of the labor market, and onto taxpayer assistance, because they have to contend with the wage depression caused by 12 million illegal foreigners competing for jobs.
Vacula, indeed — I don’t favor the Sensenbrenner bill, I don’t favor deportation, or indeed, any measure that denies basic human rights to the undocumented. In my heart, I’m a progressive on this issue. But I’m also an environmentalist who loves the Golden State, and my passion for nature and my passion for people sometimes don’t mesh well.
Your family got here first and stole more, and now you want to pull up the drawbridge.
Now that’s a sentence I’m going to try and remember! Very amusing ;-)
Hugo, the west of the western states would like California to stop exporting its population as well as its mini-malls and subdivisions with large houses on miniscule lots. As you’re mourning the loss of your childhood environment, please find a way to keep your fellow Californians from overrunning mine.
Well, as long as we’re not using perjoratives like “Illegal Alien” and prefer the PC Euphemism of “Undocumented Worker” let’s go the whole nine yards. It’s not Rapists, but “Unauthorized Fornicators.” Let’s not call people murderers, but “Unlicensed Executioners.” Kidnapping is such a charged term, use “Undocumented Guardians” instead. We don’t speak of Batterers, but “Unsanctioned Pugilists,” and a Bank Robber is really just a “Unapproved Loan Recipient.”
Yes, I am comparing them - they are all against the law. If we start excuseing them, i9t’s not a question anymore of whether we give amnesty for criminals, but which ones we give it to.
When I saw all these marches, and all the MEXICAN flags .. well, I’m not re-assured. Matter of fact, I’m even more against them now.
Gonzman, you claim to be a Christian.
Leviticus 18:33-34 “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”
Leviticus 25:35 “If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you.”
Deuteronomy 10:17-19 “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.”
Deuteronomy 24:14-15, 17 “Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. … Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge.”
Malachai 3:5 “So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.”
We were also enjoined to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, obey the kings set above us, and their laws, etc. etc. etc.
There are plenty of options to do so for immigrants who want to become residents, or temporary workers who go through the proper channels to do so
Leviticus 18:33-34 “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”
Absolutely. And native born lawbreakers I also think deserve jail, and what the law prescribes for their offense.
Leviticus 25:35 “If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you.”
Again, nothing in here indicates the “aliens” or “residents” are behaving unlawfully.
Deuteronomy 10:17-19 “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.”
Noting that the Hebrews were INVITED to live in Egypt, and walked in through proper channels.
Deuteronomy 24:14-15, 17 “Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. … Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge.”
Aliens living w/ green cards are “living in one of my towns.” I, in fact, oppose the practice of paying substandard wages to illegal aliens. It’s an abuse of them. Unfortunately their illegal and undocuneted status makes this possible.
Malachai 3:5 “So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.”
Justice - cuts both ways. Is there a place where it says “Exempt the alien from your laws, and punish him not for his transgressions?” By all means. Cut them a final check for the work they have done prior to sending them back on the INS bus. I wouldn’t dream of defrauding them.
“Noting that the Hebrews were INVITED to live in Egypt, and walked in through proper channels.”
And when their hosts wouldn’t let them go, God made a proper channel out.
As a Christian, my first alliegiance is not to our present legal system, but to justice. The American immigration laws are not necessarily just. Please also note that our present legal code does not insist that “jail” is the automatic result of every illegal action.
Gonz, you believe “There are plenty of options to do so for immigrants who want to become residents, or temporary workers who go through the proper channels to do so.” Many people don’t believe there are “plenty of options,” at least not feasible ones, and that’s why they’re trying to “reform” the laws. You can make it a matter of personal preference if it makes it easier for you to think about it, but I doubt you’ve ever had to try to deal with the fears and obstacles most of these “illegals” have.
And I’ve watched as field after field has been covered with new houses; I’ve watched the cattle and farms of my childhood (and I’m only 38!) disappear beneath “Redwood Estates” or “Glendalough Ranches” or “Belleview Manor” or whatever godawful pretentious name the developers have bestowed on their ticky-tacky tract homes.
Hugo - you should know that in California, many water districs set prices so that agricultural users pay far less than residential users and far less than the true cost of water. How many billions of dollars that could have gone to schools, efficient industry promotion, housing, or other programs to help develop economic opportunites for people as opposed to subsidizing inefficient farming (alfalfa? dairy cows?) that benefit mainly a narrow concentration, create cost burdens on businesses that limit job opportunities, contribute to the illegal immigration issue, and create other environemental issues?
Oh, but hey, I forgot - you’re “also an environmentalist who loves the Golden State, and my passion for nature and my passion for people sometimes don’t mesh well.”
I did march last Monday with high school students in Whittier.
It was the immigrants who invited me to eat in their homes to teach me the meaning of hospitality.
My ancestors came to this continent, a new world, in 1647 without the benefit of any immigration policy that included permission from those who already lived here.
I enjoy cheap strawberries. But not all immigrants are agricultural workers. Some are graduates of Cal State Long Beach who came to this country as small children. Their parents, aunts and uncle started businesses and engaged capitalism to find success, home ownership and other pieces of the American experience. I hope we can find policies that treat people as people no mater where they are from and how long they have been here.
i gotta say as i type this and think about all the different things i wanna say i keep thinking to myself….”AH! i dont think i wanna submit this im gonna sound so stupid!” And even as i type THAT my heart keeps pounding because im so scared to say that i am an illegal immigrant. its not that im thinking that as soon as i say that cops are going to come rushing to my room and send me back to mexico. Im scared because i want people to take me seriously as i am towards illegal immigration..
Ive never felt as strong about legalizing illegal immigrants as i have in the last couple years…why? Simply because of EDUCATION. I am 19 years old i go to CalState Northridge, the first to both graduate from high school and attend a college in both sides of my family and yet as huge as my grin grows as i say that its a bittersweet feeling. You know it really hurts to know that despite all these accomplishments at the end of the line i still ask myself….where am i going with this? Because i am an illegal immigrant i cannot get a job, i cannot drive, i cannot get financial aid and hundreds and thousands of scholarships, i cannot even submit a form for “a free ipod!!” you see in those scams. Although it might not be THAT BAD…it hurts. Yeah i can take a bus, and work the way my father is, but where in all that is the EDUCATION i worked so hard to be proud of?
Just last year in one of my english courses, i raised my hand to publicly declare that i am an illegal immigrant and the room went silent. I hesitated to go on…but with a shaky voice and sweaty ass hands i looked at my teacher and my fellow classmates and said that despite all the things ppl say about immigration, i am still a student in a classroom just like they were.
“Yes we do pay for taxes…at least i know my mom and dad do. The bank gives us a TIN(tax identification number) to identify us just like a SSN would. With that number we DO TAXES. I dont drive…but i sure as hell think its so much easier to give us licenses because think of how many illegal immigrants are out there in the streets driving illegally to their jobs because it is a necessity. OF COURSE that is dangerous…they didnt take driving classes! So why not give them at least the opportunity to drive safely just like the average american. Give us financial aid so we can have an opportunity to go to college without using the families savings and help out the community with safer streets and a youth that can dream for any type of education without knowing its impossible.”
I honestly thought that i was in my room thinking out loud because when i finished saying all that the room felt silent and i felt a sigh of relief to let ppl know that i was human too. The following day my teacher came up to me and said
“Thank you so MUCH for your words. Not only did we learn some new things but you brought us the reality that what we are arguing about is PEOPLE,so many students came up to me and told me to tell you THANK YOU. Thank you for letting us now the human side of illegal immigration…” and then she hugged me.yeah a hug…it was crazy! haha i walked out of the class with a =)
i would never think that saying my story would make people say thank you. Illegal immigration is not solely on the technicallity of what cheap labor does and doesnt and how we are getting poorer and crowded and cheated. I encourage people to hear the human side of immigration and know that we are out there…sure our votes might be imaginary and our legal status and identities are non-existent but our voices are as real as yours.
So now i gotta say THANK YOU for reading. I hope i made you feel like you wanna give me a hug too because hugs are great….and so are chinchillas