The Immigration Equation
An analysis of the current immigration debate and the implications surrounding this dividing issue.
By Eduardo Barraza
“The world was full of equations . . . there must be an answer for everything, if only you knew how to set
forth the questions” -Anne Tyler
Phoenix, Arizona. Immigration in general, and particularly unauthorized immigration, has become an
extremely intricate and complicated issue. Not that immigration has been an easy subject ever, but the
challenges to deal with it, and the polarization surrounding it, have deepened the intensity of the
national debate. What do we do with what is calculated to be 12 million people who are not supposed to
be in this country in the first place? The vast majority are workers who work without a work permit, drive
a vehicle without a driver license, and make a living thanks to those who profit from their hard labor.
Undocumented immigrants are not tourists or homeless; they are fundamentally workers who come
looking for work, find it, and are able to support themselves here, and their family in their home country.
They can do all of this because they are empowered to do so by an economy and a labor market that
maximizes profit by minimizing wages. So whether we are pro-immigrants or not, the undeniable reality is
that it is very possible to work in this country without a work permit. The millions of people doing it
without it prove it. Thus, unauthorized immigration continues to exist and thrive in the United States.
Many workers who escaped poverty in their homeland, and crossed the border without permission many
years ago, today have families, own a home, a car, have a job, and speak decent English, thanks to a
society that employs them and benefits from their labor. They are certified nursing assistants,
construction workers, janitors. Some even own a small family business. They have clandestinely
penetrated a culture that is aware of their presence, accepts it, receives their services, and pays them
for their work. In many car wash businesses, for instance, where we bring our vehicles to be cleaned,
what do we see? Don’t we witness the dedicated, hard and low-paid labor of men and women, who
obviously are immigrants? The majority of these employees don’t speak a word of English; they rely on a
bilingual supervisor who serves as the mid-man for them and the manager. This system is common and
basic to many companies. We all see it, know it, and tolerate it. Employers justify themselves with a
“who cares if they are not here legally; they get the job done” mentality.
The tens of thousands of people who marched in Phoenix on March 24th did not get here overnight. Yes,
seen together, they scared the heck out of many. They angered others that prefer to see them
scattered, one by one, bussing tables, cleaning toilets, or mowing lawns. Not marching, for sure. We
have accepted them, covertly and disdainfully, for too long. We want their labor, but we do not want to
give them rights. We get upset and frustrated because they get upset and frustrated. We tell them to
obey the law, yet rebuke them for exercising a very human right. We condemn them for waving their flag
in a march, but join them to celebrate Cinco de Mayo among mariachis, and yes, Mexican flags. Evidently,
this hypocrisy has backfired on us. Now we shield ourselves with good-sounding phrases like: “we are
not against immigration, but illegal immigration,” as if immigration means always a voluntary choice. We
also receive their money without hesitation; undocumented immigrants are great consumers, are they
not? To summarize it in one phrase: we diminish their contributions, but overemphasize what they take
from us.
In the aftermath of the unprecedented and historic March 24th demonstration, it has become evident
that the real causes of the discontent in many people have to do with racism, bigotry, prejudice and
hate. One just needs to read the expressions of negative feelings and hostile emotions in the many
blogs that swarm the Internet. The aggressive language comes out easily in individuals who conceal
themselves behind a users-name, and an anonymous identity, but gives their true motives away. Their
rejection toward immigrants unmistakably has to do more with race and ethnicity issues, than with the
lack of legal documents. The protests and the march, and more precisely the impressive demonstration of
demographic power displayed by a multitude Phoenix has never seen, have caused consequently racial
tensions, heated an already vehement discussion, and created an environment of conflict that is
breathed in workplaces, the media, and the streets. Discrimination and hate don’t die. They become
dormant, even tolerant, as long as the status quo is not altered and the social structure shaken.
In this context, local and Washington’s politicians continue to deliberate among themselves, trying to find
a way out of this problematic maze. Unfortunately, many of them have their own hidden agenda, and are
looking for their own good and their political future. Republicans and Democrats barricaded against each
other on Friday, April 7, and whatever progress they had achieved was stalled, sending a possible
immigration reform into a limbo. Community organizers continue to mobilize people to protest, but it is
uncertain what the effects of these massive demonstrations will be. One of the results already seen is a
growing sense of belonging between immigrants, and a desire to rally to protest and struggle. Another
outcome has been anger and annoyance among U.S. born citizens. Naturalized citizens and authorized
permanent residents are divided themselves: some are willing to join, other simply don’t care anymore.
Hence, a growing feeling of uneasiness and conflict are spreading across the community. Arizona is
heading towards a showdown. The United States has arrived to a moment of truth.
The ability to resolve this dilemma and social issue depends on asking the right questions, and on
answering them correctly. This leads us to an equation, an immigration equation, and to solve it, we
need to find the unknown values that create this equation. These values have to do with, first, the
consequences of not allowing the huge labor force that undocumented workers represent to obtain legal
status, and second, the benefits of legalizing them. That takes us back to the question: what do we do
with the 12 million immigrants who are among us, work at our side, shop in our stores, and have become
part of our economy? Both values are going to affect us either way, since immigrants are already
interweaved in the social fabric.
The first value is nothing new; we have had this problem for decades, so we know and feel the costs of
millions of people who have been encouraged to stay by employers who hire them, and by businesses
that look for their purchasing power. Recently, Time magazine published a story on its cover with the title
“Inside America's secret workforce,” referring to the millions of undocumented immigrants who work in
the country. The irony of not just this title, but the obvious reality of our society, is that, yes, they
constitute an enormous workforce, but they are not a secret at all. So the inability of the Federal
government to create a realistic immigration reform, and the willingness of U.S. society to coexist and
take advantage of the millions of workers, brought us to the situation we have today. Illegal immigration
is not good, but we have allowed it to become a part of us. We have complained about the toll that
immigrants place on government’s budgets, and what that represents for taxpayers, but we have
become both voluntary and involuntary co-conspirators of that. Those who have not reaped the benefits
from illegal immigration raise their hands. Refusing to allow this gigantic and excluded workforce will
leave us worst than we were before the protests and marches across the nation. Did we not get here
thanks to the obtuse and criminalizing legislation passed and proposed in the recent years and months?
The second value could actually not be a choice. Allowing most of the estimated 12 million people to
obtain legal status could have more benefits than not. However, bringing people out of the illegitimacy
can be perceived as rewarding those who entered the country without documents, and can even
encourage new immigrants to come. The most pressing solution, though, is to resolve the enormous
challenge we already have, which is dealing with the people who are already here. The current
immigration laws have been enforced, but are insufficient in containing the waves of people who head
northbound toward this country. Deportations take place everyday; repatriation was employed as well.
Thousands are caught trying to enter the country. Law-abiding employers have let their undocumented
workers go. Aggressive legislation such as the one that prevents people without legal status to be able
to get a driver license, Prop 200, the Protect Arizona Now group, the minutemen have had little impact.
With all of this, we still end up with the same figure of perhaps more than 12 million. Allowing them to
work legally, to drive legally, to do their income tax, and so forth, seems to be the only viable way. The
question is if the political and economic interests that benefit more from an illegal than a legal workforce
will let it happen. Ultimately, most of the millions of men and women, entire families, remain illegal
because we want them to be, and because we have voted for laws that make it impossible to enter,
work, and live legally in this country.
The marches around the country, and particularly in Phoenix, have forced us to look right into the eye of
what is taking the force of a demographic hurricane. The tide of tension is rising; the wind of change is
blowing. Marchers in Phoenix have understood the value of their contribution to the economy, and have
become fed up with their situation. Having been the target of malicious legislation, and knowing they
cannot vote at the polls, they are voting with the only thing they have voted with in their own country
and can vote here: their feet.
forth the questions” -Anne Tyler
Phoenix, Arizona. Immigration in general, and particularly unauthorized immigration, has become an
extremely intricate and complicated issue. Not that immigration has been an easy subject ever, but the
challenges to deal with it, and the polarization surrounding it, have deepened the intensity of the
national debate. What do we do with what is calculated to be 12 million people who are not supposed to
be in this country in the first place? The vast majority are workers who work without a work permit, drive
a vehicle without a driver license, and make a living thanks to those who profit from their hard labor.
Undocumented immigrants are not tourists or homeless; they are fundamentally workers who come
looking for work, find it, and are able to support themselves here, and their family in their home country.
They can do all of this because they are empowered to do so by an economy and a labor market that
maximizes profit by minimizing wages. So whether we are pro-immigrants or not, the undeniable reality is
that it is very possible to work in this country without a work permit. The millions of people doing it
without it prove it. Thus, unauthorized immigration continues to exist and thrive in the United States.
Many workers who escaped poverty in their homeland, and crossed the border without permission many
years ago, today have families, own a home, a car, have a job, and speak decent English, thanks to a
society that employs them and benefits from their labor. They are certified nursing assistants,
construction workers, janitors. Some even own a small family business. They have clandestinely
penetrated a culture that is aware of their presence, accepts it, receives their services, and pays them
for their work. In many car wash businesses, for instance, where we bring our vehicles to be cleaned,
what do we see? Don’t we witness the dedicated, hard and low-paid labor of men and women, who
obviously are immigrants? The majority of these employees don’t speak a word of English; they rely on a
bilingual supervisor who serves as the mid-man for them and the manager. This system is common and
basic to many companies. We all see it, know it, and tolerate it. Employers justify themselves with a
“who cares if they are not here legally; they get the job done” mentality.
The tens of thousands of people who marched in Phoenix on March 24th did not get here overnight. Yes,
seen together, they scared the heck out of many. They angered others that prefer to see them
scattered, one by one, bussing tables, cleaning toilets, or mowing lawns. Not marching, for sure. We
have accepted them, covertly and disdainfully, for too long. We want their labor, but we do not want to
give them rights. We get upset and frustrated because they get upset and frustrated. We tell them to
obey the law, yet rebuke them for exercising a very human right. We condemn them for waving their flag
in a march, but join them to celebrate Cinco de Mayo among mariachis, and yes, Mexican flags. Evidently,
this hypocrisy has backfired on us. Now we shield ourselves with good-sounding phrases like: “we are
not against immigration, but illegal immigration,” as if immigration means always a voluntary choice. We
also receive their money without hesitation; undocumented immigrants are great consumers, are they
not? To summarize it in one phrase: we diminish their contributions, but overemphasize what they take
from us.
In the aftermath of the unprecedented and historic March 24th demonstration, it has become evident
that the real causes of the discontent in many people have to do with racism, bigotry, prejudice and
hate. One just needs to read the expressions of negative feelings and hostile emotions in the many
blogs that swarm the Internet. The aggressive language comes out easily in individuals who conceal
themselves behind a users-name, and an anonymous identity, but gives their true motives away. Their
rejection toward immigrants unmistakably has to do more with race and ethnicity issues, than with the
lack of legal documents. The protests and the march, and more precisely the impressive demonstration of
demographic power displayed by a multitude Phoenix has never seen, have caused consequently racial
tensions, heated an already vehement discussion, and created an environment of conflict that is
breathed in workplaces, the media, and the streets. Discrimination and hate don’t die. They become
dormant, even tolerant, as long as the status quo is not altered and the social structure shaken.
In this context, local and Washington’s politicians continue to deliberate among themselves, trying to find
a way out of this problematic maze. Unfortunately, many of them have their own hidden agenda, and are
looking for their own good and their political future. Republicans and Democrats barricaded against each
other on Friday, April 7, and whatever progress they had achieved was stalled, sending a possible
immigration reform into a limbo. Community organizers continue to mobilize people to protest, but it is
uncertain what the effects of these massive demonstrations will be. One of the results already seen is a
growing sense of belonging between immigrants, and a desire to rally to protest and struggle. Another
outcome has been anger and annoyance among U.S. born citizens. Naturalized citizens and authorized
permanent residents are divided themselves: some are willing to join, other simply don’t care anymore.
Hence, a growing feeling of uneasiness and conflict are spreading across the community. Arizona is
heading towards a showdown. The United States has arrived to a moment of truth.
The ability to resolve this dilemma and social issue depends on asking the right questions, and on
answering them correctly. This leads us to an equation, an immigration equation, and to solve it, we
need to find the unknown values that create this equation. These values have to do with, first, the
consequences of not allowing the huge labor force that undocumented workers represent to obtain legal
status, and second, the benefits of legalizing them. That takes us back to the question: what do we do
with the 12 million immigrants who are among us, work at our side, shop in our stores, and have become
part of our economy? Both values are going to affect us either way, since immigrants are already
interweaved in the social fabric.
The first value is nothing new; we have had this problem for decades, so we know and feel the costs of
millions of people who have been encouraged to stay by employers who hire them, and by businesses
that look for their purchasing power. Recently, Time magazine published a story on its cover with the title
“Inside America's secret workforce,” referring to the millions of undocumented immigrants who work in
the country. The irony of not just this title, but the obvious reality of our society, is that, yes, they
constitute an enormous workforce, but they are not a secret at all. So the inability of the Federal
government to create a realistic immigration reform, and the willingness of U.S. society to coexist and
take advantage of the millions of workers, brought us to the situation we have today. Illegal immigration
is not good, but we have allowed it to become a part of us. We have complained about the toll that
immigrants place on government’s budgets, and what that represents for taxpayers, but we have
become both voluntary and involuntary co-conspirators of that. Those who have not reaped the benefits
from illegal immigration raise their hands. Refusing to allow this gigantic and excluded workforce will
leave us worst than we were before the protests and marches across the nation. Did we not get here
thanks to the obtuse and criminalizing legislation passed and proposed in the recent years and months?
The second value could actually not be a choice. Allowing most of the estimated 12 million people to
obtain legal status could have more benefits than not. However, bringing people out of the illegitimacy
can be perceived as rewarding those who entered the country without documents, and can even
encourage new immigrants to come. The most pressing solution, though, is to resolve the enormous
challenge we already have, which is dealing with the people who are already here. The current
immigration laws have been enforced, but are insufficient in containing the waves of people who head
northbound toward this country. Deportations take place everyday; repatriation was employed as well.
Thousands are caught trying to enter the country. Law-abiding employers have let their undocumented
workers go. Aggressive legislation such as the one that prevents people without legal status to be able
to get a driver license, Prop 200, the Protect Arizona Now group, the minutemen have had little impact.
With all of this, we still end up with the same figure of perhaps more than 12 million. Allowing them to
work legally, to drive legally, to do their income tax, and so forth, seems to be the only viable way. The
question is if the political and economic interests that benefit more from an illegal than a legal workforce
will let it happen. Ultimately, most of the millions of men and women, entire families, remain illegal
because we want them to be, and because we have voted for laws that make it impossible to enter,
work, and live legally in this country.
The marches around the country, and particularly in Phoenix, have forced us to look right into the eye of
what is taking the force of a demographic hurricane. The tide of tension is rising; the wind of change is
blowing. Marchers in Phoenix have understood the value of their contribution to the economy, and have
become fed up with their situation. Having been the target of malicious legislation, and knowing they
cannot vote at the polls, they are voting with the only thing they have voted with in their own country
and can vote here: their feet.
Eduardo Barraza is a journalist and writer,
Barriozona Magazine's editor, and director of
the Hispanic Insitute of Social Issues.
E-mail: editor@barriozona.com
Barriozona Magazine's editor, and director of
the Hispanic Insitute of Social Issues.
E-mail: editor@barriozona.com
| ADVERTISEMENT |
Published by the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues in Phoenix, Arizona
| HISTORY IS ABOUT TO CHANGE Grassroots Journalism |
|
| ANUNCIO |
| Operation Immigration Arrests, Protests, and Turmoil in Maricopa County |
| Precio: $19.95 + $3.80 por envio Total $23.75 Duración: 47 minutos EAN: 978-0-9797814-6-9 |
DILEMMA We have had this
problem for decades, so we know
and feel the costs of millions of
people who have been encouraged
to stay by employers who hire them,
and by businesses that look for their
purchasing power.
Photo by Eduardo Barraza/BARRIOZONA
problem for decades, so we know
and feel the costs of millions of
people who have been encouraged
to stay by employers who hire them,
and by businesses that look for their
purchasing power.
Photo by Eduardo Barraza/BARRIOZONA
