Check out this latest entry in The Register’s series on crime and immigration. Investigative reporter Noberto Santana shot a video of what happens to immigrant criminals deported to Tijuana. While some of them find ways to return across the border, others fall back into crime as they desperately try to survive without a home or a job in Tijuana.
For the past couple of days, I’ve been chatting with you about this Register series on immigration. We’ve been talking about whether local ordinances here in Orange County are fair to everyone, and whether this policy of deporting immigrant criminals is fair to these immigrants and to Mexican authorities. But now, I’d like to give you the floor. What do you think is wrong with our (local AND national) policies on immigrants, and what should we do to fix them?
Do we close the day labor centers, or do we give the immigrants a chance to work? Do we deport all immigrants accused of a crime, or do we give them a fair trial here? Do we dump all the immigrant criminals in Tijuana or not? I want to hear what you have to say about what needs to be done on immigration.
So go ahead and watch that video on The Register’s web site, then please feel free to come back and talk to us about immigrations. This is your open forum. Go ahead. Make my day. Have your say. 🙂
A law is not a law until government enforces it. Mexicans have long known the real rules: if you can make it across the border and 100 miles north, American business will welcome you with open arms, and despite the politicians’ patriotic bluster, with a nudge and a wink they’ve gone along. Immigrants are told they’re illegal, but it’s OK to stay as long as they pay taxes and don’t get caught. Government colluded with this by forbidding IRS to share SS numbers with INS (now ICE). In this legal twilight zone (you’re illegal but yes you can stay) the honest worker must get a fake SSN and drivers license, a powerfull tool the employer can use to keep him compliant, and accepting of poor pay and benefits. They’ve used him to break labor unions, and drive down working people’s wages.
This insane system must be fixed. A system where immigrant workers, business, and government all collude to break the law threatens all of us in our protection under the law. But, the fix must be done in a just and humane manner, less this country loses its soul and becomes no different than, say VietNam which expelled its Chinese population, 2-3 million, in 1975. How? 1) Immigrants brought here as children broke no law. They’re Americans now, period. 2) Those who came as adults, if they’ve lived crime-free, productive lives for (you pick the time), be given a path to become citizens — forget the word “amnesty” unless it also be applied to the businesses and politicians who abetted their coming here. 3) Require employers to hire only legal residents, with a workable system to identify them, and develop safeguards to protect citizens from misidentification. 4) Develop a close working relationship with Mexican law-enforcent to combat cross-border crime.
I was a Marine officer, infantry, ’69 to ’74; about 10% of my marines were foreign-born and today would be illegals. These were my brothers-in-arms, and it hasn’t been lost on me that conservative or liberal, ex-military (McCain, Powell, Kerry, Gore, Bush,Sr.) have far softer hearts than those that could and should have served their country in combat, but didn’t. Look at the loudest “round-em-up and drive-em-out” voices and see if this isn’t true.