We All Lost: Reflection on the Immigration Debate
By flavio • Jun 29th, 2007 • Category: U.S. Politics and IssuesThe immigration bill is dead and we now face a continuation of the status quo for at least another two years. It’s unrealistic to think that we might see comprehensive immigration reform in this country until after the next presidential and congressional elections; and even then, reform is only possible if one party secures significant dominance over the other. There doesn’t appear to be much room for compromise on this issue. It’s too early to predict who will win, but if current trends continue and the blatantly racist attitudes of our brethren go unabated, we will all lose.
Like many of my friends on the left, I thought that the bill being debated didn’t go far enough and was unacceptable on many grounds. The proposed guest worker program, which in fact would have increased the exploitation of the undocumented, would have been disastrous for all working people. Furthermore, provisions that make it harder to achieve family reunification are antithetical to what are supposed to be America’s guiding principles. So I’m glad that we had representatives that stood up for our values and voiced our opposition to certain elements of the plan. I’m glad that this bill was defeated because it was unworkable in its present form.
However, I also think that we all lost on this one. This bill was not defeated because Americans were upset about the inability for families to be reunified. It was not defeated because we were disgusted by the guest worker program. It was defeated because millions of Americans are scared that this country is being overrun by immigrants, specifically Latinos.
It wasn’t just the crazies on the extreme right who came out in large numbers against this bill; far too many middle-of-the-road Americans voiced their disgust at the idea that they have to share there towns with more than a handful of immigrants. They were incensed that they would have to share their suburbs and Wal-Marts with those who speak Spanish. There were a multitude of reasons given to explain why they opposed this immigration bill (perceived increase in crime, complaints about amnesty, worries about job loss/competition, etc.); but ultimately, these reasons for opposition were underscored by racist sentiments and an insecurity about “being outnumbered.”
We all lost because it is clear that racism and discrimination won. We all lost because the majority of Americans have forgotten that we are all human and we are all part of the same family. We have forgotten that how we treat each other is a reflection upon who we are.
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flavio is Currently serving on The Activist's EC, Flavio is a former Activist Editor and a former YDS Co-Chair. He has his B.A. in Sociology and is pursuing an M.A. in Public Policy from William Paterson University where he is also building a YDS Chapter. He currently resides in Flemington, NJ.
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I totally agree. Our job as socialists is to build an anti-racist movement for immigrant rights that unifies all working people against capitalist exploitation!