My long two cents about illegal immigration........

Hello there my lovelies,

Yesterday I rented "Mojados: Through the Night" from the library. It was a documentary about illegal immigration. Basically the camera man followed four men on their journey through the desert from Mexico to Arizona.

Those men faced dehydration, heat over 100 degrees, freezing temperatures in the morning, no water, drinking contaminated water, rattle snakes, rain, you name it. People like them are so desperate for work that they will risk their lives over and over like this.  In the end 3 were captured by the Border Patrol and sent back to Mexico, and one guy got away.

The movie put names and faces on countless people that make the journey through the desert and through the river. These men volunteered to be filmed so that people can see what they go through and that they're humans and not just "illegals". They also want to be appreciated. They do the jobs that US citizens won't.

The movie also portrayed a more humane side to the Border Patrol. It showed footage of Border Patrol agents helping people that were dying by providing them with water and proper medical attention.

There was also an organization called Human Borders that provides potable water to the migrants in the desert. They also provide meals. I really like what they're doing. It doesn't matter whether it's illegal or not for them to enter the U.S. But that doesn't mean that they should be left to die in the desert. They still have the right to be treated as humans. If I lived down there, I would volunteer for them.

I watched the movie because I wanted to get a better understanding of what illegals go through to get there. They are brave and if I worked for the Border Patrol I would not get mad at them for continuing to try to come over.

But I still don't think that we should just let people cross our borders without knowing who they are and legalizing them. They contribute to our economy and do the jobs that US citizens don't. However, they also put a huge strain on our healthcare system and benefits that are for U.S citizens. Some pay taxes, but I'm willing to bet that most don't. The IRS will look the other way if an illegal pays taxes. I know a couple of people that entered illegally and eventually became legal. They told me that paying taxes year after year helped their cases.

I also think that we should build a higher wall, put up more cameras and hire more agents. It's about time. Of course it's not going to solve the problem, but it will help. The main problem is the lack of agents. We have a lot of high tech equipment, but only so many agents to patrol the land. Agents round up as much as 500 people a night. While they're busy arresting a few, it's so easy for others to run away. Bush wants to hire more agents, but becoming an agent is challenging and time consuming, not to mention that the salary is so low. I forgot to mention that I read somewhere that the Border Patrol received 70,000 applicants and only 1,700 people became agents.

 I get so irritated that the Mexican President Vicente Fox and the new president elect are upset about the wall. Maybe they should take care of their own people and figure out how to fuel their economy. It's our right as a nation to guard our borders. It's our land and we can build a wall if we want to. We never asked the millions of illegals to come over. In fact they KNOW it's dangerous and they still come over. We're not being racists by making a statement that they can't enter illegally.

Our governor Arnold recently made a statement about how Mexicans ( yes, he singled out Mexicans)  don't assimilate into American culture. They just come over here for work and send their money home, but don't want to be part of America. He said that they would be more successful if they tried to blend in more.

Now, I don't think he should've made that statement. Mexican immigrants are such a large group of people that you can't just make a generalizarion like that, especially if you're a politician and up for re-election. I think that he just insulted some of his followers : Mexican republicans that have adopted American culture as their own.  I know a lot of Mexicans that have assimilated well. And I should know because they were in my Spanish class because they couldn't speak proper Spanish.

But I also understand why our governator said that, because some of it's true. A stereotype isn't a stereotype unless there is some truth to it. A lot of my Hispanic customers that come in don't speak English. They don't want to learn. It isn't a priority for them. I used to live around a lot of neighborhoods where there are only Mexican flags and stores and advertisements all in Spanish. It's like they're making a statement that they're not interested in the US.

I am not for allowing people in the US illegally. It's unfair to people that have spent thetime and energy to get legal papers. It's also breaking the law and we should not send out the message that that we can just ignore laws when it's convenient.

However, I am all for helping people do it the legal way. Working with immigrants, legal or not to get assimilated into American culture.