Latinos have been in America since before we were a country. Yet, since that time they have too often been treated like second class citizens. It has been the same for most people of color here, and with different historical backgrounds, the paths minorities in this country have taken have been both the same and different from one another. The same can be said for oppressed groups in this country that weren't of color or limited to one racial classification.
Right now there is a big debate over immigration. The debate is heating up again as controversial laws from one state are being challenged in court - battles that may go all the way to the supreme court. In other states laws are pending while in another a controversial bill went into effect just yesterday.
The debate would have stayed simply a matter of immigration had other undertones not crept into the debate. There has always been an element of the American populace upset about immigration and specifically undocumented workers. No matter the country you go to there is most likely an element of society concerned about it in their nation. It is of concern to certain groups here as it is to certain groups in many countries for reasons ranging from xenophobia to misplaced concerns over crime and joblessness.
Either way, at a certain point the language of the debate made an ugly turn. Talk of America losing its “cultural identity” started to grow. We started to hear more and more anti-undocumented immigration proponents talking about a “culture war.” There was never any specification as to which culture we were with except Latino culture, specially Mexican.
There was never any talk of other undocumented people here in America. I say that because over 40% of undocumented immigrants here are not those that crossed the southern border but came legally then overstayed their visas. But, the face of undocumented workers here has become Mexicans and other Latinos.
Even the post-9/11 hysteria about people from the Middle East and Muslims has in many ways died down from what it was, but the anti-Latino sentiment has grown and gotten worse with time. Of course anti-Muslim or Middle Eastern prejudice is not justifiable either. Muslims have also been in this country since before we officially became a country, contrary to what many believe. This population includes many slaves that were brought over from Africa during the time of the slave trade here.
But, there have been undocumented workers here for decades in every state starting in mostly agriculture and moving to other forms of labor. Mostly they do labor that American citizens do not want to do. As such they fill a need for certain employers. Yet instead of just recognizing the need they serve and coming up with a system that allows them in on a temporary basis, we keep the path to sensible policy closed.
In the 1990's reports began to surface that according to experts within a mater of decades the current majority population in the US would no longer be the dominant group in terms of racial identity. The group identified as the those that would overtake them in numbers was Latinos. It was about that time the hysteria over “culture wars” and threats to our “cultural identity” took hold.
In addition we were flooded with a swarm of lies from anti-immigration proponents. We heard that criminals were flooding the nation from the southern border. We were told most of the crimes on the border states were committed by undocumented immigrants. But reports from the FBI's crime statistics told a much different story.
The fact was in the years undocumented immigration really shot up since 2000 the national crime rates dropped. Furthermore, aside from the misdemeanor of crossing the border illegally, undocumented immigrants are much less likely to commit crimes than citizens whatever their race. In border states like Arizona the statistics are the same.
America has always been a melting pot. And in all that time - throughout Irish, Italian, Polish, Asian or any other wave of immigrants to our nation - the people we now call Latinos have always been here. Yet they seem to have been the last of the immigrants to really get the respect they deserve.
President Obama is not just posturing when he calls for immigration reform now as many accuse him of doing. We know this because the Cheney/ Bush administration also attempted immigration reform and it was supported by John McCain until he ran for president in 2008 when he suddenly had an inexplicable change of heart. Unless they too were posturing according to the GOP, perhaps it's time to see this as an issue that goes beyond either of the two political parties we have to choose from.
After all, the country was and is a melting pot and Latinos have always been a part of that mix. Our leaders need to start thinking of the future of this nation and in that future Latinos, just like all other immigrants both past and present, play as much a part as anyone else. They need to feel like it is a country of their own also. They deserve to feel they have a government that is theirs too. It is a matter of respect and dignity which are things all members of society deserve. Instead of shutting out the future let's embrace it. This is the new make-up of a storied nation, yet it's also just the continuation of the same old story. There is nothing to fear from Latinos any more than any other group of people here in America – past or present.
To read about my inspiration for this article go to www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com.
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