An Illegal People Yearning to be Free

52,000.  That is number of migrant children that have been apprehended at the United States-Mexican border since October, the BBC reports.  52,000 children, whom are not being accompanied by their parents, have made the long trek from Central America to the United States in order to escape the economic difficulties and violent atmospheres that have permeated their lives.  It has created an unprecedented humanitarian crisis at many of the border cities within the United States.  There are many Americans, including Senator John McCain, that suggest that these children should immediately be deported back to their home countries.  I tend to believe that action would not be in their best interest.  I believe we should be a compassionate country and try to help as many of these children as possible.  52,000 children is a large number of children to try and take care of, however, we can do it.  The logistical support we need to take care of all of them will take a lot of work and effort, but again, we can do it.  It is only a matter of “if” we want to do it.

I used to be one of those people that would agree with Sen. McCain.  I would have suggested that they should all be deported.  We are a country of laws and our laws must be upheld.  Over the years, I have had a change of heart when it comes to illegal immigration.  I believe we should be as compassionate as possible.  We should try and accept all of the people that need help.  I also believe we must be smart about it.  I would agree that criminal undocumented immigrants should be deported.  However, if someone is working their ass off and trying to support a family.  If they are trying to make a better life then they should be allowed to stay.  I know many will disagree with me, however, I want to share with you what made me change my tune on illegal immigration.

What made me change my mind on undocumented immigrants was the book Illegal People.  The author, David Bacon, explores the world of the undocumented worker.  More specifically, Mr. Bacon explores the idea that “a globalized political and economic system creates illegality by displacing people and then denying them rights and equality as they do what they have to do to survive – move to find work.”  His main thesis is that the problems the United States and other countries have when it comes to undocumented immigrants are of their own doing.  The economic policies of the United States and other countries have created a world where they have forced many people to pick up from where they live and move to another country to find work.  Once they come into the United States or other countries then the political system subjugates them and drives them into the shadows of society, denying these migrant workers their basic human rights.

David Bacon discusses many different policies that have contributed to increasing the flow of undocumented workers into the United States and other countries.  One of the major contributing factors in the rise of undocumented immigrants migrating to other countries was because of “the explosive growth of export processing zones (EPZs), where maquiladora factories produce for export, depends on migrant labor.”  The creation of the EPZs, where Mexico allowed U.S companies to come into Mexico and create these factory-based towns and areas (mostly around the Mexican-United States border), meant that migrants had to pick up and move from their hometowns in order to find work (and survive).  These policies of the EPZs created the atmosphere where migrants in Mexico decided it was more advantageous to come into the United States because there were many more possibilities to find better work and better living conditions.  Economic and political policies created the problem of illegal immigration.  To combat the problems that the United States faces with undocumented workers (partly because of its own policies), the solution has been to exploit these poor people and treat them as second-class citizens.

We should not treat undocumented immigrants as second-class citizens.  Natural-born and naturalized Americans needs to realize that undocumented workers contribute to the national economy.  However, there are citizens and people in the media that feed on our fears that illegal immigration is causing major problems like an increase in crime.  Many media outlets also believe that undocumented immigrants are taking the jobs of natural-born Americans and that they are draining the taxpayer because they are reaping the benefits of being on American soil.  These supposed facts are totally false.  As Bacon cites, “the National Immigration Forum’s Guide to Immigration Facts and Issues estimated that undocumented immigrants paid about $7 billion annually in taxes.”  Bacon also notes that undocumented workers pay sales tax when they purchase goods and that they pay rent to landlords.  He also notes that in California “undocumented workers pumped tens of billions of dollars into the economy - $45,000 per person.”  Even though undocumented workers contribute immensely to local and state governments, and to the federal government, we continue to threaten undocumented workers with deportation (but do little to punish the companies that exploit undocumented immigrants).  We do not allow them to draw on benefits like Social Security (even though they are paying their taxes).  We do not allow children of undocumented workers to gain citizenship even though some of these children are earning college degrees and fighting in our military.  Even though they never made the decision to come into the United States illegally, that was their family’s decision, we still belittle them.  Undocumented workers contribute so much to our country but we want to continue to force them into the shadows and force them to be exploited.

David Bacon wrote a compelling account of how undocumented immigrants are exploited and condemned, even though they are a major benefit of our country.  He shows how we must reform our immigration system so we can bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows.  Bring them out of that shadow so they can be treated with the same dignity and equality that we all demand.  There are 52,000 children waiting to be treated with dignity and respect right now.  They must be scared and confused.  These children are waiting for stability and love.  We should not disappoint them.