Take it from a first generation immigrant: I am sick and tired of all these marches and rallies in our major cities where thousands of illegals, many of them waving foreign flags, go out and DEMAND things. That’s right, DEMAND, not ASK. In my humble opinion, the only thing they are truly entitled to is speedy deportation. With respect to their human dignity, of course.
First thing first: let us all agree on using correct terms, ok? And let’s start with me as an example. Before I got my US passport last year, I had my Resident Alien’s card (“green card”) and, thus, was a properly “documented immigrant”. Had I lost it, I would have been nobody but “undocumented immigrant” which means precisely “an immigrant without documents”. But even then, I would still have been a LEGAL immigrant, undocumented but legal. And this is exactly the difference between me and a guy who sneaked through a hole in the fence somewhere near Tijuana. Because he is, first and foremost, “an illegal immigrant” and please, I don’ want to hear the word “undocumented” anymore.
There is a tremendous amount of confusion among the public on the matter of terms. And this confusion is not natural, it’s been artificially created and actively promoted by various organizations (most of them Latino hence most of illegals are coming from Latin America) who all but openly advocate illegal immigration into the US or, as they eloquently put it, “stand for the immigrants’ rights”. They, strangely, often forget to add the adjective “illegal” to it. Because, whether we like it or not, if you are not a US citizen, it’s still against the law to come to this country without proper documents authorising you to do so.
But the organizations like La Raza don’t want you to go into the details. Their agenda is simple: invest now so you can receive dividends in the future. How? Very simple:
a) Put all your efforts and resources to legalize as many illegal immigrants (current and future) as possible;
b) set them on the path toward citizenship;
c) tell these new citizens (eternally grateful to you for what you did for them) how to vote;
d) sit back, relax and enjoy watching politicians mud-wrestle each other for the millions of votes you control;
e) don’t forget to pick up your dividends, of course…
For the record: I have always believed that any developed Western country, US, France or Germany, is in critical need of the constant flow of immigrants. Now more than ever, especially in Europe, where birth rate has been steadily declining and more and more of the native population has been getting old. Anybody who says “we don’t need immigration at all” is either very naïve, uneducated or, perhaps, just a racist.
However, this doesn’t mean opening the gate before the horde of illegals. Immigration is the process that requires a clear and unambiguous policy, a thorough implementation of this policy and constant control over it, and – last but not least – the resources needed.
Today, we don’t have any of the aforementioned things in place. We haven’t even started the real debate because, on the one hand, too many people are self-censored because of the blown-out-of-proportion “political correctness”. On the other hand, the politicians are just like they have always been: projecting the polls’ numbers before even thinking of an issue, not to mention speaking their mind on it. Yes, you heard me right, I did say “cowards”.
But back to the rallies and demonstrations. “I came here to work hard and I have been working hard”, - would say or, rather, shout in your face Migel, Jorge or Guadelupe. “So fucking what?!” – would be my precise response to him or her. It’s like a criminal coming to confess about the committed crime but adding “ever since I did it, I’ve been working so hard!” Hard work is not and should not be an excuse for illegal immigration. If you are here illegally but would like to legalize, you should leave this country first, pay a fine, submit new papers and then – maybe – you will be autorized to come back.
