Immigration, Forgotten but Not Forgiven

As you can tell by my picture I'm a Mexican-American, according to my wife I'm only Mexican when its convenient - like she yells and I say "No speaka no english". To say that I'm torn by this issue is like saying that the Octomom has 'a few kids', it just doesnt begin to cover it. I'm in a not so unique position to appreciate both sides of the immigration debate, I'm from a family of Immigrants, I am an immigrant, and I see the burden and benefit of immigration.

Since the economy tanked, our homes are worth about ten dollars per dozen, and my neck hurts from looking over my shoulder wondering if my boss is about to sack me, we've all forgotten about our friends from down south. Immigration was all the rage about two years ago, everybody that was anybody had an opinion, and we all know the joke about opinions and assholes... During our last election though that concern dropped to about #10 on the top five election issues. In a sense the whole imploding economy & highest unemployment in about 25 years has handed the U.S. a solution.

The us Gub'ment has been looking for a solution to illegal immigration for about a hundred years. Peolple smarter and more educated than I will ever be have proposed solutions and policy changes: The Bracero Program, Immigration Reform circa 1986, migrant worker programs, etc. My favorite president ever ,GW Bush, was totally behind Immigration Reform II. He supported the McCain-Kennedy bill whole heartedly, a bill by a presidential wanna-be Republican and the last member of America's Royal Family. This most current idea would've fined illegal aliens for their crimes and forced the repayment of back taxes, and provided "a path to citizenship". This enlightened path would've allowed about 10 million new residents to the US. And it would've done a whole lot of nothing but invite 10 million more of my border brothers here.

Every US plan to date has revolved around containment: border patrols, cameras, sensors, fences, etc. Play that hi-larious video though and you get a microcosm of how all of those ideas have worked out. Its a 2500 mile border with Mexico to the south and there is just no way 5000, 10000, or 100,000 agents will control it, they are just outnumbered by the millions willing to make the dash to the promised land. Many hard liners are pushing for a double layer fence to fix it all, but just ask Israel how well that fence keeps weapons out of Gaza.

What works best when you have ants at your picnic? Do you run around stamping the all out, or do you dig a little moat around your blanket? Do you scoop up handfuls of ant and throw them back on their mound? What does the sensible person do.... I speak for myself here and say that I would pack up the food, and the leave the ants nothing to come after. As the economy has crashed and nobody is building homes and nobody eats out, and we all wash our own cars, and in general the jobs have dried up the immigration problem has let up. For the first time in decades border crossings are down, immigrants are returning home, remittances to Latin-America are down. If the model of internal inforcement were followed this drop would be sustained and accelerated. Problem solved.

I'm sure my fellow Mexican Americans out there are screaming "sell out", "hypocrite", and "two face". I say not, if my native land is forced to deal with a populace that is uneducated, underpayed and abused - if the land holding, billionare, political elite are just challenged. If latin America could break out the mold that holds them down, then we just might see the dictators ousted and see some real progress to make this beaner proud.