NO VOICE IN AMERICA
Like gun control and gay marriage, immigration reform is another “hot button” issue that is dividing Americans right now. It’s another debate where those who are strongly in favor, or strongly opposed, pull out a stack of statistics that do nothing but confuse the issue more. No matter how much I try to do the math, the numbers never add up. Then there is the distinction between Hispanics versus Latinos, which make me feel that if I don’t get the term exactly right, I will be viewed as “insensitive” or a “racist”.
For many months while I have been writing about the rest of the world, I have been wondering why Mexico and Latin America are seldom covered in the news. When there is something of interest mentioned, it is usually pertaining to drugs or human trafficking, or the “mutually combative” relationships we have with certain countries like Cuba or Venezuela. Yet news stories from other countries, like China, Russia, North Korea, and the U.K. are featured every day. Although Hugo Chavez’ death was given extensive coverage, there is still the overall feeling that Americans do not care about and/or do not get along with our neighbors to the south. Just like Israel and Palestine, our governments each have a long and dirty laundry list of who did what to whom with many “experts” who have all the facts and all the dates. Whenever I have spent any time trying to understand the history, I am horrified at what I discover. None are innocent, and ALL have blood on their hands. ALL are guilty of racism, vengeance, and brainwashing. And it’s always the PEOPLE that suffer … not the ones who are at the negotiation tables, but the ones who have No Voice and No Choice.
While the whole world is being held “hostage” by the threats of a 29 year-old dictator from North Korea, there is a silent American minority that keeps showing up every day, who are loyal, hardworking, and who want more than anything to be given the same rights that every other minority has been fighting for. They also have their dreams, and they prove every day that they love America, and they want to be HERE. Many will never think of any other country as home. So why are they kept in the shadows with so many of them exploited and under-appreciated? Why is their “contribution” so undervalued? But most importantly, why are some politicians/lawmakers now proposing immigration reform so complicated and cumbersome that many applicants will never qualify? The rumored list of possible provisions is not only based on requiring proof that they arrived before December 31, 2011 but also proof that they have never had a criminal record and that they have enough financial support to not file for welfare. If the truth be known, how many American citizens could actually satisfy all of these requirements? But it gets worse. Green-card eligibility would be based on a merit-system where workers are “classified” according to their skill-set (high tech/science, white collar, and low-wage). Not only would the COST of determining eligibility of the applicants be exorbitant, the message they are sending is clear. When you make something this complicated and this difficult, the message is that you hope the applicants will either be so discouraged or so frustrated that they will give up and not even try … and just go back home where they belong.
I don’t care how many Hispanic/Latino voters there are in the US, or whether they voted for Obama or Romney. I don’t care how many are currently unemployed, how many can speak English or how many have a criminal record. I don’t care if the majority is classified as “unskilled laborers” or whether they send money back home to their family or even whether they want to stay here permanently or not. All I care about is WHY these people that are so important to our society have NO VOICE in America.
Copyright © 2013 (Michelle Parsons, Getting Back on Your Path). All Rights Reserved.
