The other day one of our posts started to delve into the issue of immigration and I was inspired to send a commentary to the Register. I have not heard from them, so rather than waste the opinion piece, here it is:
The U.S. has lost ground in Latin America for many reasons, chief amongst them the utter lack of creativity in the White House. President George W. Bush has been trumped by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez far too many times. Sending Bush to visit Latin American governments isn
Deflate your ego a little – the majority of Latin Americans could care less about our immigration policies – they want to stay where they’re at.
I’d be happy with a little bit more respect – we need some trade policies that are rational and actually promote free trade – rather than hidden subsidies for our exports.
Just a few other comments:
On #1
The actual “process” is pretty efficient – I think you’re talking about the “quotas” which extend the length of time a prospective immigrant is in the que for a visa.
Should Mexico get the benefit of increased quotas or do we want more diversity?
On #2
Phony ID’s are a dime a dozen – we need a full work-up, FBI, etc on anyone going for citizenship. Agreed – another system for seasonal workers.
On #3
Oh Great? Punish kid for the actions of their parents. The majority of parents are undocumented – no one has a citizenship card except those with PP’s or naturalization papers.
A national card just creates more govt jobs and counterfitters.
On #4
Latin America already trades with Cuba and could care less about what the US does. Oil is the leverage of Chavez and that’s why people listen to him – check your gas pump prices this week.
On #5
Right of course but that’s not gonna happen – we’re spending too much in other places and will continue to ignore Latin America unless it becomes a thorn in our side.
On #6
Catch 22, you can’t get a green card unless you go home and wait ten years and then another 10+ in the visa line
Art,
Please stick to your usual crapola because this is to complicated to understand by your average reader.
Art,
These are fantastic ideas. I think they take into account the gut feeling of most Americans that we cannot reward criminal behavior, but still acknowledging that the millions of people currently here, sending their kids to our schools and working in our communities aren’t simply going to disappear.
As for the citizenship issue, I FULLY support that. The argument that we “Punish kid for the actions of their parents” is completely ludicrous – the kids haven’t even been born when their parents decide to break the law and come here.
I hope this gets published or gets some attention.
While I don’t agree with all of your proposals, Art, they certainly are interesting. Here’s what I think:
1. Perhaps if ICE/Homeland Security were to fix the backlog that’s been in their system since they were the INS, then perhaps we can truly begin to streamline the process and make it more efficient.
2. I’d support a work program so long as we don’t create the type of “second-class citizen” status that Bush was pushing in his original proposal. After all, look how well that went for Western Europe when they tried to control Middle Eastern and African immigration. Allow them to work here, AND allow them to be fully integrated into ourt society. That had been the main reason why we haven’t (YET) experienced the huge turmoil that France, Denmark, The Netherlands, and other European nations have experienced.
3. Sorry, but I can’t agree to punishing the sons and daughters for the “sins” of the mothers and fathers.
4. Absolutely! No protest here. : )
5. Definitely! And I might add that it would be a good idea for us to stop exploiting them so much for cheap labor, but instead help them build up strong, sustainable economies that both help them AND us! Also, perhaps if we also work with Chavez instead of demonizing him, we can also generally improve relations with the rest of the region (AND give Chavez a “friendly nudge” to return to his democratic roots and give up the authoritarian BS). : )
6. OK, I can agree to that.
And finally, I just want to again emphasize our need to enact a trade policy that’s fairer to the developing world (including Latin America). We need to dump our excessive subsidies on our own exports (such as the farm subsisdies), and make it easier for developing nations to actually develop their own economies (like no more IMF loans with ridiculous “balanced budget” strings attached… They actually need to invest in their economies in order to grow.)