Comprehensive Immigration Plan - Is This A Joke

May 25th, 2007

By: D. Yobachi Boswell

Last Thursday a bipartisan coalition of both Congressional democrats and republicans, along with the White House; came to an agreement on comprehensive immigration reform. This Associated Press article details the plan.

It’s being attacked on both sides for various reasons. Many conservatives don’t like that the plan allows for what they frame as “amnesty”, i.e. there isn’t going to be a mass deportation of 13 million people. They are also against the principle of a comprehensive immigration, as opposed to just border enforcement first, and then dealing with everything else later. A lot of liberals don’t like what they claim as a new system that devalues family connections. The new plan expressly puts emphasis on education and trade skills as the preferable qualifications for immigration, as opposed to family ties; which has previously been the primary factor.

In this political dichotomy of simply liberal versus conservative, there are perspectives that are lost. While most Blacks, by far, view themselves as liberals or at least democrats; the Black community at large has self-interest in this debate that run contrary to the positions of mainstream liberalism and contrary to the positions proffered by the talking heads of the democratic party. These interests have scarcely been illuminated in the last year’s debate.

I’d like to touch on some of my problems with the plan in general, as well as the unspoken black perspective.

In simple, this is a hodge podge of crap. No one is going to leave the U.S. with some empty promise to be allowed back; especially when it calls for the heads of households (normally the financial bread winner) to go back to their home countries, leaving their families behind. Likewise no one is going to set up his or her life here for two years, leave for a year to then only come back for two years. What they are going to do is get the two-year visa and then when it runs out they’re just going to stay like they’re already doing. We’re more or less going to have the same situation as now if you don’t change immigration enforcement policy drastically; most specifically involving local law enforcement. But further, it’s just kind of ridiculous to have these roving life situations. If we need more workers here, then let them be legal residence, even if not citizens.

To this point form the article: “In perhaps the most hotly debated change, the proposed plan would shift from an immigration system primarily weighted toward family ties toward one with preferences for people with advanced degrees and sophisticated skills”

I don’t favor this portion of the plan either, not because of the family aspect but because you brain draining South America which is part of the problem of why those countries’ economies are so bad in the first place; and you’re giving all preference to the educated and shafting most commoners from having the same opportunity. Not to mention what is this saying about America’s plans for educating its on citizenry? Why are we not planning to educate people here to do such work?

There should only be preference for immediate family, ie spouse and kids. I agree with not getting preference to bring over your entire family tree. Immigration policy cannot simply bend to only what the immigrants want, but first the rights and needs of the people who’s country is being immigrated to.

And where the hell is the provision to come down like a sledge hammer on businesses who court illegals to come here, and who break the laws by hiring them off the books and undercutting lower-end wages in the market? These are the people most responsible for the immigration problem. People come here to work, and American business actively entice them to do so, as government (both Republican and Democrat) has intentionally looked the other away for decades.

Further, I am also highly annoyed that the anti-Haitian (aka anti-black) double standard is not being addressed. For half a century those fleeing Cube have been given special dispensation that allows them automatic entry if they reach the shores of the U.S. Mexican and others in South America come across the boarder at will, with little enforcement. Haitians coming out of the same region as Cubans are routinely turned back even though they are often fleeing violent upheaval and political unrest. This is an unfair and inconsistent policy; which I believe is partly steeped in racial bias.

I will delve into the black socio-political angle of the issue more deeply in the second part of this piece, Comprehensive Immigration Plan Part II – The Black Perspective

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2 Responses to “Comprehensive Immigration Plan - Is This A Joke”

  1. Jason P. on May 28th, 2007 11:37 am | link

    With 1-15 million illegal immigrants, this is a situation that
    will not go away. My closest understanding of this sit. came
    when I worked in a food distribution plant for Kroger in Indiana.
    About 50% of the work pop. was Hispanic. In most cases, they
    were excellent workers - I was an Industrial Engineer doing
    labor standards - but I suspected about 40% of them were not
    legal. Come November& December, they left for Mexico or points
    unknown, after sending back their checks. (One case I hear of
    had a guy pile up 8 paychecks unsigned and being harped at for
    it.)

    Big business IS the only reason this does not get done. The
    perceived (and actual) benefit of paying less for these workers
    is the excuse they use on congress not to rush this process.

    Bush is a helluva hypocrite. He talks all about security to wit,
    these people come and go with little stopping them.

    Amnesty or ignoring it for another 10-15 years is almost assured.
    The numbers are with the immigrants. Over 10 million! There is only
    2.3 million prisoners in the U.S. How many cops did it take to
    put them there over how many years? It is virtually impossible to seen
    millions away. It really is. Logistically, the only relative solution
    is to keep out people. People here, you hope you get better at
    bringing them in line with a legal status in the U.S.

    It is unfair about Haiti. I don’t know much about that - but
    it does seem politically motivated (to take Cubans) because
    of the Castro/U.S. relations. Look at how the U.S. sets
    policy in Africa (Darfur for example) in actually doing more
    for that population. Instead we are certainly wasting billions
    in Iraq and will never garner “whatever” it was that Bush wanted.

    Oil. Control over Muslims. A base in the middle east.

    Immigration has too many holes in policy to ever work justly.

    Great blog, once again.

  2. D. Yobachi Boswell on May 29th, 2007 5:48 pm | link

    Bush is a helluva hypocrite. He talks all about security to wit,
    these people come and go with little stopping them.

    He’s inconsistent on many things because he’s not principled. Somehow though, people get stubbornness and arrogance confused with principle.

    The numbers are with the immigrants. Over 10 million! There is only
    2.3 million prisoners in the U.S. How many cops did it take to
    put them there over how many years?

    Good point. That underlines how ridiculous a mass deportation is.
    Thanks for the compliment on the blog.

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  • D. Yobachi Boswell

  • Yobachi Boswell is creator and publisher of BlackPerspecitve.net. I’m a writer, activist and political watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve also been know to do some spoken word and MCing in my day.

    I created this site to give new voice to socio-political issues that are in need of thoughtful consideration and redress.

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