Tonight I saw a friend who immigrated here 25 years ago. She is now an American citizen. We were standing in front of a rent house she owns. It is usually rented to immigrants. The rent is $650 per month, low for even Houston standards. The house is old and a little run down, but its nice on the inside, with high ceilings, lots of windows and beautiful wood floors that my friend and her husband re-finished themselves.
She told me that the Spanish language TV stations are saying that immigration enforcement is going to intensify to unprecedented levels.
Later I saw an op-ed piece in the NY Times that says this about immigration enforcement:
"The federal government has embarked on a disastrously one-sided immigration strategy — pulling out one harsh enforcement tool after another without having repaired the broken system. We have already seen the results of runaway enforcement on the agricultural industry — a shortage of workers leading to rotting crops and farmers relocating south of the border. The trouble with crackdowns, like the foolish one involving “no-match” letters, is that they cause oceans of pain and havoc — not just for undocumented immigrants, but also for legal residents and the economy — without actually solving anything."
New York Times, October 12, 2007
I wonder about the family who will be moving into the house. Does the dad have a driver's license? Were the kids born in the U.S.? Will they be worried about their safety when they live in the little frame house that rents for $650?
A former student of mine who is now a high school teacher said that his school had a meeting today about the DREAM ACT with undocumented students. The students are concerned, a little afraid. One of their fellow students was detained last week. They are all wondering what will happen, will the DREAM ACT pass? If it does, will they be safe from ICE? Will they eventually be able to get a drivers license?
This makes me wonder about our democratic society (or Republic, as my husband reminds me). How can a country that sees itself just and free function with a constant chain of raids going on? ICE Raids remind me of Anne Frank and the Holocaust. People being chased down, being turned in by malevolent acquaintances, handcuffed, drugged and put on planes that take them far away; families separated, people dying in custody. You would think the U.S. would be doing this to get rid of a bunch of ax murderers. Instead its just people who came to work, who committed a misdeamenor when they crossed the international border without proper documents.
The similarity between the U.S. and out of control fascist governments is chilling. Everyone doesn't think like an ICE officer or a Minute Man. Not everyone believes Mitt Romney. Why aren't those who know better doing anything?
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