Oppenheimer is warning of some type of revolt or violence if immigration is not handled correctly. I disagree. I don't think people will resort to violence as much as become more passive and invisible in U.S. society.
During the 19th and early to mid- 20th century people of Mexican descent in the American southwest were treated the same or worse than current day undocumented immigrants. They were lynched, had their lands stolen, were banished, and treated as sub-human. Numerous Texas counties did not allow Mexican-Americans to live within their boundaries. Their children were not allowed to attend "white" schools, often having to work in the fields to help parents reach the productivity required by their "bosses." All of this did not lead to outright revolt. There was violence and tension between groups in the early 20th century, but after over 5,000 Mexican Americans were killed (in south Texas) - things calmed down and people became passive and subservient again.
No Mr. Oppenheimer, it won't be violence against other people. It may be violence among themselves (as Jose Limon states in his book Dancing with the Devil) - but not towards the establishment. This time I believe it will be resistance in other forms, organization, voting, more push for education. The DREAM ACT may be lost for now but the DREAMERS are a group of bright and determined young people who will ultimately make their mark. They are motivating other students who are American citizens, and together they will form a large political movement - not to hurt anyone - but to bring peace to our country. Anyway, we may not be battling now- at least not with guns - but we certainly are battling with words.
for more information on the history of Mexican Americans in the southwest, see the award winning book "Anglos and Mexicans in Texas: 1836-1986" by David Montejano.
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Angry migrant underclass might erupt in U.S.
Andres Oppenheimer
Miami Herald
November 4, 2007
...I was thinking about all of this [frustration of undocumented immigrants] when I read about last week's U.S. Senate refusal to pass the Dream Act, a bill that would offer a path to legalization to children of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States at a very young age, and who get a college degree or serve in the military.
MIAMI BROTHERS
The bill would have regularized the status of youths like Juan and Alex Gomez, the two Colombian-born Miami brothers who were brought by their parents to this country as toddlers, graduated near the top of their high school classes, and now face deportation to a country they don't even remember.
There are an estimated 1.8 million children in the United States who are growing up like other American kids, often speak no language other than English, but don't have legal documents, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. They are denied in-state college tuition fees or scholarships that are available to legal U.S. residents, and are eventually thrown into a labor market where they are barred from being employed.
Further, the Bush administration-backed escalation of raids against undocumented workers in factories, the increase of city ordinances prohibiting people from leasing apartments to undocumented immigrants, and the overt xenophobia spilling daily from Hispanic-phobic radio and cable-television shows will leave their mark on these and other children in immigrant communities.
A study released last week by the Urban Institute and the National Council of La Raza says there are about five million U.S. children with at least one undocumented parent.
''The recent intensification of immigration enforcement activities by the federal government has increasingly put these children at risk of family separation, economic hardship, and psychological trauma,'' the report says.
The study looked at the impact of recent U.S. immigration raids in Colorado, Nebraska and Massachusetts, where about 900 undocumented workers were arrested at their work sites, and their children -- most often infants -- were suddenly deprived of their fathers or mothers.
''The combination of fear, isolation, and economic hardship induced mental health problems such as depression, separation anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide thoughts,'' it said.
My opinion: We have to stop this xenophobic hysteria. And please, dear anti-immigration readers, don't tell me I'm being dishonest for failing to point out that you are not against legal immigration, but only against ``illegals.''
You are making a deceptive argument. Leaving aside the fact that nearly half of the undocumented immigrants came to this country legally, and overstayed their visas, their non-compliance with immigration rules should not stigmatize them with the label of ``illegals.''
DANGEROUS PATH
You may have violated a rule, but that should not make you an ''illegal'' person. You may have gotten a ticket for speeding, but that doesn't make you an ''illegal'' human being, even if the potential harm of your reckless driving is much greater than anything done by most of the hard-working undocumented immigrants in this country.
Carrying out enforcement-only policies, labeling undocumented workers as ''illegals'' and depriving them of hope for upward mobility -- rather than working toward greater economic cooperation with Latin America to reduce migration pressures -- is not only wrong, but dangerous. The millions of undocumented among us will not leave. They will only get angrier.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/andres_oppenheimer/story/295183.html
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