This is a food site, not a political site. Yet...
Nobody that I've talked to has decried the contributions that immigrants have made to this country. America IS immigrants (are?). Ok, America be immigrants.
Especially in contributions to food and the work they do in commercial kitchens. With few exceptions, America is the place where you can find more diverse and varied foods than anywhere else in the world. We embrace immigration, as all but a few of us are from somewhere else.
But the rallies in LA and around the country hit a wrong note. The selfish sense of entitlement, and the brash notion that those who circumvented the system are now entitled to citizenship and all the benefits thereof, has created a justified backlash.
I am from the "Don't Bite The Hand That Feeds You" belief. While I understand the motivation of the people boycotting yesterday, flexing their economic muscle, it sent the wrong message. What most people got out of it was "We will cause economic damage until our demands are met." Furthermore, it was quickly turned into a semi-racial protest, as if Americans are against
all immigrants, or that we just don't like brown skin. This was a patent distortion perpetrated by the March 25th Coalition.
Absolutely nobody derides (primarily Mexican) immigrants for wanting to flee to America. We all understand why. Yet, borders are important because they establish a nation's sovereignty, and control the population going in and out of that country. Countries, believe it or not, are
allowed to enforce their borders. Any other country but America would be overlooked for wanting to do this, yet the rest of the world seems to look at America like we're a big amusement park, our border a turnstile, and our sovereignty a mere suggestion.
There are Indians, Koreans, Chinese, Cubans, you name it, who wait
years to come into this country, and it is simply not fair to grant wholesale amnesty to people who cheated the system. Nobody is denying the contribution to the society, but nobody can ignore the burden they place on the same.
I know this is going to sound harsh, but the point of having an immigration policy is that our government is entitled to be able to pick and choose it's citizens and workers. Coming to America is a privilege, not a right granted to Planet Earth. There is a lottery system open to anyone who wants to come here, and there is a parallel system of vetting people who will substantively contribute to our economy. This country needs more qualified engineers and doctors, we simply don't need any more farmers or day laborers.
In fact, as the population of unskilled workers (their term, not mine) increases, unemployment increases. There are simply not enough jobs for the stampede of illegals, and unemployment breeds discontent and ultimately crime. This isn't a gross generalization, it is simple economics. A certain portion of the illegal population will turn to crime, gangs and other means necessary to earn a living.
Because we are America, we have policies that protect non-citizens more than any other country in the world. Yet people trash us for wanting to stem the tide of illegal immegration. The problem is simple: the system cannot handle 12 to 20 million new citizens all at one time. That's like 20 million babies being born at once. It will crush our infrastructure, education system and economy.
The real solution, and I'm speaking only of the Mexicans now, is to fight, protest, take up arms, do whatever is necessary to change the government of Mexico. It is not America's fault. It is the corrupt, unchecked, elite and government class of Mexico that has raped the people systematically for the last 100 years. Once that is achieved, and Mexico can thrive, there won't be a need to flee. Oh, and guess who enforces it's southern border with federal troops? Of course. Mexico has some of the strictest border policies with its own southern border, heaven forbid a Guatamalan wants to migrate north into Mexico.
It is a tough prospect, I know. But everyone is looking to America's compassionate policy to bail them out, meanwhile Vincente Fox is
encouraging Mexicans to come to America. It eases the poverty burden on him, and he knows that much of the cash paid under the table to illegals is sent back to his country, bolstering his economy with American dollars. If we do not confront this issue now we will
become Mexico, a country by Mexicans' own admission, is so antithetical to properity and happiness, they are willing to leave their families to come to a foreign land.
What did we learn in LA yesterday? If all the illegal immigrants were gone, traffic alone would improve 10 fold. A commute that usually takes me an hour took only 20 minutes yesterday.
That's what people saw. Ok, back to food, and let's not forget, Cinco de Mayo is this Friday.
