In between blowing my nose, I've been hearing and reading a lot about illegal immigration, most of it not exactly flattering to my American brethren. Yesterday on NPR they played a snippet from a woman who said something to the effect of, "We need to keep them out of here. They bring disease here." Without saying anything that might offend Southern-Americans, let me just comment that this woman did not exactly sound: a)like her family came over on the Mayflower or b)like she was a Native American.
Where does she suppose her own "disease-ridden" ancestors came from, then? Did they spring fully formed from the stone heads of Mount Rushmore?
The other interesting fact in the NPR report was that, in general, people who live in communities most affected by illegal immigration have more tolerant viewpoints than those who live in communities where illegal migrants are rare. That tells me that Ms. Disease Fearmonger has probably never met an illegal in her life, so when she spews her venom, she has no clue what she's talking about.
I guess this would be a good time to let you in on my little secret. I was once an illegal alien and so was my husband. Now, granted, we were Americans in the Czech Republic ("rich" Westerners going to live in a poorer Central European country), so we didn't face the kind of scorn and hassle that your average Mexican faces coming here, but we did feel the fear of crossing a border, going to the Foreigners' Police, and getting paid under the table while we waited for our papers to be in order. In my case, it took only a few weeks (although I then made the mistake of omission of not registering and could have been deported), but Chip's papers took a lot longer. We made our travel plans, opened our bank accounts, lived our lives in the way that would be most likely to let us continue to live there without hassle from the authorities, and after we both got legal the first time, we never let anything lapse again. We paid our taxes and social services, registered our baby even through extreme bureaucratic stupidity, and tried to be good citizens.
But this was all possible in the Czech Republic. It wasn't as if we were going to be deported simply for showing up at the Foreigner's Police. The truth was that we had entered the country under a tourist visa and had proceeded to take jobs and set up residence. We took care of the legalities after, although I should say in our defense that we did *try* before we left the U.S. Try "taking care of the legalities" after the fact in today's America. Not likely. Have fun on that bus back to Honduras.
For as much as I complained about the bureaucracy surrounding getting our permits in the Czech Republic, I was always keenly aware that it was miles easier for me to do than it was for a Czech to get a simple tourist visa to the U.S.--or for a Ukrainian to get legal in the Czech Republic. Every place has its immigrant bogeymen.
What I see when I look at most illegal immigrants--whether they're Mexicans in the U.S. or Somalis in the U.K.--is hardworking people desperate to make a better life for themselves and their families. One CNN documentary on illegal African immigrants to Europe followed a man who worked three jobs--more than 20 hours a day--to stay in England. That doesn't sound to me like someone who is coming to suck off the social welfare teat.
Are there people who come here to sponge off America's "generous" social safety net? Probably. But, like the mythical welfare queens, I would bet that their impact on our national coffers has a tiny net effect when compared with, oh, say the corporate welfare that we overlook every day as a nation.
Now I need to blow my nose.