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A Letter to Valley Residents

Hi there,

            This semester was a perfect time to study migration in Phoenix.  The city was alive with the discussion of the march that was held March 24th in which thousands came out to protest immigration laws that were being considered.  The city expressed surprise by the numbers and admonished the leaders for not giving a more accurate count of possible participants.  However the city may have been more surprised by the fact that a previously invisible and docile group of people had begun to speak out.  The animosity in laws that were being considered to address illegal immigration had reached a fevered pitch. It was hard to ignore possible legislation that would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally, erect a fence at the border or target employers who employ undocumented workers.  Would it be a felony to employ undocumented workers too? 

            This is an issue that has been debated and legislated for over a hundred years, yet we still come up with the same old tired punitive solutions that do not actually work, but help a large portion of the populace feel better, temporarily.  It’s like spanking a child for biting another child.  That temporary feeling of sanctimony evaporates when you realize the child has just been taught that it is okay to inflict pain on someone smaller.

            In the middle of the semester, I moved to the heart of downtown Phoenix.  Just in time for the March for Fair Immigration Laws on May 1st.  This time, the city was ready.  There were handouts on my door outlining the parade route and suggesting alternatives.  Traffic was diverted.  There was plenty of fear building as well.  State Senator Robert Blendu likened the demonstrators’ disruption of government to al Qaeda. Some state congressmen called for the National Guard to protect the capital.

            The people I spoke with were in a festive mood of anticipation.  When I pulled up to the drive thru window at a local Carl’s Jr., the woman at the window was speaking to co-workers in Spanish.  I asked if she was going to the demonstration.  She said yes and good naturedly launched into the preparations she had to complete before she could take the day off.  I told her I would be there as well.  She thanked me.  We joked about the excitement and how hungry I was.  By the time my order was ready she said, “Okay girl, here it is before you fall over from hunger.”  We agreed to keep a look out for each other at the march.  It was a fast instant connection because of a bond of solidarity, of appreciation.

            On the day of the march, I walked a few blocks from my home to join the sea of white tee shirts as we headed to the state capitol.  There were so many men and women with strollers and families.  It was funny now to think of all the fear that had generated when I saw the composition of the crowd.  Half of the people I spoke to were citizens who were there to support migrants.  I thought about the demonstrations I attended in Washington to protest the Vietnam War in the early 1970s.  This group was far more serious and well mannered.  I hoped the group would stay together and not get dispersed by family and work obligations that seem to dilute passion.  

            New solutions to chronic problems do not seem to come from old minds tapping into base motives of a frustrated population.  If incarceration is our answer for crime, why do we have a high crime rate and high incarceration rate at the same time?  If incarceration does not work for criminals, why would it work for migrants?  Why is this the only solution our legislators can come up with? Why do we keep doing the same thing and expect different results?

            A workable solution to this problem will take people who are willing to lead.  Immigration solutions require leaders to look at the best available evidence (real evidence, not stories from other good ole boys) to draft creative solutions that are not built on the backs of other people, but are designed to actually solve problems and be evaluated, repeatedly and consistently.  And if these solutions are not working, then adjustment or abandonment is necessary, but not repetition. 

            We have felt perfectly justified in mining the Mexican population for cheap labor on both sides of the border.  The U.S. supported Maquidoras employ women for a pittance, disrupt the economy, pocket the Mexican government and destroy the family structure.  It is surprising that all they want from us is a chance to earn a living.    

            These are our neighbors. We have been linked for hundreds of years.  Now, that connection must be made stronger through a more egalitarian approach to immigration.