Open Letter

5/10/04

Dear Phoenix Residents,

            Throughout this course, I have learned many things, with regards to the migration process and experience. Some highlights would have to be that the U.S. migration and immigration issue is important, for this is a human issue of great magnitude, especially when one considers that there are about 8 million undocumented people living in the United States…the undocumented are human beings and as such, should not be abused or exploited-they have the right to be treated with dignity and respect! As fellow human beings, we need to be critical of vigilante groups and our Border Patrol spewing hate (discrimination, racism, profiling, humiliation, assaults, etc.), under the guise of “National Security” or “Securing our Border”…vigilante   groups are violating state anti-militia law and, to this, I ask-Why are we allowing this to continue? What needs patrolling is our actions or lack thereof, because silence equals acceptance. We need to patrol our language and labels that de-humanize -using words such as: “alien,”- sends the message that they are from another planet, “round-up”-sends the message that they are to be treated like animals or cattle and “sweep”-sends the message that they are likened to dirt…our current border policy (Operation Gatekeeper) has not deterred migration, just diverted it to even more unsavory and unsafe areas, causing hundreds of border deaths each year. We cause poverty, displacement, desperation and yes, migration too, with our imperialism, economic and structural adjustment policies that create this migratory push-pull effect…U.S policies are in desperate need of critique and change, for example, NAFTA allows capital and trade to flow freely, but not  labor…What’s up with that? For real change to occur, we must examine and attack the driving force, that fuels migration.      

            We all have stories of migration, even if you have to go back a few generations. So, I ask-Have you forgotten where you came from? Our national identity is that we are a Nation of Immigrants, which means we are all immigrants! The responsibility to change what is happening lies with us-We the People!