We Are Killing Our Neighbors 5:08 am / 17 September 2006 by chris lempa, at The Radical Whole
More Immigrants Die Crossing Border
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
The number of illegal immigrants who died crossing into the United States from Mexico more than doubled from 1995 to 2005, according to the Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress. Most of the deaths occurred from heat exposure in the Arizona desert, as more immigrants avoided urban areas like San Diego and El Paso that have tough border-security efforts. The federal auditors also found there was little evidence that the Border Patrol’s efforts to reduce the number of deaths had been successful. - New York Times, September 15, 2006
During an extended car ride I was listening to a talk radio program. The hosts of this libertarian show were ridiculing the United States Congress for passing a bill to build a 700 mile fence on the US - Mexican border. I was able to laugh when they described Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert as being "bereft of a soul," but inside I wasn't laughing. The issue of immigration and all of it's implications are not funny. Unfortunately immigration today is a disturbing topic. The most disturbing aspect is noted above - people are dying.
For What?
I used to work with and serve on the board for a small, grassroots workers rights organization. The organization's work focused on undocumented workers. Our clientelle was mostly Mexican and Guatemalan. The most rewarding aspect of the job was meeting and sharing stories with hundreds of people. Generally our conversations were about mundane, dealing with everyday topics: work, dating, bills, music, etc.
Occassionally someone would tell me why they moved to the United States. Many people would be surprised to hear that not a single one came here to steal jobs, live off the system, or take over the country. Most of them came here because they were not able to make it in their home country so they moved. Sometime people would move to larger cities, other times migration was to another country. A lot of their problems were tied to an influx in cheap agricultural products coming from the United States. This is the same problem the European Union and others have expressed at the WTO talks. US farm subsidies are greatly distorting market prices and therefore harming farmers throughout the world.
That is a more realistic reason as to why the so-called invasion is taking place.
NAFTA is also to blame. Wages in Mexico, as in the US, have been driven down to the point where it is nearly impossible to raise a family.
Wages and living standards have dropped so far that people are willing to risk death, ridicule, and hatred to bus tables, cook our food, and take other jobs that "Americans don't want."
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
The number of illegal immigrants who died crossing into the United States from Mexico more than doubled from 1995 to 2005, according to the Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress. Most of the deaths occurred from heat exposure in the Arizona desert, as more immigrants avoided urban areas like San Diego and El Paso that have tough border-security efforts. The federal auditors also found there was little evidence that the Border Patrol’s efforts to reduce the number of deaths had been successful. - New York Times, September 15, 2006
During an extended car ride I was listening to a talk radio program. The hosts of this libertarian show were ridiculing the United States Congress for passing a bill to build a 700 mile fence on the US - Mexican border. I was able to laugh when they described Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert as being "bereft of a soul," but inside I wasn't laughing. The issue of immigration and all of it's implications are not funny. Unfortunately immigration today is a disturbing topic. The most disturbing aspect is noted above - people are dying.
For What?
I used to work with and serve on the board for a small, grassroots workers rights organization. The organization's work focused on undocumented workers. Our clientelle was mostly Mexican and Guatemalan. The most rewarding aspect of the job was meeting and sharing stories with hundreds of people. Generally our conversations were about mundane, dealing with everyday topics: work, dating, bills, music, etc.
Occassionally someone would tell me why they moved to the United States. Many people would be surprised to hear that not a single one came here to steal jobs, live off the system, or take over the country. Most of them came here because they were not able to make it in their home country so they moved. Sometime people would move to larger cities, other times migration was to another country. A lot of their problems were tied to an influx in cheap agricultural products coming from the United States. This is the same problem the European Union and others have expressed at the WTO talks. US farm subsidies are greatly distorting market prices and therefore harming farmers throughout the world.
That is a more realistic reason as to why the so-called invasion is taking place.
NAFTA is also to blame. Wages in Mexico, as in the US, have been driven down to the point where it is nearly impossible to raise a family.
Wages and living standards have dropped so far that people are willing to risk death, ridicule, and hatred to bus tables, cook our food, and take other jobs that "Americans don't want."