Brother Christopher Posch in the local Catholic Diocese Dialog (Nov. 29, 2007 edition) makes a big mistake in utilizing his [Catholic] faith as a substitute for American law:
Is the United States, a country rooted in liberty and freedom, becoming a big bully, beating up the most vulnerable? Is history repeating itself with modern day Rosa Parks and Anne Frank figures being forced out of a bus and hiding in basements and closets?
This is the brother's response to the United States taking action on illegal immigration. From a religious standpoint, I can sympathize with the brother. Christian charity would indeed beg of us to assist those in need. However, the United States is not a church, and cannot be overseen as such. If the brother feels like the United States is really a "big bully," maybe he could ask himself how in the world twelve million illegal immigrants have managed to enter the country in the first place over the last couple decades? Wouldn't a "bully" do a heck of a lot more to clamp down on that? Secondly, I find the comparison to Rosa Parks and Anne Frank absolutely repugnant. Rosa Parks, and all African-Americans of her era and before (since 1865), were American citizens. Notice that "C" word -- "citizens." And despite their being citizens, black Americans were not even close to being treated as such, having to forgo true equality until relatively recently in the whole of the country's history. Ms. Parks and other African-Americans WERE (and ARE) Americans. They were born here and their history is as much America's as anyone else's, as they have been here as long. How can Brother Posch equate Ms. Parks' struggle to those who have a clear choice as to whether to come here; to those who knowingly choose to enter a country against its laws; to those who, once here, are rarely prosecuted for their blatant violation of federal law(s); to those who, once here, are free to protest against the country whose laws they broke; to those who, once here, have myriad legal assistance looking out for their every interest? That have essentially the same legal rights (according to the 14th Amendment) that citizens have? And more?
The Anne Frank analogy is even more loathsome. Anne and her family were hiding from genocidal maniacs bent on wiping out them and folks that shared their religion -- only because of that religion. To state somehow with a straight face that the United States' treatment of illegal immigrants is anyway at all akin to how the Nazis treated Jews is beyond reason.
I wonder what activism Brother Posch has undertaken on behalf of illegal immigrants from Central America in Mexico -- especially since those immigrants are treated much more harshly by the Mexican government than illegal [Mexican] immigrants are treated by our own. Much more harshly.
The overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants are not here for political asylum-type reasons. They are here for simple economics. Jobs are plentiful and the pay is better -- much better than where they come from. What Brother Posch fails to realize is that if the US acted as he wishes, the result would be utter chaos. If we allowed any person who wanted to come here to merely cross the border and find a job, the result would be mayhem. We are beginning to witness the seeds of such mayhem now that, in some areas, the numbers of illegal immigrants are becoming straining. That's why now, after many years, there are calls for something to be done about abating the flow of those who come here illegally.
The sensible thing to do is to construct a reasonable [legislative] means for those already here to become legal residents and/or proceed on the path to US citizenship, all the while reinforcing border to a degree much higher than it is presently. Outlandish hyperbole like that of Brother Posch will not sway very many Americans to what his [commendable] cause ultimately is -- helping people in need.
You use the word citizen and illegal immigrant like they should have universal meaning but what you cite is simply American Law - we gave ourselves rights! They are not universal. We are not somehow ordained from god to be on this land nor is there any universal governing document that says we get to determine who comes and goes. Our ancestors drew a line in the sand and you somehow expect everyone else in the world to obey our borders simply because we say so. That is sort of like me walking into your yard, drawing a border, dictating that it is and expecting you to stay out because I tell you to.
An immigrant who has a chance to drastically improve the lifestyle of his children by coming here will always do so regardless of American law (funny how we cite the law when it comes to immigration but ignore it like hell when it comes to driving on the freeway). The fact is, we don't care crap about the law, we just don't want a bunch of people coming and creating competition for our resources so we draw borders and enforce them with guards. However, if the roles were reversed, we'd be heading across the border in droves just People will always try to find a way to survive and provide for their families and rightfully so. Maybe instead of trying to keep everyone else out, we should invest our strength and money in making other places more appealing.
Posted by: Robert at December 6, 2007 03:59 AMUniversal meaning is correct. The overwhelming majority of nations actually do recognize a thing called borders and national boundaries. Only those within the cuddly womb of university academia can sit there and ponder some sort of an ecumenical utopia where there aren't any travel obstacles to humans, at least those that require some sort of permission.
But I get it -- we shouldn't worry about ourselves, but everyone else. You know, so we can sing "kumbaya," hold hands, and abolish all national entities. It's our fault that Mexico's history has been perpetually tainted with ridiculous and petty [political] corruption. This is also a common trait found in said cuddly womb.
Funny that you didn't bother to address the ridiculous comparison made between Rosa Parks and Anne Frank which, after all, was what this post is really about.