When Mexico Attacks

Op-Ed by Aprieto
“Give me your tired, your hungry”
These words were inscribed on the statue of liberty more than 100 years ago, when the French brought over the statue in 1886. Recent events notwithstanding, the issue over illegal immigration and immigration in general has always been a sore spot in America. We tend to be two-faced over the matter. This should be nothing new to whites and non whites in this country. The United States has always thrived on cheap labor, as whole we are addicted to it not as much as our oil addiction but very close. If you need proof open your history books and look between: “Industrial Revolution” and “The Civil War”; the little subsection in between the two? That’s where our cheapest labor at the time was coming from. There were no guest worker programs yet in place.
When the railroads were built we of course depended on the Irish and Chinese to do the hard work. Charming phrases such as: “Not a Chinaman’s chance” was introduced to our ever growing vernacular. As the railroads were for the most part completed, the Chinese Exclusion Act was initiated and so long Chinamen! Some settled in California and that’s how we have Chinatown in San Francisco! Right around this time between 1850 and 1880 the Mexican migrant worker was deemed a necessary part of the bustling harvest season in the southwest part of the United States. Increased expansion of cattle farms and heightened fruit production in California had made the migrants popular. Now the funny thing about Mexicans is that until 1849, California and major parts of the southwest including but not limited to Arizona and New Mexico were all parts of Mexico, until our Manifest Destiny burned out the Mexicans and the remaining Native American Indians.
The Mexican Revolution of 1910 left Mexico destabilized and woefully unable to produce a decent quality of life for it’s citizens; Mexican farms were producing far less. Survival was now the issue of the day and with WWI engulfing Europe, the United States once again needed help. Agencies in Mexico began recruiting workers for industrial and agricultural work in the U.S. Complaints of abuse and inhumane conditions from Mexican’s working in the U.S. led the Carranza Government to adopt the first de facto Bracero Program. This was the first such program between the two countries. Fast forward to 1924 and the Border Patrol was created to detain any Mexican working in the U.S. without a contract of employment, the term “Illegal Alien” was introduced.
There is no disputing that the Mexican migrant has contributed to our economy and prosperity, and our treatment of them seems not humane but purely as a labor tool. When the great depression hit the U.S., Mexicans were once again ousted and told not to come back unless we have a major problem and we need them again. “You come back and you’re considered an outlaw or an illegal”.
In 1939 the Nazi’s got crazy and invaded Poland, a few years later in 1941 the Japanese (former fruit workers themselves) bombed Pearl Harbor. Thus in 1942 the controversial Bracero Treaty is enacted. 4 million now legal Mexicans walked over to work the fields. Does anyone else see a developing pattern here?
The Bracero Treaty contracted agricultural workers who flocked to the northern border altering the socio-economic areas of Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas. Anyone want to guess what “El Paso” means? The Bracero Treaty was by no means the be all and end all of a valid and effective immigration policy; the program was rife with humanitarian abuses. After WWII with G.I.’s coming home from the war, the need for Mexican workers diminished and by 1947 the Emergency Farm Labor Service was actively trying to quell imported Mexican labor. The advent of the mechanical cotton harvester by the 1960’s secured the end of the Bracero Treaty.
Present day-
There is an estimated 11 million illegal aliens in this country. Not only from Mexico, there are many from China, Central America, South America and the rest of the world. You can travel to almost any place in the United States except maybe Alaska and find some poor wretch slinging tamales on some corner. The news lately has been covering the back forth debate on the issue of immigrants. I still find it funny that Hispanics and blacks are still considered “minorities”. Here in Nevada the second largest population next to Hispanics is Filipino’s; so what constitutes a minority? It’s certainly not a numbers issue.
They don’t even speak fucking English!
I heard this comment last week while I was reviewing a lame club here in Las Vegas. The comment came from two men who were drunk and sounded as they themselves had a tenuous grasp on the language. “They come here steal our jobs, commit crimes and don’t have to answer to anyone”. This additional comment is nothing new I’ve heard it many times. I don’t agree with it and I doubt many do. The question I have for him and anyone else who poses that question is what jobs? The Stockbroker position or Salesman position? Nien, immigrants do the jobs no one else wants to do, and they do it well! They accept poor paying jobs because lets face it they are here illegally, yet the jobs pay a whole lot more than Mexican jobs. They live their lives in constant suspicion afraid to leave their houses for fear of being rounded up like a criminal and sent back to whatever hell they were escaping. Let’s not mention the kids born in the U.S. to illegal parents. What happens when mom and dad get kicked over the border? I do agree with some arguments, specifically that immigrants should try their best to assimilate more into mainstream America by learning English why? Well for one thing it helps the non-immigrants (the ones who have been here over 3 generations and forgotten their own immigrant roots) to ease out of the xenophobia that still grips individuals and this country as a whole. There is a great article on Slate.com revolving around the Minutemen Project and their scary ordeals. Having to read signs in Spanish and seeing brown people in their neighborhood. Scary stuff indeed! The other good reason to learn English; it would help the immigrant maneuver more effectively in our strictly English only tolerated society.
Although I do still laugh when I hear comments about learning English and once again let me state: Everyone who comes here should learn English. Just like I would try and learn Japanese if I ever went to Japan; the last thing I want to do is hang around other Americans in a foreign country. Getting shot or booing American’s abroad is becoming more and more a past-time, and if I still didn’t know Japanese when trip time came around…I would still go! Let’s not forget our favorite places to visit when we go to major melting pot cities for example, San Francisco’s Chinatown or New York’s Little Italy. I’m pretty sure those subsections were not known for their eagerness to assimilate to the then current standard. So if any Minutemen or Minutewomen read this: Don’t go to these places!! If darker skin, slanty eyes and smelly Middle Eastern people scare you…these cities would be the ultimate nightmare! I’ll give American’s credit when they discriminate they’ve crossed the board pretty well, but the darker the skin the harsher and longer the discrimination endures. It then transforms into hate rather than an off color remark. When the Italians came over by the boatload, they got pushed around and received the nickname: WOPS. WOPS by the way means: With Out Papers just in case you didn’t know. We all know the history of the Mafia and subsequent organized crime stigma that closed minded people associate the Italian race with. The Irish were kicked around by the English in Europe, when they immigrated to the U.S. they dealt with more discrimination. They too had criminal roots and until recently a terrorist association, specifically with the IRA. Let’s be honest the IRA has done some fundraising here in America with Irish-American sympathizers. Can you imagine a genuine terrorist organization in Mexico supported by Mexican-Americans?
Recently I heard some idiot on Fox News (no it wasn’t O’Reilly)complaining about the recent mass demonstrations in major cities throughout the U.S. in connection with the Immigration reform bill that by the way as of 4/7/06 was blocked. This moron stated his dissatisfaction at witnessing Mexican flags being waved at the rallies and not so many American flags. His fear and that of the Minutemen is rooted somewhere between Invaders from Mars and attack of the 50ft feminist. This kind of simple, low forehead mentality is what’s wrong with this country. You figured that by now most of these simple minded cretins would have died off, they are a by product of a terrible time. These same people are afraid of the invasion of the U.S. by Juan and his 50 cousins but don’t have a problem shopping at Wal-Mart, where American’s of all colors are being put out of work.
If anything good has happened in this whole mess it’s this: The massive demonstrations that captivated the country by the sheer number of people and the speed to which so many mobilized. Is the confirmation and validity of the Hispanic/American presence in this country. My mother is an Immigrant and she did not steal nor commit crimes when she got here with little English. She is proud of her heritage; she did not come here via a tunnel or in the trunk of a car. She did the next thing…..she married a Puerto Rican.