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Heartbreak: Mexicans Pinching Pesos as Income From America Slows

September 23, 2008 |

I hope I have room on my desk for all the tears I'm going to cry after wading through this story. The first few paragraphs of the article in question discuss Luis Martínez, who was deported after unlawfully leaving the country to attend a funeral while attempting to gain U.S. citizenship.

That's a bummer - but not the focus of the article. The real tragedy is that the flood of illegal immigrants can't afford to send quite so large a piece of our ever-feeble economy back to their familia across the border.

From the piece in the Dallas Morning News:
Of the 500,000 Hispanics who have lost their jobs since January 2007, he estimates 60,000 are illegal immigrants from Mexico. Some have been forced to take jobs that pay much less. "I have interviewed migrants, and they tell me they lost a job in construction at $15 an hour and now are washing dishes for $7 an hour," he said.
An illegal immigrant lost his job? Well, I seem to have also lost my violin. You should be counting your lucky stars you even have a job, nevermind the fact that you have health care, education, and a cluster of American cities whose police forces aren't even allowed to ask you about your immigration status.
Meanwhile, U.S. authorities are deporting Mexican immigrants at a rate not seen in 50 years, including more than 208,000 "removals" from the U.S. interior in the current fiscal year, which ends this month.
"Mexican immigrants?" Do we just go around deporting Mexican people who immigrated here legally? America must be a racist country! Try describing them as "illegal" Mexican immigrants and you'll be closer to the truth.

The "rate not seen in 50 years" might have something to do with the fact that we're currently in the midst of what can only be described as a national emergency. It might have something to do with the fact that once illegal immigrants get here, they're 50% more likely to be on welfare than citizens.

And if we want to start deporting "immigrants," we could start with the 17% of federal prison inmates who are illegal immigrants. It would rid our nation of criminals we don't want becoming citizens anyway, and would instantly save us the millions of dollars it's currently costing to imprison them. But you won't hear this proposal from Obama or McCain. By the way, that 17% of imprisoned illegal immigrants is significant considering that illegal immigrants make up only about 3% of the country's population.

So, why don't I have any tears on my desk? Because the life boat is sinking, and there aren't enough orange floaty jackets to go around.

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Soy Barack Obama, y Apruebo Este Desastre

September 18, 2008 |

Barry has released yet another attack ad, after vowing to "take off the gloves." You might want to sit down for this one. It's in Spanish, obviously because everyone speaks Spanish, and certainly not because he's trying to reel in a particular demographic. The ad attempts to link McCain to Rush Limbaugh, takes Rush's words (as much as he irks me) out of context, and tries to paint John McCain as a racist. Watch.



If your internal translator is broken:
"They want us to forget the insults we’ve put up with...the intolerance...they made us feel marginalized in this country we love so much."

(Then, the ad shows two quotes from Rush Limbaugh, who is apparently a McCain spokesperson)

"Stupid and unskilled Mexicans"

"Shut up or get out!"

(The narrator continues)

"John McCain and his Republican friends have two faces. One that tells us lies to get our vote - and another, worse still, that continues the policies of George Bush that put special interests ahead of the working families. John McCain - more of the same Republican tricks."
First, get all the laughs out of your system before reading on. The sad truth is, if you're an illegal immigrant already in America and trying to attain citizenship without "going to the back of the line," Señor McCain is probably your best friend.

There are major problems linking McCain to Rush Limbaugh. If there was one issue on which the cigar-chomping blowhard differed with McCain, it was illegal immigration. Limbaugh also apparently doesn't particularly care for him. The Obama ad makes it seem like they go golfing on the weekends and have private jet races. Either way, Rush wasn't too happy, as was evidenced by an email written in response to the ad:
"Obama is now stoking racism in the country," Limbaugh wrote in an email. "Obama is a disgrace - he wants the public to think he is Mr. Nice Guy while his thugs are in Alaska looking for dirt on Palin and he runs race-baiting ads and lies about what he has done and what McCain has done."
At this point I'd like to remind you of the grand treatment immigrants to Mexico receive. Do you think Mexico has bilingual education? Bilingual ballots on election day? Do you think illegal immigrants to Mexico are entitled to welfare or food stamps? Do you think a third-world country like Mexico is going to let millions of people (skilled or otherwise) flood across its borders from somewhere like Guatemala?

Do you think Mexico would sit back and watch you avoid paying taxes while sending millions of Mexican pesos back to family members in your native country?

Do you really think you'd have the right to organize a political group and protest in the streets, waving the flag of your homeland, bad-mouthing Mexico's president, and showing contempt for the laws of the country you so badly want to make your home?

The answer, of course, is no.

And again, linking John McCain to something Rush Limbaugh said is like taking a Bill Maher or Joy Behar quote and trying to tie it to Obama. It would be just as unfair and irrelevant as what Barry did with this ad.

After all, if Obama wants to use talk show hosts as surrogates, are liberal talkers from the ever-sinking Air America up for grabs? Take this gem for example, from woman-of-the-left Randi Rhodes, in which she makes the backhanded claim that Sarah Palin will abuse your children:



In addition to accusing Sarahcuda of being at best a latent child molester, Randi has also claimed that John McCain was treated like a "prince" by his captors in Vietnam. Yet somehow, you'll go on believing that conservatives are the ones who spew "hate speech."

Update: Limbaugh has penned an editorial in the Wall Street Journal today accusing Obama of exploiting racial tensions and resorting to "segregationist" fear-mongering. It's worth reading, but here's an excerpt:

The malignant aspect of this is that Mr. Obama and his advisers know exactly what they are doing. They had to listen to both monologues or read the transcripts. They then had to pick the particular excerpts they used in order to create a commercial of distortions. Their hoped-for result is to inflame racial tensions. In doing this, Mr. Obama and his advisers have demonstrated a pernicious contempt for American society.

We've made much racial progress in this country. Any candidate who employs the tactics of the old segregationists is unworthy of the presidency.

Eh, he's right.

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McCain/Palin Immigration Policies Remain a Mystery

September 8, 2008 |

There's no proof that McCain's people knew this was going on, but reports are surfacing that Republican convention attendees with signage relating to a particularly touchy issue for McCain were told to leave their cardboard and sharpies at home. If there's an issue where John McCain most disappoints me, it is the issue of illegal immigration - something he's been suspiciously quiet about since assuming the nomination, and an issue which seemed all but forgotten during the convention. Watch.



McCain has yet to tell the American people where he stands now on this critical issue, even after having been the poster-child of amnesty in an attempt to shove a massively unpopular piece of legislation down the throats of the taxpayers (with a little help from Ted Kennedy). And now, motivated voters at the Republican convention with signs reading "Build The Fence" were told to pack them up and keep them out of sight.

And Sarah Palin? I challenge anyone reading to find me anything tangible regarding her views on illegal immigration - I'm willing to bet you'll find yourself empty-handed. And if no one knows where she stands, what are the odds she's as much of a pushover for amnesty as John McCain has shown himself to be? Does John McCain think he can send another equally horrendous bill through congress if it's presented by Ronald Reagan in stilettos?

But of course, the American political equivalent of two-card-monte forces us to choose from two wholly imperfect candidates. If McCain is elected, proponents of border enforcement will really only have to fight his administration. If Obama is president, they'll have to fight an entire party.

I have no confidence in McCain on this issue. None. If you're a conservative who cares about border security, be prepared to be sold down the Rio Grande if the "maverick" is elected.

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The Deported

March 7, 2008 |

This week, USA Today brought us the story about Karina Acosta. Karina is in Mexico now, but 3 months ago, things were different. Karina was a high school senior in Roswell, New Mexico. She was 18, she was pregnant, and she was an illegal alien. According to the article, as many as 40% of her high school's Hispanic students (which make up an estimated 90% of the total amount students) may be illegal.

Things took a turn when she was pulled over for blocking a fire lane, and found to be driving without a license. The school's policeman asked her for proof of legal U.S. residency. Like most illegal immigrants, that was one thing she didn't have. The officer reportedly gave her several days to prove she was in this country legally, but she could not. She was detained and deported, after agreeing not to fight the deportation in favor of being sent back to Mexico.

Above: If I respect your history,
will you respect my laws?

Believe it or not, under federal law (specifically this 1982 Supreme Court ruling), children who are in the U.S. illegally are guaranteed the right to a public education. What they aren't guaranteed is the right to stay here and give birth to a U.S. citizen once they are discovered to be here illegally.

Border counties in nearby Arizona are losing millions of dollars a year to the problems and law enforcement challenges caused by illegal immigration, yet some think illegal immigrants have done nothing wrong. Juan Montoya is a Roswell resident with some alarmingly naive words:
"It's not just about Karina. Karina is just one of many...I know people who have been picked up -- didn't break a law, they didn't pass a stop sign, they didn't do anything."

They didn't do anything except enter the country illegally, avoid paying taxes, and send a growing portion of the U.S. economy back to Mexico. Speaking of Mexico, according to a 2002 Zogby poll, 58% of Mexicans think the Southwest United States rightfully belongs to Mexico, and 57% believe that Mexicans should have the right to enter the U.S. without permission. I guess that goes along with the "right" to a free education once they're here.

Dolores Fresquez, one of Karina's former teachers in Roswell, bemoaned her deportation and claimed that public schools must be safe havens for illegal immigrants.

"Schools are supposed to be safe for any student, regardless of what nationality, what age they may be."

When will you people get it through your increasingly dense heads. It's not about "nationality." It's not about age. It is not xenophobic, bigoted, or racist.

Hard-working legal immigrants -- who retain their heritage and the traditions of their homeland while simultaneously learning English, assimilating into American life, and contributing to society -- are a national blessing.

Illegal immigrants -- who criminally "cut in line" to get here, avoid assimilation, make no attempt to learn English, evade taxation, flood Mexico with American dollars, and crowd our jails, hospitals, and schools -- are a national plague.

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