MEXICO CITY - Remember the road we have traveled for a decade since September 11, 2001. It's important.
The now-departed humorist Art Buchwald wrote that when President John F. Kennedy was killed, nearly 40 years earlier, his friend columnist Mary McGrory told Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who later become senator from New York, "We'll never laugh again."
Moynihan replied, "Mary, we'll laugh again, but we'll never be young again." Buchwald, a week after 9/11 attack wrote, "That is the way I felt last Tuesday."
At the time of the attack, the Bush administration was determining, with the Fox administration in Mexico, what form immigration reform would take. Secretary of State Colin Powell was personally involved. A lot of progress was made toward a conceptual understanding about the United States' need for seasonal and occasional supplementary workers and Mexico's temporary demographic bulge.
Opponents tried to convince public opinion that immigration reform was rewarding really, really, really bad behavior by people in search of every kind of city and rural job who skipped the formalities of U.S. entry to counteract family hunger or lack of opportunity and poverty in Mexico.
Among the 3,213 who perished in the World Trade Center that day in September were a number, perhaps as many as 75, invisible dead: the undocumented, unidentified workers. We would hardly know about them but for NYC's Asociacion Tepeyac, which tried to respond to families abroad about missing relatives.
As part of our justified national defense, unprecedented security measures were taken following the attacks, including all ports of entry and borders closed.
And there began accelerated myth making when fools rushed in.
Demented campaigns began alleging terrorist bands were coming in from the southern border. In fact, popular language made the previously "unauthorized" entrants into "illegal aliens" to reflect the paranoiac moment. It conveyed the notion of poachers, trespassers, criminal elements, the unneeded and unwanted, the incomprehensible problem-riddled hoards with, now, terrorist tendencies.
The stereotyping sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? But it's true.
In 2009, 14 family members of World Trade Center immigrant victims, overstayed their visas by one year for fear that they might not be allowed back in the country if they left, while they pursued claims and waited the outcome of a congressional bill and a pending Homeland Security "parole."
Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King, an opponent of special consideration, said, "Why should these families be treated any different than the families of illegal immigrants who die in accidents or by natural causes while in the United States?"
Why? Because it was an unnatural event. Because families are victims, too. The attack was on all of us, unless demons define 9/11 in a demented way.
The Minute Man movement -- with the help of Lou Dobbs and others -- painted a picture as fake as the sinking of the Maine, the attack on the Pueblo and weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They trafficked in public angst about terrorist invaders, purveyors of crime, job-nappers. They encouraged pathetic paramilitary action. They were the forerunners of the Tea Party who politicized the mood, adding a simplistic Constitution, religion, and economics to the mix.
Those who fell for the ploy have been punked.
But they are not the only ones. For instance, Wisconsin dairy producers, facing a labor crisis, have turned to foreign workers to fill the labor gap. "AgJOBS," a pending bill in Congress would legalize undocumented workers who pay fines and taxes and have no criminal history to become eligible for seasonal agricultural visas.
A congressional aide debated "securing the border" in relation to this measure, according to attorney Eric Straub in a blog. A farmer interrupted: "You know, you guys need to just get together and finally decide what it means, because at the end of day, I still have to milk my cows."
The "secure the border" ruse is part of the answer when fools rushed in to define what 9/11 meant.
Because all of us were victimized by the 9/11 attacks, now, a decade later, we need to take back the story, the narrative as some commentators like calling it, and end fear-based lies, stop using the commemoration to demean the humanity of decent people and stop using 9/11 to reward the fools and the paranoids.
And when immigration in North America in reformed, it should be called part of the national restoration following 9/11 so that we can laugh again, even though we won't forget.
Jose de la Isla writes a weekly commentary for Hispanic Link News Service. E-mail him at joseisla3@yahoo.com
Leon Ceniceros posted at 6:59 am on Thu, Sep 15, 2011.
Has this Columnist for the California based "Scripps-Howard News Service" ever bothered to read the....PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
The first sentence of the...PREAMBLE....says;
"WE THE PEOPL OF THE UNITED STATES..."
NOT............."WE THE PEOPLE ...."IN"....THE UNITED STATES..."
What..."RIGHT"... does an...ILLEGAL ALIEN FROM MEXICO...have to evade the Legal Entry Points between... MEXICO ...and the...UNITED STATES ???
What ..."RIGHT"...does an ...ILLEGAL ALIEN FROM MEXICO...have to steal the Identity of an...AMERICAN CITIZEN...in order to.....STEAL A JOB FROM AN AMERICAN CITIZEN ???
What ..."RIGHT"...does an ...ILLEGAL ALIEN FROM MEXICO...have to...USE FAKE DOCUMENTS TO RECEIVE....AMERICAN WELFARE MONEY...AMERICAN FOOD STAMPS....AMERICAN FREE/REDUCED HOUSING...AMERICAN MEDICAID (ACCCHS) AND TO RECEIVE AMERICAN EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE AND/OR HOSPITALIZATION AND NOT PAY ONE CENT FOR IT ???
What ..."RIGHT"...does an ... ILLEGA ALIEN FROM MEXICO ...have to...ATTEND AMERICAN SCHOOLS THAT COST HARD WORKING AMERICAN TAX-PAYERS IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA......$7,670.00...PER ILLEGAL ALIEN FROM MEXICO STUDENT....PER YEAR.
IF ANY AMERICAN OR CITIZEN OF ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD...TRIED TO..........ILLEGALLY ENTER ... MEXICO ... THEY WOULD BE THROWN IN JAIL AND DEPORTED = IF MEXICO DOESN'T ALLOW...."ILLEGAL ALIEN IMMIGRATION" ... THEN WHY SHOULD............AMERICA.
Arizona Willie posted at 8:14 am on Thu, Sep 15, 2011.
Leon, you ask " if Mexico doesn't allow illegal immigration, why should America?"
Because BUSINESS EXECS want cheaper labor so they can make BIGGER profits and get BIGGER BONUSES.
Top business executives don't consider themselves Americans.
They are globalists.
They have NO loyalty to anyone or anyplace --- except MONEY.
Workers are just another form of material used to make products like a piece of sheet metal. Buy the cheapest materials they can get and charge the most they can.
If a worker dies on the shop floor, drag him out of the way and hire another one. Workers are interchangeable parts.
Masterrogue666 posted at 9:40 am on Thu, Sep 15, 2011.
"United States' need for seasonal and occasional supplementary workers and Mexico's temporary demographic bulge." -- Which means that they should go back to their country of origin after the season is over. Why is it that I keep hearing of ILLEGAL ALIENS that came to the USA on legal work visas, have the time on those visas end, but NEVER go home. There have been reports of ILLEGAL ALIENS staying in the USA over fifteen years or more! Is that "seasonal"?
"Opponents tried to convince public opinion that immigration reform was rewarding really, really, really bad behavior by people in search of every kind of city and rural job who skipped the formalities of U.S. entry to counteract family hunger or lack of opportunity and poverty in Mexico." -- So, breaking Federal law (and in truth, most DO NOT STOP THERE) isn't considered "bad behavior"? Is jumping to the front of the line (grocery, movie, et al) considered good behavior? If my wife and I couldn't provide for our family, does that give us the right to IGNORE LAWS in order to survive?
Anyone that doesn't think that the INVASION OF FOREIGN NATIONALS into the USA isn't something that should be stopped, then they have obviously don't have a clear picture of the situation (to borrow his phrase) and "fell for the ploy have been punked".
Even the Jamacian drug cartels are now coming through Mexico due to the EASE THOSE WISHING TO COMMITT ILLEGAL ACTS have when crossing our porous border. Doubt me:
http://www.mcso.org/MultiMedia/PressRelease/Jamaican%20National%20Arrested.pdf
chatmandu002 posted at 10:47 am on Thu, Sep 15, 2011.
My state senator Steve Yarbrough is one of the legislator that has succumb to the business interests that want to let illegals run wild across the border. I will not support him anymore. He caved to the Chamber of Commerce lobby and voted against the illegal immigrant bills that were defeated in the state senate. We need to deny illegals the resources that bring them here, free medical, citizenship for their babies born here, welfare, housing and jobs. There are enough legal immigration laws already on the books, we just need to enforce them.
VofReason posted at 12:23 pm on Thu, Sep 15, 2011.
Question for Mr de la Isla. If we have no idea who is coming in over our border illegally. Why would we not think that terrorist may or have come over the border in the same way. Are only Mexicans smart enough to know that the borders are a sieve? Here is an idea, how about requesting those who collect unemployment to work for the money they recieve and fill in for the lack of agricultural workers. Or welfare recipients? Or if illegal immigrants is what the farmers truley need, have them provide health insurance for the illegal workers. Then they are paying the true cost to employ them.
Accuracy posted at 1:05 pm on Thu, Sep 15, 2011.
Leon Ceniceros posted this question: "IF MEXICO DOESN'T ALLOW...."ILLEGAL ALIEN IMMIGRATION" ... THEN WHY SHOULD............AMERICA??
Because, Mexico does not want illegal immigrants there, even if they don't have criminal records or threaten Mexico’s security or public safety.
But, the U.S. government, through the Department of Homeland Security, has said it has and will allow illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S. and apply for work permits.
Arizona Willie posted at 1:28 pm on Thu, Sep 15, 2011.
Masterrougue666, I saw one article that said over 600 people from the Middle East have been caught crossing our southern border.
That is only the one's we CAUGHT.
No one knows how many got through with no problem.
And these illegal aliens from Arab countries are walking our streets as you read this.
Masterrogue666 posted at 3:13 pm on Thu, Sep 15, 2011.
Arizona Willie: Quite true! Those ILLEGAL ALIENS that are caught, are recorded. There's no way to tell how many get away! I've read a report from a border agent saying that he expects that we only get about 10%.
Our borders are not safe.