Illegal immigration is another tough subject. And I want to preface this again by asking for your understanding if agreement is beyond your capacity. I am writing this because it’s my blog, my feelings, my thoughts and I am pretty sure I have not discussed this issue with many people unless they sincerely asked because I understand it is very sensitive.
Also to preface this topic I would like to acknowledge that I am an anchor baby. A word I just learned by watching the Colbert Report and my parents were also immigrants, although, not illegal. My mother came with an education visa and my dad with a work visa but both would not have been able to stay for the amount of time they did if it were not for my birth. Both worked very hard to make ends meet like many other immigrants and made their best efforts to become citizens. After much waiting they are now citizens and have been since I was … 3 or 5 years old? My grandmother just recently obtained her citizenship as well but has been visiting back and forth between Taiwan and the U.S for over 30 years waiting.
I am also aware that it is harder for some to obtain visas or plan visits to the U.S. from other countries, unlike the ones my parents and relatives come from and probably do not wish to be an illegal immigrant but are forced into a very hard decision to choose this way of getting into the U.S.
But, what I would like to say is unlike others, as a teacher at my particular school, I probably teach many students who know a family member or are themselves illegal immigrants. Many people think of Latinos as the face of an illegal immigrant and I admit there are times where I must lecture myself to not generalize but it would also be ridiculous to say that this is not an issue for many Latino families. Despite what we may perceive, there are also illegal immigrants who are European, Middle Eastern, Indian, Asian and anything in between the oceans of these greater people groups.
So across the board, the word “illegal” means it is against the law (even though the government is not finding adequate solutions) and there’s no accountability for paying taxes which affect the funding for many things, like education and medical needs and transportation and urban planning.
I am not sure about all the details going on in Arizona, but I can see how racial profiling can be an issue. But, what I see as a bigger issue is the fact that people are more outraged for being stopped for a couple of minutes than to help solve a state-wide issue. Is there so much to fear if a certain Latino person is not an illegal immigrant and stopped? I was stopped for a drunk test and without a license, my information was looked up on a computer in 4 minutes. Seriously, it was fast. Maybe I was Chinese and Asians aren’t stopped a lot because our small eyes make us look innocent. Screw Precious Moments. BUT, by law no one can be stopped without reason like speeding, running a red light, hitting a pedestrian, etc…
On that note, maybe there’s a better way? The whole purpose is not to throw out non-White citizens, but ILLEGAL immigrants. Better, smarter border patrol?
Onto more personal issues- my classroom. I want my students to get a great education despite where they are from. It would pain me to have to withhold education from a student because they are an illegal immigrant. Or if their parents are, or if they are only here on a visiting visa. Obviously illegal immigrants want to come to the U.S. because there’s something better for them here! (Our education system isn’t that great anymore, I hear Germany is doing an awesome job though) Can we say that those who are trying to work and make a better life and get citizenship are ruined from these chances because of a lazy person that just happens to be their ethnicity and skin color? I don’t know. But, we must uphold the law. I am thinking, why punish the education of those who waiting in line, went through the proper processes for those who cut.
I believe in killing a few to save the masses- worst case scenario. But I am all for volunteering myself to be killed to save the masses. Point- do it for the good of many more. Not inhumanely, try without discrimination, do it fairly. But, we don’t live in a fair world. That’s why Asians have reverse-affirmative action despite the fact that we are “minorities” (there really are more of us than of them).
As an educator I would want to break the law to just teach. Despite all that I have said.
I am at war with the bigger picture and my daily life. My parents found a clever way to stay. Alas, it would be my lot to remain in Taiwan if it did not work out so well. So be it, it was not my choice to be had.
