migration

“Today, the number of people living outside their country of birth is larger than at any other time in history. International migrants would now constitute the world's fifth most populous country if they all lived in the same place” (UNFPA).

Like so many of my friends and family, including my own, they migrate out of there country for a better life. whichever the reason of leaving in their specific situation, their migration has both good and bad benefits for the US. the immigrants are low cost labor which is good in a sense but in the other hand the thought of crime and a less smarter and productive workforce can cripple a generation. the push/pull factor in economy has to be looked at as well. if the issue of migration was worked on more to resolve possible the flow coming into the US, possibly allowing more educated migrants into the US with a work visa; the US could actually grow as a whole

Haitian activists want Obama to address immigration goals

An interesting article on an immigration group looking to lobby President Obama during a Florida visit. It's interesting to see immigration groups moving ahead in anticipation of the 2010 elections, especially a group representing Haiti, which has suffered a lot of particularly turbulent storms lately. Immigration isn't yet a central issue the way health care and the Afghanistan war is, but it's sure to cause a lot of debate the closer 2010 gets, so it's interesting to see some groups trying to move on it now.

migration and overpopulation

When i came across this picture, i halted at the artists work. Then read that it was his interpretation on migration and overpopulation. The more i looked at it i understood. if the US started excepting huge amounts of migrants then our country would be overpopulated. most of the migrants that are coming in from the south are laborers that would contribute to the lower end jobs since they aren't legal. even if they were doctors in their country, they would have to past exams in the US and therefore reveal their illegal status. so then there would just be a lot of migrants fighting for under the counter lower end jobs, trying to improve their lives when really they turn into more mouths to feed in the economy-hurting the US.

Another Take On Chinatown

I thought of this song by Devandra Banhart while reading how well established the smuggling operations of the Snakeheads were around the world. Banhart, himself an American, describes the chinese children he'd have living in different countries, with the chorus describing him passing on the physical characteristics of growth, hearing, running and breathing unto black, blue, red, and gray children. It could be argued the song lends itself to a political idea of the great numbers of Chinese emigrants (am I using that right?) around the world and how they as a people are inhabiting the earth. However both the jovial mood of the song and the references to randomly colored babies implies a more humanist view that people will be people regardless of what they are called. The very idea of babies is unmarked identity, something that has yet to be molded into any ethnicity or group identity.

While searching for a decent version of the song I came upon this video which I would normally have passed over but decided to use because of the visual representations the two girls come up with. I think they do a good job of pointing out the satirical nature the song carries toward stereotyped races. The drawings of chinese babies in rice picker's hat and holding a bowl of noodles along with the black baby with a Nike swoosh on his diaper quickly lose their negative impact when the blue, red, and gray babies all appear to join the dance party in similar dress. Is this the end of PC?

"The United States of America we hear the knocking but you can't come in" that is what the cartoon says and I see it as being directed to politicians and getting them to not only hear the immigrants, but to listen to them and do something to fix their situation in the US. Helping them get documents and making it easier for them to stay in the country legally.

Article on new developments in Prince William immigration policy

This article illustrates how immigration enforcement is becoming more and more a part of local law enforcement. What I found most interesting about it is the paragraph near the end that says most people picked up on minor charges will likely not have their immigration status checked, except that may change when more resources become available. That suggests that the deeper involvement of local law enforcement in immigration checks is no longer a question of legal jurisdiction, but one of resources.

Regardless of Consequences

I chose this article because I felt it related to class discussions recently. We talked about how immigrants in America are starting to call the police when a loved one is in danger. In this article, a family was waiting for their brother to be dropped off, however they were unable to pay the rest of the fee to their "snakehead" when he got there, so he drove off with the boy. A cousin called 911 and followed the van until the police could arrest the driver and detain all the illegals in the van. The article didn't say weather or not the family was here legally, but regardless; involving the police in the matter could have serious repercussions on the family and the cousin. Either the entire family could be deported, where they could face a very angry welcome wagon, or they could be jailed here. Either way, as we discussed in class, immigrants are calling the police in on certain issues regarding immigration, be it legal or illegal. This most likely will give the INS basis for new reforms and laws, hopefully for the good, as we are seeing in our novel.

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Immigration

Everyone has there own take on what a illegal should look, act, and how to behave themselves. This cartoon shows that its meaningless. The teens dialect and conversation is somewhat amusing because they hold themselves higher than illegals. Their clothing and overall look is unique, but not a norm. also the teens see the illegal working and they are just complaining wasting the day- when if it really bothered them they should get more involved. Not all illegal immigrants are uneducated, and illegal immigrants risk a lot to get into the U.S. just so they can try at maybe a better life.

Congressman Polis on The Dream Act

This speach touches on an issue that often gets overlooked in the debate about immigration reform: the issue of young adults who were brought illegally to the US as children. Should these people be allowed to stay and become legal? By coincidence I have met two unrelated people who came to the US illegally as children. One young woman was around 13 when her aging, ill father sent her to the US to live with her Aunt and Uncle. She crossed the US-Mexican border led by a coyote, and just went thorugh that whole terrible ordeal. After graduating high school, she tried to get legal status, but was denied, and went home to Central America to wait 10 years and then apply to return to the US legally. Meanwhile, this girl who graduated at the top of her class, could be going on to college. Another young man I met came to the US illegally with his parents when he was a child. We worked together, but he got fired for using a false social security number. He now works in construction and gets paid under-the-table. While we worked together he often had difficulty getting to work because he couldn't get a driver's license.

Regardless of how people feel about illegal immigration, I think that the situation of these young people should really be looked at from a more compassionate understanding. Like Polis said, these young people are often just as American as anyone else, and they have a lot to offer our country. How are Americans at all benefiting from the loss of that young woman's bright mind, or the fact that this young man must work under-the-table? Hopefully the Dream Act will get passed, althogh I disagree about the requirement that they must go to college in order to receive legal status. That is obviously not going to be feasible for many of them; and besides, there are other ways to contribute to society besides going to college. It seems like classism to me.

Increase in Immigrant Deaths

This article discusses the number of immigrants who die every year in an attempt to cross the border. "The leading cause of death was exposure to the heat. Other causes included drownings in rivers and drainage canals, homicides by bandits who target immigrants during the long walk across the border, and rollovers of smuggling vehicles." They talked to border control about these issues and they said that they have stations set up (in the middle of the desert? where?) so that immigrants in distress can have a search and rescue team sent out for them. The death toll last year (2008) was 378 (reported). This year they say the number will rise significantly.
When I first read this article, it almost felt like they were just reporting cold facts. "Immigrants" could have easily been substituted with "raccoons hit on the road" in terms of how many die and the way they talk about it. It almost feels as though we take greater precaution to make sure wild life doesn't die in the road than we do to make sure that our fellow humans stay alive. I understand that immigration is a BIG issue, and that no small "band aid" policy will fix it and make it go away fast, but seriously?... When immigrant, fellow human, deaths are being reported in this manner, there is a bigger issue at hand that needs to be dealt with, and in a more serious manner than we seem to be taking now.

I love how they portray the republicans elephant in this cartoon. The little mouse is so tiny but in reality is something that needs to be addressed and rectified. The immigration issues should not be runned away from.