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.