In order to begin the conversation, I’d like for you to read this article published online by www.guardian.co.uk.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/oct/12/alabama-slavery-latino-immigrants
If you are tempted, even a little bit, to sympathize with the Alabama state government, think again … this is a mirror image of the treatment meted out to Blacks in the 1930′s, 1940′s, 1950′s and into the early 1960′s.
This mistreatment spurred the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960′s. Do you want a repeat of those riots, this time by a MUCH larger group of people? It may be that this time there will not be a charismatic pacifist leader at the helm.
In this case, however, the mistreatment is also fanned by the failure of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to effectively enforce existing immigration laws. And the failure of the INS to enforce these laws is caused by both the horrible conditions in Mexico under the drug lords (and the ‘lawful’ government is culpable as well) and also by budgetary constraints caused by the huge suck on the US budget by conflicts in the Middle East. The influence of the drug lords is fueled by the market for illegal drugs north of the border … at least some of which is purportedly caused by attempts to subvert the urban Black population of the US.
Think about what might motivate people to walk across many miles of desert without shelter of any sort, armed with only a couple gallons of water. They are not coming to the land of milk and honey … the best they can hope for is a low-paying menial job and they know it … no, they are not coming here for the manna, they are running from the menace.
Except that the United States is on good terms with both the drug lords and the elected government of Mexico, these ‘illegals’ might reasonably be considered political refugees and warrant asylum for exactly the same reasons the Hmong people of Vietnam were.
So, in at least one sense, policies in America compel illegal immigration into this country and Alabama has chosen to enslave those who arrive there illegally.
How many steps is it from there to “Your papers, please.” for anyone anywhere?
One step? Two?
And what do you do when your ‘papers’, properly presented, are taken away from you?
The Guardian deserves credit for reporting on this law, but warrants several demerits for presenting this simplistic viewpoint.
If you are thinking “Well, at least it ain’t us.” you’ve forgotten how things unfolded in Nazi Germany of the 1930′s.
If you are a member of a religion that opposes injustice, read on and let Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) refresh your memory:
“First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
So, keep silent if your conscience allows, or speak up if your conscience demands. Either way, your turn in the grinder is coming … unless the grinder can be stopped.
– Jude