Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Immigration, Part Two



I walked over to the immigration rally in downtown Santa Ana yesterday, about 6 blocks from where I live. It was a much smaller crowd than I expected. Santa Ana has a population of 350,000 with 76% of that Hispanic, so the turnout was a surprise. It was spirited nonetheless. As shouts of "Si se Pueda" arose from the crowd, I continued to mull over my stance on the issue. Feeling that the status quo needs to change, I'm searching for what I feel is going to have to be some give and take on a very complicated issue.

Give: provide legal status for all undocumented peoples currently in the country.

Take: criminal prosecution for anyone entering the country illegally from now on. My landlord is from Holland. She filed the necessary papers, paid the necessary fees, and did some waiting. If she can do it, so can anyone else.

Also: criminal prosecution for companies who hire undocumented workers. I mean, do we REALLY want to have a country where companies are permitted to hire undocumented workers just because they can pay them sub-standard wages, keep them out of unions and not pay them health benefits? It's time for businesses to be held accountable for their part in the immigration mess.

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