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A Racist for Governor?--Part II
This is a follow up to an article I published on la.indymedia.org, which currently is experiencing technical difficulties.
The issue is bigger than Arnold. Are illegal immigrants an economic burden to the state or not? The debate surrounding proposition 187 revolved around this question, and support for the proposition was based on the view that they are. The same view is being expressed in the argument against SB 60, which Arnold Schwarzenegger has promised to rescind if elected governor.
Among the arguments for SB 60 are that it will make the roads safer, and allow illegal immigrants to buy car insurance which will in turn lower rates for everyone. There is also the Peter Camejo response during the first gubernatorial debate: They’ve been here 20,000 years. The Europeans are immigrants.
The main argument against SB 60 is that the state of California would be rewarding illegal immigration. This is a logical argument if one views illegal immigrants as an economic burden to the state. But it is an illogical argument, and one that recalls Marie Antoinette, if one recognizes the contributions which illegal immigrants make to the economy of California.
In my previous article I cited the example of agriculture. It is the foundation of the economy of the state, and it is mostly sustained by the labor of illegal Mexican immigrants. If you live in California and you don’t grow your own food, you either wouldn’t eat if it wasn’t for illegal Mexican immigrants or you would pay substantially higher prices for your food. It can hardly be considered a reward to grant such people the legal right to drive. Illegal immigrants also constitute a significant part of the labor force in the garment industry, the construction industry, and service industries.
If California is the 6th largest economy in the world, it is because immigration, including illegal immigration, is part of the equation that creates such a result. However, 2003 is not 1994, and neither the gubernatorial candidates nor the media are discussing the role that immigration plays in our society. Since proposition 187, Republicans have been swept out of state office and the democrats have established firm majorities in both legislative houses. If the perception of Arnold Schwarzenegger as someone with similar views to Pete Wilson’s spreads among California’s hispanics and socially conscious people, it will give fresh impetus to the backlash that has been taking place against Republicans.
Among the arguments for SB 60 are that it will make the roads safer, and allow illegal immigrants to buy car insurance which will in turn lower rates for everyone. There is also the Peter Camejo response during the first gubernatorial debate: They’ve been here 20,000 years. The Europeans are immigrants.
The main argument against SB 60 is that the state of California would be rewarding illegal immigration. This is a logical argument if one views illegal immigrants as an economic burden to the state. But it is an illogical argument, and one that recalls Marie Antoinette, if one recognizes the contributions which illegal immigrants make to the economy of California.
In my previous article I cited the example of agriculture. It is the foundation of the economy of the state, and it is mostly sustained by the labor of illegal Mexican immigrants. If you live in California and you don’t grow your own food, you either wouldn’t eat if it wasn’t for illegal Mexican immigrants or you would pay substantially higher prices for your food. It can hardly be considered a reward to grant such people the legal right to drive. Illegal immigrants also constitute a significant part of the labor force in the garment industry, the construction industry, and service industries.
If California is the 6th largest economy in the world, it is because immigration, including illegal immigration, is part of the equation that creates such a result. However, 2003 is not 1994, and neither the gubernatorial candidates nor the media are discussing the role that immigration plays in our society. Since proposition 187, Republicans have been swept out of state office and the democrats have established firm majorities in both legislative houses. If the perception of Arnold Schwarzenegger as someone with similar views to Pete Wilson’s spreads among California’s hispanics and socially conscious people, it will give fresh impetus to the backlash that has been taking place against Republicans.
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Considering the billions of dollars in wealth that migrant workers create, I not only favor giving them the legal right to drive, I favor giving them the legal right to work.
There is and has been a movement to grant legal status to undocumented people in this country. There is more than one proposal and one of them specifically concerns migrant farm workers and has bipartisan backing.
In 1986, the Congress and Ronald Reagan gave legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants through the Simpson-Rodine act. George Bush, or perhaps the next president, is likely to do the same sooner or later. So as we can see, for the state of California to grant an undocumented immigrant the legal right to drive is not such a radical thing to do.
My article challenges the reader to take a position and act according to it. For people who complain about illegal immigration, please publish your plans to ameliorate the situation. Do you propose to remove all illegal immigrants from the state? How would you accomplish it, how long would it take? What plans do you have for filling the gap left behind and how will you change the socio-economic structure of our society to accomodate for the fact that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people are gone. People that the state, the economy, businesses, and ultimately you depend on.
Hispanics are 32% of the population, but only 16% of the electorate. Combine this with a higher birth rate and immigration, and it is obvious what the future is.
The sad fact of the matter is that if California is to survive the next Millenium, we need to bring back jobs and space (we need breathing room). Lets make America beautiful again. Lets give illegal persons a choice, plain and simple... either walk across the South border of our State, or we'll drop you of a couple miles past the Western Border. I would even be willing to give them a 3rd choice... learn the language, go to school, learn to drive, and contribute something rather than trying to take everything.
Lastly, don't they realize there are 49 other states and hundreds of other countries out there... why do you ALL have to live within a few miles of me?!?!