The Depression of Immigration

The new law in Arizona is sickening. Institutionalized racism is disgusting. And that is exactly what this law is: de jure racism. To say that SB1070 is unconstitutional and bigoted would be an understatement. The new law is an invasion of civil rights as well as inhumane. Judging people by their skin color and accent is as ignorant and narrow-minded as it comes, and the lawmakers of Arizona who voted for this bill should be deeply ashamed of themselves.
 
Immigration is an issue in this country for two reasons: money and prejudice. Yet the two are almost inseparable in this issue.
 
Many people are against immigration because they fear a loss of jobs and an abuse of government services; however, in reality, it is almost the exact reverse that occurs. Illegal immigrants fill many of the jobs (i.e. migrant work like crop harvesting) that legal citizens would not do because the pay is not high enough. They allow the farming industry to run. Additionally, many businesses require proof of possession of a work permit or residency before they will hire someone. Thus, an illegal immigrant would have a difficult time even getting a job at McDonald's without such proof.
 
The current surge against immigration in this regard is caused, no doubt, by the economic recession. Many people are out of jobs and are angry that any illegal immigrants still have work- regardless of the fact that the citizen would never consider doing the job of the immigrant. America has seen this kind of behavior before; during the Great Depression there was a large resurgence in KKK activity due to the high unemployment rate. The bigots of the 1930s blamed blacks for their unemployment just as the bigots of today are blaming Hispanics.
 
The other argument, that of the abuse of government services, while in some cases is true, in the end works out in the favor of the government. Many illegal immigrants pay into Social Security and have their wages garnished for taxes to pay for services that they are ineligible to receive. Illegal immigrants are not legally allowed to receive unemployment benefits, food stamps, or other governmental welfares. That, however, is not to say that no illegal immigrants manage to beat the system, just that it is much more difficult for them to become recipients. Statistics show that the average illegal household receives only 46% of the government costs of a legal household, but this statistic is not just about welfare handouts. It also includes the benefits of paved roads, law enforcement, and city parks- benefits that even short-term tourists receive. This figure also includes the public schooling that many illegal immigrants' children with citizenship legally receive.
 
The major thing to remember about the issue of immigration is that it is not a numbers game- these are human beings. It is one thing to discuss the financial impact that immigration has on America's economy, but people who base their opinions solely on this fact are so far removed from the human element of the issue that they fail to remember it is actually humans' lives that are at stake in the decision.
 
Additionally, illegal immigration will not be stopped with racist laws such as the one in Arizona. Racism and discrimination will only serve to exacerbate the problem and prevent peace amongst citizens, legal or otherwise. The Arizonan idea that "if we make life bad enough for them, they'll leave," is not a way to go about things because guess what: as long as there is an America there will be immigration since that is the basis of this country. People who are against immigration seem to have forgotten that the reason that they live here is because their relatives were once immigrants in search of a better life for their families. A better life that these people are now trying to deny to others.
 
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tzofia/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0