Somewhere in our continuing, decades-old illegal immigration debate lies the ugly truth about this "problem".
“The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum....”
―
Noam Chomsky,
The Common Good
I wonder if Noam Chomsky's "spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum...." applies to our political debate and Washington's narrative about illegal immigration?
I think it does. Ask yourself - what is and has been Washington's narrative or "spectrum of acceptable opinion" about illegal immigration? What is yours? Isn't the commonly held Democratic stance "let them all in"? Isn't the commonly held Republican stance "kick - and keep them all out"? Aren't they both as applicable as ever?
Tell me how that is working for you America?
Could that ugly truth be that Washington's illegal immigration debate purposely does not address the actual causes of illegal immigration and therefore will never bring about actual solutions to the problem? And aren't there billions of tax dollars being spent and billions of dollars being made as this problem remains the same?
I write with the hope that what I say might inspire others to think about what Washington and its politicians keep telling us all about illegal immigration. I write from my twenty-six years of experience (1979-2005) as a US Border Patrol/ICE agent.
I have a bunch of illegal immigration questions for you . When I write "this problem" I am referring to our illegal immigration issues in the US:
Who profits from this problem not being solved?
How much money is pumped back into Mexico's (Central America's, etc.) economy because of this problem (and that of cartel drug profits too)?
How many political careers have been made because of or due to this problem?
How many US corporations at home and abroad profit from illegal labor and this problem?
How many billions of US tax dollars are annually pumped into the US border/drug enforcement industrial complex because of this problem?
How many people die (undocumented, documented and citizens) at home and abroad because of this problem?
Have you or someone you have known hired an undocumented person to work for you? (My answer is of course "yes").
Is it possible that the elite running the undocumented's government and the elite running the US government profit from this problem while citizen's from both countries pay the price?
Do you think that undocumented people would come here if they could make a decent wage at home?
Do you think "Trump's Wall" will stop illegal drugs and people from coming into the US?
Do you think that Mexico's economy would collapse if the US actually stopped illegal aliens and drugs?
Do you have any idea of how our own economic policies (NAFTA, CAFTA) exacerbate this problem?
Do you know what the largest retail store is in Mexico?
Do you know what NAFTA did to Mexico's poorest corn farmers?
Do you know what the federal minimum wage is in Mexico?
Do you know how many Mexican journalists are killed each year because of their reporting about narco violence or government corruption?
Do you know how many American corporations have factories in Mexico and depend upon Mexican labor?
Have you seen this story about US Border Patrol corruption?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApeabkCGDEU
Do you see any similarities between this problem and our 40+ year long, on going, failed "Drug War"?
Do you ever wonder why the US Bracero Program worked but then was stopped?
Do you know who really pays the price for this problem and who really profits from this problem?
Do you think wealthy politicians have to stand in long emergency room lines or send their kids to over-crowded schools?
Have you considered the idea that our problem is actually a microcosm of a global problem that is caused by a global disparity in wealth not unlike that in America?
Why do we seldom if ever hear Washington having highly publicized, emergency meetings with the presidents and leaders of the undocumented's countries in order to work out solutions to this problem?
Why doesn't Washington sanction the undocumented's governments over this problem until they start taking care of their own citizens?
Because of this problem I saw a young undocumented man fall to his death as we were chasing him. I also lost two collogues - friends - while trying to enforce laws due to this problem. I saw several people get seriously hurt and was almost seriously hurt myself - due to this problem. I felt the insanity of chasing people around in fields while they were there putting food on American tables. I saw massive fraud swept under Washington's rug because Reagan's "Amnesty" program needed to be politically successful.
And yes due to this problem my wife and I enjoy the wonderful benefits of a wonderful government retirement program.
And I still suffer from PTSD with recurring nightmares. Nightmares that focus on the insanity of it all more than the actual danger of the work.
And yes, for a naïve and sensitive Southern California boy, this problem has forever changed his life.
PS If you want something to really challenge what you have been taught or told:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQvig0KvUaE
Here is a study about how US and world war and economic exploitation have exacerbated the global immigration crisis:
https://petras.lahaine.org/immigration-western-wars-and-imperial-exploitation/
