A couple of days ago, Rep. Luis Guiterrez and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus joined by several allies, presented its' proposal for comprehensive immigration reform entitled Comprehensive Immigration Reform As Soon As Possible (no that's not the real name but I appreciate the pun). On these serious matters we always need a bit of humor. I was very excited to see that our very own Bronx Congressman Jose Serrano included the Child Citizen Protection Act language within the provisions of CIR which if it survives will be a much needed alivio for our community here in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx. This means 2010 will be a year fraught with love and hate. Immigrants will continue on their message of love -family, compassion and forgiveness. Hate groups will on their message of hate, division and fear. So is there a middle ground? Is there a negotiating point where both parties will walk away feeling like they won the battle? Is there a place of rest between these two tensions? As in the practice of yoga while you are pulling yourself in all different directions, you are to mindfully surrender to the pose and find that space, that silence where you can breathe. Does that space to breathe exists within the immigration debate?
As I am writing this, I don't think so. Both groups are extremely charged and are fighting for their lives as they see it. One side wants to have it all both here and there while sharing in the American Dream. The other just wants it all to themselves and no one else. Screaming at the top of their lungs, this incessant war of the future look of America makes it very hard to really listen to what is at the core of this debate -freedom of (r)evolution.
Yesterday, I was watching Parang Khanna on TED -my new favorite site: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/parag_khanna_maps_the_future_of_countries.html Here he discusses how the borders of the world are constantly changing because of the way people move to live and word. There was no discussion on the United States and its' relationship with Mexico and the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean. However, while he was discussing the relationship between Russia and China I could not stop thinking about how much this situation was so much like the United States / Mexico and the Lousiana Purchase. Also known as the Reconquista -America's biggest fear.
An article in the New York Times discusses how the white population in American will be the minority in 2050 -scary for those KKK folks and white supremacists groups. It is like the end of the world for them -well it is as they know it. There tactics have turned violent as the world has seen with the killings of Marcelo Lucero and countless others throught the United States. Janet Napolitano with the okay of President Obama has instituted more repressive and oppressive measures such as the 287 (g) program. Massive amounts of immigrants have left areas of the South because life has become unbearable. Some going back home, others moving to different parts of the country like New York. But this doesn't even factor into the reality of the changing demographics. This will not stop the rise of Latinos, Asians and Blacks. So what is the answer?
I think the answer is that the United States can no longer resist the idea of change, and (r)evolution. As suggested by Khanna, the United States must surrender to this real fact of the changing borders in a non-violent way which is comprehensive immigration reform. Further criminalization of immigrants can not be part of this package. The continued and increased deportation of undocumented and legal permanent residents is not the answer. This just creates more despair, anger and rage in immigrat communities. I hope that as the debate moves forward, that the negotiators of CIR do not sell out -legalization in exchange for more deportation. This can not be our negotiating point. Do so is unjust, inhumane and plain wrong.
In conjunction with this, the United States will have to reconsider its' foreign policies in Latin America and the Caribbean to create sustainable and livable countries so that people won't have to leave their homeland. Most importantly, all this work must occur with a human rights lens to ensure that the right of people are preserved.
As our country is pulling itself in two directions, I wish President Obama and all of our leadership to surrender in the tension and listen to the quiet at the core -there they will find the answer for the future of America and the immigrants of the world. There they will find the balance which we need to ensure a just and humane comprehensive immigration reform.
(Picture: Dying to Live: A Story of U.S. Immigration in the Age of Global Apartheid by Joseph Nevins and Mizue Aizeki)
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