Guest commentary by Dr. Rychetta Watkins.
An NPR report on the “Day without Immigrants” noted: “Earlier marches turned off some members of Congress, who say that the sight of masses of people who had violated immigration law marching and demanding more rights made them less sympathetic to the cause of undocumented workers.”
Sound familiar?
On the one hand, the hypocrisy of “our” (s)elected leaders is nothing new, but on the other, their weak-willed spineless waffling is evidence that this is about more than labor or laws. The masses of African , Asian and Hispanic immigrants on the streets of Chicago, L.A., and elsewhere represent the latest threat from racial “others.” Most gratingly to me, this “debate” seems to be occurring in a historical vacuum. Instead of showing courage and candor, politicians are dismissing the legitimate concerns of some of the least in our society, asking those with the most to lose to “trust the system” yet again.
Honestly, I still haven’t decided where I come down on this issue. I have a friend who legally immigrated to this country from Cameroon. He entered on a student visa and remains in this country on a work visa. At times, I wonder what will happen him if, all of a sudden, hundreds of thousands who bypassed the legal mechanisms suddenly petitioned for work visas or citizenship. Would he get lost in the shuffle? Would his chance at citizenship be delayed indefinitely because of a backlogged system?
At other times, my bleeding liberal heart says our country works because these immigrants do. Indeed it is the very lack of citizenship, their precarious place in our polis, which leaves these “illegals” open to wage depression and economic exploitation. They work where they work and how they work because they have little choice otherwise.
The StateOf … the backlash. Will we as citizens continue to let the extremes direct this debate? Perhaps the best role for African Americans is as a catalyst, pressuring politicians to engage this issue, not ignore it or pander to jingoistic extremists for political gain.
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