Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

COLUMN: Solution to immigration problems won't be found in new wall
By Ashleigh Steele
Daily Nebraskan (U. Nebraska)
10/04/2006

(U-WIRE) LINCOLN, Neb. — Coming to Nebraska from New Mexico, I was unaware that immigration was actually an issue in the Midwest. But I was pleasantly surprised at the growing number of immigrants in the Nebraska area — it makes it much more like home.

I have never really looked at immigration as a problem, but more like a natural occurrence. I assumed that everywhere was just waiting to become like New Mexico, teeming with people from a variety of different cultures and countries.

But with the new legislation passed by Congress on Friday, it's apparent that a lot of people do consider immigration to be a problem. And I still wonder why.

But more than that, I wonder how a 700-mile fence is going to solve this supposed problem. It seems like a pretty simplistic solution to a complex issue.

"People are trying to come into our country? Hmmm, let's block them with a fence. That should work, right?"

But this issue is quite a bit more complicated than a mere fence.

There are already millions of immigrants in the U.S. These people face discrimination, unfair wages and racism on a daily basis. Shouldn't this problem be dealt with before we start the construction of a huge wall?

I would hope most Americans care more that the labor done for them by illegal immigrants is in a humane environment and that they receive fair pay, but my hopes are lost. I have found that what the majority of Americans only care about is that the "Mexicans" are here in the first place. Because, in general, this problem seems to be simplified to one with Mexico rather than with the many nations immigrants come from on a daily basis.

This legislation shows that the government is not willing to put forth the extra effort and devise a complex immigration plan that might actually address the issues, but rather they want to put up a wall and hope that will solve something. It seems to me that the whole fence thing didn't work in Germany or China, so why would it work here?

The guest worker program proposed by President George W. Bush and supported by certain members of Congress is not multifaceted enough to address all of the issues caused by illegal immigration here in the U.S. either.

Similar programs have failed to stem illegal immigration throughout Europe, why would they work here? The call for assimilation and the allowance for guest workers might not work as well as the administration hopes.

Assimilation to American culture seems very vague. To assume there is one American culture in which everyone speaks English and everyone celebrates the same holidays is absurd. My first language was Spanish, as is the case for many people from New Mexico or from Hispanic households. Does this make us any less American?

The claim of individuals such as Pat Buchanan that Mexicans are attempting to take over the American southwest is incorrect. I do believe the U.S. took the southwest from Mexico in the 1800s, and there are still "Mexican" or Hispanic families that have lived in the southwest since then.

But all in all, my largest qualm with most of the immigration debate has to do with its obvious discrimination.

I know that it is unfair to compare the number of immigrants coming from south of the border to the number of those coming from north of the border, but it is a comparison I have to make. Why is the government willing to do something as drastic as constructing a wall to keep brown people from coming in, but there is no proposal to build a wall to keep Canadians out?

Most people would say that there are far less Canadians trying to get into the U.S., but there is still a fair amount of people coming in from the north. Is it really fair to block off one border and leave the other one open?

It's pretty racist, if you ask me. It seems when one meets someone in the U.S. from the United Kingdom or Australia, they are seen as novelties, people with cool accents. But when one meets someone from El Salvador or Mexico, the novelty is lost.

People from Mexico, Columbia or El Salvador are often associated with the loss of one's job or just the fouling-up of America in general. I would like to know why this same stigma is not attached to those immigrants who come from Europe?

Often times you see people of Hispanic descent working as janitors or roofers, but those who come from Europe and Canada actually become professors and engineers in the U.S. It's interesting that the accusation of job-stealing is flung so easily at Hispanics when it is not as liberally applied to other immigrants.

It seems to me this fear stems from discrimination rather than actual fact. And it is this type of fear that has caused Americans to place their faith in a 700-mile wall.

It is a fact there are far more immigrants coming to the U.S. from south of the border, but I think if we are going to do something as obnoxious as build a wall, we should consider that immigrants come from both sides. It also is a bit ludicrous to assume that a 700-mile wall can actually protect a 2,000-mile border.

With the globalization of the world, it seems as though the government should be putting their efforts into breaking down walls rather than building them.

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