Nathan Exposed » When Did We Stop Being Immigrants?

When Did We Stop Being Immigrants?

One of the subjects that I found interesting in school was history class. It was fascinating to learn about the early history of the U.S. and how brave explorers ventured their way here to what is often referred to as “the land of opportunity.”

I’m assuming people paid attention during history class. I hope they did, because if they did, they would know that we’re all immigrants here. Native Americans were actually here first, and we white people kind of just came in and took over.

So chances are good that you’re the descendant of an immigrant if you live in America.

What boggles me is all the fuss about our friends down south. Right now, a $157 million dollar fence is being built in San Diego. Hmmm… $157 Million?

I can’t help but wonder if there is a better use for that money. Instead of trying to keep people out, what if we worked together to help them get in? With legal status, of course.

I don’t condone illegal trespassing in any country. I understand that there are rules and regulations for the safety of everyone. But we seem so hellbent on keeping people out, I feel as though we’ve forgotten that we are all immigrants. Whatever happened to the American Dream?

I truly believe illegal immigrants want to gain legal status. They want to come here and work, and pursue their happiness. The truth is, it is very expensive to gain citizenship in America, and I don’t feel like it should be. Why is it all about the money? Why isn’t $157 Million taken to help people who can’t afford it?

I just think it’s a bit backwards. I’ve had some really heated debates with people in Tennessee about this subject. White people, of course, who think they are somehow higher and mightier than people from Mexico.

And I don’t want to hear any bullshit about them taking our jobs. I see foreigners doing stuff we feel we’re too good to do… like cleaning toilets and mowing lawns… You know, breaking a sweat. I don’t see that many Mexicans sitting in an air-conditioned office with their nice, big leather chair. So don’t even try that argument with me. Most foreigners work twice as hard as we ever will, for about half the pay.

And hey buddy, you’re an immigrant too. We need to remember our roots, and embrace others who want to achieve the same equality and opportunities that we have access to.

Instead of building walls, let’s build bridges.

Fri, Aug 15, 2008 @ 11:46 pm | Filed in Abundance | Permalink

8 Comments

I have nothing against anyone coming here legally.
From MY OWN experience:
I do know that they take jobs. I’ve worked with lots and lots of illegals and I’ve lost more than one job because they “layed off” us American workers making more per hour than the illegals did.
No, most do not want to become legal and have to pay payroll taxes. All they talked about was sending money back to Mexico, or saving up so that when they do “go home” they can build their own houses and have a better life IN MEXICO.

I am not an immigrant. I guess my ancestors were, but it is what it is…history. Who knew then that we would have 9/11? Who knew the population of this country would become over 300 million by 2007? Very soon to become 400 million plus, a good part due to “American” children born to illegals.
Who was concerned back then about national security, our culture, our sovereignty, failing education, failing health care, wages no American can live on, over population, environmental destruction……just google Arizona border trash.

My Grandchildren are more important to me than any illegal saving for a new home in Mexico.

Posted by ineelb4no1 on Sat, Aug 16, 2008 @ 1:14 am

Oh looky! Your very first comment is from exactly the kind of person you were talking about!

You know, I wonder if some immigrants want to go back to Mexico is because our society has become really selfish and mean toward new and different (read: non-white) people.

I agree completely about how expensive it is to become a citizen. It should be enough of a process to make sure that the immigrant is serious and committed to the idea, but it takes many thousands of dollars and years of time. There’s no need for that.
hugs, babycakes…

Posted by Daniel on Sat, Aug 16, 2008 @ 2:41 am

You’re trying to take the entire country of Mexico and say anyone who sneaks over has malicious intentions? They’re all terrorists? They’re all villains who just want to build a better life in Mexico? I guess you have it all figured out with those “illegals”, as you call them. Not “people”, not “humans”, just “illegals”.

Oh and just a bit of geography for you… 9/11 came as a result of terrorists from Afghanistan, not Mexico. Look them up on a map. And the terrorists did not sneak over some wall to get here. They traveled back and forth on regular public transportation, right in front of everyone.

Our government was repeatedly warned about these attacks, and Bush specifically had prior warning that the attacks were being plotted. And we’re not even trying to catch bin Laden anymore. Hell, that guy just skated on past us.

So no… I don’t think a wall is going to keep out terrorists. And when is the last time some family from Mexico hopped the fence and blew up part of New York City? Can you think of any examples of that?

It’s very ignorant to try and classify a whole country of people based on negative experiences you’ve had. That’s the core of how racism begins.

We’re all part of a little family called humanity. My humanity does not stop at the border of the United States. It extends to every person in every country on this planet. And I refuse to box in any race of people just because of their national origin.

As for why you lost your jobs…

Cut-backs happen every day in the business world. Your employers obviously didn’t think you were a valuable employee worth keeping around, so they went for someone cheaper. You can’t blame a whole country for that.

If you’ve worked for MULTIPLE employers, all which are hiring illegal employees, then you are just as guilty as they are.

You should have been reporting them to your local authorities instead of waiting around to lose your job. And why do you keep going to work for these employers if you know they are paying illegal immigrants? Don’t you have any morals at all?

You mentioned grandchildren. It they’re really important to you, as you say they are, I hope you aren’t filling their heads with all this nonsense racism. It all starts in the home.

I wish you the best. I really do. You have a lot of issues to work out.

Posted by Nathan on Sat, Aug 16, 2008 @ 3:18 am

I, too, remember those history class days and thinking about all of the boats arriving with people from Europe. I loved that sense of adventure! And I also loved it a year or so ago when I turned to my step father and said, “Isn’t it nice to know that us white dudes were NOT here first and that caucasians were actually one of the LAST colors to be crafted on this globe”??? He wasn’t happy. As for the Mexico deal — it’s been many many years in the making. And it’s our very own fault for doing absolutely nothing about it. But I do think things should be done property, legally, and legitimately. With every bit of love and bridge-building that we can muster up.

Posted by Lewis on Sat, Aug 16, 2008 @ 11:00 am

Many illegals do pay payroll taxes. If they are employed as a regular payroll employee, their employer has to withhold. They use a fake social security number and pay federal, state, social security and medicare taxes.

Many of us would make the same choice. Living in an underdeveloped country, mired in poverty, with an unimaginably wealthy neighboring country where we could earn enough doing work on the low end of the scale to provide a decent life for our family, we would jump the border as well. People act as though illegals have some sinister plot to destroy the US when most of them simply want to provide the best they can for themselves and their families.

Posted by David on Sun, Aug 17, 2008 @ 12:26 am

This granddaughter of immigrants from Poland, Russia and Hungary agrees with you, Nathan!

The current immigration “dilemma” is yet another aspect of how many Americans and others around the globe cannot seem to grasp the basic concept of humanism. All of us who occupy the precious space on this planet should have the right to live in peace, and to try and make a good life in a legal manner that doesn’t harm others. We also have the responsibility to help the next person, or at least not interfere when it’s not warranted.

Yeah, I know, I’m a radical, tree-hugging, peacenik idealist. And I sure don’t have the solution to fix decades of problematic immigration laws and inconsistent enforcement.

I just believe that the answer is not to simply build a better fence and kick out the people we “let in” years ago, or to falsely label people as terrorists in order to justify knee-jerk policies.

I’m sure that most if not all of the politicians/decisionmakers considering how to deal with our country’s immigration situation have had the unearned privilege of being being born and raised in the safety and luxury of the U.S.A., and have never lived in poverty, war, or true political strife.

How could they possibly be so arrogant as to know what it is like to walk in the shoes of a dirt-poor Mexican villager, or try and live amongst the rubble in a war-torn city?

Thanks for the opportunity to “vent”, Nathan!

Posted by irisgirl on Sun, Aug 17, 2008 @ 5:07 pm

I agree with this 100%…also because I my self am an Immigrant too, (but i’m not illegal >:O) we need more people with view point like yours in this world, and to do so we have to spread this more. I should go write one too. only except it won’t be good as the one you wrote since i’m not much of a writer but gotta try at least.

Posted by David on Sun, Aug 17, 2008 @ 11:26 pm

I don’t post comments often, but I wanted to weigh in on this subject. Basically, I agree with Nathan’s point of view. I do understand the point that the first commentor was making, although I think he is blaminng the “illegal” for something that is more the result of his employer’s actions.

I believe that the biggest part of the problem lies not in people coming into this country illegally, but with employer’s employing them illegally. They do so, of course, to take advantage of the lower wages this group is willing to work for, with no benefits, and to take advantage of their willingness, in fact requirement, to be paid under the table to avoid taxation. In the long run, this hurts the immigrant, who is violating laws, has no health care benefits (or any other benefits) and has little or no bargaining power with his employer to get higher wages. Non-immigrants (US Citizens) are then put at a disadvantage becuase they demand benefits (rightly, by law), must pay taxes and their employer must both report the taxes the employee has paid (through payroll deductions) as well as pay matching taxes on the employees wages. As a result, it is much more advantageous for the employer to hire the illegal immigrant to take advantage of the low cost of labor, avoid benefits costs and avoid paying their share of employment taxes than it is for them to hire a US Citizen to do the same work.

Of course laws say that a company cannot employ an illegal immigrant. Obvously these laws don’t work any better than the laws which supposedly prevent the immigrants from ariving here illegally.

However, if a person gets here, they are here, period. We are, I believe, obligated to treat that person first and foremost as a fellow human being. If they are here and are willing to work, they should be able to legally get a job. They should be subject to the same taxes, however, that all of us pay, (and subject to receiving the same benefits). This alone would level out the playing field with regards to illegal immigrants taking jobs that legal citizens would otherwise hold. The competition for the jobs would truly depend upon the hourly wage or salary the people would be willing to accept. It wouldn’t be artifically lowered by the impact of no taxes and no benefits.

So, the commentor should be blaming his employers’, not the immigrants who got the jobs he wanted. And to his point about the immigrants wanting to send money back to their home country…..so what? Many of the immigrants who started this country took the same actions. And, frankly, it isn’t any of our busiess what any person wants to do with the money they earn.

In my opinion, when a person arrives in this country, regardless of how they got here, they should be required to apply for a work visa or some such document, even if their citizenship status is illegal. That number should be used just like a social security number is now. The immigrant should be required to pay taxes, file a tax return and, on the other side of the coin, receive benefit of our tax-supported assistance programs. Employers should be audited, regularly, to make sure that they are not employing people illegally. This cannot be happening currently becuase many of my fellow employers do, in fact, have illegal immnigrants on their “payroll”.

Their true and lawful citizenship status in this country could still be pursued, but it shouldn’t be tied to their “right to work” for lack of a better term. While they are here, let them work, legally, and pay taxes and the whole nine yeards. If they don’t get to stay as determined by our citizenship rules, then they don’t get to stay. But, while they are here, they play by the same rules as all the rest of us and employers have to follow the same rules for all “people”.

I’ve never understood how people have developed such virulent attitudes and positions about this subject. Every person on this planet, certainly those within this country, are human beings and are all created equal.

Posted by tennisbuf2 on Mon, Aug 18, 2008 @ 4:27 pm