Real ID…My Ass
Congress recently passed legislation known as “Real ID.” This legislation puts a halt to the aspirations of millions of immigrants to obtain a driver’s license, or any document allowing them to board an airplane or open a bank account.
This is the latest among many discriminatory laws passed by the lawmakers in this country.
It comes as no great surprise following the recent remarks of “The Governator” about closing the border between Mexico, Canada and the U.S. He claims that closing the borders to illegal immigration will make this country safe.
Probably “The Governator” has already forgotten that he came to this country as an immigrant himself. Now he wants to stop the migration of persons whose only purpose in coming here is to work for a better future for their families. In his eyes every immigrant is a scapegoat for budget cuts and bad administration.
Republicans buried REAL ID in legislation allocating emergency cash for the war in Iraq. In order to have it passed, they misled the public, telling them that funds were necessary to “equip our troops in the struggle for freedom and democracy.” They had to do this, because otherwise most citizens in this country would never have approved such a measure. The truth is that in every economic crisis that this country has faced in the past, the first to be blamed are always the most vulnerable.
Undocumented immigrants in this country pay millions of dollars to Social Security, Internal Revenue Service and state and federal disability—money that they can never get back because they do not qualify for any public assistance.
Every time we think of immigrants, we should think of the cheap labor this country needs for the jobs that nobody else will take. Hard jobs, hazardous jobs that include the use of toxic substances, and low paying jobs are considered suitable for this community, who take such jobs in order to help their families back in their countries of origin.
Many companies and individuals take advantage of this situation in one way or another, creating the worst labor conditions and making their workers live under the constant fear of being reported to immigration authorities.
This country preaches to the world about freedom and human rights, and is willing to go and fight against regimes that, according to their international policies, violate the rights of their citizens. But they have not been able to solve the cruel situation that affects millions of immigrants not able to legalize their situation in this country—despite the long time that they have lived here and the money they’ve paid in taxes.
We have a double standard to deal with undocumented: we welcome them when our economy is growing and tacitly overlook the problem; but when the economy grows weak we complain about them and want them to go back to their countries.
Now is the time to demand our government respect these individuals and families who have helped to make this country strong, and stop the current harassment and discrimination. When hard working individuals and families come to live in our communities, they become a part of those communities. These workers pay their share of the costs for development and improvement of our roads and our schools, never seeing any reimbursement for their contributions.
Jesus
