Submitted by Immigrant, Dec 22, 2007 11:22

The level of zenophobia of these comments are ridiculous. We all enjoy a standard of living in this country that's based in large part on the labor of people from all over the world (ie. whether that's the woman in S.E. Asia who assembled the computer we write these comments on, the Mexican busboy who's low pay allows us to have an affordable meal out, or the Indian doctor trained elsewhere who takes care of our sick). The whole language of "illegals" and "invaders" demonizes whole groups of people that doesn't really serve us well in the end. Certainly there are people who commit bad acts, but to single out an entire class of people as pariahs is dangerous. (There are plenty of violations of laws against securities fraud etc, but we don't--generally-single out bankers or white collar professionals as the source of all our country and worlds problems). It's too easy, and the world is more complex than that.

Some people might say that the difference here is violation of law, and immigration laws in particular. But the government often passes laws that are unjust (ie. the whole history of slavery reflected in the Constitution (slaves count as 3/5's of a human) and case law through the Jim Crow era, and many would argue beyond) and it is the duty of decent people to oppose them (like the advocate quoted who is challenging these arrangements by offering a different perspective, questioning the understandings that support these retrograde policies etc). We have generally free movements of capital and goods but not labor, given our immigration laws. Who does this serve in the end? As I said at the beginning, we should examine the standard of living we enjoy in this country and question at whose expense it comes from before getting righteous. With regard to this particular regulation, the federal government spokesman is quoted as saying 'we didn't facilitate their entry, we're not going to facilitate their return.' While this regulation may certainly be legally enacted, it certainly seems silly, vindictive and contributes to making this group of people feel trapped. (If you really don't want immigrants in this country, why do you care if they leave?)

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