With all the talk about illegal immigration, Arizona's new state law giving the police the right to, upon a stop for another crime/incident, check the citizenship status of the individual they stopped, some rumblings in Michigan about adopting something similar, and all the pros and cons regarding these topics I feel compelled to just add a few of my own comments toward this situation.
First, I have to admit that I'm not an entirely unbiased commentator. Early in the 20th Century my great aunt (God rest her soul) came into the United States illegally. She came through Canada with the assistance of an Irish priest in Detroit who at that time was helping Irish immigrants who were fleeing Ireland to enter the United States. Over the course of her life, I believe that she did ultimately become a naturalized citizen. She also raised a family alone, after he husband deserted her and her three sons (my second cousins).
My aunt didn't come to this country on a lark. She was fleeing Ireland because of the repression of the English occupation force in Ireland at the time and because of her involvement with the Irish pro-independence movement operating in and around Cork. From 1916 until 1922 an extremely bitter war was fought by Ireland in order to obtain freedom from English rule. (As a side note, if you're interested, there is a very excellent independent movie which had limited release in 2006 - now on DVD - "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" -- set in County Cork from 1920-1922.)
Her brother, my great uncle had been captured, imprisoned and tortured for his involvement in the Irish independence movement. He later emigrated to the United States (Detroit). This imprisonment and torture left extremely deep psychological scars on him until the day he died. 
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Deacon Tim, I have a highly biased view of immigration, too. My parents arrived (legally) in America about 3 years prior to my birth. In 1995, at the age of 78, my father became a naturalized American citizen. I was so proud of him that day that I couldn't help but cry.
ReplyDeleteAny society--any society at all--denies themself the ability to become enriched culturally and in all other ways when they decide to become "exclusive" and fail to be "inclusive". And given the Arizona law, I must ask myself "What does an American look like? What does an illegal immigrant look like?". How on earth could any of us answer that question? Moreover, how could the people of Arizona ask themselves that?
America is fortunate in that people in other countries look to it as a beacon of hope. America, to them, represents a place where they can realize their dreams to live in a free manner, unoppressed, able to pursue educational and entrepeneurial opportunities. America if far from perfect (something those of us who're born here realize soon enough), but to people without the freedoms we embrace each day, America is a land of hope. How can we chose to eliminate hope?