While liberals have been outraged about Arizona’s new immigration law, quite a few commentators have defended the measure as necessary. Usually the argument sounds something like this, “The federal government has punted the ball on immigration! Arizona receives a huge number of illegal immigrants had to do something to stem the tide! This is something.” David Broder made a version of this argument in yesterday’s Washington Post, and Daniel Larison argued a similar point a few days ago in the American Conservative. Ignoring, for now, the fact “something” doesn’t imply “anything,” it’s interesting to me that those in favor of Arizona’s law — or at least those sympathetic to it — fail to see its racial dimensions. To them, this really just is a desperate attempt on Arizona’s part to control its borders.
In all honesty, I would be less hostile to the law (if only marginally) if there were some indication that this was a good faith effort to make headway against Arizona’s growing population of undocumented immigrants. But that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. Not only was the bill sponsored by an Arizona legislator with noted ties to white supremacists organizations, but the Arizona legislature has followed up SB 1070 with a bill aimed at outlawing “ethnic-studies programs” in public schools:
Just a week after signing the country’s toughest immigration bill into law, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer now must decide whether to endorse another bill passed by her state legislature — one that outlaws ethnic-studies programs in public schools.
The bill forbids Arizona schools from using any curriculum that promotes “the overthrow of the United States government” or “resentment toward a race or class of people.” It also disallows any curriculum that’s “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” or that seeks to “advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”
On top of this, the Arizona Department of Education has “has begun telling principals to remove teachers who speak English with an accent from classes with students who are still learning English.” In light of this new bill, it seems absurd to suggest that SB 1070 isn’t about race and racism. There are ways to curb illegal immigration that don’t require blanket racial profiling and citizenship stops. There are ways to improve English instruction that don’t involve expelling teachers with accented English (the majority of whom, in all likelihood, will be of Latino descent).
Taken together, these bills are a clear sign that Arizona is governed by men and women who seek to whitewash their state as much as possible. I’d be willing to listen to an alternative explanation, but I honestly don’t see how that could be any more apparent.
I’m not sure whether the accented English issue is necessarily a race issue. Since the teachers in question are ones teaching classes with students still learning English, it might simply have to do with accessibility.
I’ve personally been told on multiple occasions that due to my accent I can very difficult to follow to people who are not native speakers of English, even ones who are effectively fluent. If there’s a teacher like that in a class with students still learning English I could easily see that as a pretty big problem.
Now, there’s no evidence to suggest that’s right, but it seems to at least be a possibility.
That is a really good point, but given the context in which this is all happening, I think it might be a bit too charitable.
Of all the problems plaguing Americans’ current approaches to political discourse, an excess of charity is not one of them.
I also fear that the frequency with which the charge of racism crops up today—I mean in general, not regarding you in particular, Jamelle—runs the danger of increasing cynicism with regard to such issues.
By the way, have you seen this piece (http://bit.ly/cNrSH7)? I literally almost never go to NRO, but a friend passed along the link, and it’s definitely a worthwhile take on the subject.
“I also fear that the frequency with which the charge of racism crops up today—I mean in general, not regarding you in particular, Jamelle—runs the danger of increasing cynicism with regard to such issues.”
That is one argument that really bothers me. Honestly, folks need to be called out on their racist B.S. Those who are cynical about charges of racism tend to deny racism still exist in modern America and they are not going to be persuaded anyway. It kind of gets back to the idea that racism should only be called out in the most extreme cases (i.e. the KKK), when we know that a person does not have to wear a white hood and a burn cross one someone’s front lawn to be racist or display an act of racism.
I am not saying that you personally are in denial about racism, but I just believe that we should call it out. We shouldn’t keep quiet about it for the sake of the cynics who refuse to believe that racism is still an issue.
I’ve seen a lot of criticism about this but no alternative solutions. What would you suggest we do to get rid of illegals in this country and stemming the tide of future ones? I propose getting rid of any sort of Government Financial Aid like Food Cards and WIC. Illegals cannot receive Government Aid (legally anway) but their babies can. Cross the border, get knocked up, BAM! Guvmint Dolla – Holla?! And then of course who is gonna deny citizenship to a mother or father who’s baby was born here (and thus a legal citizen), right? That would be inhumane.
But if they knew that their babies couldn’t get it either, I bet they’d stop comin’! So maybe that means any baby born to illegal immigrant parents should be considered an illegal immigrant also.
Anyway, that’s the only solution I can think of.
What about you? What do you suggest?
Actually, illegal immigrant parents of U.S. citizens generally cannot obtain U.S. citizenship, even after the child turns 21. So you are wrong.
So, when your solution is implemented, and babies start dying because their parents came here to work, not go on welfare, can we move on and deal with the real problem? The real problem is the fact that big corporations have exported most of our better jobs to places like India and red China. This has been going on for years, under every President from Reagan to Obama, and it is the main reason our economy is such a mess now. When will we do something about this?
The jobs in India are call center jobs. How many people (who are not still in High School) in the United States are willing to take up call center jobs? I’ve done it before. It sucks and I’ll never do it again.
Anyway, there would be no reason for babies to die. By withdrawing Sugar Daddy welfare money from them, illegal immigrants would simply stop coming here. OR the ones that came would simply not have babies. Condoms are cheap and even free in some places. We could require illegal immigrants to get vasectomies and hysterectomies but who would pay for it – Sugar Daddy? So scratch that idea. What did people do before “welfare” was invented? How did they take care of their kids? Did they keep their pants on and not have them until they were able to afford them?
The problem is the welfare state.
As far as “better jobs”… perhaps American citizens need to humble themselves (like Mexicans) and take whatever jobs they can get at this point.
But if you want to work in a call center like Indians do, there are still PLENTY of those in the US. We’ve got about 20 just where I live.
You clearly have no idea why people would risk their lives to emigrate “illegally” to another country.
Of course I do. They are poor and what to make a better life for themselves. I don’t blame them for that. I would probably do the same in their condition. But I wouldn’t get knocked up (or knock someone else up) til I could afford to pay for the child myself. Why do they do that?
The truth is:
Some, but not all, of the jobs in India are call center jobs. More often, they are engineering, technical, and most often of all, production work. Many of these production jobs, in India and many other nations, replace good paying jobs, usually union, which used to be worked by Americans. Obviously, this reduces the cost of producing goods. These cost savings are not passed on to customers who buy the products. Instead, they are used to pay the unbelievable salaries and bonuses of the executives, and maybe some of it gets to the stock holders.
Also, did I mention the fact that most of these people come here to work, not go on welfare? They come from a cultural heritage with a strong work ethic, just as white Europeans do, maybe even more so. Besides, it’s almost impossible to get on welfare, no matter where you come from, and even then you can only stay there for a limited time. Reagan took care of that a long time ago. For many children, it’s like the 1920s again. They simply starve, and nobody cares.
Sheep may be willing to “humble themselves” and work menial, low paying jobs while foreign slaves are working the jobs they used to have, and their kids starve, and the money they used to make is buying mansions and private jets for the executives, but real Americans are getting tired of this.
You’re right. Call center jobs suck, and it used to be that they were only taken by students to pay their way through school. That kind of job should not be a lifetime career, and neither should serving hamburgers, but that is what we Americans have been reduced to by these very unpatriotic policies. Too many of us were stupid enough to vote in politicians who did this to us, and now we are all paying for it.
“Besides, it’s almost impossible to get on welfare”… For childfree people LIKE ME, it is almost impossible to get on welfare. I know because I’ve already tried. However, for people poppin’ out puppies it is VERY, VERY EASY. I know several single Mom’s who live off of food stamps, WIC and welfare. And they still have the audacity to have unprotected sex with current boyfriends. Why do they do that?
So you admit to trying to be a burden on a welfare system that, by the way, you want to see abolished? Interesting.
David, just as middle-class and upper-middle class people such as yourself are worried about their good paying jobs going overseas, lower-class people such as laborers are worried about their jobs going to illegal immigrants.
Ever stand in line at one of those places that needs “day work”? Probably not. Anyway, it’s construction jobs. These men are witnessing the work they need to survive going to foreigners too!
As accurate as it gets. As to curbing illegal immigration without exercising a certain amount of racism, the only answer is to increase legal immigration opportunities to a high enough level as to disincentivize illegal immigration. Or there are those that argue that sealing up the border is the best way, but I think that’s a pipe dream.
bjohns15, as far as increasing legal immigration – only for people who can support themselves and their families with ZERO government funding. all the others are a burden on our system.