Immigrants a complicated population

Why are Americans so threatened by people of Hispanic descent?

As each census renders… Why are Americans so threatened by people of Hispanic descent?

As each census renders Hispanics as one of the fastest-growing minorities, people are concerned about the political and economic implications of this growth and how they will be affected.

Ever since the events that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, the site that people fear most as an entry point for terrorists is the Mexican border.

Recently there has been talk of guest-worker visas, which some feel is an elongated euphemism for amnesty.

Ever since President George W. Bush appeared to be in favor of guest-worker visas for illegal immigrants who entered the country before February 2004, the Internet has been ablaze with blogs. Papers all over the country have printed a wave of articles that present several sides of the argument. But surprisingly, the biggest opponents of this proposed policy are on the conservative right, and they seem to be fighting an endless war.

While some conservatives feel that the government must actively enforce the laws surrounding illegal immigration, others in business look at immigrants as an asset to their corporations.

The first proposal, presented by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., establishes 400,000 guest-worker visas that last three years, with a provision for additional visas if necessary.

The second plan, proposed by Sen. John Kyl, D-Mass., involves immigrants receiving a guest-worker visa for two years and reporting back to their initial countries to reapply at the end of their terms. While Bush seems to be leaning toward a version of the first plan, only time will tell.

It seems that, now more than ever, there is an alarming amount of concern over legal and illegal immigration, and not only for humanitarian, economic or national security reasons. Aside from these other concerns, many Americans fear we will lose our identity.

When the topic of immigration is dealt with in the media, it seems that Spanish-speaking countries near the United States are most often discussed. Following that is the interminable argument surrounding the billions of dollars that go to immigrants for education and health care that could be otherwise spent on people who legally live in this country.

But the fact is, if it weren’t for immigrants, our economy itself would collapse. Those who spout the aforementioned concerns never stop to think that all the jobs illegal immigrants slave over are the ones that most Americans won’t take. They are jobs that are integral to the smooth functioning of our everyday life. We never really stop to think about the plight of the immigrant.

Anyone with a breath of humanity can relate to a place that accepts people for who they are: the place with family, loved ones and home cooking. It’s a place where people look like you and think like you, where conversation is easy and most things are communicated through wordless connections. That place is none other than home.

Immigrants don’t leave home because they believe some myth about the streets of America being paved in gold. They do it to ensure that their children will have a better life and that a greater legacy will be passed along.

What makes them so different than the settlers of 50 or 100 years ago? It seems that they have more in common with the people who settled this country to fight American Revolutions and Civil Wars than the conservatives who strive to preserve the so-called values that we are continuously bombarded with.

Our greatest fear for the future should be a fragmented America. Fear not the fact that our major cities are melting pots, or that more and more people are referred to as “brown.” Fear corruption in the government, racism, self-denigration and politicization with a means to no end. Diversity and the uniqueness that every individual possesses are the last legs this country stands on. Divided we fall.

E-mail Rose at sba1@pitt.edu.