Americans thought the human tsunami was about Third Worlders invading in order to rip off a First World economy and welfare system. Now the spiel is that foreigners come here to feel good about themselves, a point made by Sam Quinones' in his most recent book Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream, where the self-esteem of Mexicans gets major attention.
For 20 years, Ruben and Martha Carranza saw Irving as a melting pot of cultures.Here, they were encouraged to live out their version of the American dream — building a respectable life as they worked and raised their children.
"I always felt Irving was a friendly place and was just a wonderful city," Mr. Carranza said.
But in just a few short weeks, that peace and comfort has dramatically dissolved. A firestorm of controversy surrounding the Police Department's use of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement program placed Irving in the national spotlight. In the last year, the program has turned over for deportation proceedings more than 1,600 people — more than any other city in the nation, officials believe. [...]
Many Hispanics are afraid to leave their homes or send their children to schools in a suburb where one-third of the population is foreign-born. They feel racially profiled by police and unwanted by white neighbors. Hispanics in Irving feeling disheartened Dallas Morning News 10/7/07]
If genuine citizens feel bad vibes, that's regrettable. But the negative reaction on the part of Americans is the result of decades of open borders and the fact that the majority of hispanics who have entered the US recently are indeed illegal. (According to the Christian Science Monitor, "Of the Mexicans who live here, an estimated 85 percent are here illegally.")
The solution is more enforcement. If illegal immigration is effectively ended, then eventually Americans won't assume anyone with a Mexican accent is likely to be an illegal alien.
Problem solved by making immigration legal, controlled and reduced!
