For those behind the new immigration policies, nothing has become more real than the horrific stories that have come from the new and harsh reforms that are sweeping states across the country. The everyday human drama continues to unfold and even cross borders and cross lines within and of itself.
One piece that appeared in The Atlantic told tragic individual stories, such as the tale of a California border patrol agent who was charged for sheltering his own undocumented father from being deported. Another story involved a Mexican teen who was killed for throwing rocks near a border patrol agent. Another was about a middle aged man who was deported for very old drug charges that had already been dealt with.
On the surface level, all these cases involved undocumented citizens. However, what does not matter in respect to the new immigration policies are their lives, intertwined and deeply rooted here. Moms and fathers with small children and an exceptional college student in a small town have been ripped away without any consideration or any concern about whom else is affected in the aftermath of their disappearances. In essence, everyone will feel the ripple effects from it.
The scapegoat, the fall guy, the alien that belongs to another planet who needs to vacate the premises and go back where he came from seems to be the blatant rhetoric that has reverberated throughout the political arena of this country. However, immigrants and undocumented workers are human beings, too, and have largely been a part of American history. Yet, according to the Migration Policy Institute, immigrants are deeply tied to the U.S. business cycle and create a positive impact, though small, over American income in the long term, according to the consensus of economists.
Moreover, what seem to be highly ignored are the effects of globalization and its role on migration. Trade programs in Mexico inevitably pushed many Mexican laborers and migrant farmers across the border in search for jobs. This is part of the harsh reality of globalization. What has also been highly ignored or not mentioned enough in the same breath of immigration reform is that the influx of undocumented workers has become the impetus for immigration reform but in reality much of the interdependent workings between the U.S. and Mexico has polarized both Mexican and U.S. citizens.
A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.
