Immigration Reform? – Should be About Immigrants Too

By Cuéntame

Agreed, the window of opportunity is in fact wide open for the passage of substantial immigration reform. Immigration reform is after all the next big ticket item. The coveted prize that allegedly holds the key to millions of Latinos nationwide who will soon fall in line with whatever the powers that may be decide to pass as “immigration reform”. No matter what it is, just slap the word “reform” to it and you will keep the community happy. After all, nobody in their right mind would want to anger the same community that just proved to be a deciding factor in the last election would they? No, of course not. So then call it “reform”, enlist the help of Latino sounding names and sell, sell, sell as much as you can. No matter what it includes. The details don’t matter. Slap the word “reform” and everyone will fall in place.

Who cares about the details? If you call it “reform” then “reform” it will be. After all, the main goal is not really to reform the system and strengthen the rights of 11 million people. Of course not, that would mean going against the nativist, anti-immigrant, supremacist powers that may be – those that have done such an incredible job in convincing people that they should be afraid, very, very afraid of immigrants. Nope all you need to do is to call it “reform”, lock the Latino vote and blame the other guy for any mistakes or exclusions along the way.

Immigrant rights? The least of your worries. This is really not about immigrants. This is really about politicians. Who will be at the winning end of this? Who will look good? Who will win the golden ticket while not really changing much? Immigrant rights? Ha, that’s not what immigration reform is about. It’s not like you really want to put an end to raiding immigrant homes, separating their families, locking-up their children, shooting them at border, monitoring them with drones, persecuting, alienating, discriminating, kicking out their youth and creating a whole infrastructure of second-class humans to abuse, exploit, profit off of or discard whenever it’s needed and however it’s needed? Of course not. That’s not how this is done.

First you have to ease the fears. Yes, the fears that have so been engrained so deep in our social fabric by groups whose whole purpose is to instill a phobia for the different and the unknown. Groups who use the word “immigration” in their names to legitimize their hard anti-immigrant beliefs – all the meantime brewing anxiety with a powerful nativist and well-funded hate agenda (ehem Center for Immigration Studies, Federations of Americans For Immigration Reform, Californians Coalition for Immigration reform.) They have done such an incredible job of driving the immigration narrative that they have pocketed several fringe and not so fringe politicians to carry their hatred to the halls of Congress. If you hear closely, you’ll hear exactly the same words that come out of their fake studies, spokespeople and talking points, end-up in the speeches of public officials at the highest level, local legislators and in the actual text of legislative bills and proposals: “Enforce”, “Secure”, ‘Verify”, “Punish”, “Terrorize”, “Steal”, “Invade.” – Be scared, be very scared. The immigrants will come and get you! The immigrants will come and get you!

They have done their job. They have spoken. Forget the reasons and root causes of what brings folks here in the first place. Forget how we have incentivized their migration. Forget that immigration is indeed how this country has been built. That immigration is as patriotic as the the flag and the statue of liberty. This time is different. These are not the type of immigrants you want. They don’t really look like you do they? They are different. This time you should be very, very afraid.

“Enforce”, “Secure”, ‘Verify”, “Punish”, “Terrorize”, “Steal”, “Invade.” Keep using these words, spread the fear amongst your friends and family. Make sure that everyone has become so familiarized with these words that they are the basis and the foundation for any type of immigration “reform.” But be careful and use them effectively, use them in code and attach a sense of nationalism and patriotism at the end of it. That’s how you start immigration reform.

After all, immigration reform is not about immigrant rights is it? It’s about fear.

Disagree? Well too bad because this has already been put into place. There is already widespread support for this approach. It has been sold well enough. Co-opted, stamped and Latino approved – or so they say. Fear first, rights later. Abuse first, rights later. Secure first, rights later. Deport first, rights later. Exploit first, rights later. It’s all in motion, compromised, fired up and ready to go. All you need is to fall in line. Don’t worry, they will make sure to appear to fight for some – they will throw a bone and talk about a pathway for the most deserving and the most skilled. Not the ones who need it the most. They are not part of any “reform.” They are not deserving. It’s all calculated. You don’t have to do anything. The anti-immigrant bunch will have done it all for you. There will be a bill soon and they will speak up to make sure absurd fear trumps human rights. So don’t worry – If You Don’t Speak Up, They Will For You.

This article was first published in Cuéntame.