THIS IS WHY:

There are roughly 8,000,000 (8 million) illegal/undocumented immigrants WORKING in this country.  They work in restaurants. They work in hotels and in the hospitality industry.  They work in domestic services.  They work in the construction trades.  And they work in agriculture.  Contrary to what many people seem to believe, they also pay taxes.  They perform jobs that most of us would refuse to do — let alone perform them at the low wages these workers are often being paid.  

Crime rates for illegal immigrants are also a fraction of what they are for U.S. citizens.  You wouldn’t know that by listening to the fear mongering that runs rampant on talk radio, social media and Fox News — but it’s true.  And it’s not hard to figure out why: illegal/undocumented immigrants do not want to draw attention to themselves.  They know that if they were to commit crimes — even among themselves— they would be discovered and deported with no opportunity to ever legally return and become a U.S.citizen. 

If every one of them were to be deported tomorrow, huge swaths of our economy would be significantly impacted and the U.S. would face a major economic crisis without their daily contributions.   The answer, instead of demonizing them and forcing them to live in the shadows, is to give them a pathway to citizenship just like we have to so many immigrants in the past. 

 

The problem with that, in particular, is that Republicans have been demonizing immigrants for decades and using them as the bogeymen in an attempt to scare voters into voting for Republican or anti-immigration candidates.  

Despite repeated claims to the contrary, illegal/undocumented immigrants are not U.S. citizens and therefore cannot vote in our elections.  But If they were allowed to become citizens, they would be able to vote.   And that is a problem for Republicans because they know full well that, after having demonized these people for decades, the vast majority of them would vote against Republican candidates.

And that’s the crux of America’s problem.  That’s why this country has not been able to pass long-needed immigration reform for decades.  If we ACTUALLY want to fix this problem, we can.  But it entails giving these people who we and our economy depend upon, a pathway to citizenship.  

Republicans would most likely pay a political price for that.  That’s why we don’t have it.

Discrimination: A Short Essay

 From Nov. 4, 2018

Discrimination:  a short essay

I was born into a Jewish home.

Currently there are thousands upon thousands of people in this country who hate me for what I am.  They do not know me.  They have never met me.  But that is inconsequential to their hatred.  I've experienced this hatred numerous times throughout my 62 years.  And I have become accustomed to it. 

I am not alone. 

We live in a country today where the president regularly fans the flames of bigotry and hatred.   He tells us to be afraid.  That "they" are the enemy.  That "they" are coming to get us.  His followers believe him, harboring animosity towards people whose names they don’t know and whom they’ve never met.  They identify those they hate solely by their surnames;  by where they pray;  by the color of their skin;  by who they’re with;  by where they're from;  and by their politics. 

The news of this past week should have been a wake-up call to all those who tried to convince us that this behavior would pass.  That it was just a strategy or tactic he used to get himself elected.  But the campaign never stopped.  The fear-mongering, targeting and blaming never ceased.  We are all living with the result.  

And it's not going away any time soon.  He has the unwavering support of powerful right-wing media that regularly distorts facts and misrepresents truths in order to instill fear and stoke resentment 24/7.  

Real news doesn't harm.  It informs.  

We, the citizens of The United States of America, have an opportunity on Tuesday to shout loudly and clearly that this hatred does not define us.  It is not who we are.  We will not acquiesce to it.   It is not who we will become.  On Tuesday, voters in this country will express their acceptance or rejection of those who use hatred to advance their own agenda.  His name may not be on the ballot.  But the names of his supporters and enablers are.

I am too often reminded these days of the poem entitled “First They Came” written by Martin Niemöller, a German pastor who was disgusted that the German citizenry would not speak in opposition as their neighbors were being carted off by the Nazi regime.  It ends with the words: "Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me."  

On Tuesday, please speak for those who cannot, or dare not, speak up for themselves.

Please vote.

This is your chance to speak for everyone.

Things Your Vote CAN Fix

 

Inflation Sucks

 

Have You Ever Noticed?

 

Do Unto Others

 

You Get the America You VOTE For