immigration

February 3, 2008 &bull politics

At one of our usual biking rest stops there are usually a bunch of day laborers standing around, waiting for people to drive by and offer them some work. You see this type of thing all over San Diego county. It’s not uncommon to see tens of people standing around the driveways of various home improvement stores or other busy roads/intersections. I’ve always thought this was interesting for a couple reasons.

    These people are usually out there seven days a week, including holidays
    They aren’t holding any signs, nor are they asking for any hand-outs
    They don’t harass you or bother you at all; they’re just there, waiting for work

While I don’t have any hard evidence, I’ve always assumed most, if not all, of these workers are illegal immigrants. And, I’m guessing I’m not the only one. Yesterday there were a bunch of protesters at our bike stop, waving American flags and signs, demanding these folks leave San Diego (and the US) because they’re here illegally. It was a little unsettling since they were standing about 10 feet from most of the day laborers.

The scene reminded me of the comments both democratic candidates made in the last debate. This is a very complicated issue with some very prickly consequences. I’m not sure if I’d have a different opinion on the matter if I had lost my job because of these illegal workers. I’d like to think I’d blame myself for not providing my employer with some kind of “value-add,” but it’s hard to say. I guess my first reaction to seeing the protesters yesterday was one of embarrassment. I felt embarrassed to be automatically on their side of the issue since I’m a citizen and, as such, am here legally. I fought the inclination to walk my bike over to the workers and tell them not all Americans want to round them up and ship them out of the country. (I didn’t feel like getting beat up by the flag-waving patriots in front of my cycling friends.)

As I mentioned, this is a complicated issue and I’m really not sure of the best solution. I know I don’t support rounding people, who simply want to work and send money home to their relatives, up like cattle and deporting them. I’m also not in favor of degrading people and making them feel ashamed for doing what they think is right for themselves and their families, which I think has to be the only point to these local demonstrations. Surely there has to be some solution that allows us to maintain the spirit of this country, you know, the one that made it great? A way to keep our integrity and compassion for those who are less fortunate than us, but are desperately trying to do something about it. I just don’t know what that is yet.

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