Guest essay on immigration – Denton Record Chronicle 6-22-18

On immigration . . .

I’m an immigrant, a legal one, with a US passport and my first language is not English, which sounds like a confession, but it’s not: it’s a fact. I was born in Corral, Chile, a very different place than anywhere in this country. I also remember the excitement of coming here, all the hoops we had to jump through and the eighteen months it took to do that: first and foremost, my dad had to have a job—not easy to do from Chile before the internet. We had two family interviews with the American Consul in Santiago, filled out endless paperwork, got the required X-rays (TB), the shots, the pictures, etc., and all that. Then my dad had to fly here and present his first paycheck before we were allowed to fly to the US and join him. We kids were in school the day after we got here and needless to say, there was no ESL (English as a Second Language) classes back in the 70’s. Language wise, we had to sink or swim. We swam.

This business of allowing anyone to come here is absurd and makes a mockery of the effort legal immigrants went through to get here. Let’s face it, our immigration system is broken and there is no point in blaming president Trump for trying to stem the tide of illegal immigrants. If he didn’t, there would be thousands more, perhaps millions. After all, he’s supposed to uphold the law, was sworn in to do just that and arguing that zero tolerance is too strict is basically asking him to look the other way. Who wants to be like Germany?

In any case, the blame sits squarely on Congress: they could make the laws stricter, enforcement a priority, but they don’t. And stricter not only on the immigrants side, but also on this side, as in stiff, let’s not go there penalties, for hiring undocumented workers.

And shouldn’t English be required? I know many legal immigrants who joke they are bilingual because they can say “yes” and “okay,” in English—their two words. I also know of several high school graduates (Denton ISD) who can’t speak a word of English. Yet, somehow they got their diplomas and passports.

I know people who teach ESL here in Denton, and many is the time they have to cancel class (it’s free) because of poor attendance. Is asking people to learn the language in order to live here asking too much?

I’m not against immigration, if it’s done right. I also happen to know many illegal immigrants that game the system, from soup kitchens to health care and know how to squash the last drop of juice out of the American orange. It’s been happening for decades and perhaps it’s time to set it right. Only, don’t expect Congress to do anything but point the finger. Sadly, I think the system we have is the one we have to live with.

mt

For those who want to visit the page at the DRC, here is the link: https://www.dentonrc.com/opinion/columnists/manuel-taboada-blame-for-immigration-crisis-lies-with-congress/article_c4761367-0d48-5649-8f05-d50700d952e4.html