Yesterday, I attended a rally for immigration policy reform in Boston. Similar rallies took place in over one hundred cities across the country in an effort to focus attention on our ridiculous immigration policy that has lead to up to eleven million undocumented people contributing their efforts to the economy outside the law.
I say thank you to the immigrants for having the courage to move to a new country to make a better life for themselves and their families. I also say thank you to the contributions that they have made to our economy by providing the manpower for many of the necessary functions in our economy – in many cases outside legal protection and in jeopardy of being deported by the government of what should be a grateful nation.
Most of all I say thank you to the immigrants for providing me with an opportunity to take part in this kind of rally. Unfortunately there are not very many rallies in support of the policies that I support such as lowering taxes, reducing the size and scope of the federal government, federalism, using American power to topple dictatorships, and reducing trade barriers and distortions. On immigration, I have finally found policy alignment with a group of people who have the desire an ability to hold this kind of rally. So, thank you for that!
I really enjoyed seeing all of the hardworking people rallying so that they can enjoy the freedom to just keep doing what they are doing. At one point, I struck up a conversation with an immigrant carpenter because I couldn’t remember what the chant “Si Se Puede” meant. At first he was a little confused because he thought that I looked Spanish. He really appreciated it when I told him that I am a forth, fifth, and sixth generation immigrant and that I supported their cause. This guy and millions like him are just here to make a buck like the rest of us. They deserve the chance. They contribute. This country needs them.
On a side note, here is an amusing anecdote: While I was listening to one of the speakers, who were generally pretty good the woman handing out the revolutionary communist newspaper did not even bother to ask me if I wanted one. She asked the woman to my left if she wanted a copy, looked at me for a moment, and then moved on to ask some other guy if he wanted a copy. I guess that I did not look enough like a member of the proletariat in my business attire. Unfortunately, I failed to realize quickly enough what was happening or I would have asked her why she was discriminating against me. I guess I had better watch my back when the revolution begins…
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great post bangert. last week i was working out in new mexico, with some mexican americans. we had some down time and i asked them what they thought about the immigration issues. the conversation was interesting, and we could only come to the conclusion that yes, reform was necessary. both of the men were legal citizens because of the courage of their parents to immigrate here illegaly. (they were both born here of illegal immigrants.) one of the men supported building the wall, holding businesses accountable, not the immigrants, and making it easier for immigration to occur. the other man loved to eat burritos made by non-english speaking people. i had to agree with him after sampling one myself at dinner one night! lol...
anyway, i do not have a position, and the only thing that i could get out of your post was that you support reform...but what exactly do you think the problem is? and, what should the reform focus on?
my only current opinion so far is two-fold: entitlements and taxes. it seems to me that we offer entitilements of all sorts to these illegals (and millions of other legal americans.) this is not good. the other is the income abd payroll and other plethora of business taxes. we make it so that the honest businessman has to pay so much more in taxes that he is at a disadvantage to the illegal businessman, that is the one that pays illegals under the table, and avoids the taxes and beuracracy...
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