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The Drastic Illusion of Division
At the heart of the discussion rests, not so comfortably, an opportunity to flesh out a more progressive view of the US and her relationship with the Americas. The current – but out-dated–border-centric, fearful paradigms do not foster a healthy citizenry, but instead increasingly introduce violence and distress into society, against its natural tendencies.
Those who cling to protectionist measures such as the “Buy American” elements of the US stimulus package seek an isolated vision of “America” that simply doesn’t exist in reality. Raids on workplaces that jail or deport undocumented workers do not protect the US economy or its social fabric, but instead wreak havoc on communities and human beings. The punitive stance on immigration funnels record profits into the coffers of the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement department (ICE), but growing the population in our jails and ICE units hardly seems a path to prosperity. Especially considering the US already has the highest incarceration rate and largest documented total prison population of any country in the world.
Increasing the militarization of the border to keep migrants from finding better economic situations does nothing to solve the problems they flee. It is myopic and destructive. In border towns, people travel across as a matter of daily errands and day-to-day life. The idea of a US that has one sort of people living next to a nation with completely separate and different sorts of people is wholly false. The people of the US, and Mexico, and Canada, are interwoven across generations, land, and time.
Canada is now requiring a visa from Mexican nationals who are increasingly seeking asylum there. The Canadian government claims many of the asylum requests are "fraudulent." Yet, a rising number of such requests would hardly be incredible. Especially as the US does not offer sanctuary in such cases.
We need an intelligent discussion of the violence below the border that has claimed over 13,000 lives since 2006, when Felipe Calderón began his drug war–with the US showing enthusiastic support. While mainstream news sources warn us of “spillover violence” as part of a pro-border-wall agenda, the US President lauds Calderón as the "untouchable" Elliot Ness of his era, waging a heroic war against corruption. Almost 900 people lost their lives in México just this past July, and Calderón—whose party and punitive policies were repudiated in midterm elections—shows no signs of easing up on the military occupation of México. This, despite the rising tide of human rights violations allegations filed against the Mexican Army and Police.
Are the gruesome deaths of 13,000 people going to be enough for us to begin an intelligent discussion about drug laws? Portugal offers a striking lesson in its recent decriminalization of drugs that not only didn’t kill tens of thousands of people, but also worked.
Why is the US encouraging a model of “war” that has never been effective and is, after three years, producing corpses at a horrific rate? Why is the US chipping away at its workforce only to increase its incarcerated population?
When the illusion of unrelated cause and effect is maintained, a People will make no progress, but remain mired in a foggy landscape where isolated individuals and incidents can only be chased as they arise; shot at, locked up or kept behind a fence in lieu of understanding. In the absence of understanding, force will always be substituted. And when this illusion is maintained, it is always at the expense of the People.
We need a new way of viewing and talking about the relationship that flows like rivers across borders and unites the people of the Americas. We need to spend less money on the drastic divisions, more time building bridges and harvesting possibility.
6 Comments so far
Show AllThe last big effort to lower the "drastic divisions" betweeen Mexico, Canada and the US was NAFTA.
Did you like how that one worked out?
NAFTA generated problems because it allowed movement of money and goods while preventing movement of people.
That allowed large, centralized capital to lever its advantage, while restricting the options of labor and micro-businesses to respond.
What is needed, and what this author calls for, is the reverse: protective tariffs, particularly in Mexico, and amnesty.
NAFTA has hardly prevented movement of people, in fact, it has severely aggravated that movement. NAFTA's "public" goals, back when the super-corrupt arch-criminal Presidente Carlos Salinas de Gotari and the treacherous and corrupt Prez Bill "it's the money stupid" Clinton were peddling it, were to create good jobs, opportunities and lives in Mexico, so people would not feel the need to flee to the US, breaking laws in the process. And how did that pledge work out? But no nation, not even Mexico itself (see Mexico's southern border) allows or can allow unregulated immigration.
In reality, NAFTA destroyed Mexican manufacturers by replacing them, and destroyed Mexican family farmers with a flood of subsidised Ameican corn. At the same time it destroyed unions and manufacturing and communities on this side of the border. And remaining US factories and corporate farms have actually fought against controlling immigration from Mexico, as they can exploit these workers far more easily than American ones, pitting the poor and desperate against each other. So the managers of these firms are definitely not looking out for the interests of the undocumented workers.
NAFTA's "public" goal, to bring Mexico towards developed world status, was not the secret corporate/capitalist goal, which, as usual, was to exploit desperation for profit, as well as create more desperation by killing US unions through threatening to move or moving production to Mexico. Setting up production in Mexico is no problem IF the goods produced are then sold in Mexico. But the goods are brought back to the US for sale, even though in the process of manufacture the goods are BREAKING EVERY LAW that US domestic manufacturers face - minimum wage laws,labor laws, union laws, environmental laws, health and safety laws, pollution laws, tax laws, zoning laws, banking laws, and on and on. And now China is the new Mexico, with even cheaper people, cutting out the jobs that were created under NAFTA for Mexico. So much for a better life because of NAFTA.
No, NAFTA was and is a disaster for a decent society on both sides of the border. And America cannot accomodate the tens of millions that would arrive if borders were open. Especially if it was made fair for the rest of the world. Mexico must put tariffs back on, must reform its corrupt oligarchy and government, and must not rely on Mexicans as its main export. NAFTA must die a swift death. And if Mexico had a socialist government that would give jobs to its people, to rebuild and beautify the nation, to focus on the small local farmer and on family planning, it could become a paradise. But easier things first. NAFTA must go!
Yes, point taken: immigration has not reduced, or did not until the economic slowdown of 2008.
Let me amend "preventing" to "still restricting" and beg pardon for a significant imprecision.
Otherwise, though, I'll stand by the statement.
In no case are the agglomerated nations supporting more or less people because of immigration or emigration, so the ready assertion that a nation cannot afford the people it hires makes little sense until we answer what it cannot afford to do with them. Just because countries have immigration laws does not mean these are needed, less that they would be needed in all circumstances.
To lift immigration restrictions at once would cause problems, since more people would move than could be properly hired or housed. But that does not mean the majority would not benefit from a more gradual lifting of restrictions or even their eventual elimination.
This is particularly true because of the point you bring up in your second paragraph. The same law that prevents people from crossing - and it prevents many from crossing, though it may provoke more - keeps those who do arrive marginalized as "illegals," therefore susceptible to abuse and useful as scabs.
As to NAFTA, the motives behind it, and the role of China, I agree.
Since the beginning of 2006, US drug policy has probably killed over 10K in the US. 13K in Mexico is not going to be a concern to the powers that be in the US.
Private prison profits, larger law enforcement budgets, more police power, fearful ignorant people supporting conservative politicians, and thriving cartels, are just a few indications of who the winners are in the endless war on drugs.
Talk about self sustaining job security. No one in power wants to change any of this.