Forum

ADD A COMMENT

I come from a family of immigrants but I am not an immigrant. I do however work in a government program that employs many immigrants from many countries across the world.

As a mainstream American I have learned more than I could ever express from the staff in our office. They are diligent, hard working and caring individuals. They are concerned for their neighbors, coworkers and clientele. They have a work ethic that is not always shared by mainstream Americans. They appreciate the opportunity to work, live and exist in America. They are not criminals, they are not terrorists but honest indivduals who have left behind all of their belongings, assets and often times family members. Who are we as a society to decide where someone can live demographically? Isn't that right held by evey living human being?

I find it interesting that some Americans feel they should be able to go anywhere, live anywhere, work anywhere but do not feel the same right should be afforded to others born abroad. Many of the jobs held by immigrants are jobs we or our children wouldn't do. How many Americans would clean toilets or pick vegetables in the blazing sun for minimum wage? Would your children?

I think it is time for Americans to get off their high horses and stop thinking of themselves as this elite group of individuals that is so superior to others. We are all human beings, some more entitled than others but when the day is done, we all need air to breathe and food and water to survive. We all care about our families and want the best for them. Isn't that what America was built on?

When things go bad, many Americans commonly blame someone else for their problems.Historically, immigrants have been convenient scapegoats: They not only “take away” jobs from “hard-working” American citizens and deplete the country’s resources, the argument goes, they are criminals who have entered this country illegally and must be punished with jail or deportation.

There is nothing like a presidential election to raise the volume on this xenophobic rhetoric.Television talk-show hosts and politicians quickly jump at the opportunity to bash Mexican immigrants like a piñata at a kid’s birthday party, especially in a time of political and economic crisis. These same voices suffer from selective amnesia, purposely forgetting the contributions Mexican immigrants have made to this country, both historically and in the present, and focusing instead on the “costs” associated with our presence here.

Continued here

I was a taxi driver in Dayton, Ohio for some years. Every once in a while, I would pick up an individual or a group of Mexican people (primarily men) from either the airport or the bus station. Most of them did not speak any English or extremely broken English at best. They would hand me a card and exact change to get them to their destination. I remember one young man in particular. I picked him up from the airport and he gave me the directions to a town in Southern Ohio. I drove him there and it was a very long ride, especially since we could not verbally communicate. I drove down this country road and after a while, he tapped me on the shoulder and kept pointing to the side of the road coming up around a curve. There was a dirt track heading up a hill and I gestured, basically asking him if this was where I was to turn. He nodded fervently and with fear of a flat tire looming, I ascended the hill. We eventually came to a cinderblock two car garage plopped squarely in the middle of a field. There were probably ten to fifteen people outside, working at various chores, looking up sharply in fear at the sound of an approaching vehicle. They went back to their chores when they realized it was only a cab. The only water source I saw was an irrigation tap for the fields, which I don't know if it was potable water or not. As I helped him get his suitcases out, the sadness and mute pride of the whole thing almost overwhelmed me. They were cooking on an open fire living ten or fifteen (I can only guess that there were more people working the fields, so in my mind, I doubled the number) living in a unventilated, two car cinderblock building with no lavatory facilities. The pride and determination that must take just to be able to provide for your loved ones is overwhelming and,sadly, will never be felt by those who choose to rail against "illegal" immigrants. These people who rally against immigration are the same ones who would scream the loudest if their produce doubled in price because "illegal" immigrants were not willing to harvest it. I had always wondered, prior to this experience, why do immigrant take on these jobs, these menial tasks, with horrifying conditions, verbal and physical abuse and for almost nothing in pay? The laughter of those children chasing one another through the dried grass on top of that hill...and especially the eyes of the children's parents told the story. They do it for hope...hope of a better life, a better world...something to give their children...something that will not die.

Reading the story about the taxi driver made tears fill my eyes. Sadly this story is too commonly told. I am the daughter of an undocumented alien and I fear that my dad might not come home one day. I'm 14yrs old and the biggest day for a Latina is the day she turns 15. What if my dad wont be here to celebrate with me? So I personally loved this book and it's scary to think that this might really happen.

I am annoyed,compadre.You are a LIAR,Raull., Typical revachist Aztec.W.M.

This website pretends to be balanced but is obviously weighted toward the "Latino" side in a very big way, which is unsurprising, considering that the author is a "Latino" himself (actually he is a white guy who is genetically no different than other "European-Americans" like myself, but who gets a special pass as a "minority" because he has a Spanish name.) I'm offended by the portrayal of "nativists" as if there is something wrong with wanting to maintain our sovereignty, culture and language as a nation (a highly successful nation at that -- we would be as successful if we were a "Hispanic" nation? Look at Latin America and look at the US and Canada, and what do you see?) The fact is that the author would probably not take kindly to millions of non-Spanish speaking people overwhelming his native Cuba and completely changing its culture, language and character in just 10 or 15 years. There is nothing wrong with being "nativist" no matter how much the author tries to demonize people with this word. I'm also offended by the heavy-handed "suggestion" that we "Anglos" (white English-speaking Americans) have no choice but to surrender to the Hispanic invasion. The not-so-subtle message is "Give us everything we want or else they'll unite against you." Who wants to live with not-so-subtle blackmail like this? Do Latin Americans know how to achieve anything without resorting to blackmail, threats, whining, excessive emotionalism and exaggeration? The over-the-top dishonest and emotional tone of this website makes me long for the fading values of my own culture: personal responsibility, respect for rule of law, honesty and the stiff upper lip in the face of adversity. Also what becomes of black Americans? Believe me they are no happier about the Hispanic invasion thatn "Anglos." They speak English as their native tongue and stand to lose big-time in a world where their native-tongue is being overtaken. In fact the race war that has already started in Los Angeles is currently going on between blacks and "Latinos" -- NOT, as the author propagandizes, between "Anglos" and "Latinos." I hope you print this email but something tells me you won't.

I live on the Texas Coast 20 minutes from Brownsville. I can see it happening sooner than later! It's a scary story written with a lot of vision. Can't wait to read the next one of the trilogy.

We already have vigilantes patrolling our borders. It is not too far a stretch to see the events of this novel taking place.

In consideration of the immediate and acute reactions to President Bush's recent policy announcements on immigration, your story edges further from fiction and closer to the forewarning of the consequences of our intolerance.

Living on the border in Arizona, the concept of this book has been a long time coming.

ADD A COMMENT