This Ohio city is welcoming immigrants, they also know how important they are to their growth. - - Donna Poisl
By Jeremy P. Kelley, Staff Writer
DAYTON — City officials on Wednesday introduced a plan to reach out to immigrants of all types, with the “Welcome Dayton Plan” intended to brand Dayton as an immigrant-friendly city.
Recommendations range from creation of an “international marketplace” on East Third Street, to increased interpretation services in courts, health care and government, creation of a municipal ID card for residents who are not eligible for a driver’s license or state ID, to a World Cup-style soccer tournament of immigrants from many nations.
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Recently, a friend asked us what we really thought about immigration. With some reflection, we put our thoughts together in the following reply:
A few years ago we began trying to educate ourselves on the issue, visiting our local immigration prison, which is owned and operated by a private corporation, the GEO Group. We were bothered by the idea of people making a profit from rounding up and incarcerating others. This seemed to us like something that should only be done by the government, if it had to be done at all. We had a vague idea that somehow the profit motive likely would creep into the mix in a way that was not good. Some investigation turned up that the GEO Group and the Corrections Corporation of America, both privately owned corporations, were spending mega bucks lobbying to get anti-immigration laws passed in several states including Arizona, Utah and Alabama. Why would they do this? Because they want to fill their rooms at close to $200 per nite, just like any good business. With more stringent laws against immigrants, more customers would come. Of course, they couldn't come out and say this. What we have seen is an increase in messages about immigrants taking our jobs, not paying taxes, depleteing social services, adding to our crime rates etc.
So, we started reading more on the issue, spent some time working with a local Latino service organization, took workshops, and finally started this blog last May with the idea of looking at the problem from several points of view.
Through all of this we have drawn some conclusions:
1. Anti-immigrant sentiment is nothing new nor limited to our current affairs or just the U.S.: all over the world immigrants are shunned and the outside ethnic group is always seen as inferior. Just a few which come to mind: Shiite and Sunni, Japanese and Chinese, Kurds and Turks, Slavs and Croats, Romanians in Spain ( the Spanish gov. recently was offering them money to go back to Romania, if they promised to stay there for 5 yrs ! ), Catholic Irish vs. English Protestants, the Algerians in France etc. In the US we have historically found groups that were easy to discriminate against: Native Americans, Italians, Germans, Irish, Chinese, Japanese, Africans, and now Mexicans.
2. There is always an element of "otherness" commonly based on religion or skin color or language in the "outside" group.
3. Those in a position of influence ( talk show hosts, politicians, religious leaders, and in some cases even teachers) tend to take sides. ... We hear terms like "the axis of evil," and "They are either for us, or against us." or "They are taking away our jobs." This is a common one in our current financially stressful world.
4. With the passage of time, at least in the US, our "social mind-set" or popular image softens toward many of our formerly disliked groups. .....
5. Seeing the above pattern repeat itself several times in our lives, we now are much more skeptical of accepting the initial demagoguery.
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8. So, we would favor changing our laws to provide a path to citizenship. Perhaps fines may be a part of the equation, but few will be able to pay them. If it is found that back taxes are owed, certainly employers would be required to pay their portions, along with penalties and interest. We think that it will be nearly impossible to find small business employers who have relied in the past on undocumented workers, now willing to step up and pay these back taxes, fines and interest. Hence, "making up for the past" is a difficult part of the solution. Criminal records should be examined and not allowed for violent crimes. Service to the country (USA) in the form of work in the Peace Corps, Americore etc would be a good thing. Basic English proficiency should be required, as well as knowledge of our governmental system.
http://immigration-reform-issues.blogspot.com/
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