My Testimony

On Wednesday, October 27, 2010, the SC Senate Subjudiciary Comittee on Immigration hosted a community hearing in Columbia. What I said during my testimony is below. Also, here is an article from The State newspaper about the hearing.

Thank you Mr. Chairman. My name is Anna Walton and I am from West Columbia. In May, I graduated with honors from the honors college at USC and I am currently a graduate student at the university. I am here today to share with you why I think South Carolina should not pass legislation similar to that which passed – though partially blocked – in Arizona, should not pass legislation like the ordinance which was proposed and did not pass in Summerville, and why we should consider supporting the Dream Act, as well as comprehensive immigration reform on a national level.

I believe that when we discuss immigration, we must consider why illegal immigration occurs. In a perfect world, illegal immigration would not exist. It is certainly not the ideal for any human being. There are some people who will always divert to the argument that the entire basis of the community of undocumented individuals is illegal, so we should pay no attention to their “rights.” Because of that, they say it is okay to stop anyone who looks “illegal” (what does that mean, anyway) and to require social security numbers from people who wish to rent apartments. I would like for us to collectively disregard this argument for its egocentric/ethnocentric nature and its apparent lack of hope that the US legislative process can produce fair and just laws that would make illegal immigration unnecessary. Once we do look beyond that argument, we can see why an Arizona or Summerville type law is not right for SC. Further, it brings us back to the most basic of questions: WHY does illegal immigration occur in the US in the first place? Here are a few reasons:

1. First, we live in an increasingly global market. Companies, tourists, and goods cross national borders with fairly few restrictions. Unfortunately, the poorest of the poor, the people most often affected by the imposition of transnational companies in their backyards, governmental subsidies for big business, and US economic policies such as NAFTA, are left with few choices and sometimes see moving to the US as the only opportunity for better future.
2. Second, the US has a very antiquated immigration system with unreal visa quotas. The one and two decade long backlogs for people to obtain visas legally – if at all – are frustrating, at best. I just turned 22, some people have to wait my entire lifetime to enter this country legally!
3. Furthermore, the US has an unfortunate history in the 20th century of renting its slaves. Just look at the Bracero program, or the temporary worker visas for farmworkers and landscapers. We import workers when there aren’t American citizens to do the jobs. How can we open the borders to allow people to slave for us so that we can eat tomatoes and enjoy nicely preened lawns, but then dub them illegal the second someone claims that they’re “stealing our jobs.”

We can look at the US’s immigration policies for certain countries: Cuba had Fidel Castro and Haiti had an earthquake and in some twisted way they got lucky because the US decided to allow individuals from those countries a path to legal citizenship. Of course it is easy for a Cuban immigrant to say, “I came to this country legally, so should all immigrants!” On the other hand, the US has continued to violate Mexico, from the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the Braceros program, Operation Wetback (an insulting and degrading name in itself), NAFTA, and US demand for illegal drugs, and provides no assistance or attention to the human rights violations caused by these US policies and occurrences. No, instead of lending a helping hand to our neighbors, we say they’re all illegal and that they should “go back home.”

But really and most practically, South Carolina is not in charge of immigration policy. It is up to the federal lawmakers to devise and enforce laws. Let us not run our state’s economy into the ground by getting in way over our heads and investing money in discriminatory and anti-constitutional legislation. Let us remember our priorities, investing in positive economic growth for our state, let us focus on entrepreneurship and creating jobs, let us restore the funds that were cut from the Department of Education, from Public Universities, from Department of Health, from programs for children and the disabled. And, let us allow our law enforcement officers to use their resources to catch the real bad guys.

I am a proud Carolina girl, but this hypocrisy and singling out of a certain group of people just because they don’t look like us and don’t talk like us and telling them they do not belong here makes me physically sick. We need to shift the blame away from these individuals who are victims in their own rights and stop comparing apples with oranges. Furthermore, it hurts me so deeply to see how many SC legislators outright ignore our pleas to stop discrimination and racism against all immigrants. I plan to stay in South Carolina and contribute to the wellbeing of our state. I want my future children to grow up in a community that celebrates diversity, respects human rights, and scorns discrimination and racism. Please think about that as you plan SC’s future. Thank you for your time.

Why you should not believe Jesse Hernandez

A day after the injunction of the worst parts of Arizona's SB1070 passed, I was listening to a CNN interview with Jesse Hernandez. Jesse, a Mexican-American man in Arizona who supports SB1070, rattled off the age-old anti-immigrant sentiments. Yes, those that completely ignore the facts. Of course, what does it matter if one more person propagates lies if Arizona's own governor bases her legislation and PR on exaggerations of the crimes committed by undocumented immigrants?

What is so wrong with what Jesse had to say? Let's take a look...

1. Jesse is against "illegal immigrants," firstly, because they are a "nuisance." Yeah, I really can't stand that the guy in Five Points just asked me for 5 bucks. Or that the person in front of me took a long time in the line at Target. But that's okay. I walk on. I don't start a campaign to send them to some far-off land because they're a "nuisance."

2. Jesse said that it hurts the local economy because the undocumented individuals that solicit work in the parking lots don't pay taxes. Oh, Jesse, you couldn't be any more wrong. We all pay taxes; if we buy a Coca-Cola, we pay tax; if we own a car, we pay tax; if we have to buy work boots or tools, we pay tax. Those individuals are no different. If they were to pay taxes on their wages, well honestly, their wages nowadays are so small that the taxes wouldn't amount to much more than a bag of spaghetti that Jesse gets for his own kids with food stamps.

3. Furthermore, the unfortunate part of this situation is that, while indeed they DO pay taxes, they almost never see the benefits. Jesse, you are wrong, yet again. If you do not have a social security number, you cannot apply for food stamps. Unlike what that chick who bought the drop house in foreclosure said, you cannot get on "welfare" if you don't have a social security number. What does that mean? No medicaid, no medicare, no social security, no unemployment, no disability. Also, if they are working informally, they do not have health insurance and the other work-related benefits. That means, if they go to the Doctor's Care, they have to pay UP FRONT. Got it, Jesse?

4. Jesse said that undocumented individuals do not pay their hospital bills. First of all, one report (I'll have to find it later) stated that Hispanics (not necessarily the undocumented, mind you) accounted for less indigent patients than African Americans. So, really, don't exaggerate things, Jesse. Also, if they really aren't paying their bills, why would that be? From my experience in working with clients, they just don't know - the emergency room doesn't charge you when you're there, and a few weeks later, a bill or two or three or four, in English, arrives in the mailbox from "Laboratory Services, Inc." and "Dr. Green" and "RadioSurvey Corp." The thing is, those bills make no sense to those of us who are familiar with the system, so how are they going to make sense to people who are new to the system?

5. Jesse made it sound like a horrible, dirty thing for the children of undocumented individuals to be attending public schools. Do you not think that education is a good thing, Jesse? (Probably not, because you certainly don't know how to make a sound argument.) Perhaps, if we educate these children, they won't have to be in the same, poor economic situation that their parents are in. Not to mention, some of those children may be US citizens (just like you were, Jesse!) born to immigrant parents, so they have EVERY right to attend those schools. I can't believe you even went there, Jesse. Really.

6. Jesse emphasized the crime that is happening because of undocumented immigrants. Ok, but did you realize that it wasn't ALL of the undocumented immigrants who are doing the crimes? It's the smugglers. Those individuals are taking advantage of the broken immigration system in America, the poverity in Latin American, and the people who are simply searching for a better life. That mom that was 3-months pregnant - she risked her life to come to the US because she wanted a better life for her and her baby. This shows the need for comprehensive immigration reform that also considers the international economic policies of the US, so that we take the jobs from the smugglers, not the innocents!

7. Jesse said his main issue was that undocumented individuals were using false documents. Let's return to the root of the problem. Why are they using false documents? Because the US immigration system is so backed up that there is no way on earth that a person, going through the process "legally" can enter this country legally if they come from certain countries. Using false documents is certainly not the way things should be. So, let's fix the system, Jesse, so that one day, maybe all immigrants can say that they did things the "right way," just like your parents, right Jesse? (Because it certainly wasn't you that did the work!)