While taking a long and eventful 18 to 20 hour train ride this holiday season from Michigan to New York, I observed something rather interesting. At one of the stops, an officer boarded the train around 4:00 a.m. and went from row to row asking, “Are you a citizen of the United States?” I was amazed to see that after people had affirmed yes, no further questions were asked.
While train passengers could simply affirm their citizenship with essentially a “yes” or “no”, a new anti-immigration law in Arizona
took effect on November 24 that’s intended to expose illegal immigrants that live in the United States by requiring state employees to report undocumented immigrants who apply for social benefits. In response, civil rights attorney Daniel Ortega said, “We’ve come to the conclusion that as long as people don’t admit that they are in the country illegally, they don’t have anything to worry about. And if they are undocumented immigrants, then they know they shouldn’t be applying for public or state benefits.”
One of the issues in this debate is when undocumented parents need to provide their children, who were born in the United States and are citizens, with necessary health care when they get ill. Some parents are so fearful of being deported that they neglect to take their children to the doctor. Anti-immigration supporters however believe that the children of undocumented parents should not even be considered citizens, and thus denied all benefits and deported along with their parents.
The Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), which administers many of these benefits including food stamps and health care insurance, has stated that they will continue to enforce Arizona’s Proposition 200, but indicated that failure to produce documents is not admission that one is in the country illegally. On my New York bound train, there was someone that did not produce any documents when the police officer interrogated him. The officer was still able to check this person’s legal status, so I can understand the department’s stance on the last statement.
The new law is not only causing concern for immigrants but also for government employees, particularly social workers, who fear losing their jobs if they fail to formally report illegal immigrants. Pro-immigration activists argue that America is a country whose foundation is based on immigration and that there are better ways of handling the issue than implementing a strict law such as Proclamation 200 that places social workers in the uncomfortable position to decide who they help and who they expose.
Is this legalized discrimination? Or, is it fair for undocumented immigrants to receive benefits? And if so, at who’s expense?
Moreover, the debate takes another twist because some American citizens hire illegal immigrants to do undesirable jobs for less pay, which is why we’ve seen day laborers anxiously soliciting work outside of Home Depots around the country. So maybe the question then is: who is to blame?
In conclusion, whatever your legal status is in this country whether it is as a legal citizen, illegal immigrant or permanent resident, one thing bears commonality for all: immigration is an issue that affects everyone in this country.
Posted by Syddel on December 23, 2009 at 3:00 pm.
