The
Immigration
Equation
An analysis of the
current
immigration
debate and the
implications
surrounding this
dividing issue
By Eduardo Barraza / BARRIOZONA Editor
“The world was full of equations . . . there
must be an answer for everything, if only you
knew how to set forth the questions”

Anne Tyler
Immigration in general, and particularly
unauthorized immigration, has become an
extremely intricate and complicated issue. Not that
immigration has been an easy subject ever, but the
challenges to deal with it, and the polarization
surrounding it, have deepened the intensity of the
national debate. What do we do with what is
calculated to be 12 million people who are not
supposed to be in this country in the first place?
The vast majority are workers who work without a
work permit, drive a vehicle without a driver
license, and make a living thanks to those who
profit from their hard labor. Undocumented
immigrants are not tourists or homeless; they are
fundamentally workers who come looking for work,
find it, and are able to support themselves here,
and their family in their home country. They can do
all of this because they are empowered to do so by
an economy and a labor market that maximizes
profit by minimizing wages. So whether we are pro-
immigrants or not, the undeniable reality is that it
is very possible to work in this country without a
work permit. The millions of people doing it without
it prove it. Thus, unauthorized immigration
continues to exist and thrive in the United States.

Many workers who escaped poverty in their
homeland, and crossed the border without
permission many years ago, today have families,
own a home, a car, have a job, and speak decent
English, thanks to a society that employs them and
benefits from their labor. They are certified nursing
assistants, construction workers, janitors. Some
even own a small family business. They have
clandestinely penetrated a culture that is aware of
their presence, accepts it, receives their services,
and pays them for their work. In many car wash
businesses, for instance, where we bring our
vehicles to be cleaned, what do we see? Don’t we
witness the dedicated, hard and low-paid labor of
men and women, who obviously are immigrants?
The majority of these employees don’t speak a
word of English; they rely on a bilingual supervisor
who serves as the mid-man for them and the
manager. This system is common and basic to
many companies. We all see it, know it, and
tolerate it. Employers justify themselves with a
“who cares if they are not here legally; they get
the job done” mentality.    

The tens of thousands of people who marched in
Phoenix on March 24th did not get here overnight.
Yes, seen together, they scared the heck out of
many. They angered others that prefer to see them
scattered, one by one, bussing tables, cleaning
toilets, or mowing lawns. Not marching, for sure.
We have accepted them, covertly and disdainfully,
for too long. We want their labor, but we do not
want to give them rights. We get upset and
frustrated because they get upset and frustrated.
We tell them to obey the law, yet rebuke them for
exercising a very human right. We condemn them
for waving their flag in a march, but join them to
celebrate Cinco de Mayo among mariachis, and
yes, Mexican flags. Evidently, this hypocrisy has
backfired on us. Now we shield ourselves with good-
sounding phrases like: “we are not against
immigration, but illegal immigration,” as if
immigration means always a voluntary choice. We
also receive their money without hesitation;
undocumented immigrants are great consumers,
are they not? To summarize it in one phrase: we
diminish their contributions, but overemphasize
what they take from us.

In the aftermath of the unprecedented and historic
March 24th demonstration, it has become evident
that the real causes of the discontent in many
people have to do with racism, bigotry, prejudice
and hate. One just needs to read the expressions
of negative feelings and hostile emotions in the
many blogs that swarm the Internet. The
aggressive language comes out easily in individuals
who conceal themselves behind a users-name, and
an anonymous identity, but gives their true motives
away. Their rejection toward immigrants
unmistakably has to do more with race and
ethnicity issues, than with the lack of legal
documents. The protests and the march, and more
precisely the impressive demonstration of
demographic power displayed by a multitude
Phoenix has never seen, have caused consequently
racial tensions, heated an already vehement
discussion, and created an environment of conflict
that is breathed in workplaces, the media, and the
streets. Discrimination and hate don’t die. They
become dormant, even tolerant, as long as the
status quo is not altered and the social structure
shaken.
In this context, local and Washington’s politicians continue to
deliberate among themselves, trying to find a way out of this
problematic maze. Unfortunately, many of them have their own
hidden agenda, and are looking for their own good and their political
future. Republicans and Democrats barricaded against each other on
Friday, April 7, and whatever progress they had achieved was stalled,
sending a possible immigration reform into a limbo. Community
organizers continue to mobilize people to protest, but it is uncertain
what the effects of these massive demonstrations will be. One of the
results already seen is a growing sense of belonging between
immigrants, and a desire to rally to protest and struggle. Another
outcome has been anger and annoyance among U.S. born citizens.
Naturalized citizens and authorized permanent residents are divided
themselves: some are willing to join, other simply don’t care
anymore. Hence, a growing feeling of uneasiness and conflict are
spreading across the community. Arizona is heading towards a
showdown. The United States has arrived to a moment of truth.

The ability to resolve this dilemma and social issue depends on
asking the right questions, and on answering them correctly. This
leads us to an equation, an immigration equation, and to solve it, we
need to find the unknown values that create this equation. These
values have to do with, first, the consequences of not allowing the
huge labor force that undocumented workers represent to obtain
legal status, and second, the benefits of legalizing them. That takes
us back to the question: what do we do with the 12 million immigrants
who are among us, work at our side, shop in our stores, and have
become part of our economy? Both values are going to affect us
either way, since immigrants are already interweaved in the social
fabric.

The first value is nothing new; we have had this problem for decades,
so we know and feel the costs of millions of people who have been
encouraged to stay by employers who hire them, and by businesses
that look for their purchasing power. Recently, Time magazine
published a story on its cover with the title “Inside America's secret
workforce,” referring to the millions of undocumented immigrants
who work in the country. The irony of not just this title, but the
obvious reality of our society, is that, yes, they constitute an
enormous workforce, but they are not a secret at all. So the inability
of the Federal government to create a realistic immigration reform,
and the willingness of U.S. society to coexist and take advantage of
the millions of workers, brought us to the situation we have today.
Illegal immigration is not good, but we have allowed it to become a
part of us. We have complained about the toll that immigrants place
on government’s budgets, and what that represents for taxpayers,
but we have become both voluntary and involuntary co-conspirators
of that. Those who have not reaped the benefits from illegal
immigration raise their hands. Refusing to allow this gigantic and
excluded workforce will leave us worst than we were before the
protests and marches across the nation. Did we not get here thanks
to the obtuse and criminalizing legislation passed and proposed in the
recent years and months?

The second value could actually not be a choice. Allowing most of the
estimated 12 million people to obtain legal status could have more
benefits than not. However, bringing people out of the illegitimacy can
be perceived as rewarding those who entered the country without
documents, and can even encourage new immigrants to come. The
most pressing solution, though, is to resolve the enormous challenge
we already have, which is dealing with the people who are already
here. The current immigration laws have been enforced, but are
insufficient in containing the waves of people who head northbound
toward this country. Deportations take place everyday; repatriation
was employed as well. Thousands are caught trying to enter the
country. Law-abiding employers have let their undocumented workers
go. Aggressive legislation such as the one that prevents people
without legal status to be able to get a driver license, Prop 200, the
Protect Arizona Now group, the minutemen have had little impact.
With all of this, we still end up with the same figure of perhaps more
than 12 million. Allowing them to work legally, to drive legally, to do
their income tax, and so forth, seems to be the only viable way. The
question is if the political and economic interests that benefit more
from an illegal than a legal workforce will let it happen. Ultimately,
most of the millions of men and women, entire families, remain illegal
because we want them to be, and because we have voted for laws
that make it impossible to enter, work, and live legally in this country.

The marches around the country, and particularly in Phoenix, have
forced us to look right into the eye of what is taking the force of a
demographic hurricane. The tide of tension is rising; the wind of
change is blowing. Marchers in Phoenix have understood the value of
their contribution to the economy, and have become fed up with their
situation. Having been the target of malicious legislation, and knowing
they cannot vote at the polls, they are voting with the only thing they
have voted with in their own country and can vote here: their feet.

Contact the Author
Copyright © 2006 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues

Eduardo Barraza is the founder and director of the
Hispanic Institute of Social Issues, a grassroots agency
that disseminates information through workshops,
seminars, and publications to promote informed choices
and awareness on social issues. Eduardo is the author of a
Spanish book titled “Los zapatos del immigrate y otros
escritos,” and is the publisher and editor of BARRIOZONA.
BARRIOZONA
Bilingual Community Expression
Published by the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues