[Note: There are two wings of this building.]
Yesterday, the United States Senate passed it's version of immigration reform. The vote was 68-32, over a 2/3 majority. We were told that some sort of "immigration reform" bill will be coming from the Senate by July 4 of this year. After all, that's our Independence Day. A worthy goal made! Or was it?
Earlier this month, we had a family visitor. The amount of misinformation out there can be staggering, and it gets worse when people focus only on those that agree with their initial opinions--those from childhood, in most cases. The whole discussion centered around a bottle of mustard from HEB, our local grocery store.
Mostaza is Spanish for mustard. In fact, that's how I know the Spanish word for mustard. A trip through the grocery store can be an educational experience. In this case, it was a sign of "infiltration" by the Mexicans (all Hispanics are Mexicans to some people--one and the same group). As part of the propaganda discussion, the guest moved from immigrant invasion to a comparison of inequality.
In cases like these, I'm not really sure what to say--except "No." I've seen the lines Mexican citizens take to get to the Estadas Unidos on my way back home. I think my wait is long; it's a moment, compared to the hours it takes for a Mexican citizen to convince the Border Patrol or INS that they're really just going to visit their niece in San Antonio. That's just for those trying to visit. Immigrating efforts dwarf that experience.
In reality, it is very, very difficult to become a United States citizen. The process takes years, and there are expectations on immigrants that don't fall on the shoulders of native-born Americans. I've seen blanks where a person who cannot read English (or any language) need only make an "X" to indicate they are ready to vote. Yet, we want our immigrants to understand American history, government, and the laws of a foreign city, county, state, nation, utilities district, school district, and multiple other levels of order.
One of the key hurdles to citizenship is the test administered by the Immigration and Naturalization service. You would think the questions would all be relatively simple and straightforward. They're not.
You can make an attempt at your own perfection by taking the Toast.net Independence Quiz here.
No, really. Try it. I'll wait.
The real problems with immigration reform are yet to come. Soon, we will move from a discussion among Senators to a melee among Representatives in the House. The House is just fine with things as they are. Some are saying that the Senate Republicans who voted for this bill did so knowing that meaningful legislation will never get past the U.S. House of Representatives.
I hope that's a misconception, but it speaks to a major issue. If you never expect a bill to become law, then why would you spend all this precious time on such a battle?
Unfortunately, there is an answer to that question. It feeds that same propaganda machine that caused these problems--and that dinner discussion--in the first place.
