Week 3

Assigned material:
Operation Gatekeeper and Beyond by Joseph Nevins, 2nd edition-Chapters 1, 2, and 3
A Generation Gap Over Immigration by Damien Cave-http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/us/18divide.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

I remember reading part of the recent Supreme Court verdict about SB 1070 and I quote from memory from CNN quoting SCOTUS "that traditionally crossing national boundaries has not been a crime". (I couldn't find it, but you're welcome to try-http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-182b5e1.pdf) Anyways, we've turned crossing the border into a crime and dehumanized the perpetrators with the term 'illegal'. Now we have tried enforcing this barrier and America is not doing an admirable job. (I can link another article here! http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/the-u-s-mexico-borders-150-miles-of-hell-20130103?page=1  [Not sure if this was the original piece I read with the big font that proclaimed 'Iraq on the Border' but its identical subject matter]) It seems to be a case of diminishing returns, and further judging by the weed culture at NAU, we really have a problem with enforcing the border, even after putting thousands of people and millions of dollars into it.

So there's actually an opinion gap on immigrants from different age groups. Baby boomers and older Americans are more hostile while the younger generations are more open. All age groups say that it's 'a very serious problem' though. The article seems to conclude that younger people are just more adaptable. It's not true for everyone though (me). I knew guys from Naco (which is pretty close to Bisbee) who got beaten up, bullied, and harassed if they didn't know Spanish, so putting up with that and learning Spanish sounds pretty adaptable to me. On the other hand, kids these days won't work for pennies to pick food on farms for ten hours a day. So economically we need low cost high labor immigrants. The Foreign Policy article below gives some additional points on the matter.

Foreign Policy is great and I urge you (yes, you specifically, your the reader) to check out their articles, like this related one.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/01/29/think_again_immigration_reform_united_states

On the other side of the coin, Professor Hanson has some well written arguments.
http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/hanson120512B.html (Slightly related article, but it has been a while since he has focused on immigration. His experiences on a family farm in Southern California also prove enlightening.)
I used to read his writing pretty regularly, and even when I do not agree, he has a large (mostly right-leaning, possibly older) audience and it helps to know what my fellow Americans are reading.

So to wrap up, we need immigrants of all stripes, for PhD's to migrant workers, and stem crime such as the drug trade and human trafficking. I have absolutely no idea on what policy decisions can help.

*Edit-Last paragraph first line- from PhD's

First thought for the blog:
When I was in middle school I remember going over to a friend's house next door. I was over for a while until we noticed that the MPs had detained a bunch of people behind my house. I think somewhere between twenty or thirty. For years I used to think that the 'stupid illegals' couldn't understand enough English to avoid the signs that prominently say every 30 meters "U.S. Army Installation Patrolled by Dogs". Only recently did it occur to me that they were in dire straights and wanted to be found. It's the desert. No food and no water for miles. I don't know what I think about that.

This blog is an assignment for a Political Science course. Throughout the 2013 spring semester I will publish my thoughts that pertain to the politics of immigration (also the course name).