Marsabit Crash and Immigration

Sadness and grief is in the air. My condolences to the families and friends of the Kenyan leaders who died in the tragic plane crash in Marsabit. We will shed tears with you.


Today thousands of people in cities around the U.S. marched for immigration rights. It's always been an issue, but lately became a hot topic along with Iraq, terrorism, and the White House leak. There's no clear-cut solution for dealing with millions of undocumented foreigners in a country. (I don't like the term 'alien') Below are some problems being debated.

1) Distribution of resources.
The locals think that having so many foreigners around is going to drain their coffers. However, just being in the country doesn't entitle one to public assistance programs or other resources that citizens take for granted. So, those people in line at the welfare office are citizens! And there are people who can't file for taxes, although deductions are made every 2 weeks.

2) Lack of jobs and economic recession.
So, just because some major companies have outsourced their work and relocated abroad, or gone bankrupt and merged with a bigger company resulting in people losing jobs, doesn't mean that immigrants are to blame. There are cycles of prosperity and hard times everywhere. There are also tax laws and govt. policies that affect the way businesses are run. And if anyone is willing to work picking grapes and fruits for minimal pay and no benefits, they always have openings. On the other hand, there are other jobs with great pay and benefits if you possess specific skills--and they don't care what country you're from as long as you can do the job.

3)Safety, or lack of it.
This one is b.s. Recently heard someone on a right-wing tv station describe the situation as "a clear and present danger." Of course it's natural to worry about security, but criminalizing people who are working to feed their families is unjust. You don't have to be scared of all the dark-skinned, turban-wearing folks who speak with a foreign accent. There's an account of an academic type visiting an American University to teach a class, who was frozen at the airport, forced to spend a night in jail, then sent back to the country he came from because of a technicality. As if humiliation isn't enough, there's a group called the minutemen in places like Arizona who shoot anybody who tries to cross the border.

4) Socio-cultural considerations.
Anytime a group of foreigners settle in a community, there's worry about adapting to the culture. Language is big. Please learn English people! How does one live in a country for years, even decades, without being able to construct 2 sentences in the official language? If I lived in Rio, I'd have to learn Portuguese. When it comes to food, the foreigners win! One cannot live on McD's alone. I enjoy having a variety of cuisines to choose from: fresh sushi, dim sum, spicy tandoori chicken, Thai curries, healthy burritos with fresh ingredients (NOT Taco Bell), and the list goes on. Food is great coz it brings us together. I think it's ironic that some locals will bitch about illegal Mexicans in the country, yet run to eat Mexican food and sip a cold Corona or Dos Equis. Later, they'll jetset to Cabo on vacation and perhaps buy a vacation home down there. Meanwhile, these guys are reproducing at a very fast rate; their kids grow up here and make it home.

Finally, just to clarify: not all immigrants are illegal. And not all illegal immigrants are Mexicans (although they are the most populous). I wonder, what will the Senate do about the situation?