Issues Under Fire: The Undocumented: Who They Are, Where They Came From and How They Got Here
Why the Administration and corporate media focus their attention on Mexicans as the face of the undocumented immigrant is a bit of a mystery, considering people are slipping into the United States from all corners of the world. America's message of "give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses" has been heard the world over and the world believed it. Hell, there are tired, poor huddled masses everywhere on this planet. And those numbers are growing. If this place called America promises hope to those tired, poor masses, they're coming, they're coming from everywhere and they're coming by any means necessary. Wouldn't you?
While Mexicans do represent the largest number of undocumented persons in the United States, the reason is obvious. They live right next door. They can see salvation through the holes in the fencing that divides the United States from their country. Poor Mexicans tired of the drug gangs, police corruption and mass killings live less than a hop skip and jump from a safer life. So, they gather their families and hop over the wall. And if you consider many U.S. employers looking for cheap reliable labor was heretofore waving jobs in their faces with no questions asked, the lure was too great to wait as long as ten years to be processed legally. Still, despite the stereotyping, Mexicans have not cornered the market on illegal immigration.
Those who live too far to simply hop a wall, simply fly over it into the United States. They come from Central and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe and yes, even Canada. In fact, according to Pew Research, as of November 2016, non-Mexicans who came to the U.S. on the down-low now outnumber Mexicans. Many come to the United States for vacations, to go to school or visit a relative and never leave. They simply overstay their visas. If they stay out of trouble and under the radar of the authorities, they can live here for decades. And of course, they do. Non-Mexican illegal immigrants number in the millions, yet they don't garner the same level of attention and demonization Mexicans do.
It was the Mexican undocumented Donald Trump branded as drug dealers, rapists, and gang members, coming to the United States committing crimes, lowering wages, and taking advantage of welfare, healthcare, education, and other social services. It is the Mexican undocumented Trump blamed for America's drug crisis. And although there's ample evidence to suggest it was U.S. drug companies that introduced the opioid epidemic to America and the Chinese who are currently shipping Fentanyl (a heroin substitute) through the mail to meet the exploding demand Big Pharma triggered, Mexicans are routinely labeled the villains in this story. We're only asking why.
Why one undocumented demographic has been chosen to bear the burden of being the face of illegal immigration when others appear to go unnoticed or unmentioned seems unfair somehow. It just seems odd we never see pictures of undocumented Chinese people being cuffed and dragged off to detention centers while their families watch helplessly. If there's been any studies or research conducted that would suggest undocumented Mexicans are more prone to crime, violence or pose more of a threat to U.S. national security, we've found none to date. It seems the only other demographic held in such low regard or outright contempt and loathing is Muslims. But 9/11 could explain that.
Bottom line: When the roundup starts (and it will), if done evenhandedly, Americans will see and hear of undocumented people from just about every ethnic group and nationality being arrested, detained and processed for deportation. Tales of ICE agents hunting down undocumented people at job sites, schools, hospital emergency rooms, as well as park playgrounds, daycare centers and anywhere else imaginable will become commonplace. Lawyers, doctors, accountants and other professionals and business owners will be targeted for removal. And many will be people we've known and loved for years. We just didn't know they were undocumented. Podcast Here.
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