MIGRANTS NO MORE

I came across this article while looking for stats on how many of the farmworkers in America are considered to be here illegally. In this search, I've read article after article that details the prejudice, the inhumanity and the outright ignorance of those who would proclaim themselves "better people" because they have U.S. Citizenship. Well, the comments found here are proof that where you are born has nothing to do with the level of class or humanity you will have as you mature.

As an American and a Native American descendant, I understand all too well the implications of unchecked immigration. In 1850 when California became a state, the government offered a reward of $25 for the head of any Native American that was brought in (more for children). California reduced the Native population by 177,000 men, women and children that first year.

Those events, while seemingly centuries apart from today, are still being called for by the same mentality that was prevailant in the 1850's--the idea that the white people who where swarming the gold fields were superior somehow, more deserving of life. Are we not all human beings, regardless of our origin, our color, our race, our religion, our orientation? Are we not all the children of somebody's God?

The Statue of Liberty says "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses who yearn to be free." That statue is a world-wide icon for America, given to us by France. If you truly are an American, then you know that to be an American means more than showing your birth certificate at the local KKK rally, it means adhering to a higher ideal of what it means to be a member of a civilation that honors the lowest worker, the poorest immigrant and the achievements that they may yet provide to the common good, if only given the chance to thrive as your forefathers were allowed to do so many years ago