Today I am writing about a group of people so humble that they would risk life and limb to feed their families. These people are not criminals; they represent the majority of humanity and simply seek a peaceful existence. They are not breaking the laws designed to protect or guide civility among us. On the contrary, their lives are filled with honest hard work on a daily basis.

These men, women and children are being corralled like cattle, arrested and then deported without any evidence of wrong doing. Guilty of being the modern-day peasants, surfs, and slaves. In present derogatory terms, they are guilty only of being the aliens, illegals, and wetbacks of society. A black co-worker, in a Malcolm X sentiment, leaned over and whispered, “You mean the new niggers. And I believe that we all need to understand that the slaves of old no longer pick cotton. It is the ‘new slave’ - Mexicans, El Salvadorians and other Latinos - who do the labor nobody else wants.”

Which points to how little difference there is in the perception and treatment of both past and present slaves. The old slaves are still regularly beaten by police for any misbehavior, shown on television while the purveyors of the beatings are never prosecuted for the abuse. The white dominated society has denied both groups of slaves basic human rights guaranteed by all national and international law.

They clean, cook, dig and drive for wages that assure them they will never visit the best doctors, their children will not attend the best schools. But, “sometimes we do not recognize that we are slaves,” according to Dr. Charles Ogletree, Harvard Law Professor, who recently spoke on the Front Page radio show on KJLH 102.3 FM. This is true because we think as long as we have a TV set, car and a roof over our fat heads that there is no way we could be slaves. As slaves, however, we are not allowed to have equal experiences when it comes to freedom and democracy, even in the space we occupy - the barrios, the ghettos and all the poorer areas. Not even those of us who assume so-called positions of power are safe from the scrutiny or harassment.

In 1935 600,000 “Mexicans” were deported and scholars estimate that 60 percent of them were actually U.S. citizens, according to Joe Rodriguez of The Mercury News. It is no wonder that stories about U.S. citizens being picked up and deported are beginning to surface.

Edward Cortez, Mayor of Pomona, was arrested and detained last month by Federal Immigration Agents. He was out for a morning jog near his home and was caught in the early morning sweep. This shows the realization that anybody who fits a certain racial profile is not safe from arrest or detention. A double standard of proof of identity for the new slaves has become the norm with many Mexican, Salvadorians, and other Latin Americans. They must carry passports, birth certificates, green cards and a variety of documents to have handy if they are stopped by the legally appointed over seers of apartheid justice, la migra, Federal Immigration Agents.

One woman from Pomona California called me. She has four children, and her husband was recently captured during the very aggressive and totalitarian Gestapo-type raids. She was crying hysterically, clearly in anguish. “What do we do without him? My sons are torn and filled with despair. How do we pay for food and rent? Should I become a prostitute to feed my children? I am not sure how all of this will affect my children. Who is at fault? Who is to blame? We are afraid to leave our home.”

In Huntington Park, California, on Pacific Blvd. several public transportation busses were being stopped on the street and searched for undocumented workers. Federal Immigration Agents boarded the busses and arrested people on the spot. On Imperial Highway, in the city of South Gate, near the 710 freeway, police block street entrances and exits so that Federal Immigration Agents could question and arrest people on their way to work or taking their children to school.

History has many parallels. Everyday when we walk out of the front door, we have a choice to accept history as it is or to change history. But when governments have laws that perpetuate slave labor, unjust laws, laws that are cruel, frightening, laws that create panic through a type of mental torture and treat people like animals, history makes itself. History is there to warn us, but if we do not heed its warning, it will repeat itself, and the old tale of what happens when the poor are miserable will come to pass again.

And when people are miserable and afraid it is easy to control them, easy to exert power on them, even easier to convince them that they are inferior. It creates an environment where the new slave and old slave compete for the worst jobs, worst homes, and in society it is reflected by an apathetic and complacent working class capitalist slave, which includes the poor white population.

That is the common ground shared by the older black slave and the new brown immigrant slave. But as time passes those people who are oppressed, beaten on public television, the slaves of old, those being deported leaving hungry children behind, the new slave must unite to make history, to correct history. They must change history so that our grandchildren will not live in the shadow of public beatings, public humiliation, and public deportations.

If this new generation of slave laborers, along side the old generation of slaves, grows up with fathers deported to jails and far off boarders, poisoned by fast food at every corner, no medical care, ignorant-filled education about our lack of contribution and importance, no compassion or no conscience from this country, there is no choice for them but to unite and revolt against what Martin Luther King Jr. called, "unjust laws.”

If I knew that a government took my father, who was not a criminal, who was hard working and my mother became a prostitute to help feed her children, what might I do? Who might I want to kill?

As long as governments like America continue to treat people with such undeserved cruelty, then those in power need not wait too long for a revolution.

The majority of us might not react violently. But we have to realize that some of us are driven by despair, cruelty and will feel a need to strike out. By Robert Bracamontes, braco8@msn.com. My next article will discuss Emma Goldman’s essay, “The Psychology of Political Violence” and its application on today's immigrate population.

Great op-ed!

I think that you shouldn't ignore the fact that a lot of "aliens" in this new slave class are Asian or immigrant Blacks. Asians work in the very same jobs on the West coast, and immigrant Blacks and South Asians on the East coast.

The issue of status and how it intersects with race, is critical here. Some of these immigrants are exploited by their own ethnic group: a Chinese business operator with a green card will exploit a number of Chinese people from overseas, who paid for passage, and owe money to their smuggler. This is virtually indentured servitude.

The same situation exists, of course, for Latinos, especially Mexicans. Their indenture is secured, not only by the coyote, but the crime and legal business networks that are enlisted to collect payment.

Because "illegal" people lack status, they lack rights, and form a separate class of worker. This is roughly equivalent to the matrix of laws that perpetuated slavery, and afterwards, the Jim Crow laws that perpetuated segregation.

Because of this difference in status of undocumented Latino, Asian, Black, and even some white people, and the ones *with* a legal right to work, there's going to be some conflicts within, and between the groups. (Even under slavery and segregation, there was conflict between the slaves and the poor whites.)

Though specific alliances are created between groups, like in the above article, it's not enough to simply create these alliances based on similar histories. (See the linked article, about fugitive slave laws.) What's needed is a more broad effort, based on ideals of human dignity, moral behavior, and fairness.

Fundamentally, those with status have power, and those without have little. Those with power must be made to understand that this division between classes (and races) is wrong, and must be addressed.

Here are a few articles about the slavery abolition movement.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism

http://www2.worldbook.com/wc/popup?path=features/aajourney&page=html/bh043.htm&direct=yes

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REantislavery.htm

So, let me see if I got this right.

I Illegally enter the United States because the country I am from is hopelessly screwed economically. I land a job making 10-100 times the amount of money I would back in my home country.

I pay no taxes.

I have no civic responsiblities (no jury duty, no selective service)

My children will attend school for free.

My children will attend college for free.

I and my children will get health care for free.

And I'm a slave?

Gotcha.

SS, you might do that, but here's what undocumented people do. You're talking myth; these are facts:

They pay sales taxes, which go up to the state, and then get redistributed to the localities. They rent, and some buy housing, so they contribute to property tax, which gets sent to the county, and back down to the locality. They work, and may have income taxes withheld (as well as other taxes) if they got the job with a fake social security card, but don't qualify to collect on their contributions.

They tend to avoid using public services, out of fear.

They attend school, which are funded by taxes they pay.

They attend college, but, at the UC level, by default, pay out-of-state fees (despite the fact their parents are paying taxes in-state). New legislation gives relief to children who are in line to get a green card.

They are participating in the economy and paying taxes withoug having a right to vote. They can be deported.

The point is, they are not slaves, but occupy the same class as slaves once did. My comment is that there's an issue of status that parallels the different status of slaves, and this difference in status creates a kind of class.

Because undocumented workers have few rights, they are paid less money, put in exploitative, unsafe work conditions. If rights were extended to them, and businesses were forced to pay them fairly, businesses would start to hire more American workers.

A valiant effort, but I'm afraid a little light on substance.

Facts you say? Let’s look at your facts:

Everyone pays sales tax. If you buy something in this country you are taxed for it. So yes, I concede, Illegal Aliens do pay some taxes.

Rent doesn’t constitute taxation.

How, pray tell, do these Illegal Aliens ‘buy housing’? What documentation of residence are they providing? What Identification? Counterfeit documents.

How, pray tell, do these Illegal Aliens work and pay income taxes? You have to document your legal right to work to the satisfaction of the government in order to be employed in the United States. In short, you must provide documentation which establishes your legal residence and right to work. What identification are these Illegal Aliens using? Counterfeit documents.

Illegals DO NOT avoid using public services. Kindly ask a medical worker. Or, go to a local emergency room and see who are clogging the hallways.

The schooling they receive is paid for by property taxes. They do not pay these taxes, hence they do not pay for their education.

In 2002, California passed a law granting in-state resident tuition rates to illegal aliens living in California.

They are illegally participating in the economy, and by their presence are putting downward pressure on wages which makes it harder for all working people to generate a livable income. If you don't understand this concept let me elaborate: If there are only three spaced-out looking Southern California youths sitting (probably by mistake) at a transient worker pick-up point, the employers who wish to employ these youths will have to provide a higher wage for their labor. There are only three of them, after all, and many lawns to mow, rooms to paint, and bags of manure to be lifted. If, on the other hand there are 100 or more desperate looking foreigners, willing to fight each other for the opportunity to shovel excrement with their only teaspoons, it tends to mean that the employer can dictate terms which are less generous.

They can be deported? No, they NEED to be deported. If you want to come to this country, do so legally. My Mother did – in 1961. What message does our willingness to accommodate and pander to Illegal Aliens send to the thousands who are patiently waiting for their opportunity to come here legally?

You make a valid point about the cruel conditions that these workers find themselves in, yet your solution is not going to solve the problem. If you ‘legalize’ the millions that are here today, how many tens of millions more will come tomorrow? Do you not realize the effect of your suggestion? The truth is that Illegal Aliens come here because the pissant wages they receive are several times over what they could earn at home. They come here for the right reason: economic opportunity. Their method of doing so is the problem. We cannot, as a society, take in tens of millions of people without even the most rudimentary screening. Even leaving the huge issue of terrorist infiltration aside, there are simple things like public health to deal with. Illegal Aliens are a huge drain on the economy, and a huge burden on the society. Ask a cop how much time he spends dealing with Illegals. Ask a fireman how much. Ask a medical worker. Illegals invariably drive uninsured and frequently unsafe vehicles and are involved in a disproportionate amount of traffic accidents due to ignorance of laws, rules of the road, and an inadequate mastery of English.

Since when did simple simon become a defender of fair wages for the poor Americans... the ones he describes as spaced out and relatively lazy. I guess they need some government intervention to protect their jobs.

SS, one day, you're talking like a right wing racist, then the next, a racist union thug (circa 1950). The only constant seems to be your racism. Stop scapegoating these people; if you've got some personal problems, try to deal with them yourself, rather than blaming "illegals."

If you took those 100 day laborers, and gave them rights, the ones who could compete against Americans would vanish from that corner, and get better jobs. The remainder would be those who compete on price alone. They would get a reputation for being risky hires, and would see a lot less work.

You do make a good point about the global situation, though. Widespread unemployment around the world is motivating people to risk a lot to get to America to work. It's the global spread of capitalism that's causing this, mainly by making subsistence farming irrelevant, and forcing people to the cities, to live in slums.

Eventually, some get to the free trade zone, and, having come so far, go a bit farther into the center of the business world.

As for the whole tax thing -- they pay property taxes indirectly, by renting apartments. A few end up buying houses via their legal children. Ultimately, anyone who exists anywhere within the US pays some amount of property tax, unless you're homeless.

As for using public services - yes, they use some, but not others. They aren't that likely to call the cops. They will call for fires, obviously. They will use health care for emergencies, but not routine visits. If they use welfare services, they risk their immigration status. (Green card immigrants also put themselves at risk when using public health.) I'd rather they use public health than get sick and spread TB.

Prenatal and birth seem to be a gray area, doesn't it? Does a fetus in the third trimester qualify as a future citizen of the USA? If it's already a person, as our custom implies, then, it's a person with some rights, and one right would be to avail itself of public health.

BTW, I've been to county, and I never got the impression it was full of illegal immigrants. This was in the suburbs of LA.

As for the 2002 law -- you need to be an undocumented immigrant child with family that's applied for amnesty, who's lived here something like five years, and a number of other qualifications. The in-state fees are not automatic.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We need to reform our immigration laws to allow more people to come over legally, and allow some to come over legally who don't fall into the current classifications of eligible immigrants. Right now, we have laws that prevent "poor huddled masses" from coming here. Anyone who's not sponsored can't get over. That means you can't get over if you don't know someone with enough cash to support you for as long as it takes for you to become a citizen.

Skilled, educated people can get over. People with relatives can get over. If you have money, you can get over.

What about the regular Joes (Joses)? SOL. There isn't even a lottery. What they do is come over illegally, get a job, and hope that they make it, and get a sponsor (like their boss). Then they wait for the amnesty program that rolls around every decade or so.

The way the laws work today, America is the land of opportunity, but only for those who already have opportunities.

Just create a new class of immigrant: laborer with no sponsor. Allow them in only when the economy requires more of them.

What BushCo is proposing has elements of what we *should* do. However, this "guest worker program" will be a mess. As people get picked up for deportation, they will probably create a special status where this worker can opt to become a "guest worker" and qualify for guaranteed low wages, indentured servitude to one boss who will then really exploit him or her, and then guaranteed deporation afterward.

According to NPR, there are 8 to 10 million undocumented workers, around half from Mexico.

If they are given equal worker rights, that would not cause a flood of new people coming over. The workers are here due to a demand for labor. If that demand is satisfied, there will be no more people coming over.

"How, pray tell, do these Illegal Aliens work and pay income taxes? You have to document your legal right to work to the satisfaction of the government in order to be employed in the United States. In short, you must provide documentation which establishes your legal residence and right to work. What identification are these Illegal Aliens using? Counterfeit documents."

They use someone's stolen or fake SSN, and get a job. Money is withheld, and sent to the IRS. The worker never sees the money. This is called "paying income taxes".

Also, it's not the government that checks the SSN. The employer checks the validity of the SSN, or is supposed to. I bet that some of them forget to do this.

More (or less) Rational:

First Point: Kindly point to a single racist statement in any of the posts above. I have been scrupulous in avoiding any reference whatever to race or for that matter nationality. Failing to demonstrate to the contrary, I then insist you retract your slander. Should you decline then you are not only a liar, but a coward. Your attitude is sadly typical of the Left: When being soundly beaten on the facts, scream racism or sexism or fascism, and your argument is won. I don’t take kindly to being called a racist, so retract it.

Second Point: At no time does an Illegal Alien pay taxes UNLESS they also break another law. Are we to reward those who violate our laws by coming here? Are we to reward those who violate our laws by using fraudulent and counterfeit identification? Are you aware that MILLIONS of Americans have had their identities stolen by these people? Are you aware of the impact on these Americans? Additionally, you are incorrect. The employer must check the identification of the potential employee, but he then forwards the information and copies of the identification to the federal government for verification. Employers don’t have the training or experience to identify fraudulent or counterfeit documents. Nor should they have to.

Again, rent is not taxation. Please get this through your head. Your argument that they somehow pay property taxes when their legal offspring purchase homes makes no sense legally. In point of fact it is solely the responsibility of the child to pay this tax. Should the parents decide to skip town they are not legally in default. This means that NO Illegal Alien pays property taxes.

Third Point: Capitalism and the market economy are the savior of the world. The standard of living FOR ALL CLASSES in a market economy dwarfs that of a Socialist or Communist economy. The reason that people are coming here is not that Capitalism is ruining their home country’s economy. The reason that they are coming here is that their home countries are either hopelessly corrupt, tied to huge Socialist boondoggles, or otherwise screwed.

You make the argument that Capitalism is increasing the misery of the world. If that were so, then it follows logically that where there is more adherence to the principles of Capitalism there will be more misery. Yet this is not so. In point of fact, the relationship is inversely proportional. Millions of Illegals flee here for economic opportunity. They flee here from countries with Socialist and Protectionist economies often times accompanied by staggering degrees of corruption. We don’t seem to be swimming under a tide of Western European illegals here, now do we?

Fourth Point: As far as your evaluation of Illegals’ use of public facilities, I suggest you check your figures. Illegals use emergency rooms for ALL manner of health problems. This is the reason that most urban emergency rooms in the LA area have obscenely long response times. This is also the reason that urban emergency rooms across the state are going bankrupt. The fact that Illegal Aliens are not likely to call the police in event of their being robbed or assaulted doesn’t change the fact that a HUGE amount of police time is spent arresting those Illegals who engage in criminal activities. Our justice system is clogged with Illegals as well. And who is paying for the fire protection these people are receiving?

Hey, son, the hospitals in suburban anywhere won’t be choked with Illegals. That’s because not too many Illegals are rubbing elbows in the “swimming pools and movie stars” neighborhoods. Kindly take yourself to an urban hospital, may I suggest Santa Ana? And please talk to the medical staff there. If they have a spare moment.

Fifth Point: Did I get you on record as saying that a fetus in its third trimester is a legal citizen? Would you like to retract this assertion? Your ideological brethren will have your head if you don’t. My what tortured lengths a Leftist will go to to attempt to win a philosophical point. A pregnant Illegal has a full-term (potentially) legal child in her belly, therefore it, not she, is availing itself of the free medical services? Gotcha. You realize that this therefore extends the same rights to all Legal fetuses? You have just made the most sweeping limitation of abortion rights in the history of the United States. How’s that feel?

Sixth Point: The law passed in 2002 does have qualifications, yes. I realize that it must be difficult to expect people who have violated the law for so long to follow even the most basic instructions, but we can hold out hope, can’t we?

Seventh Point: What makes you think we need unskilled labor in this country? Who do you think picks the berries and mows the lawns and paints the houses in Vermont? In Mississippi? In West Virginia? Americans. Natural born or naturalized Americans. Furthermore, as I have said above, the ready availability of unskilled labor allows unscrupulous employers to pay them substandard wages, allows them to toil in unsafe and unhealthy environments, and provides them with zero job security.

Look, it obviously isn’t sinking into your head, so let’s try a little math. Your contention is that there are between 8 and 10 million Illegal Aliens in our country. I would bet that the numbers are at least that high, if not twice that number. There are also 8.2 million Americans who are unemployed. Not unemployable. Unemployed. If there are a finite number of jobs (there are) and an increasing number of job applicants (10 million Illegals plus 8.2 million Legals equals 18.2 million) there will be downward pressure on wages. Get it yet?

And your proposal about creating a new immigrant designation: Laborer without sponsor. You are making me laugh. Here’s the doozy:

“Allow them in only when the economy requires more of them.”

And this means that you’ll stand up beside me and demand enforcement of immigration policies? That you’ll support INS and Border Patrol when they raid known illegals? I sincerely doubt it, so your point is dishonest.

Final Point: Look, I know that this will come as a surprise, but you don’t know jack shit. If you think that Illegal Aliens will stop coming here after ‘all the jobs are taken’ you are smoking crack, and shooting heroin into your nutsack. A lot of Illegal Aliens come here for the staggering amount of free crap they get, not just for a job.

The point is that you want to help Illegal Aliens, and you feel they are being exploited. I sympathize with you on the first point and agree with you on the second. Your ‘solutions’ don’t do anything for these people, however. A ‘laborer without sponsor’ visa, you say? Doesn’t sound like Mr. Laborer is going to be going to college to better his employment prospects.

The solution is the improvement of other nations’ economies. If Mexico (for example) would open its various monopolies to privatization, if they would allow non-Mexicans to own property in Mexico, a lot more opportunities would present themselves. Instead, they wallow in endemic corruption and stagnating protectionism. You will find, if you do even a cursory examination, that the same is true in all the ‘source’ countries of Illegal immigration.