For anyone discussing the impacts of undocumented immigration on the U.S. economy, workers, ecosystems and the health and lives of the immigrants themselves, some background info on NAFTA and WTO free trade policies is needed. Specifically how NAFTA/WTO removal of protective tariffs in Mexico results in the dumping of U.S. taxpayer subsidized commodity crops (corn, rice, wheat, etc..) on the Mexican (& other) markets, which results in many smaller Mexican farmers being driven out of business and off their land into the immigration stream.

However, the Minutemen and other similar "immigrant activist" groups fail to address the impacts of NAFTA/WTO on the Mexican economy on their website (despite their overt support for Ron Paul, who favors repeal of NAFTA/WTO), and this speaks volumes to their lack of effectiveness as a rational voice in the immigration dialogue..

Here is a copy of an email between myself and the Minutemen spokespeople about including NAFTA/WTO in the dialogue. They welcome articles from people explaining the links between NAFTA/WTO and the recent increase in undocumented immigrants, many of whom are then exploited in the U.S. by corporations such as slaughterhouses, agribusiness, etc..

-------- Original Message --------

Subject: [JimContactForm] concerns about NAFTA

From: "Mark M."

Date: Mon, June 02, 2008 4:10 pm

To: steve [at] stepheneichler.com, linda [at] jimgilchrist.com,

jim [at] jimgilchrist.com

From: Mark M.

Email: removed for privacy

Subject: concerns about NAFTA

Message:

Hello,

Am curious why the Minutemen don't often mention the effects of NAFTA/WTO on increasing the rate of undocumented immigration from Mexico (& elsewhere). As NAFTA free trade policies effectively take away land from small farmers in the U.S., it does the same to Mexican farmers by flooding their markets with subsidized corn.

Am a supporter of Ron Paul, and his views are that NAFTA should be repealed so that there will be less pressure on Mexicans to come to the U.S. without obtaining documentation.

Am doubly concerned about the abuse of undocumented immigrants taking place in U.S. slaughterhouses. It appears that the slaughterhouses could not operate without the below minimum wage labor of undocumented immigrants.

When can we expect the Minutemen to expose the abuse and profits gained by slaughterhouses at the expense of undocumented immigrants??



Response from Minutemen;

"Thank you for the info. Many of our Minutemen are Ron Paul people, he is a fine man. About the issue of NAFTA/WTO We will post about the issue. Send us some recent articles or links and we will consider posting them. If you are not aware we maintain a additional website that is the best on the web."

Go to: http://www.stopspp.com

that will answer many of your questions. Thx Steve

There are thousands of articles out there. They probably know the issues, but like the way sand smells, so they stick their heads into it.

The isolationist right-wing love to talk about the "NWO" and "NAU" (New World Order and North American Union), but those are, as yet, fictional entities. They're smoke and mirrors to prevent their adherents from researching the WTO, IMF, World Bank, and various trade agreements.

That's because a lot of their adherents would agree with these trade pacts. I suspect a lot of Libertarians would, because these organizations and treaties are designed to empower "property rights" at the expense of human rights.

So, the Minutemen / Patriot / Ron Paul crowd use those pseudo-organizations as a kind of shorthand for "foreigners", "elites", or "secret government". Back in the day, they used to use terms like "Jewish bankers" or "Papists", but, religious bigotry and unvarnished racism is out of style, so they pick other nebulous enemies.

Ultimately, that kind of imprecision only serves to spread fear, and deprive the people of a reasonable analysis of their own reality.

Spreading fear and ignorance isn't just done by "the elites" - it's also done by these self-styled critics of the elites. Maybe people like it that way - society as a "horror movie" is more exciting (or at least melodramatic) than a society analyzed through the unflattering light of economics or sociology.

What I believe is happening is that the super rich, now in the throws of a self generated finicial meltdown, is now threatening the propertied class with the growing trend to abridge [ the supreme court allows property confiscation on the grounds of 'ultimate use and tax revenue' bringing imminent domain to new deffinitions ] the sanctity of private owership which allows minor land and resource accumulation by the upper middle class.

It's a movement of the minor nobility to preserve their property in the face of this threat by the super rich and the state which now serves them.

The 'revolution' they offer is nothing more than the attempt to use the vast non-propertied class to preserve the rights of these minor 'lords'.

They better offer something besides the preservation of their own comfort on the backs of the people who have nothing but their labor to offer.