Put aside rancor in immigration debate
BEFORE YOU DECIDE to slot me into whatever party you’re against simply because you disagree with me, know this: I feel both “parties” have failed. They’re so busy bashing each other and campaigning that they have no time to do what we hired them for. But I do have questions. What are mayors from New Mexico doing at a border crossing in Texas? Shouldn’t they be home working on their respective city’s own problems — there is no shortage? Did they take vacation and drive on over or did their cities pay for them, their family, their staff, their security, etc. to accompany them? And did they accomplish anything? If their intent was to “raise awareness” they wasted their — and your — resources; the media has pretty well covered that. Campaigning, maybe?
Two New Mexico senators said they were going to go protest family separations. When it was announced that there would be no separations, they decided to go anyway. Why? Raising awareness? Campaigning? Shouldn’t they be in Washington working on “immigration reform”?
Thousands of people are protesting ICE, a wall, border patrol, etc. What do they want? No border? They haven’t really made it clear. Have any of them sponsored an immigrant family? They could do that; take in a family, feed them, clothe them, educate them, find them jobs, help them assimilate. Or do they just want “the government” to handle it?
What happens when someone hears that New Mexico and several of its cities are “immigrant friendly” so they pack up, hike across seven countries — sneaking across their borders — make it to New Mexico and find out the state is broke, can’t help, has no jobs available, schools are already in trouble, there’s no affordable housing, the crime rate, including murder, is outrageous, etc. Their only choice for family survival is steal or beg. Did we do them any favors in making them “welcome”?
Immigration is a complex issue. Let’s put down the rhetoric, put aside the rancor and see if maybe we can act like decent, caring humans. Is that too much to ask of our “leaders”? KEN JENKINS Belen