By BILL WATANABE
Immigrants were generally welcome in America, ever since the founding of this country. For 200 years, people from all over the world wanted to make their way to this country because it was the land of opportunity and freedom. It didn’t matter what color they were; they were generally accepted if they worked hard and were law-abiding members of the economy.
But something changed that scenario – now immigrants, especially those with darker skin, are seen as criminals and destroyers of our society. Our conservative politicians have created a scapegoat to take the blame for our societal ills.
Before this change towards brown-skinned immigrants, before 1965, the borders between Mexico and America were relatively open, without walls and a huge army of border patrol agents. The U.S. allowed unlimited immigration from Latin America, and every year, hundreds of thousands of Mexican seasonal workers crossed the border legally. There was no huge flood of Mexicans staying illegally in America because they could freely travel back and forth to Mexico.
My family grew wholesale flowers in the San Fernando Valley back in the 1950s and we hired Mexican braceros to help us do the farm work. After I got my driver’s license, one of my tasks was to take the pickup truck and drive the braceros back to their lodging where hundreds of braceros were housed. We were happy to have them because they worked hard and they were happy because they got paid for their work.
In 1965, Congress limited immigration from Mexico to 20,000 annually. This new restriction encouraged Mexican laborers to stay and not leave. After all, a limit of 20,000 per year meant possibly waiting decades before getting a visa. Eventually this immigration limit created a huge number of undocumented aliens living in this country – reaching 12 million by the year 2008!
People say, “I’m not against immigrants – only illegal immigrants.” Have you ever wondered how long the wait time is when the maximum number of visas for Mexico is 20,000 per year but there are millions who want to apply? The wait to get approved could take decades or maybe a lifetime. Hundreds of thousands of desperate Latin Americans risk life and limb to come to this country illegally because the legal route is not possible for most of them.
Suppose you lived south of the border and you knew that if you crossed the border you could have a better life for yourself and your family – would you cross it illegally? Suppose your child is sick or hungry or in danger from violent gangs, and you knew across the border your child could thrive – would you illegally cross the border? I think most people, if they are honest and caring, would say yes.
And yet, so many Americans righteously think it is acceptable to brand every undocumented alien as a “criminal” and undeserving of compassion and mercy when in fact, most undocumented aliens are law-abiding, hard-working, and want only to live in security to pursue “life, liberty, and happiness.”
We Japanese Americans know what it is like to be terrorized without due process or legal trial – we should be at the forefront to support and show kindness to our brown-skinned brothers and sisters now living in fear of this administration.
Bill Watanabe writes from Silverlake near Downtown Los Angeles and can be contacted at ybwatanabe@gmail.com. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.