ON THE CUTTING EDGE: Latino Civil Rights Group Favors Border Control Measures
Writing in the Washington Post, Janet Murgua, president and chief executive of the National Council of La Raza argues in favor of a temporary guest worker program coupled with measures that stem the flow of illegal immigrants across our porous borders:
Many Latinos still have searing memories of the infamous bracero program, which more than 50 years ago became synonymous with worker abuse. The current guest-worker programs for agriculture and other "non-skilled" labor are not much better. Experience tells us that there is good reason to be concerned that a new worker visa program could repeat these mistakes, creating a permanent, sizable subclass of workers who endure harsh treatment while simultaneously undercutting their American co-workers.
… [A]fter decades of strongly opposing temporary-worker programs … my organization and many Latino leaders find ourselves in the interesting position of being principal advocates for a significant new worker visa program as part of comprehensive immigration reform.
Some think we got here as the result of some devil's bargain with our allies among business leaders: They get a new worker program, and we get a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. Not so. We have concluded that a new legal pathway for the future flow of immigrant workers to the United States is the safest, most reasonable path for immigrant workers, for their co-workers in this country, and for a nation hungry for order and control at the border. …
If this year's immigration debate accomplishes what the debate in 1986 did - marry a legalization program with additional enforcement without addressing the future flow of migrants - we will have addressed the symptoms of our broken system without repairing it.
The Stiletto and others who oppose illegal immigration are neither against immigration, nor prejudiced against Hispanics. It’s refreshing to see an advocacy group understand and address our concerns, instead of demonizing us as nativists or bigots. Let’s first secure our borders, and then work out an equitable program that:
† matches the number of workers allowed into the US with the number of jobs available for them;
† thoroughly checks applicants for criminal convictions or terrorist ties;
† severely sanctions employers who circumvent immigration laws or hire workers who are not part of the program, for instance yanking federal contracts and local business licenses; and
† allows federal and state officials to track when and where every temporary worker enters and leaves our country.
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