Originally posted by Barcelona:
I think it is a matter of race rather than the illegal part of it. In DC I think you would not see the same reaction towards a blonde Australian illegal inmigrant as you find towards a Salvadorean. Unfortunately, the same thing happens in Argentina with Bolivians or in Spain, Italy, or France (to name a few) with people coming from the Arab world.
well, yes and no. while there is a xenophobic part to the whole thing (moreso than simply race-based), to me, my problem is the lack of assimilation, or even the desire to assimilate. i've seen several immigrant marches and protests since i've moved out here to s.f., and my one critique of them remains the same: write the signs in english. that may be simplistic, but i think it goes back to the xenophobia inherent in this issue and a feeling that if they can't be bothered to learn english why should we be supportive. europe has a much bigger problem with their immigrant population because those immigrants are coming from a heritage that is sometimes at odds with the "western culture" of openness and diversity (and women's rights).
as for mankie, regardless of how you got here, you eventually became a legal immigrant and a u.s. citizen. i won't pretend to know the steps an illegal immigrant would need to take to become a legal immigrant and/or u.s. citizen, nor the restrictions placed on legal immigration by the u.s.
