Letters
May 2006

Tsunami 2006

This article does not refer to another gigantic wave like the one we witnessed not so long ago. Some of us witnessed it from the comfort of our living rooms, others, less fortunate, lived (or died) it oceans away. This article is in reference to a tidal wave that has been growing since the infamous 9-11 and which has been most visible recently in New Mexico, Arizona, California, Virginia, even in less affluent states such as Iowa.

You may have guessed it, a tidal wave against immigrants, right under our noses. We need to take action before it’s too late: before this wave becomes a tsunami and drags us away and we are left asking “what happened?”

Action doesn’t need to be violent. It can be much more powerful: voting! Yes, it is necessary to be a citizen to vote. And there are millions of people among us who are eligible to vote who do not vote! And there are many immigrants who qualify to be citizens who have not taken steps to become citizens. Dear reader, if you are an immigrant who has been a resident for five years or more, please consider becoming a citizen and voting. Only by exercising our right to vote can we pressure both the Republican and Democratic parties to be more in favor of immigrant rights.

By voting we can help our friends and families who have not been able to resolve their immigration status. Who within the immigrant community has not been slandered as an “illegal alien?” Now is the time to act and help those who are less fortunate. Why so much apathy to become a citizen? Why so much apathy among citizens to vote?

Maybe, one, we don’t value that which comes easily or we don’t value something until we lose it. Why not ask ourselves: How long did it take women to get the vote? And African Americans? A long time. And humiliation, physical and emotional abuse, attacks by police dogs, fire hoses, and a lot more. An uphill battle. Yet for those of us who are residents what is being asked? Just to fill out an application and stay out of legal trouble. In exchange we earn the right to vote, the privilege of choosing who will govern us.

Apathy can also be attributed to selfishness. A tendency to help oneself and one’s immediate family and then not care about the larger community of undocumented immigrants.... “may God help them.” Yet we need to break out of this shell, vote! Anti-immigrant sentiment is strong in this country and will always exist. The irony is that the nation was founded and forged by immigrants. And many do tolerate immigrants because of what we represent in society and the economy: cheap labor and lots of consumerism. In general, we Latinos are hard workers and big spenders. This appeals to many people in this country.

It is worth pointing out that even we as immigrants sometimes contribute to anti-immigrant sentiment. Sometimes our behavior leaves much to be desired. Let this be a call to show how well educated we are and share positive aspects of the cultures of our countries of origin.

Let there be no doubt that things can get worse: laws may be passed that make obtaining citizenship more difficult. This would be a way to keep immigrants marginalized politically, socially and economically. And then we would have nobody to blame but ourselves.

The anti-immigrant wave is upon us. Perhaps it simply awaits another catastrophe such as 9-11 to be pushed over us. Or worse, maybe it awaits a charismatic politician to inflame the fears of citizens. Let us act now and seek citizenship. And then vote!

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