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 Editorials | January 2006 
Immigration Death Trap
 Bill Ong Hing - SFGate.com
If anti-immigrant forces in Congress have their way, illegal immigration would be a crime punishable by death.
When the Senate returns from its holiday break, one of the first items on the agenda is dealing with immigration enforcement legislation (HR 4437) that was passed by the House just before Christmas. Sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., the law would increase enforcement against employers who hire undocumented workers and promote immigration-enforcement cooperation between federal and local officials.
A central part of the legislation calls for the construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. The problem is that the fence idea has been tried; it won't work, and the result will be countless more unnecessary deaths.
Beginning in 1994, the Clinton administration implemented Operation Gatekeeper, a strategy of "control through deterrence" that involved constructing fences and militarizing the southern border where it was most easily traversed. Instead of deterring illegal immigrants, their entry choices were shifted to treacherous terrain - the deserts and mountains. The number of entries and apprehensions were not at all decreased, and the number of deaths due to dehydration and sunstroke in the summer or freezing in the winter surged dramatically. In 1994, fewer than 30 migrants died along the border; by 1998, the number was 147; in 2001, 387 deaths were counted; and this past year, 451 died (according to Border Patrol and Mexican consulate estimates).
Given the risks, why do migrants continue the harrowing trek? The attraction of the United States is obvious. The strong economy pays Mexican workers far more than what they can earn in Mexico. For many, it's a matter of economic desperation, and some observers think that migrants would continue to come even if we mined the border. In a sense, they do not have a choice. Besides, jobs are plentiful here, because a variety of industries rely on low-wage migrant workers. Undocumented immigrants may know the risks, but figure that the risks are outweighed by the benefits of crossing.
Motivations for continued migration call into question the likely effectiveness of the expansion of Operation Gatekeeper if the goal is to discourage border-crossers. Beyond the economic situation in Mexico, a socio-economic phenomenon is at play. The phenomenon is the long, historical travel patterns between Mexico and the United States, coupled with the interdependency of the two regions. Migration from Mexico is the manifestation of these economic problems and social phenomena. The militarization of the border does nothing to address these phenomena. Instead, it is killing individuals who are caught up in the phenomena.
Understanding the economic and social situations in Mexico and the United States and the nature of their relationship enables us to formulate better approaches to border crossings and migrations. A real solution would address push-pull factors and the economic needs of both countries. For almost two years, President Bush has proposed a temporary-worker plan that, with modifications, makes more sense than Sensenbrenner's enforcement-only legislation.
As a nation, the United States ought to do the right thing, especially when it comes to Mexican immigrants, given our long historical ties with Mexico. We have demonized the undocumented, rather than see them for what they are: human beings entering for a better life who have been manipulated by globalization, regional economies and social structures operating for decades.
The right thing to do is to develop a system to facilitate the flow of Mexican migrants to the United States who are seeking employment opportunities. Given the economic imbalance between the two nations, we know that the flow will continue - legally or otherwise. By regularizing the flow through a large guest-worker program, we:
• ease pressures at the border (thus freeing up personnel to concentrate on the serious challenge of looking for terrorists and drug smugglers);
• address the labor needs of employers;
• bring the undocumented out of the shadows; and
• end unnecessary, immoral border deaths that have resulted from current enforcement strategies.
But we have to do this in a manner that provides the workers with respect from other Americans and hope for membership. Thus, a path toward earning permanent residence after a period of time and paying a financial penalty for entering illegally, as proposed by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Reps. Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe, also Arizona Republicans, becomes a critical ingredient of any guest-worker program.
Our nation has a choice between the Sensenbrenner death trap or a path to enfranchisement for these individuals on whom we have depended for generations. Our economic, social and national-security interests demand that we pursue the moral choice.
Bill Ong Hing, a professor of law and Asian-American studies at UC-Davis, is the author of "Defining America Through Immigration Policy" (Temple University Press, 2004). |
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