A Escape Valve Called Illegal Immigration

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”

Thomas Jefferson, 3rd president of US (1743 – 1826)

By Luis R. Miranda
The Real Agenda
April 27, 2010

As a Latino, I know what is it like to live in a less developed country. I lived in one for the first 18 years of my life. As a child, I understood I was not able to have it all, because my parents, a teacher and a secretary, could not give me what I wanted, but with much sacrifice what I needed. As a Hispanic, I also know what is it like to live in a country identified as developed, although not all the time. I lived 10 years in North America where everything is abundant and where opportunities exist. So history shows. However, these opportunities by many mistakenly identified as the American Dream, just do not fall into the hands; one must seek them out. The American dream never existed. It is one of those corporate inventions created to distract the masses.
For this, and deep study of history, the history that is not in the textbooks, I understand how illegal immigration has been used by corporations to promote their interests and destroy the last shining beacon for freedom. This has been happening for a long time, at least 100 years. Governments and economies in the hands of corporations use illegal immigration to destroy entire societies and consolidate resources.

Why is it that those who support compliance with immigration laws are described as racists? Because the groups that support illegal immigration, which are funded by corporations, believe that it is OK to apply the law selectively, as they see appropriate.

In the documentary Food, Inc., the producers show this trend. Illegal immigrants are brought from Mexico to work illegally at a meat processing company. To keep the immigration police at bay, the company agrees to allow weekly raids where 15 to 20 workers who are captured and deported to their countries. The next day, the meat company already has other illegal workers hoping to fill the empty positions left by their compatriots the night before. When these raids are reported in television news, the police’s action is praised as a show of strength against illegal immigration. What is not reported, is the corruption that exists in every one of these raids. The corporate media is also complicit in this exploitation because they use the news as a way to attract their audience while keeping them ignorant of the agreements between the police and the company and more outrageous, agreements between governments that allow this to happen.
It’s easy to advocate for the rights of illegal immigrants from the human point of view, ‘it is not human send them back to their countries of origin away from their families. But from a legal standpoint, cold and simple we can not have two standards. Either there is respect for the laws governing a nation, or the country will turn into complete anarchy, which is what the corporations want. That anarchy is what prevails in Latin America, and that’s why people leave their families behind to seek a better life.
Mass immigration to the United States, Canada and Europe is the result of the failure of politicians and Latin American leaders to provide his countrymen with better quality of life. It is also a consequence of the adoption of policies that corporations support as they are vital for their overall intention . These policies are forced upon those who are banished by multinationals to seek better prospects. Such prospects exist in places where income is ten times better for the same work, and where the money goes a longer way.
Illegal immigration to North America and Europe is a escape valve that relieves the pressure for irresponsible politicians who let the corporations take over their countries in exchange for indecent tips, positions of power and awards such as Nobel Peace Prizes. While politicians receive recognition, the people must give up their family and homelands to find humane living conditions. This lack of conditions is what makes that even countries with more resources than the United States or Canada, have higher rates of poverty. Corporatist bankers managed to keep the third world in poverty, as they consolidate their power and wealth in a few countries which they will demolish through each economic crisis. So it must be said and clarified once and for all: it is not the Gringos, or the Europeans who exploit immigrants, but the elites that control the governments.
Latin America is a clear example of this policy of consolidation. From Argentina to Mexico, from Nicaragua to Brazil, all countries are handled as chess boards in an effort to consolidate power and wealth. The direct effect of this action is extreme poverty and illegal immigration to lands with more opportunities. The immediate consequence of massive illegal immigration for the developed countries is the collapse of their economies by the overuse of its social safety net. Despite this, those who call for an end to illegal immigration, are called racist and inhumane, even though their requests have nothing to do with either race or humanity.

Here are several examples to help us illustrate the above points. Mexico has more natural resources than the United States. However, the gap between rich and poor is huge. The free trade agreement between the two nations, -a global policy of consolidation- exterminated the middle class and now there are only two classes: the feudal lords and the rest. Although the results clearly show what neoliberal policies and trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA are capable of, more countries in Latin America continue to adopt such agreements with Europe, China and the U.S. itself. The giant of the north lost last year more than 500,000 jobs a month due to the economic crisis caused by the same bankers who control the economic cycle. NAFTA made tens if not hundreds of companies molt their operations to Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, India, China and other developing countries. There, with little or no labor regulations, companies pay a fraction of the wages paid in Europe or the United States and legally exploit a workforce that in many cases is as qualified as that of the U.S. or Europe, as they have college education or receive training from the employers. The only difference is the color of their skin and nationality. Is this not the clearest example of racism? Of course, incompetent governments refuse to ask for better conditions for their workers in their own land.
In developing countries, the arrival of companies like Intel, General Motors, Citi, JP Morgan and others is seen as a triumph for their mediocre leaders. What is never revealed however, are the concessions made to the companies for them to arrive and remain in those countries. These concessions include but are not limited to total tax exemption, working long hours at unusual times for the same pay, little or no chance to grow within the company, competition agreements which limit or prohibit the arrival of competitors, zero taxes on exports and imports, zero production tax, zero social guarantees for workers and many others. The weak nations simply fall in the hands of corporate criminals and become the type of democracies where two wolves and one sheep decide what’s for dinner.
Brazil is another example of how globalization is applied to the detriment of society. Recently, President Luiz Inacio da Silva, who clamored for the creation of a New World Order and also pursues the chair of the UN Secretary-General, legalized millions of illegal immigrants from countries like Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Ecuador, -all running away from their crumbling countries- without making a thorough study of the possible needs or not of foreign workers in the country. The press and much of society almost knelt before Lula for his decision and qualified it as ‘successful’ and human. But what no one asked was whether the legalization of so many would affect the availability of jobs for Brazilians themselves. The move was applauded even more because the decision to legalize workers was mainly positive to collect more taxes to fund one of the most corrupt, lands in the planet, -it earned a 3.7 on the scale. That is super corrupt.

And what happens when a state or a country decides to establish limits on illegal immigration? Recently, the state of Arizona passed legislation to make authorities arrest and deport those who are illegally in the territory. Long before the adoption of the law, hundreds of people gathered outside the Arizonan Congress to demand the law was not approved as the media coverage provided its usual mediocre coverage, trying to turn illegal immigrants into victims of the new law . Although the law is not perfect, because it allows police to demand identification from those suspected to be in the state illegally, which violates privacy laws, it is an important step towards compliance with existing immigration laws. The Mexican government’s reaction was immediate, calling the law a disgrace and persecution of Latinos. President Felipe Calderon said: “They are entitled to be there, because they are model workers.” Why are they not given work in Mexico then? President Barack Obama also criticized the law saying “it threatened basic notions of justice” and said its implementation would be monitored to ensure it would not violate civil rights. It is clear that respecting the laws of the country is not a priority to Obama. In fact he is now actively working with Congress to pass legislation that would give the green light to legalize 30 million illegal immigrants in his country. It’s no surprise that the number of citizens who support his job is the lowest in the first year of any president. Only 29% in the latest survey strongly supports his actions, while 60% of respondents support legislation such as the one passed by Arizona last week against illegal immigration. See the result here.

The reform of immigration laws known as “Comprehensive Immigration Reform”, or the approval of no real legislation, is what corporations support, because it will allow them to continue their reign of exploitation of the people. This fact is simply ignored by those who want mass legalization. For them this issue is about race, which is a point that originates in the organizations paid by corporations to promote their interests, such as LA RAZA. The corporate media and pro-illegal immigration groups increasingly polarize the population with their anti-Yankee discourse, and pro-invasion of the south western United States, that many people erroneously believe belongs to Mexico.

Now both Democrats and Republicans – both controlled by bankers and corporations-, work in the drafting and adoption of the new law to legalize million and would also give them health care insurance of the type recently approved by the Obama administration. This policy will further weaken the social safety net and end in a total collapse of the democratic system. This is what the elites want to carry out their most precious process of consolidation in the history to control the natural resources and infrastructure the United States. It is a diabolical plan, no doubt about it. Polarizing the masses of people to keep them busy while the bankers steal everything, even their homelands. And what will happen when there is not a escape valve called the United States to absorb the pressure? What will all this anger pressure cooker called the third world go? Judge for yourself!

What to do about it? Educate current and future citizens about the true origin of such issues as illegal immigration, showing them the root of the problem so that it is clear people are able to seek for real solutions, instead of doing what is best for the interests of the powerful. If we have opportunities, a comfortable and dignified place to live, we need not go anywhere, but if we do, we will understand why it is better there than here and how we can improve.