Last night on 60 Minutes there was a story about the Hazleton ordinance banning landlords and employers from dealing with illegal immigrants. Five years ago Pennsylvania enacted tax breaks to attract new business to the state – it worked, attracting tons of manufacturing jobs to the state. With these jobs came people to rural areas of Pennsylvania. In 2000 the Hispanic population of Hazleton, PA was 5% – last year it was 30%, so the people of Hazleton through its Mayor decided to rid itself of the Hispanic population (they call them illegal immigrants).
There are tons of good reasons to control the illegal immigration population, from the drain on school resources, to the cost of the uninsured that hospitals have to bear, but it all comes at price. Listening to the people of this city circle and attack all of the Hispanics that have moved to this city just to work at jobs that a lot of Americans think are beneath us. Fact is these people have no problem isolating a group based on their race. They call them “illegals” (sounds nicer than nigger or spic). They can’t even tell the difference between the legal residents and the illegal residents – and they don’t care.
This is what the immigration debate about: getting a bunch of small-minded people to relive the old days only now its Hispanics and not Blacks. It’s nothing more than government sponsored racism.
Isn’t it amazing how we Americans haven’t moved forward at all?
