David Bacon’s Latest on Immigration

David Bacon’s op/ed on immigration reform — The Border–Dividing Line or Common Ground? — in the San Francisco Chronicle (Dec. 18) can be found at Download san_francisco_chronicle_oped.pdf

Bacon lists four “reality checks” that should guide immigration reform:

Reality Check No. 1:  People will come to the United States as long as economic inequality grows between rich and poor countries, even if the frontier between the United States and mexico becomes an armed camp.

Reality Check No. 2:  The work of migrants is indispensable to many industries, from agriculture to construction.

Reality Check No. 3:  Deporting or denying work to migrants does not create a single job for anyone else.

Reality Check No. 4:  Beefed-up border enforcement doesn’t deter people from crossing.

Food for thought.  When will our immigration laws be brought into line with the realities of immigration in the 21st century?

KJ