Mr. President: Do We Have to Disrespect Undocumented Immigrants?

My thoughts on President Obama’s El Paso immigration speech delivered earlier this week.

From Huffington Post:

Must we dump on undocumented immigrants whenever we talk about comprehensive immigration reform? President Obama’s El Paso speech on the need for comprehensive reform on Tuesday was an important call to action and a challenge to policy makers — Republicans and Democrats alike. However, in the process of acknowledging the important contributions of undocumented immigrants, he fell into the trap of chastising the community, perpetuating a pejorative image of migrants as lawbreakers and revealing little understanding of the forces that have driven them across our borders. The president (like so many people and media outlets) also continued to demean our fellow human beings by referring to them as “illegal”:

“Regardless of how [undocumented immigrants] came, the overwhelming majority of these folks are just trying to earn a living and provide for their families.

But we have to acknowledge they’ve broken the rules. They’ve cut in front of the line. And what is also true is that the presence of so many illegal immigrants makes a mockery of all those who are trying to immigrate legally.”

Once we understand why undocumented immigrants cannot find work back home, I think we would be a little bit more forgiving about their “cutting” in line, and I think we also would be a little more respectful when we discuss them. Read more…

bh