American immigration laws prior to 1965 were remarkably racist.

Lest we forget, prior to the 60's America itself was, unfortunately, very racist. Those with dark skin simply did not have the same rights as the rest.

Immigrants to the United States prior to 1965 came predominately from Great Britain and Ireland. (Great Britain includes Scotland, Wales and England.) 70% of all immigrants came from there with no waiting and easy access. The further away from Great Britain that we get, the harder it was to enter. As skin color got darker toward the Middle East and Africa and Asia, those areas had long, long waits to get in, and most often were turned away.

The immigration policy prior to 1965 was basically making the declaration that the whites of Northern Europe are a superior race. The Nordics were superior to the Alpines, who were superior to the Mediterraneans, and all of them were superior to the Jews and the Asians and Africans.

Sounds ghastly doesn't it? Well, lets remember what it was like in America prior to the 60s. Remember that it was illegal for "coloreds" to drink out of water fountains labeled for whites. (There are those pesky "laws" that we like to talk about.) And they had to move to the back of the bus if a white person got on. Jackie Robinson was spit at for wanting to play baseball.

Yes, it is a part of our history. Not pleasant. But real. America really was quite racist until the last few decades. And, in many ways it still is. We haven't overcome quite yet. We have some work to do.

So, the 1965 Immigration act should be seen in light of history. It was in direct response to the civil rights movement of the 50's and 60's. It was designed to level the playing field. The intention was that everyone, regardless of race had an equal chance to immigrate to the United States, the land of the free.

Looking back, it is extraordinary that the 1965 immigration act was very unpopular with the public. Politicians opposed it. Churches opposed it. Labor unions opposed it. Business leaders opposed it. Why was it so unpopular? For the same reasons that many people are opposed to a more liberal immigration policy today: Fear. Let all those inferior people in, and there will be more violence, they'll hurt the economy, they'll destroy our sacred institutions, they'll ________________....

Thankfully certain key figures had the courage to move ahead to get the 1965 bill passed.  

More needs to be done though. While the 1965 act is a "law," it is far from being a reality. We need more courageous people to step forward and make the vision of the 1965 law become tangible and palpable.

From what I hear the economists are warning of the damage that would be done to the country if the 11 million illegals already living in the USA were suddenly removed ... that in a nutshell is where the system is "broken" in their words.

Financial chaos would ensue and damage to extended families of citizens and entire communities would be spinning out of control if 11 million people were kicked out.

There have been alot of sharp cookies in politics since the 60's ... the problem is not a new one ... and if it is not fixed properly it could damage the country permanently.

If the laws have been in place for decades, and they didn't seem to help much, it may perhaps be a better idea to open the doors so that the illegals who make it in anyways are more easily made legals ... I don't think tightening the laws are gonna help much ... it hasn't helped much in keeping the numbers down in the past 40 years ... I started to apply for a green card over a decade ago ... gave up 2 years later ... it's too difficult and too much red tape ... I was turned back at the border about 8 years ago because I was planning to visit a friend in California and the border crossing guard thought I had one two many suitcases and I was attempting to get into the country illegally ... I even had employers wanting to sponsor me to get a green card ... and I have no criminal background outside of a few speeding tickets as a youngster.

*grin* So for the 11 million illegals already here, do golf rules apply where the government can call a "mulligan" or "do-over"?

There are law breakers among citizens also no? Of the 11 million estimated illegals, other than their circumventing visa and immigrancy rules, what percentage are active criminals and law breakers? I'd be interested to see any estimates and statistical data you might have access to.  One would think they would try to stay out of trouble so as to not bring attention to their non immigrant status?  A good percentage are here in North America to seek asylum from oppression, poverty and danger from what I read.

Where do the percentage estimates come from? I'm not being trite ... I'd really like to look at the stats to see how they were deduced.

My research shows a very very low percentage of crime from immigrant seekers ...outside of gang and criminal activity among aliens (ie drug dealers). From what I read, the bulk of illegals work in sweat shops and hidden jobs trying to peck out a life to hide from poverty and oppression ... they don't involve themselves in many crimes other than some thefts to find food or clothing... in many cases they live in extended families (often 20-30 per apartment and hide themselves from the law by staying out of trouble so they can stay here).

I really would be interested to see where the stats were taken from though.

*grin* ... it's my opinion that our countries could use as many Salma Hayeks as we can get (born in Lebanon and moved first to Mexico) ... I'd bite her if she was Christian... kidding! The girls might appreciate a few more Antonio Banderas types also?

The only girl I dated since my divorce is an immigrant to Canada ... came here as a non Christian ... found the Lord in a church here in Canada ... coincidentally looks very much like Salma Hayek also (she looks better in my opinion ... go figure -- I ain't no prize) ... but then Canada has looser immigration policy ... *grin* we even let Americans immigrate here *hehe*

Yes ... we have a huge immigrant Asian and Russian gang problem here in Canada ... the biggest problem seems to be that many in the gangs have the money and resources to become citizens even though they have criminal backgrounds.  In that sense our immigration policy is broken also.

In my opinion, open immigration law doesn't even go far enough ... at what point does it become right or wrong for one people to tell another people they cannot come into their country or whether their laws are more important the laws and rights of the previous occupants?  Today? 5 years ago? 50 years ago? 100 years ago? 500 years ago?  The USA and it's citizens were not the first "legal" inhabitants of North America (who's laws are we considering?) ... neither were the British who first colonized the land ... there were a people here with laws and government of their own.

As in the Arizona thread a few months ago my concern goes a bit further back than 1965 ... I've lived and worked with native people in Northern Canada that had their roots in Arizona ... they still speak a dialect very similar to the Navajo people that still live there ... they had migrated in mass from Arizona area which had always had a large indigenous population from time immemorial.  I think the indigenous peoples' voice of north america should be heard when it comes to Immigration rules and debate of law in addition to the laws of the European descendants of the occupants of those lands a few hundred years ago.

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One such article a couple of months ago from that area had this to say:

OCCUPATION OF BORDER PATROL HEADQUARTERS DAVIS-MONTHAN AIRFORCE BASE, TUCSON, ARIZONA, 1st NATION AND MIGRANTS OPPOSE SB1070, DEMAND DIGNITY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND END TO BORDER MILITARIZATION

For Immediate Release - Friday, May 21, 2010

Media Contacts:
Leilani Clark (520)982-5687

OCCUPATION OF BORDER PATROL HEADQUARTERS DAVIS-MONTHAN AIRFORCE BASE, TUCSON, AZ

1st NATION AND MIGRANTS OPPOSE SB1070, DEMAND DIGNITY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND END TO BORDER MILITARIZATION

“The militarized border imposed by the U.S. has lead only to cultural and environmental destruction of the indigenous peoples whose land is on or near the border. This militarization brings death and terror for indigenous peoples from other parts of the continent migrating to this land.”

21 May 2010

Tucson, AZ – More than a dozen people occupied Border Patrol headquarters at Davis-Monthan Airforce Base today in an act of peaceful resistance. The group includes members of Indigenous Nations of Arizona, migrants, people of color and white allies. Six people used chains and other devices to lock themselves in the building. These Arizona residents disrupted the Border Patrol operations to demand that Border Patrol (BP), Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), their parent entity, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Obama administration end militarization of the border, end the criminalization of immigrant communities, and end their campaign of terror which tears families apart through increasing numbers of raids and deportations.

The protesters also call on the State of Arizona to repeal the racist Senate Bill 1070 that criminalizes immigrant communities on the state level, makes it illegal to transport or harbor an undocumented person regardless of family relationship, requires police agencies to engage in racial profiling, and ultimately is an attempt to ethnically cleanse Arizona of those with brown skin. This act of civil disobedience was only the latest in an increasing wave of direct action targeting the federal government’s terrorist immigration policies.

Border militarization destroys Indigenous communities.

The development of the border wall has lead to desecration of our ancestors graves, it has divided our communities and prevents us from accessing sacred places.

Troops and paramilitary law enforcement, detention camps, check points, and citizenship verification are not a solution to migration. We have existed here long before these imposed borders, my elders inform us that we always honored freedom of movement. Why are our communities and the daily deaths at the border ignored? The impacts of border militarization are constantly made invisible in the media, the popular culture of this country and even the mainstream immigrants rights movement which has often pushed for “reform” that means further militarization of the border, which means increased suffering for our communities.

Indigenous communities such as the O’odham, the Pascua Yaqui, Laipan Apache, Kickapoo, and Cocopah along the US/Mexico border have been terrorized with laws and practices like SB1070 for decades. Indigenous people along the border have been forced by border patrol to carry and provide proof of tribal membership when moving across their traditional lands that have been bisected by this imposed border; a border that has been extremely damaging to the cultural and spiritual practices of these communities. Many people are not able to journey to sacred sites because the communities where people live are on the opposite side of the border from these sites. Since the creation of the current U.S./Mexico border, 45 O’odham villages on or near the border have been completely depopulated.

On this day people who are indigenous to Arizona join with migrants who are indigenous to other parts of the Western Hemisphere in demanding a return to traditional indigenous values of freedom of movement for all people. Prior to the colonization by European nations (spaniards, english, french) and the establishment of the european settler state known as the United States and the artificial borders it and other european inspired nation states have imposed; indigenous people migrated, traveled and traded with each other without regard to artificial black lines drawn on maps. U.S. immigration policies dehumanize and criminalize people simply because which side of these artificial lines they were born on. White settlers whose ancestors have only been here at most for a few hundred years have imposed these policies of terror and death on “immigrants” whose ancestors have lived in this hemisphere for tens of thousands of years, for time immemorial.

In addition, the migration that the U.S. government is attempting to stop is driven more than anything else by the economic policies of the U.S. Free trade agreements such as NAFTA have severely reduced the ability of Mexicans and others from the global south to sustain themselves by permitting corporations to extract huge amounts of wealth and resources from these countries into the U.S. This has led to millions of people risking the terror and death that so many face to cross into the U.S. looking for ways to better support their families. Thousands of women, men, children and elders have died crossing just in the last decade. If the U.S. really wants to reduce migration it should end its policies of exploitation and wealth extraction targeted at the global south and instead pursue policies of economic, environmental and social justice for all human beings on the planet, thus reducing the drive to immigrate.

The protestors are demanding:

-An end to border militarization
-The immediate repeal of SB1070 and 287g
-An end to all racial profiling and the criminalization of our communities
-No ethnic cleansing or cultural genocide
-No border patrol encroachment/sweeps on sovereign native land
-No Deportations
-No Raids
-No ID-verification
-No Checkpoints

-Yes to immediate and unconditional regularization (“legalization”) of all people
-Yes to human rights
-Yes to dignity
-Yes to respect
-Yes to respecting Indigenous Peoples inherent right of migration