Desperate Times – Desperate Measures? Loudoun County Passes Initiatives to Curb Illegal Immigration
As expected, Loudoun County’s board of supervisors has passed measures aimed at clamping down on illegal immigration. Following suit with neighbor Prince William County, each jurisdiction’s new laws bear much similarity, and it’s only a matter of time before additional neighboring counties follow suit. Read today’s Washington Post article on the topic.
The county’s decision to pursue appear impulsive and have created a sort of sugar-coated state of emergency in the entire Northern Virginia area that surrounds the D.C. Metro area. Whether the desperate measures are as superfluous as they seem is subjective, at least at this early stage.
These actions, though they might prove an effective means of reducing illegal immigration, carry an ethnocentric stigma – simply because of the fuel behind the flames. My point is based on the principle that the means to achieve a goal for the good of society at large must be led by well-intended people – unfortunately these efforts are being supported by people that are essentially anti-immigration…regardless of legality. They prefer a last ditch, seek-and-destroy approach that forgoes conventional diplomacy and progressive community involvement.
In the words of Joseph W. Budzinski, spokesman for Help Save Loudoun:
Share on Facebook‘I think this is the first step of Virginians taking back their state’ (Washington Post, July 2007).
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Prince William County Passes Tough Immigration Law
As an eight year resident of Prince William county in Virginia I have witnessed the huge influx of Hispanic residents, estimated to have increased from 9.7% of the population in 2000 to 18% in 2005 – it has to be higher this year (WTOP News, July 2007).
This influx of Latino people, mainly from Central American countries, has created a sort of hysteria amongst Prince William’s largely conservative voting base. The ‘migrant workers’ gathered at 7-11 convenience stores (waiting for work), the boom of Hispanic shopping centers (food & ‘back-home’ goods), and not to mention the neighbors next door – since Hispanic homeownership has risen 2.2% from 2000 to 2005 in the United States.
The polemic here is that a large amount of Hispanic immigrants to Prince William are illegal – this is putting a large socio-economic strain on the county’s infrastructure. The new county law, passed yesterday, is aimed towards getting those illegal immigrants deported. The method: demand proof of lawful presence from any individual that can be detained on probable cause of violation of federal immigration laws. (Washington Times, July 2007)
Many civil rights organizations such as the ACLU take offense to the new ordinance, claiming that it can only lead to “the denial of essential, legally required services to undocumented immigrants” (ACLU, July 2007). There is no doubt that the majority of people detained for questioning will be of Hispanic origin – and there will be violations of basic civil rights – but is it for the greater good? That is indeed the County’s justification of the ordinance, and its officials stand by the unanimous decision.
The County’s legal (non-Hispanic) residents for the most part feel that these illegal immigrants are breaking the law, and letting them go on without reprimand represents a flaw in the justice system. Proponents of the ordinance insist that illegal immigrants come to this country only to usurp resources and take their tax-free earnings back to their home country.
Opponents demand recognition of the arduous and diligent work that is performed by illegal immigrants. There is also fear that legal residents of Hispanic origin will face increased discrimination and scrutiny from public officials as well as fellow residents. To avoid scrutiny of the law-abiding Hispanic community at large there are many other ways to go about controlling illegal immigration in Prince William county. One method is to only check the immigration status of arrested individuals.
Latinos are the fastest growing minority group in the United States, but not just in headcount, their economic power is increasing substantially every year. Hispanics are the minority group with the most spending power, estimated at $863.1 billion (Terry College of Business, September 2006).
This new law has a scary air to it. Perhaps we are coming to a point in time where porous borders were a thing of the past.
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Exporting Democracy to Iraq
Lately there has been much talk about exporting the essence of the U.S. democratic system into other countries across the globe, in particular, the most recent commotion has had to do with Iraq.
After the removal of Saddam Hussein in December 2003, the United States’ most immediate goals in Iraq became the elimination of the pro-Hussein insurgency and the installation of a functioning democratic government.
In March 2003 the majority of Americans (72%) supported armed involvement in Iraq to achieve these goals; nevertheless, conditions have become more realistic and the Gallup poll conducted on July 8th reported that the majority of Americans (62%) believe this whole Iraq situation was a ‘mistake’ (Iraq War Gallup Poll, July 2007).
Nearly four years after the removal of Iraq’s dictator it seems that we are back on square one. No democracy. Constant Violence. Political in-fighting. This is what happens when you allow distinctly volatile elements to interact without introducing a stabilizing compound – which in Iraq’s case, was the constant oppression and genocide of innocent people by the now-deposed dictatorship.
The U.S. strategy is to establish a democracy that brings together the varied peoples of Iraq under one central government for the greater good. George Bush, though his approval rating is at a record low of 29% (President’s Approval Gallup Poll, July 2007) still insists that he’s a “strong believer in advocating the march of democracy in the Middle East” (Bush Speaks in Cleveland, Ohio, July 2007).
This approach, exporting the U.S. brand of democracy to Iraq, though well-intended, must be carefully implemented so as to not appear ethnocentric. This is especially true when viewed from a socio-economic and socio-political standpoint. Iraq, home to the world’s first known civilization, has been ruled by a tradition of monarchs and religious caliphates – never has it been organized with modern democracy.
In her book ‘World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability,’ Amy Chua suggests that the abrupt introduction of democracy into third world countries can have negative results, and among other things bring about sectarian violence. Whether Chua’s theory applies to the situation at hand is an entirely separate analysis. There is, however, proof of sectarian violence, civil disorder, and a depressed economic landscape. The religious factions (i.e. Shi’a, Sunni) and ethnic groups (i.e. Kurds, Arabs) all want to secure a good future for their respective communities, and find themselves fighting each other over deeply-ingrained & ancient differences.
One cannot expect tranquility to set in on Iraq any time soon – not so much because of civil fighting but more because of the destabilization of an organizational system, though regressive and inhumane, that kept each of these different groups separated by forcing each to accept roles assigned by the dictatorship.
There are many causes for and against foreign intervention in Iraq. Some argue that poverty and the disenfranchisement of the lowest classes are central issues, which can be solved by progressive initiatives such as the Grameen banking system; while others believe that multilateral efforts to impose a democratic system will pay off in the long run, though it seems like tough love in the short-term.
All of these strategies sound great in heated speeches and printed editorials, but for the better good, we should put our differences aside and work together by developing one solution that is a hybrid of several strategies. That’s collaboration for the greater good.
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keep looking »Feed: 
Go for the gold