The Great Boycott of 2006

Today's the day of the great Mexican walkout, or should I say immigrant walkout. This is supposed to show just how important the immigrants are to the economy of the United States. In Mexico, Mexicans are being asked to boycott American businesses today; which is pretty stupid, considering that American companies employ about 40% of the Mexican workforce. I heard one Mexican official say that they were urging all Mexican workers not to cross the border to go to work today in th U.S. He said that in San Diego alone, there are approximately 75,000 Mexican workers who cross the border every day legally, to work in the United States. These people are not the problem. And I can't believe that anyone would be stupid enough to believe that they are. The problem is the 11 million other people who are in this country illegally. I don't care if they are contributing to our economy and working every day of their lives. The point is, they shouldn't be here in the first place. Someone today said there should be a way that they can make themselves legal in this country. Well, surprise surprise, there is a way. It's called immigration! Millions have tried it over the years, and it works! But obviously there are millions who don't feel they can have the time to fill out those forms and do it that way.

Illegal immigration isn't just an American problem. Yes, we have to deal with the consequences, but the problem really lies south of the border, in a country that cares so little for its people, that the president actually encourages them to go north. It should come as no surprise to anyone, but one of the largest sources of revenue in the Mexican economy is money being sent back to relatives in Mexico from relatives living and working in the United States. President Fox of Mexico, wants an open border with the United States like the United States has with Canada. I say to President Fox, first create a country where people want to go across the border to the United States and then actually return home.

I can understand why Congress is having such a difficult time deciding what to do about the immigration problem. I certainly don't know what to do about 11 million illegal aliens in the United States. (I honestly believe that number is probably low.) I agree with those who say it would probably be nearly impossible to round them all up and deport them. I don't believe as Governor Schwarzenegger said it would cost is $500 million to do that (where do these politicians get their numbers from). On the other hand, I feel there should be some penalty for coming into this country illegally.

President Bush has tried to convince us that these people are doing jobs that the rest of us don't want to do. I agree in part. When I was a child living in the Mexico, we used to have these Mexican workers who came to work on the farms in the summertime. They picked chilies, and after the cotton gin went through the cotton fields at the end of the summer, they followed after and picked the rest of the cotton that the gin didnt get. Then President Johnson decided that these people were taking jobs away from American citizens, and ended the Bracero program. Well, President Johnson showed as much intelligence as our present president. You couldn't pay Americans enough to go out in the cotton fields and pick that cotton. So after that, when the cotton gins had finished their work, you'd see all the strings of cotton still hanging from the bolls.

When all the protests are over and all the marches are done, I believe we'll still have a big mess our hands. Congress really doesn't want to pass an immigration bill, at least not now. Build a fence, don't build a fence. Penalize employers, don't penalize employers. Deport the illegals, give them amnesty. No matter what they decide, they're going to alienate somebody. And with the impending elections, they don't know whose vote they'll lose. So the easiest thing for them to do is to debate it until it's too late to do anything about it this session. And when it's time for the elections, both sides can blame the other for not doing anything.