Tulsa World (Oklahoma)
May 26, 2006 Friday
Final Home Edition

Let’s stop the shouting and solve the problem

by TAD BARTIMUS

The Los Angeles cabbie who’d passed us by 10 minutes earlier rolled
up to the curb: “You tired ladies get in. I’ll take you where you
want to go.”

During the ride to our hotel, Mr. A, as he asked us to call him, told
of emigrating from Armenia and becoming a naturalized American
citizen. What did he think of the growing illegal-alien crisis in his
adopted country?

“It has to be fair to everyone. I don’t want to see people sent back
to Mexico. Most of them work hard, spend money, are good people. They
do jobs nobody else will do. But they should earn the right to be
here like I did.

“I had to go through the process,” said Mr. A, now in his 50s.
Speaking in accented English he learned during a six-month paid
language course, he said the three years of citizenship paperwork
that cost him $5,000 “without a lawyer” were worth it.

“I earned the right to be here legally, to vote and pay taxes and
serve on a jury,” he said, navigating through traffic in his
independently owned taxi. “First, I got a visa in Armenia. When I
came to America, I got a white card, then a green card so I could
earn enough money to live. I learned about the Constitution. My kids
went to public school, made good grades.

“Tomorrow,” he said proudly, “my daughter graduates from law school.”

The words on the Statue of Liberty say, “Give me your tired, your
poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” They don’t say,
“Keep a knockin’ but you can’t come in.” What makes us strong is our
willingness to accept others, mix our ideas with theirs and celebrate
our differences.

We can’t say no to Mexico any more than we can say no to hurricanes
and earthquakes. Perhaps if we’d been a better friend to that
developing nation, its most hopeless people wouldn’t be so desperate
to migrate.

Some say that if we help Mexico develop its petrochemical industry,
there will be plenty of work for everyone. Certainly that would be
better than offering nothing, which is what we’ve done for 200 years.

NAFTA notwithstanding, we can do much more to stimulate the growth of
the Mexican economy. A more prosperous, egalitarian neighbor to the
south means less pressure on us and much more hope for them.

Before we voice an opinion about immigration, we should turn down the
volume on talk radio, pull the plug on TV pundits and educate
ourselves instead of depending on Lou Dobbs, Minuteman vigilantes,
campaigning congressmen and special-interest lobbyists who spoon-feed
us biased, inaccurate information.

Once we’ve researched firsthand the big picture — illegal
immigration’s impact on social-welfare programs (in many states
overwhelmed), our national economy (billions of dollars contributed),
crime statistics (fluctuates regionally) and the lunatic fringe on
both sides of the debate — we should seek out naturalized citizens
and illegal immigrants willing to share their stories.

“Illegal immigrants are everywhere,” said my retired friend Andy, who
volunteers as an English teacher at a Los Angeles nonprofit learning
center. He said many of the adult students are increasingly
terrified.

“Everything already is a hassle because they’re flying under the
radar,” he said. “Now they’re scared to death they’ll lose their
children if they’re caught and deported.”

Andy said his illegal-immigrant students “study so hard and are so
eager to learn, yet many of them are afraid to apply their skills to
get better jobs because that raises their profile and brings them
more attention.”

It’s implausible to think the U.S. government can force millions of
undocumented workers back to Mexico permanently.

Before he drove away to prepare for his daughter’s law-school
graduation party, Mr. A said, “We can solve this immigration problem
if everybody would stop shouting, calm down and be fair.”

Spoken like a true American.

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