Students In The Street

My dad has a theory. Every time something goes wrong in politics, he consoles himself by telling me that we are just one step closer to the revolution—an event that, in his mind, entails a drastic but completely nonviolent shift towards a more tolerant and compassionate public policy. I tend to disagree. I’ve never had that much confidence that people will eventually get fed up enough to actually change the status quo.

But the recent fight over stricter restrictions on immigration has given me some cause for hope. While the revolution—or anything like it—has not come, the people do seem to be outraged. Immigrant students and their allies are marching out of schools across the country to demand respect and the freedom to pursue their American dreams.

First, the problem. Most of the press coverage surrounding the student protests portrays them as a response to two particularly radical proposals: one that would make simply being an illegal immigrant a felony and another that would throw the book at employers who hire undocumented workers. These proposals are just the most popular of a series targeted at immigrants, including one that would strip citizenship rights from the native-born children of those who entered the country illegally. But the most disturbing thing about the debate over immigration is not what is being said by the radical right, but the nature of the debate itself.

Every immigration reform proposal currently being discussed has one common message: those folks ain’t okay. The most tolerant piece of legislation being considered in Congress—proposed by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy ‘54-’56 (D-Mass.) and Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.)—would help some undocumented workers gain legal status. But the bill would also slap immigrants with a $2,000 fine, a significant sacrifice for families struggling to make ends meet, especially if they are supporting family members back in their country of origin.

Don’t get me wrong. Immigration is a difficult issue. On one hand, I find it difficult to deny any human being the right to work relentlessly for the opportunity—not a handout; just a chance—to enjoy some of the prosperity that most Americans take for granted. On the other hand, I recognize that the availability of cheap immigrant labor lowers wages for some of America’s poorest citizens. The assertion that immigrants only take the jobs Americans are too proud to do is both xenophobic and false. Immigrants take the jobs that Americans won’t do for low wages. If immigration stopped, the grapes would still get picked. Agribusiness owners would just have to pay more to get the job done.

That said, much of the rhetoric surrounding the immigration debate seems to reflect little more than a mean-spirited desire to punish others for seeking the American dream. When one of our most liberal senators feels the need to brag about fining immigrant families and sending undocumented workers “to the back of the line,” something is wrong. I’m not naive; America must have some restrictions on immigration. But this country’s lust to harshly punish these families for their dreams reeks of bigotry. The national discussion on this issue constantly judges and rarely tries to understand the people for whom immigration policy is the defining issue of their lives.

Enter the students. In the past week, 50,000 protesters marched in Denver and Detroit. 1,000 marched here in Boston. According to press reports, many marchers were immigrants themselves; the children of illegal families have been both the leaders and the ground troops for event after event. This movement did not start with some wealthy do-gooder and it is not fueled by any liberal elite. The response to this new attack came from the individuals being attacked.

These people are demanding the most basic of human needs: recognition. In the current debate, immigrant families have been little more than political props. The spectrum of debate on this issue is narrow because both sides have ignored immigrants as a political force and a constituency to be served. Immigrant voters have generally been a sleeping giant in American politics. They don’t assert what political power they have, and they are too often ignored by the general public. The protests force the country to acknowledge that the “immigration issue” has a human face. By demanding recognition, the students in the streets have made themselves a part of the story. They have added a new element to political decision-making.

Whether these protests will succeed in the short-term, I cannot say. But the next time politicians start to brag about how tough they’ve been on the illegals, I sincerely hope they think harder about the thousands of young people marching in the streets, trying to protect their mothers and fathers. That might not be a revolution, but it is a start.



Samuel M. Simon ’06 is a social studies concentrator in Eliot House. His column appears on alternate Thursdays.