MEXICAN CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS MIX COLOR, HUMOR WITH RELIGION
By Jackie Peterson
In the race to captivate the hearts of Mexican children during the holiday season, Santa Claus and his sleigh seem to be pulling ahead of the traditional Three Kings by a nose. And can that nose be the glowing proboscis of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? As late as the 1960s you couldn't find many traces of the jolly fat man in the red suit in most of Mexico, although vendors in the public markets did display a few sparse-needled Christmas trees. Mexican children were more likely to leave a shoe under the bed in hopes that the Three Kings would bring them a little gift. They would wake up in the morning to find a few candies and maybe a small toy in the shoe. But it wasn't on the morning of Dec. 25. Rather, they had to wait till Jan. 6 -- Three Kings Day -- to get their holiday treat. These days, though, most Mexican children enjoy the best of both worlds: gifts from Santa's pack on Christmas and treats from the Three Kings on Jan. 6, Little Christmas.
The Posadas
One of the most beloved old-time customs of the Mexican Christmas season is the Posada. This traditional pre-Christmas observance still takes place, but it is becoming rarer. These days the term "posada" just means a Christmas party. The time-honored Posada (or "inn" ) season begins on Dec. 16 and continues each night through Christmas Eve. Legend has it that the practice was begun by the early Spanish missionaries as a way to bring home the story of the birth of Christ to the native peoples they were trying to convert. To follow the traditional form, on an evening during the Posada season a family and friends gather to pray the rosary in front of a "nacimiento" or creche representing the Bethlehem scene. Then they form a candlelight procession headed by someone carrying the Mary and Joseph figures on a tray. Sometimes the procession includes children dressed as Mary and Joseph, with perhaps the Mary character riding on a live burro. They march outdoors around a patio or along a street where neighbors have agreed to participate, singing "villancicos" (carols) in which they ask for "posada" or shelter in the inn. The parade of pilgrims reaches a doorway, a real or imaginary one, and meets two or three "landlords" who refuse to let them in. The pilgrims move on to another house, another door, another landlord. Finally, after several verses of song asking for posada and several verses of refusal, they find an agreeable landlord and are admitted to a home where they celebrate by singing more songs and sometimes setting off fireworks. They drink hot fruit punch (the adults may lace theirs with optional rum or brandy). The children line up in order of size to be blindfolded and whack on a piñata. When it breaks they scramble for the goodies -- traditionally, lengths of sugar cane, mandarin oranges, peanuts in their shells, wrapped candies and maybe a few small toys or coins. All ages join in on the celebration, from babies on the laps of the grannies to younger folks dancing to lively popular music.The fiesta may continue until the wee hours. Snacks of some sort, especially tamales, will be served as the night wears on. To this day, some families organize posadas in their homes on every one of the nine nights starting Dec. 16. But on Dec. 24, Noche Buena, the pattern of the evening changes somewhat. After the rosary and the procession, the Christ child figure is placed in his little bed of straw in the creche. The piñatas and the party go on as before, perhaps interrupted for a walk to church to attend a late-night Mass. Then a more elaborate supper is served. The menu usually includes turkey or some other roast meat, and Ensalada de Noche Buena (Christmas Eve salad). Visitors to Mexico may see the charming Posada custom reenacted in a more formal and respectful way at local churches on one or more evenings of the Posada season.
Pastorelas
Like the Posadas and the passion plays of the Easter season, they stem from the early Spanish missionaries' efforts to teach the Indians the traditions of Christianity. The main characters of the pastorelas are shepherds and angels, the angels appearing before the shepherds to lead them to the Christ child in the manger. There are variations on this theme, depending on whose version of the pastorela is being staged, but the shepherds attempt to follow the star of Bethlehem and, sometimes after a few misadventures, they finally reach their goal. In most places -- be it a church or an actual stage -- the pastorela is accompanied by music and singing.
The Nacimiento
Until a few decades ago, the creche was the principal Christmas decoration in most Mexican homes. Christmas trees now cross the border by the forestful, but the nativity scene, or nacimiento, remains a centerpiece of the home's holiday decor. The statuettes include Mary and Joseph, the Three Kings, shepherds, sheep and other farm animals, angels and a little bed of straw which remains empty until Christmas Eve. The statuettes may be small or large, and the scene may be populated by many more figures, but those mentioned always are part of a typical nacimiento.
Noche Buena
Christmas Eve (the Good Night), as mentioned, is the climax of the Christmas festivities. Mexican families used to attend a late-night Misa de Gallo (Rooster's Mass) which these days more likely takes place between 6 and 8 p.m. rather than midnight. People then go home to a supper which may include homemade tamales and atole (corn gruel) or may be a more elaborate feast of chicken, turkey or other roast meat. And possibly, there will be bacalao (dried cod) or an assortment of regional treats. Ensalada de Noche Buena, a weird concoction that includes lettuce, beets and peanuts as traditional ingredients, is also a mainstay on the menu. Incidentally, La Flor de Noche Buena or Christmas Eve flower lends color to most Mexican homes during the season. Dr. Joel R. Poinsett, a 19th-century U.S. ambassador to Mexico, discovered the blooms that flourished during the short, dark days of winter. When his appointment ended, he took cuttings home to Charleston, S.C., with the idea of cultivating the plant there. Obviously, his experiments were successful and gained for the ambassador a fame for all posterity: the poinsettia.
The Holy Innocents
Don't believe everything the local newspapers or Mexican friends have to say on Dec. 28. That is the Day of the Holy Innocents (the male infants that King Herod ordered to be slaughtered in hopes that one of them would be the Christ child). It has evolved in Mexico into a sort of April Fool's day, and practical jokers will be on the prowl to catch the unwary (the "innocents") and have a few laughs. The newspapers go along with the gag by printing outrageous stories and shocking headlines -- all in fun, of course.
Los Reyes Magos
On Three Kings Day, Jan. 6, Mexican children are sure to find a little toy and a candy or two under their beds. Later, after the evening meal, the adults and their friends will share a "Rosca de Reyes." This is a large donut-shaped loaf of sweet bread containing raisins, glace fruit and one or more small plastic figurines of the Christ child. The fun of the rosca party is finding out who got the piece of bread with the Christ child in it since that person is expected to invite all those sharing the rosca to a party on Feb. 2 (Dia de la Candelaria, or Candlemas Day). Whether for reasons of thrift or to mystify the others, some participants have been known to swallow a two-inch chunk of hard plastic rather than own up to finding the Christ child in their slice of the rosca.
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CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD Millions of children around the world are familiar with plump and jolly Santa Claus, much loved of North America, with his red suit, black boots and t w i nkling eyes. He arrives Christmas Eve bearing gifts from the North Pole in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Other countries have their own native gift bearers of the holiday season as well.
Here comes Santa Claus! Here comes Santa Claus! Right down Santa Claus Lane! Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeer Are pulling on the reins. Bells are ringing, children singing; All is merry and bright. Hang your stockings and say your prayers, 'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight.
Here comes Santa Claus! Here comes Santa Claus! Right down Santa Claus Lane! He's got a bag that is filled with toys For the boys and girls again. Hear those sleigh bells jingle jangle, What a beautiful sight. Jump in bed, cover up your head, 'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight.
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Former IBWC project manager Joe Tucker says DHS's draft EIS is not worth the paper it's written on. (Photo: RGG/Steve Taylor)
Tucker: Only $10 million for levees shows misplaced priorities
By Joey Gomez and Steve Taylor
HARLINGEN, December 21 - A former IBWC engineer says Congress has got its priorities all wrong when it puts funding for a border fence before repair of the Rio Grande Valley’s structurally suspect levee system.
The $555 billion omnibus spending bill passed by Congress this week provides at least $1.2 billion for construction of a border fence but only $10 million to rehabilitate the Valley’s levees and flood-protection system.
“It makes no sense to build a border wall before they fix the levees. The priorities of Congress are totally distorted,†said Joe Tucker, who worked for the International Boundary and Water Commission in the Valley for 31 years.
“I’m afraid I have very little respect for the politicians. They are only interested in their political futures, I think. Both parties, they are equally guilty. $10 million is a drop in the bucket, compared to what’s needed.â€
Tucker, a Harlingen resident, was second in command for IBWC in the Valley during Hurricane Beulah, which caused millions of dollars of damage to South Texas and northern Tamaulipas in 1967. He also witnessed the ravaging effects of major floods in 1958. He took early retirement in 1985 in order to become an independent consultant on water and flood control projects.
Tucker still stays active on water issues and is a member of the Lower Rio Grande Water Committee, which raises funds for the operation and maintenance of El Morillo Drain. The drain diverts salt from the Rio Grande to help Valley agriculture.
Tucker pointed to a 2001 survey by IBWC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which showed that the Valley’s levee system was crumbling in some areas. In 2005, the IBWC reported that the levees would not hold up under severe rain and that a substantial federal investment was needed.
Earlier this year, IBWC Commissioner Carlos Marin, who used to work with Tucker, said a total rehabilitation program would cost $125 million and cover 67 miles. Marin told the Guardian that the existing condition of the levee system is deficient both in hydraulic capacity and structural integrity, indicating there could be widespread overtopping and freeboard encroachment of the levees in the event of a 100-year flooding event.
“This funding will be used to protect border communities from flooding by reinforcing the levees to handle major storms,†said U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. “The Rio Grande is a powerful river prone to flooding under certain conditions and we must shield the families and businesses along the river with strong levees.â€
Tucker said the Valley has been lucky to have avoided a hurricane in the 40 years since Beulah. “It’s only a matter of time before another one hits,†he said. The damage next time could be worse, Tucker said, because the population has grown and the increased development means more runoff.
“What the public has to worry about is the repeat of something like Hurricane Beulah, with massive rains that flood over into the Mexican watershed on the Rio San Juan,†Tucker warned.
“If we have a repeat of that it could be a very big disaster. The majority of people in the Valley don't realize the danger they're in. They weren't here in 1967. It was a long time ago, but the threat is still here with us.â€
Tucker said he thought Congress would come to its senses after Hurricane Katrina devastated part of the Louisiana and Mississippi coast in 2005. “For the life of me, I cannot understand Congress after what New Orleans went through. It seems they have not learned a lesson and they wait until after a disaster until they do anything,†Tucker said.
Tucker said he has been in touch with Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos and Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas about his thoughts on how a border fence could be incorporated into a flood control plan. He said he disagreed with Border Patrol’s plan to place a fence on the northern side of the levees, arguing that constructing a barrier on the south slope of the levees would serve a dual purpose.
“I don’t know what a fence will do for security but it could do a useful purpose in flood control,†Tucker said. “You put a concrete retaining wall a few feet from the crown line. You put a fence on top of it. The Border Patrol would still have the roadway on the north side of it. It would serve a dual purpose.â€
Tucker said such a plan might increase IBWC’s maintenance work a little bit but it would be well worth it. “You are fixing a deficiency in the levees where the fence is located,†he said.
Asked why the Department of Homeland Security had not come up such an idea, Tucker said it seems like the federal government “has a hard time coming up with anything practical.â€
Tucker added that he has not read DHS's 500-page draft Environmental Impact Statement, which dismisses a combined levee-fence approach. “Those guys are paid by the word. It's not worth reading,†he said.
AUSTIN, December 18 - He was 19 in 1983 when he first crossed the Rio Grande into Donna, Texas.
"We lost our backpacks in the river. We were four people, without shoes. We shared the clothes from one backpack and we were cold. We met in an immigration jail in Oaxaca." said a man who identifies himself as a "migrant," rather than "immigrant," because it recognizes a government's political boundary.
The men got picked up by Border Patrol agents as soon as they crossed that boundary. This is a story of one of them.
Since 1990, Dec. 18 has been recognized each year by the United Nations as International Migrants Day. A 35-article resolution was passed on the human rights of all migrant workers and members of their families by the U.N.
Javier, we can call him, is a migrant from El Salvador and prefers not to use his real name - not so much because he's afraid of being hunted down, he said, but because his story could be another's story and another's could have easily been his own.
Javier recounted a neighbor he grew up with who joined the country's National Guard and others who joined the armed revolution. Javier was a pacifist who refused to pick up a weapon like his teenaged counterparts during the revolution that ravaged his country for over a decade of his youth.
"It wasn't a very nice place to live," said Javier, understating the horrors he experienced throughout his adolescence. He would have to pass piles of bodies to go buy tortillas.
"I would go buy pan francais the next day and there would be the bodies," recounted the man. Someone would put lime over them to keep the smell down and then they would burn them, he remembered.
In his struggle to leave the terror, he got deported three times from Oaxaca, Mexico. "I made it to Mexico City for 12 days. I got kicked out three times."
He said that he soon had to compromise his culture and who he was. He had to pretend to be from a village in southern Mexico when he was questioned by Mexican federal officials. He had to feign the accent of the region and adopt the clothing style.
As for the other men he traveled with, he said that they weren't very nice and that they probably stole some things.
"Poverty does a lot of things to people," stressed Javier.
When they finally got into McAllen, they lived with a missionary family for a number of weeks before they got kicked out for smoking cigarettes.
"There were 12 campers with other migrants in them and closed fences," said Javier.
Javier worked for about one year on a ranch in Oklahoma, owned by someone who had been to El Salvador, and had compassion for refugees fleeing the war-torn country.
Javier said he got the idea to go back to El Salvador, which he describes as beautiful and remembers fondly, full of fruit and nut trees and always fresh things to pick and eat. “It is full of resources. It is a paradise where there should be no war,†he said.
On his way back south, this migrant ended up in an El Paso detention facility for 30 days, awaiting deportation. "They wait until they get a busload or planeload of OTMs," he said, which means "Other Than Mexicans."
"Now there are so many of us, they wait until they get a busload or planeload of Salvadorenos or Nicaraguans before they send us back," said Javier. When he arrived at the airport in San Salvador, he got stopped three times before he got to his family's home.
"I'm not a political refugee," claims Javier. "I'm an economic refugee."
Javier said it was not the brutality of the government's regime that forced he and others to leave, though his homeland was funded to the tune of $1.5 million a day by the U.S. toward the end of the war. He said that money went for arms for the government, not for social programs.
Rather, he said, it was the economic policies of privatization of the country’s natural resources that lead to the civil unrest. He cited compromises under free-trade agreements, the International Monetary Fund and other policies under new-liberalism that has caused dislocation and economic instability of communities.
Javier also highlighted U.S. corporate influence that, he said, led to a few families owning much of the natural resources in Nicaragua. "The U.S. sent money to the contras and weapons, not food," he added.
Javier reports that the violent revolution began as protests over the price of fertilizer, high interest rates and labor struggles.
"There were union meetings getting bombed and still 200,000 people would march in the street with their children," said Javier. It isn't appropriate to recount in this media the horrors he saw committed at these protests by El Salvador's Duarte regime, under the influence of U.S. private interests.
"The U.S. perpetuated the war," said Javier. He described instances of murders that were committed by graduates of a Fort Benning, Georgia military school, which produced a manual on torture, he said.
Javier said that priests who spoke to their congregations about sustainable economics were murdered. He witness bloodshed in his neighborhood. "The army killed. The police killed," he said, adding that in a couple of weeks, 30,000 people were killed.
"People will fight for the basics," said Javier, speaking of the many that took to the mountains and joined the guerillas.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, 1.25 million foreign nationals obtained lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in 2006, a 50.6 percent increase from 2000.
Of the 1.25 million new official permanent residents, 13.7 percent came from Mexico. The top five countries of birth of these new permanent residents are Mexico, China, the Philippines, India, and Cuba, which account for 35 percent of all who received LPR status in 2006.
Nationals of the next five countries - Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Vietnam, and Jamaica - made up another 13.3 percent of all LPRs. The top 10 countries of birth made up almost 50 percent of the total.
In January 2006, there were approximately 29.1 million foreign-born individuals living in the U.S. who entered the country between 1980 and 2005. About 16.3 million (56 percent) of them were legally resident (including lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylum seekers), about 1.3 million (4 percent) had temporary or other immigrant status, and approximately 11.6 million (40 percent) were unauthorized.
The unauthorized population was estimated to be growing at 515,000 people per year in 2006. Approximately 6.6 million of the unauthorized in January 2006 were from Mexico (57 percent), 510,000 were from El Salvador (4 percent), 430,000 were from Guatemala (4 percent), 280,000 were from the Philippines (2 percent), and 280,000 were from Honduras (2 percent). In terms of the highest rates of unauthorized population growth between 2000 and 2006, India is first (125 percent), followed by Brazil (110 percent) and Honduras (75 percent).
Spanish-Language Network to Launch 'Survival English' Program
By EUNICE MOSCOSO Cox News Service Saturday, December 22, 2007
WASHINGTON — Azteca America, a Spanish-language network with 61 affiliate stations in the United States, is embarking on a nationwide quest: to teach English.
The network is planning to launch a television show early next year dubbed "Survival English." Aimed at immigrants, the program will teach basic language skills to help people with immediate needs such as renting an apartment, visiting a doctor or applying for a job.
The show — which may run on Saturday and Sunday mornings — is part of an aggressive effort by the network to help Latino immigrants in the United States assimilate into the larger culture.
In addition to the television program, Azteca America is developing a plan to offer "Survival English" classes in 50 U.S. cities free of charge. Network officials said the cities will likely include Atlanta and Austin, Texas, where Azteca America has affiliate stations — WUVM channel 4 and KADF channel 20, respectively.
The classes, based on an existing program at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, would be held at community centers and other locations, said Luis J. Echarte, chairman and president of Fundacion Azteca America, the nonprofit arm of the company.
"It's a very basic need in the community," he said. "If they're going to be in the country, they have to learn the language in order to succeed and we want them to be a better and richer audience. The more successful they are, the better it will be for us and our advertisers."
The "Survival English" television program is being developed in partnership with the National Autonomous University of Mexico, which has three campuses in the United States.
Echarte said that it will be an entertaining show that will teach basic concepts and encourage people to learn more by reading or taking one of the "Survival English" classes. It will also focus heavily on images, to help people who cannot read, Azteca officials said.
It will also include a cultural component, teaching immigrants how to dress for a job interview, how to wait patiently in a line, and basic civic responsibilities and rights.
The Azteca America plan comes as the assimilation of immigrants has become a hot political topic, especially in the Republican race for the White House. GOP presidential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado recently boycotted a debate on Univision, a larger Spanish-language network, saying that bilingualism "has perilous consequences for a nation" and that America cannot survive if immigrants do not assimilate.
Earlier this year, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, urged immigrants to avoid Spanish-language television, books and newspapers if they want to learn English.
Rob Toonkel, spokesman for U.S. English, Inc., a group that advocates making English the nation's official language, said the "Survival English" plan was "brilliant" because it allows busy immigrants to learn the basics while doing other things or to tape the program and watch it when convenient.
Toonkel, who teaches English as a Second Language classes, also said that teaching cultural lessons is critical and an important part of assimilation. Things as basic as saying "please" and "thank you" or tipping at a restaurant are not familiar to people from certain parts of the world, he said.
Echarte said there is a misperception that immigrants do not want to learn English and that the opposite it true.
"People are going to learn English. If you don't help them, they are going to resent you," he said.
A study released last week by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center said that 91 percent of Hispanic adults born in the United States of immigrant parents are fluent in English, showing that assimilation is occurring at the same pace as previous generations of newcomers.
The study also found, however, that 28 percent of Hispanic immigrants said they speak only Spanish in the workplace, signaling some enclaves where English is spoken little in the United States.
Echarte said that the "Survival English" television show and classes are designed to fill a void in English-language instruction as many cities have waiting lists for English as a Second Language courses.
Azteca America has affiliates across the country, including Miami, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce in Florida, Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Columbus, Ohio.
The "Survival English" program is the latest in a trend of Spanish language networks becoming more involved in the daily lives of their viewers and promoting civic participation.
Earlier this year, the Spanish-language television network Telemundo, which is owned by NBC Universal, launched a nationwide voter registration drive to encourage Hispanics to participate in the 2008 election. It includes many of the network's biggest stars and a strong push by the network's youth-oriented cable channel, Mun2.
Azteca America also has a voter registration campaign as does Univision. The Univision effort includes public service announcements, news segments, and 30-minute programs that teach immigrants how to apply for citizenship and vote.
Many of the campaigns have been influenced by the national debate on illegal immigration, which many Latinos feel has become hostile against all Hispanics, especially immigrants.
Echarte said that learning English will help immigrants become more politically active and more accepted by the larger population.
"What's going on in immigration has developed into a persecution type of thing," he said. "The more (immigrants) that register to vote and the more they know the rights they have to do so ... the better it will be to calm this situation."
WOW AMAZING HOW THEY RUN LIKE ROACHES WHEN THE LAW APPROACHES . . . . Who says attrition through enforcement doesn't work? One mention of having to obey the laws sends um running back to Messyhole. BUILD THE FENCE DAM-N IT!!
Illegal immigrants packing up and leaving Arizona
Illegal immigrants, facing new law cracking down on employers, are going home
Arizona's new employer-sanctions law takes effect January 1
Law an attempt to lessen the economic incentive for illegal immigrants
"I don't want to live here because of the new law and oppressive environment"
PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- Illegal immigrants in Arizona, frustrated with a flagging economy and tough new legislation cracking down on their employers, are returning to their home countries or trying their luck in other states.
For months, immigrants have taken a wait-and-see attitude toward the state's new employer-sanctions law, which takes effect January 1. The voter-approved legislation is an attempt to lessen the economic incentive for illegal immigrants in Arizona, the busiest crossing point along the U.S.-Mexico border.
And by all appearances, it's starting to work.
"People are calling me telling me about their friend, their cousin, their neighbors -- they're moving back to Mexico," said Magdalena Schwartz, an immigrant-rights activist and pastor at a Mesa church. "They don't want to live in fear, in terror."
Martin Herrera, a 40-year-old illegal immigrant and masonry worker who lives in Camp Verde, 70 miles north of Phoenix, said he is planning to return to Mexico as soon as he ties up loose ends after living here for four years.
"I don't want to live here because of the new law and the oppressive environment," he said. "I'll be better in my country."
He called the employer-sanctions law "absurd."
"Everybody here, legally or illegally, we are part of a motor that makes this country run," Herrera said. "Once we leave, the motor is going to start to slow down."
There's no way to know how many illegal immigrants are leaving Arizona, especially now with many returning home for normal holiday visits. But economists, immigration lawyers and people who work in the immigrant community agree it's happening.
State Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa, the author of the employer sanctions law, said his intent was to drive illegal immigrants out of Arizona.
"I'm hoping they will self-deport," Pearce said. "They broke the law. They're criminals."
Under the employer sanctions law, businesses found to have knowingly hired illegal workers will be subject to sanctions from probation to a 10-day suspension of their business licenses. A second violation would bring permanent revocation of the license.
Nancy-Jo Merritt, an immigration lawyer who primarily represents employers, said her clients already have started to fire workers who can't prove they are in the country legally.
"Workers are being fired, of course," she said. "Nobody wants to find out later on that they've got somebody working for them who's not here legally."
When immigrants don't have jobs, they don't stick around, said Dawn McLaren, a research economist at Arizona State University who specializes in illegal immigration.
She said the flagging economy, particularly in the construction industry, also is contributing to an immigrant exodus.
"As the jobs dwindle and the environment becomes more unpleasant in more ways than one, you then decide what to do, and perhaps leaving looks like a good idea," she said. "And certainly that creates a problem, because as people leave, they take the jobs they created with them."
Pearce disagreed that the Arizona economy will suffer after illegal immigrants leave, saying there will be less crime, lower taxes, less congestion, smaller classroom sizes and shorter lines in emergency rooms.
"We have a free market. It'll adjust," he said. "Americans will be much better off."
He said he's not surprised illegal immigrants are leaving the state and predicts that more will go once the employer-sanctions law takes effect next month.
"It's attrition by enforcement," he said. "As you make this an unfriendly state for lawbreakers, I'm hoping they will pick up and leave."
Originally posted by Beverly: WOW AMAZING HOW THEY RUN LIKE ROACHES WHEN THE LAW APPROACHES . . . . Who says attrition through enforcement doesn't work? One mention of having to obey the laws sends um running back to Messyhole. BUILD THE FENCE DAM-N IT!!
Illegal immigrants packing up and leaving Arizona
Illegal immigrants, facing new law cracking down on employers, are going home
Arizona's new employer-sanctions law takes effect January 1
Law an attempt to lessen the economic incentive for illegal immigrants
"I don't want to live here because of the new law and oppressive environment"
PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- Illegal immigrants in Arizona, frustrated with a flagging economy and tough new legislation cracking down on their employers, are returning to their home countries or trying their luck in other states.
For months, immigrants have taken a wait-and-see attitude toward the state's new employer-sanctions law, which takes effect January 1. The voter-approved legislation is an attempt to lessen the economic incentive for illegal immigrants in Arizona, the busiest crossing point along the U.S.-Mexico border.
And by all appearances, it's starting to work.
"People are calling me telling me about their friend, their cousin, their neighbors -- they're moving back to Mexico," said Magdalena Schwartz, an immigrant-rights activist and pastor at a Mesa church. "They don't want to live in fear, in terror."
Martin Herrera, a 40-year-old illegal immigrant and masonry worker who lives in Camp Verde, 70 miles north of Phoenix, said he is planning to return to Mexico as soon as he ties up loose ends after living here for four years.
"I don't want to live here because of the new law and the oppressive environment," he said. "I'll be better in my country."
He called the employer-sanctions law "absurd."
"Everybody here, legally or illegally, we are part of a motor that makes this country run," Herrera said. "Once we leave, the motor is going to start to slow down."
There's no way to know how many illegal immigrants are leaving Arizona, especially now with many returning home for normal holiday visits. But economists, immigration lawyers and people who work in the immigrant community agree it's happening.
State Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa, the author of the employer sanctions law, said his intent was to drive illegal immigrants out of Arizona.
"I'm hoping they will self-deport," Pearce said. "They broke the law. They're criminals."
Under the employer sanctions law, businesses found to have knowingly hired illegal workers will be subject to sanctions from probation to a 10-day suspension of their business licenses. A second violation would bring permanent revocation of the license.
Nancy-Jo Merritt, an immigration lawyer who primarily represents employers, said her clients already have started to fire workers who can't prove they are in the country legally.
"Workers are being fired, of course," she said. "Nobody wants to find out later on that they've got somebody working for them who's not here legally."
When immigrants don't have jobs, they don't stick around, said Dawn McLaren, a research economist at Arizona State University who specializes in illegal immigration.
She said the flagging economy, particularly in the construction industry, also is contributing to an immigrant exodus.
"As the jobs dwindle and the environment becomes more unpleasant in more ways than one, you then decide what to do, and perhaps leaving looks like a good idea," she said. "And certainly that creates a problem, because as people leave, they take the jobs they created with them."
Pearce disagreed that the Arizona economy will suffer after illegal immigrants leave, saying there will be less crime, lower taxes, less congestion, smaller classroom sizes and shorter lines in emergency rooms.
"We have a free market. It'll adjust," he said. "Americans will be much better off."
He said he's not surprised illegal immigrants are leaving the state and predicts that more will go once the employer-sanctions law takes effect next month.
"It's attrition by enforcement," he said. "As you make this an unfriendly state for lawbreakers, I'm hoping they will pick up and leave."
The nation's television screens many days recently have been filled with scenes of huge crowds carrying the colorful green and red flag of Mexico viewers could well have thought it was a national holiday in Mexico City.
It was instead, downtown Los Angeles, Calif., although the scene was recreated in numerous other cities around the country with substantial Mexican populations. Hordes of Mexican expatriates, many here illegally, were protesting the very U.S. immigration laws they were violating with impunity. They found it offensive and a violation of their rights that the U.S. dared to have immigration laws to begin with.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa mounted the podium, but any hopes that he would quiet the crowds and defend the law were soon dashed. Villaraigosa, himself, has spent a lifetime opposing U.S. immigration law.
For law-abiding Americans without knowledge of the dark side of our current illegal immigration crisis, all this is unfathomable. For those who know the truth about the "La Raza" movement, these demonstrations were a prophecy fulfilled.
It is past time for all Americans to know what is at the root of this outrageous behavior, and the extent to which the nation is at risk because of "La Raza" -- The Race.
There are many immigrant groups joined in the overall "La Raza" movement. The most prominent and mainstream organization is the National Council de La Raza -- the Council of "The Race".
To most of the mainstream media, most members of Congress, and even many of their own members, the National Council of La Raza is no more than a Hispanic Rotary Club.
But the National Council of La Raza succeeded in raking in over $15.2 million in federal grants last year alone, of which $7.9 million was in U.S. Department of Education grants for Charter Schools, and undisclosed amounts were for get-out-the-vote efforts supporting La Raza political positions.
The Council of La Raza succeeded in having itself added to congressional hearings by Republican House and Senate leaders. And an anonymous senator even gave the Council of La Raza an extra $4 million in earmarked taxpayer money, supposedly for "housing reform," while La Raza continues to lobby the Senate for virtual open borders and amnesty for illegal aliens.
The Mexican flag flew over a crowd of pro-amnesty marchers in New York. Marches like this across the U.S. have been supported by the “La Raza†movement. (Reuters/Seth Wenig)
Radical 'Reconquista' Agenda
Behind the respectable front of the National Council of La Raza lies the real agenda of the La Raza movement, the agenda that led to those thousands of illegal immigrants in the streets of American cities, waving Mexican flags, brazenly defying our laws, and demanding concessions.
Key among the secondary organizations is the radical racist group Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, or Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan (MEChA), one of the most anti-American groups in the country, which has permeated U.S. campuses since the 1960s, and continues its push to carve a racist nation out of the American West.
One of America's greatest strengths has always been taking in immigrants from cultures around the world, and assimilating them into our country as Americans. By being citizens of the U.S. we are Americans first, and only, in our national loyalties.
This is totally opposed by MEChA for the hordes of illegal immigrants pouring across our borders, to whom they say:
"Chicano is our identity; it defines who we are as people. It rejects the notion that we...should assimilate into the Anglo-American melting pot...Aztlan was the legendary homeland of the Aztecas ... It became synonymous with the vast territories of the Southwest, brutally stolen from a Mexican people marginalized and betrayed by the hostile custodians of the Manifest Destiny." (Statement on University of Oregon MEChA Website, Jan. 3, 2006)
MEChA isn't at all shy about their goals, or their views of other races. Their founding principles are contained in these words in "El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan" (The Spiritual Plan for Aztlan):
"In the spirit of a new people that is conscious not only of its proud historical heritage but also of the brutal gringo invasion of our territories, we, the Chicano inhabitants and civilizers of the northern land of Aztlan from whence came our forefathers, reclaiming the land of their birth and consecrating the determination of our people of the sun, declare that the call of our blood is our power, our responsibility, and our inevitable destiny. ... Aztlan belongs to those who plant the seeds, water the fields, and gather the crops and not to the foreign Europeans. ... We are a bronze people with a bronze culture. Before the world, before all of North America, before all our brothers in the bronze continent, we are a nation, we are a union of free pueblos, we are Aztlan. For La Raza todo. Fuera de La Raza nada."
That closing two-sentence motto is chilling to everyone who values equal rights for all. It says: "For The Race everything. Outside The Race, nothing."
If these morally sickening MEChA quotes were coming from some fringe website, Americans could at least console themselves that it was just a small group of nuts behind it. Nearly every racial and ethnic group has some shady characters and positions in its past and some unbalanced individuals today claiming racial superiority and demanding separatism. But this is coming straight from the official MEChA sites at Georgetown University, the University of Texas, UCLA, University of Michigan, University of Colorado, University of Oregon, and many other colleges and universities around the country.
MEChA was in fact reported to be one of the main organizers of those street demonstrations we witnessed over the past weeks. That helps explain why those hordes of illegal immigrants weren't asking for amnesty -- they were demanding an end to U.S. law, period. Unlike past waves of immigrants who sought to become responsible members of American society, these protesters reject American society altogether, because they have been taught that America rightfully belongs to them.
MEChA and the La Raza movement teach that Colorado, California, Arizona, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon and parts of Washington State make up an area known as "Aztlan" -- a fictional ancestral homeland of the Aztecs before Europeans arrived in North America. As such, it belongs to the followers of MEChA. These are all areas America should surrender to "La Raza" once enough immigrants, legal or illegal, enter to claim a majority, as in Los Angeles. The current borders of the United States will simply be extinguished.
This plan is what is referred to as the "Reconquista" or reconquest, of the Western U.S.
But it won't end with territorial occupation and secession. The final plan for the La Raza movement includes the ethnic cleansing of Americans of European, African, and Asian descent out of "Aztlan."
As Miguel Perez of Cal State-Northridge's MEChA chapter has been quoted as saying: "The ultimate ideology is the liberation of Aztlan. Communism would be closest [to it]. Once Aztlan is established, ethnic cleansing would commence: Non-Chicanos would have to be expelled -- opposition groups would be quashed because you have to keep power."
MEChA Plants
Members of these radical, anti-American, racist organizations are frequently smoothly polished into public respectability by the National Council of La Raza.
Former MEChA members include Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was officially endorsed by La Raza for mayor and was awarded La Raza's Graciela Olivarez Award. Now we know why he refuses to condemn a sea of foreign flags in his city. California Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante is also a former MEChA member. He delivered the keynote address at La Raza's 2002 Annual Convention.
The National Council of La Raza and its allies in public office make no repudiation of the radical MEChA and its positions. In fact, as recently as 2003, La Raza was actively funding MEChA, according to federal tax records.
Imagine Robert Byrd's refusing to disavow the views of the KKK, or if Strom Thurmond had failed to admit segregation was wrong. Imagine Heritage or Brookings Foundation making grants to the American Nazi Party.
Is the National Council of La Raza itself a racist organization? Regardless of the organization's suspect ties, the majority of its members are not. When one examines all the organization's activities, they are commendable non-profit projects, such as education and housing programs.
But even these defensible efforts raise the question of whether education and housing programs funded with federal tax dollars should be used in programs specifically targeted to benefit just one ethnic group.
La Raza defenders usually respond by calling anyone making these allegations "a racist" for having called attention to La Raza's racist links. All the groups and public officials with ties to the La Raza movement can take a big step towards disproving these allegations by simply following the examples of Senators Byrd and Thurmond and repenting of their past ways.
If they are unwilling to admit past misdeeds, they can at least state -- unequivocally -- that they officially oppose the racist and anti-American positions of MEChA, and any other groups that espouse similar views.
Through public appearances, written statements, and on their respective websites, La Raza groups and allies must:
1. Denounce the motto "For La Raza todo. Fuera de La Raza nada," as repugnant, racist, and totally incompatible with American society or citizenship.
2. Acknowledge the right of all Americans to live wherever they choose in the U.S. without segregation.
3. Commit to sponsorship of nationwide educational programs to combat racism and anti-Semitism in the Hispanic community.
4. Denounce and sever all ties with MEChA and any other organizations with which they have ever been associated which held to the racist doctrines held by MEChA.
5. Acknowledge the internationally recognized borders of the U.S., the right of the citizens of the U.S. to determine immigration policy through the democratic process, and the right of the U.S. to undertake any and all necessary steps to effectively enforce immigration law and defend its border against unauthorized entry.
6. Repudiate all claims that current American territory rightfully belongs to Mexico.
If the National Council of La Raza, other La Raza groups, and local and national political leaders with past ties and associations with the radical elements of the La Raza movement can publicly issue such a statement and live by every one of these principles, they should be welcomed into the American public policy arena, with past sins -- real or imaginary -- forgiven.
If they cannot publicly and fully support these principles, Congress needs to take appropriate steps and immediately bar any group refusing to comply from receiving any future federal funds. Both the House and Senate should strike these groups from testifying before any committees, and the White House should sever all ties. Both political parties should disengage from any further contact with these groups and individuals.
There are plenty of decent, patriotic Hispanic organizations and elected officials to provide Congress with necessary feedback on specific issues confronting Americans of Latino heritage. Any group or individual who
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Who says attrition through enforcement doesn't work? One mention of having to obey the laws sends um running back to Messyhole. BUILD THE FENCE DAM-N IT!!
