The anti-immigrant community in the U.S. has a new piece of ammunition. A group of women in Tecalpulco, Guerrero - one of the poorest states in Mexico - have created a website that calls on the U.S. to deport their husbands so that they can be reunited. Who knows who is really behind the website - http://www.artcamp.com.mx/venga/ - which is written in perfect English and has an uncanny capacity for mirroring the simplistic anti-immigrant rhetoric? But, I wrote this response to the many blog sites manipulating these women's struggle and turning it into another call for mass deportation:
I am pleased that you are covering this issue of family separation, the pain that migration can cause, and the potential that small-scale economic development has to deter Mexican migration north. But, the solution - massive deportation - is not as simple as the wetback wives would suggest. Deporting around 8 million Mexicans would create as much chaos in home countries as it would in U.S. communities, where migration and integration have changed the face of Mexican and U.S. society.
Deportation can't magically adjust the uneven relationship between Mexico - one of the poorest nations in the world - and the U.S - the richest. Nor can it eliminate the fact the two countries share a near 2,000 mile border that will always be semi permeable. You can't reverse the force of economic liberalization. Open borders have resulted in the loss of many low-wage jobs in Mexico and a growing demand for low-skill labor in the U.S. We'd have to dig deeper into the cottage industry that the woman of Tecalpulco have established in order to really assess whether or not they have created enough jobs and money to keep their men fully employed at home. But having recently conducted research nearby Guerrero - probably the poorest state in Mexico - I highly doubt that the cottage industry will support the entire community. After all, if it were such a dynamite local economy, wouldn't their husbands come home out of their own volition instead of needing to be forcefully deported by U.S. immigration?
Deportation can't normalize a migration pattern that has depended on years and years of illicit trafficking, hiding in the shadows, and whole industries that place undocumented immigrants in U.S. jobs.
Most importantly - and the truth that these women in Tecalpulco do not want to believe - is that mass deportation cannot address the deep emotional scars that years of family separation have created.
Yes, we need to get control of our borders - but any enforcement-only approach will fail us all. First, we need to create fair and humane vehicles for immigrant workers to migrate to the U.S. legally to fill jobs. Unlike past visa programs that have created a second class citizenry, any visa program must provide full labor protections, allow workers to bring their immediate families, and create paths to permanent residency and citizenship. Second, we need to legalize the 12 million undocumented workers that are already here, and let them decide (based on their jobs, economic, and social situations) whether they want to return to Mexico or remain in the U.S. Third, we need to provide solid integration programs that help immigrants to learn English and assimilate into U.S. society; anyone that works in the U.S. today represents our nation's talent in the future, and we can't be lax about preparing our future citizenry in this day in age. And lastly, we need to help Mexico develop industries that keep workers at home. It's hard to keep people in a country where they can make 10x as much north of the border. But if you create the right financial and academic incentives, and create a Mexico rich in opportunities for the average man and woman, the U.S. will be the nation pleading for more open borders and struggling to attract Mexican immigrants.
Look, none of these problems are simple. And I know how painful it is for many women who have all but been abandoned in Mexico. But, how dare anyone use the personal pain of these families to promote immediate deportation of all undocumented immigrants? We need a comprehensive solution. All this other stuff is just the wishful thinking that creates false hope, and keeps people living in dreams instead of in reality.
it's not as simple as you
