Immigration Debate : Roberto Rodriguez's "The Border on our Backs"

My final exam paper for ENG111:

The Immigration Debate

“The Border on Our Backs” written by Roberto Rodriguez is an article that reflects a position on immigration and the political environment surrounding this issue. Mr. Rodriguez feels that the political climate around immigration is based on bigotry. The author claims that politicians hold racial prejudices, “It’s the exploitation of a deep-seated fear and loathing of Mexicans and Central Americans by shameless politicians.” (1)The author also claims that this land is his, “The whole continent, the whole earth—which our ancestors have traversed for thousands of years—is our mother.”(1) The author does not provide supporting arguments for any of his positions. The author continuously rants and raves about oppression and racial profiling yet fails to cite one example of such a case. The author also attempts to provide definitions of the words Mexican and Central American, “that can be found in any political dictionary” but does not provide a single book to substantiate this definitions. (1) The author states that “government agents single us out”, but never provides a case to validate his claims. (1) He claims that our government is practicing apartheid and attempts to create his definition of it. He also states that our government is dividing humans into illegal and legal beings. Mr. Rodriguez in his article “The Border on Our Backs” feels certain that the political climate around immigration is based on bigotry.
Roberto Rodriguez’s article is an example of how easy it is to skew an issue through claims that are unsubstantiated. I completely disagree with Mr. Rodriguez’s position because it shows his lack of understanding of the rule of law. You either come to this country legally or illegally which is determined by regulations voted on by the United States Congress and signed by the President of the United States. Immigration is not defined by being human, which is what Mr. Rodriguez attempts to claim. Immigration is completely defined by the rule of law. In 1952, The Immigration and Nationality Act became Public Law No. 82-414 in the United States of America through the Constitutional Process granted by the United States Constitution. (2) This Act brought together a varying array of immigration laws into one centralized location to create a legal process for entering the United States of America and various definitions pertaining to immigration, citizenship and naturalization. It has been heavily amended since 1952, but gave a good starting point to Immigration Law and Reform. Mr. Rodriguez does not understand this law, nor does he understand what it means to be illegal. Mr. Rodriguez rants and raves about how the color of a person’s skin determines their status as an immigrant which is blatantly not true. A person is an illegal immigrant in the United States solely based on not fulfilling the requirements of immigration policies of the United States. Mr. Rodriguez further attempts to claim that he and his people have ancestral right to be in the United Sates due to Indians being here for thousands of years. Unfortunately Mr. Rodriguez also does not understand history because even though a true statement of peoples living in this area the boundaries were established during the Mexican American War, The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and the Gadsen Purchase. (3) Mr. Rodriguez makes claim to unrealistic expectations that have no basis on any immigration law or regulation. The ranting and raving that Mr. Rodriguez purports has no basis on facts, or relevance to immigration law. As a legal immigrant to this country, I despise people who try and twist facts and turn debate into a racial issue that has no basis or relevance to real immigration reform or law. Mr. Rodriguez decides to increase the hate and fails to educate with his radical comments. He needs to learn about immigration law and what it means to be a legal immigrant. Being an illegal immigrant has nothing to do with being an illegal human which is an impossible status to have. The question still posed is: What do you not understand about the word illegal?

Works Cited:
1. Rodriguez, Roberto. “The Border on Our Backs.” The Longman Reader. Eds. Judith Nadell, John Langan, Eliza A. Comodromos. Pearson Education, 2009. 561-563. Print.
2. Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952. Pub. L. 82-414. 66 Stat. 163. 27 June 1952. Print.
3. Frazier, Donald S. “Manifest Destiny: Boundary Disputes.”. US-Mexican War. PBS Online. 14 March 2006. Web. 5 May 2010.