Mythology and Its Injustice to Immigration-Part 2

 Mythology and Its Injustice to Immigration-Part 2 by Sam Hernandez               February 2020

Part 1 was published in *November 2019, and covered Myth 1: Most of the immigrants are here illegally. Not true. 

The mythology that will be covered in Part 2 is: It is as easy now to enter into this country as it was when European immigrants first entered in the beginning of the 17 th century (1607). That is far from true. Before responding to that, the statement causes me to respond to a couple of other misconceptions.

U.S. History is filled with errors, misnomers and sins of omission. Readers are led to believe that the whites who arrived at Jamestown were the first non-natives to settle in lands that are now the U.S.A. (1607). That is incorrect. In what is now Florida (land of flowers), the Spanish had officially settled the town of St. Augustine in 8 September of 1565. The Spanish had entered what is now Arizona and New Mexico in 1540, 67 years before Jamestown. They had Santa Fe as a thriving settlement about the time Jamestown was struggling. The landowners were Spanish but the majority of the land workers were “mestizos”--Mexicans that were part original “Indians” and now also Spanish. Many of their ancestors had long lived in the Southwest as full-fleshed Native Americans before becoming mixed-blood. This status puts to question if they are “Mexican American” or just “Americans-from-Mexico” and/or if they are “immigrants” in the way we perceive them to be. Since they were “Americans” before the Anglos in the Eastern seaboard and history shows the U.S. quite unjustly took Texas and then today’s Southwest from them--it might be more fair and just to give them more opportunity to immigrate and become U.S. citizens than the other current contemporary immigrants that are coming and not born in the U.S. It would be fairer, more humane and more reparative in nature. Today’s international law would not allow the way the U.S. exploitively and militantly took over indigent people, land and resources. The U.S. has continued to exploit other “American” Latino nations of Latin America, mostly from Central America via regime-change tactics. They should also be given "reparation" consideration via their current desperate immigration to the U.S.

Now, as to Myth #2, immigration was easy only at the outset. The New World was open. There were no rules, regulations or opposition. The natives were migratory and moved with their portable homes to wherever the animals they hunted would go. The lands were virginal in the way our national parks are today. Their concept of land was the belief that no one could own it. It was there for all. It was when they discovered that whites believed land could be bought and owned and they would lose their hunting grounds and their way of life that wars started from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They observed that white’s attitude and behavior showed dislike, hate and racism due to their non-whiteness and way of life. They treated them as if they were slaves and tried to make them Christians.

From 1607 to the middle of the 18 th century, the greatest challenge to the European immigrants was just getting here. Most of them were destitute and came as indentured servants until they could pay back for their voyage. By the time they settled California they were mostly white nationalists and started to bar the entry of the Chinese. From there on the rules for entry have become harsh, cruel and racist. Today, a wall is being built at our southern border and thousands are being camped by Mexico awaiting rigged processes to enter the U.S. Often, children are separated from their parents and may never be united again.

Among the many immigration entry rules are the proof that you can be self-sufficient and trained in a field that needs you and are sponsored by your to-be employer. Many of our ancestors who came after 1790 would not have been allowed in! 

This issue of unjust immigration, in need of dire reform, is not being taken up by any of the remaining candidates running for President. There should be a movement called “Immigrant Lives Matter” with chapters in the key U.S. cities and states. They should be led by trained, charismatic and dedicated Latino leaders. We currently do not have such leaders in the nation like we did during the Chicano Movement (Cesar Chavez, Corky Gonzalez and Lopez Reis Tijerina). A leader must have followers. Recent research showed that we do not have a single national Latino leader (the closest potential one we have is Senator Ted Cruz)! It might be Julian Castro. The dynamic, dedicated local leader I know, with committed active followers, is Adriana Cerrillo from Minneapolis.

It is quite clear that we need more leaders at local, state and national levels. Let’s get organized and struggle together!

*published here January 8, 2020