The other side of the border

By
Dr. Luis Contreras
-
742

“Immigration policy should be generous; it should be fair; it should be flexible. With such a policy we can turn to the world, and to our own past, with clean hands and a clear conscience.” – John F. Kennedy, A Nation of Immigrant

President Kennedy understood the American experiment as a beacon of freedom, hope for the world. His word was golden. Today, Americans are asked to believe there is a crisis at the Southern border that requires a declaration of National Emergency. The members of the Arkansas Congressional Delegation support the wall. French Hill sent yesterday “The truth about walls.” He inspired me to speak for the other side of the border. Why would Americans trust the false GOP stories?

Walls do not solve drug addiction

If you eat a family sized bucket of fried chicken every day, don’t blame it on the chickens. Get some help, there is a reason you keep going back for more. The drug cartels left Colombia after the U.S. sent troops to kill them. The cartels moved to Mexico creating great harm to the Mexican people. Don’t blame Mexico, instead, provide medical help to stop the addiction. There are reasons people keep going back for more.

Walls don’t work

All walls have weak spots, you can go around them, over and under them. President Ronald Reagan went to Berlin and demanded Russia take down the wall. Why would Americans believe Mexico would pay one cent for a 2,000-mile “we hate you, if you cross, we will kill you” sign?

Who would profit from a steel barrier?

Why is Trump so desperate to build the wall, putting everything at risk? Trump claimed National Security to impose 25 percent steel import tariffs. Then, the concrete wall changed to steel. U.S. Steel has 130-year old mills, but Nucor in South Carolina would benefit. Nucor’s Chairman, Dan DiMicco, met Trump during the campaign, joined Trump’s business council, and was a candidate to head U.S. Trade. Evraz Group S.A. owns three American steel companies. Roman Abramovich, a Putin oligarch, owns the U.S. Evraz steel companies. Who would benefit from the steel fence?

Build bridges – not walls

Trump’s wall is a monument to racism and hate. Trump’s shutting down the U.S. Government threatens our democracy. This is an invasion from within led by a wicked man. The wall has not been built, but the distraction has already cost the U.S. $5 billion. Our food, airports, health, and national security are at risk, while our federal workers go unpaid. Trump is holding our country hostage.

There are 48 border crossings for vehicles and pedestrian traffic. At the Texas Big Bend National Park, you can cross the Rio Grande by foot, burro, or rowboat. Some bridges have cool names, like “Puente de la Amistad,” the Friendship Gate.

Treat your neighbors and indigenous nations with respect

Mexico is full of surprises. The 2017 U.S. goods and services trade with Mexico was $616 billion. In recent years, there are more Americans immigrating into Mexico than those migrating to the U.S. If you want to know why, visit Mexico and enjoy the good life.

Mexico’s Constitution is pluricultural. Indigenous people like the Mayans, Aztecs, and many others have the right of free determination, religion, language, and cultural traditions.

More than 1.5 million people speak Nahuatl, the Aztec language. Tonantzin is the title of the Aztec mother goddess, the Virgin of Guadalupe. Cuauhtémoc is a common name, the last emperor of the Aztecs. Earth Guardians Youth Director, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, is one of the 21 Climate Youth filing a constitutional climate lawsuit, Juliana vs. U.S, pending a trial date.

Time to call

The fake border wall crisis is one more distraction from the climate emergency and the October 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 12-year timeline. Ignoring the climate is like waiting another year to file your old income taxes.

Ask your representatives to stand up with courage and stop the racism.

Dr. Luis Contreras

10 COMMENTS

  1. It looks like we will have another goverment shutdown …

    Here is what Senator John Boozman says:

    “Similarly, we must properly and thoroughly vet those seeking to come to this country through every channel, including those seeking sanctuary from war-torn countries like Syria.”

    This is strange, the people waiting for asylum are coming from Guatemala and Honduras … if you look at a map you’ll see what I mean.

    Boozman adds:

    “The United States has a long history of providing sanctuary to refugees fleeing from persecution. However, Arkansans are rightfully concerned that our nation does not have an effective plan to protect Americans from radical Islamic extremism here at home, especially in light of the Islamic State’s attempts to infiltrate the refugee populations that are seeking haven in Europe and the United States.”

    What? Are there any Islamic people in Guatemala?

    Boozman explains:

    “While national security must be the top priority when reforming our immigration system, the economic security of American citizens must also be protected. That is why I support efforts to hold employers accountable to ensure they are hiring legal workers and oppose efforts to provide amnesty to illegal immigrants.”

    Trump is not going to be happy, he has many undocumented workers at his hotels, golf resorts, and other properties. These workers have been paying taxes for over 10 years working for Trump, under the table, a great deal having hard working people below minimum wage to benefit the Trump empire.

    Now that the cat is out of the bag, these workers are asking the US Congress for protection.

    What would Boozman say?

    https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/29/politics/trump-golf-clubs-undocumented-workers-congress/index.html

    https://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/immigration-reform-border-security

  3. The question, who benefits from building a steel fence, is intriguing for several reasons. The amount of steel required is massive and there are known Rusian steel mills in the US.

    Here is a 2016 press release from Evraz owned by Roman Abramovich, a Putin oligarch.

    There are many other steel mills in the US owned by foreign companies. But like Trump says, who knows?

    https://www.evrazna.com/Company/PressReleases/tabid/99/InsideEvraz_2016_Issue1_012616_FINAL%20with%20tip-in.pdf

  8. His name is Xiuhtezcatl. At 16 years old, he is one of the country’s most prominent environmental activists and he has been fighting against climate change for more than half his life.

    Xiuhtezcatl Martinez has become an impassioned voice for youth around the world, urging government leaders to take swift action to halt the effects of climate change. He was one of a group of kids who sued President Obama earlier this year, alleging his administration has failed to protect the environment for future generations, and he organized a petition to issue the same expectation to this year’s presidential candidates and it has already garnered more than 100,000 signatures.

    He is not even close to stopping. The teen is also a hip-hop artist, and fuses his message with his music for a brand of “hip-hop environmental activism” that is inspiring to people of all ages.

    https://inhabitat.com/meet-the-16-year-old-who-sued-the-us-government-over-climate-change/

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