According to an MTSU poll discussed in The Tennessean, forty-seven percent of Tennesseans support a guest worked program and sixty-three percent support a path to legal residency for guest workers. Gary Gerstle, a Vanderbilt historian, thinks this means we the people are headed a different direction than the lawmakers pushing anti-immigrant legislation. He also noted that there has been a pattern in American history of a softening opinion following waves of immigration.

The Irish saw that after so many landed here during the potato famine. Signs read “no Irish need apply” and they were frequently compelled to take the lowest-paying jobs they could find, going West to work building railroads along side the Chinese and freed slaves. It took years for that attitude to dissipate. My great-grandfather was one of those immigrants and I listened to the stories passed down by his kids. Economic standing differences showed up in the poll as  well.

Those at the bottom of the income scale and those with the most education are less likely to see their own economic standing change because of immigration. And they share something else: They are more likely to employ, work with, live near or themselves be immigrants.

We bloggers are more civil, too, it seems. The paper interviewed a local Coyote, who even got quoted. Although, it seems the print reporter was as sound-bite conscious as a TV reporter would be. An hour’s interview resulted in a shallower overview than Mack hoped.

“… it’s almost like there has been some kind of collective consciousness that has kicked in,” he said. “I really don’t believe that the majority of people like to see other people dehumanized, and that’s what was going on.”

I’ve seen it as well. And not just in blogs but out there in the real world. I’ve heard more people saying things like “They’re just trying to provide for their families like I do.” They do really good work.” Maybe we’re becoming kinder and gentler and more understanding. That would be nice. Then again, most of the comments over at the Tennessean aren’t all that warm and fuzzy.

John Lamb has written a very powerful post about why he is supporting Barack Obama:

Few urge us to see immigrants as people first - as neighbors, fellow churchmembers, and fellow residents of this great country. It can be risky for a politician to widen instead of narrow the definition of “neighbor,” which was Jesus’ charge in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

From what I have read of Obama, he has adopted the high ground and has not wavered.

[…]

Over time, Barack Obama has confirmed this impression I have. In his stirring remarks at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s church in Atlanta earlier this month, he called America to see all immigrants not as enemies but as “companions in the fight for opportunity”

[…]

Martin Luther King, Jr., in his acceptance speech for the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, called for “an all-embracing and unconditional love for all men.” That kind of love is the value that will inform my vote on Tuesday, and it is why I support Barack Obama.

John shares more over at Hispanic Nashville…

In an article at the Tennessean and a post at Hispanic Nashville, they’re discussing the fallout from immigration raids in the Springfield area back in December. They’re discussing the children, most of whom are U.S. citizens because they were born here. Since the raids, truancy is up 11% in Robertson County and the schools are still responsible for boosting the test scores of those children.

Given that their parents may be afraid of being deported, or may have moved to other areas or states if they no longer have jobs, some of those kids may not come back to school and, if their parents were the ones who were caught, they may have gone back to Mexico with their parents. But they’re our citizens, by law, so they can come back any time they want whether they ever got an education or not.

From the Tennessean:

Robertson County and Metro Nashville became the first school districts in Tennessee last year to move into so-called “corrective action” status under the federal No Child Left Behind education law. Both failed to educate groups of students - such as English-language learners and those with special needs - four years in a row. They must demonstrate continued progress on achievement tests, starting this spring, to get off the list.

John Lamb of Hispanic Nashville has posted all of Senator Thompson’s comments from the recent Univision network debate. Fred seems to have gotten a pretty positive response from the audience, not backing down from his immigration position, but explaining it in a way that actually earned him applause.

I was especially impressed with Fred Thompson’s answer to this question, Read the rest of this entry »

On a few occasions, I’ve asked of Christians the question, what would Jesus do in regards to “illegal” immigration? Would he stand at the border with a walkie-talkie, M-16, and a pair of binoculars looking to turn back any and every brown person trying to cross the border? Or would he attempt to give them, some of the poorest peoples on the North American continent, food, water (perhaps his special spiked water?), and shelter? While no biblical scholar, I always thought it would’ve been the latter.

It appears that Ned Williams, Conservative Christian and opponent to the “open-borders” crowd, seems to have come to a similar conclusion.

I don’t get a pass from God when deliberating about how to address the problem. The reality is that this is very complicated issue with many ancillary challenges and with deep roots that can’t readily be severed. Yes, they’re breaking the law by coming to our country without permission and they’re not assimilating as much as they ought to be and they breaking the law (oh, I said that one already), but I am pretty much convinced that God’s word urges me to view them (the otherwise law-abiding aliens) more compassionately.

Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t want to abuse my position here, so I haven’t yet linked to any of my fellow T-G bloggers. But Bo Melson, our retired long-time sports editor and police reporter, had an amusing story to tell — Bo has plenty of stories, as you could imagine — about an unexpected border crossing:

Two men were in the building. One of them stepped out and asked where we were from and if we had any fruits or vegetables from Mexico. I told him we hadn’t been to Mexico. He asked me just where I thought I was. I told him Arizona. The other man stepped out to join him and they ordered all four of us desperados out of the car and inspected the vehicle.

Go read the rest of it.

Terry Frank is angry about the state’s plans to enforce the cigarette tax in border areas by making sure that local residents aren’t in possession of a taxable amount of out-of-state Marlboros:

If I could draw, I’d have a great editorial cartoon. Reagan Farr and Bredesen at the Tennessee border giving out welcome bags to illegals while they detain a guy with three carton of smokes. Classic.

Anna Calixto wanted an order of protection against her husband. She went to court, and Judge W. Dale Young asked her if she was here legally (EDIT: She is, indeed, here legally), then told her to go back to Nicaragua. Kleinheider had the story originally, then Sean Braisted picked it up and added more info:

While the ignorance of this goes without saying, it is all the more surprising, because Judge Dale Young, a Former member of the Blount County Republican Executive Committee, seemed to think victims of domestic violence should be treated with respect back when he was running for re-election in 2006.

Veddy interesting. What’s this woman supposed to do? Just put up with the abuse? Leave her American children here so she can go back to Nicaragua? Take them with her and ruin things like their good education, etc? Ridiculous, I tell ya, ridiculous.

As seen on I-65, right here in Music City USA…

No matter which side of the argument you stand, this is absolutely abhorrent.

Thoughts?

Bill Hobbs sees at least one silver lining behind the cloud of our current immigration problems.

And therein lies the seed of my idea: an independent organization that accredits businesses as being “illegal-free,” by verifying the immigration status of their non-citizen employees - granting businesses that don’t employ illegals a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval-like designation that they are, indeed, illegal free.

Then, customers could chose to do business with stores and businesses that are certified “illegal-free,” rather than businesses that continue to flout American law and hire illegals. If enough customers refuse to patronize businesses that aren’t certified illegal-free, businesses would stop hiring illegals and get certified. Fewer job opportunities for illegals would mean fewer coming across the border.

It sounds like a reasonably prudent idea to me. However I just really wish everyone would stop using the adjective “illegal” as a noun.

180,000 homes were reposessed last month.

There’s a lively discussion on the topic over at Tiny Cat Pants.

From the comments there:

bridgett:With the new home construction market going in the s****, I expect that much of the pull that’s been enticing immigration from Mexico and Central America (to build, among other things, all those McMansions in California, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan…which is exactly where everyone’s going under the fastest) is going to weaken considerably. Now whether that means that there will be a turning of the tide (coupled with a racist push designed to sweep them southward), I just don’t know. But you’re right that the two phenomena are joined.

LeeIt’s also a part of that whole personal responsibility thing conservatives keep harping about. While I’m sure there are hard-luck stories out there, most foreclosures are simply people who didn’t understand how their mortgages worked (aka ARMs, no interest loans, balloon mortgages, and such.)

Mortgage companies deserve some blame, but unless a true hard luck story, somebody who gets a mortgage they can’t afford deserves most of the blame.

Having closed on my first house in May, and knowing the homework I did, I feel little sympathy.

Samantha departed from her normal style to round up some thoughts about immigration.

In the meantime, I think there’s a lot to be said that people from all over the political spectrum are trying to look at this issue rationally and constructively. I was tired of hearing “They-took-er-jibs!” a couple of years ago.

Music City Oracle is spot on with these comments:

However, some of the rhetoric is nothing more than jingoism. It is bad for the Republican Party — and it is bad for the country.

Besides, part of the illegal immigration problem has come about due to the inadequacies of current immigration law and oversight. The nation needs a comprehensive reform plan that is serious about both enforcement and about the immigration needs of the nation.

Any discussion on immigration should be done without the emotions. The fact of the matter is, we invited them here. We needed workers, so we left the back door open. Having said that, if we are going to enact laws, then those laws must be enforced, and if those laws can not be enforced, then those laws must be changed. Otherwise, we live in a state of anarchy.

The first thing our government should do is secure the border, however that is defined. The second thing we should do is liberalize our immigration laws. We should make it easier for hard working people to enter this country and to become Americans. In fact, even if many of these people are merely migrants who have no intention of becoming Americans, we should still pass laws that allow them to come here and legally work. The third thing we should do is legalize everybody that is already here. No, I didn’t say charge them $10,000 to be here legally. Doing that will ensure that they remain “undocumented”. I said legalize them. As I said earlier, we left the back door open. We invited them here.

After truly securing the border, liberalizing the laws, and granting amnesty to those already here, we should then seriously enforce our new immigration laws.

Will any of this ever happen? Probably not. Too much emotion involved. Sadly the status quo, which is obviously not good, may be better than any solution Washington comes up with.

Sean Braisted guest-authored an interesting piece at Hispanic Nashville today.

One of the themes perpetrated, especially on Conservative talk radio and even the floor of our Legislature, is that unauthorized immigrants (or as Bob Clement calls them “illegals”) are a drain on the state coffers. One especially infectious myth is that undocumented immigrants not only get all of the same benefits as US Citizens, but actually get MORE benefits…that they are somehow treated specially by State and Local Governments, to their benefit. The Comptroller does a great job of exploding these myths on a case by case basis, especially on the issues of public housing, health care, and college education

Aunt B waxes eloquent on the immigration issue:

Sometimes I feel like white supremacy is a small, but deep lake we have to navigate and attempt to stay out of for the sake of our own souls every day, and here we all are, trying to navigate said lake on an old, but relatively stable boat. And every time someone stands up and says “We don’t want Mexicans here because they ruin our neighborhoods” or “They’re not like us and they’re ruining America” or “If the Feds won’t do something about it; we have to make the State preserve our communities,” it’s causing the boat to take on water. And worse, that we’re getting used to having wet feet, so that when someone calls a Mexican a “cockroach,” no one bats an eye. We’re ankle deep in an ancient poison we know is no good for us, and we don’t notice that we’re getting wet.

We need to have an immigration debate. We need to talk about whether our foreign policies are making life harder for people in other countries. We need to ask ourselves why, if the Bush economy is going so well, folks feel like they’re losing much needed jobs to immigrants. We need to know why there’s this popular notion that folks could get here legally, if only they’re willing to play by the rules, when that’s completely untrue. We need to figure out if we can fix the immigration system. And we should deal with the folks who are here humanely and compassionately.

Read the rest here.