Roberto Rodriguez: A Big Brother Migrant Solution

Department of Homeland Security's ICE agents are still running amok terrorizing Mexican & Central American communities

COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS
A BIG BROTHER MIGRATION SOLUTION
OCTOBER 17, 2008
BY ROBERTO DR. CINTLI RODRIGUEZ

For perhaps at least the past generation, the so-called immigration
debate has been code for scapegoating and getting rid of the
"wetbacks" – which of course in this country is but another code word
for Mexicans. Anybody brown, really. It could be called the hidden
narrative, yet how hidden is it really?

And yet, holding back the "brown hordes" is no longer the primary
issue in regards to this debate. Make no mistake; hundreds of brown
peoples are still dying in the inhospitable deserts, mountains and
rivers along the U.S.-Mexico border. And the Department of Homeland
Security's ICE agents are still running amok terrorizing Mexican &
Central American communities. But the sad reality is that the mere
existence of a "Homeland Security" apparatus tells us that even
something bigger is amiss.

In the efforts to hold back those hordes, government, particularly
since 9-11 of 2001, has minimally mushroomed into a behemoth
bureaucracy, and at worst, has precipitated the creation of a big
government. In other words, the immigration problem is no longer about
"hard-working amigos"; the problem is an ominous and over-bearing Big
Brother.

All of this has happened under the cover of the "war on terror." While
politicos have distracted the populace with fears of terrorists
sneaking across the southern border – and somehow associating it with
the issue of immigration, illegal or otherwise – government has
created a fear-based society. This has been useful for the purposes of
being able to wage endless, costly and unnecessary wars. It has also
ushered in what novelist Naomi Wolf terms as a coming police state. In
this climate, government has also created or permitted:
• U.S. agencies to spy on virtually anyone – whether through
electronic eavesdropping, internet snooping or cameras on many of the
nation's roads (And a new proposal to create a domestic CIA).
• huge no-fly passenger lists, including enemies lists.
• data bases that track peoples movements, including one for anyone
(not just Mexicans) who cross the border.
• massive walls and fences along the southern border.
• a massive increase in the number of border patrol and Transportation
Security Administration agents
• massive secrecy to become the natural order of government business;
the days of open government and privacy are long behind us.
• the [for-profit] privatization of war, law enforcement and the penal system.

On top of being morally wrong, these developments are highly
secretive, inefficient, extremely costly and non-productive. For
instance, from an economic standpoint, border patrol agents, massive
walls and draconian immigration raids do not create wealth. Despite
this, there is a clamor for more. Nowadays, those same demand exists
and will increasingly get louder throughout the country. After 2,000
miles of walls go up along the U.S./Mexico border – in the name of
equality – look for demands for the northern border to also be
walled. It is amazing what people will surrender in the name of fear.

Brown peoples have always lived this reality, regardless of where
they/we live. However, it is highly probable that soon, all people in
this country will have to repeatedly prove their legal right to be in
this country. While the government has been doing nothing about
immigration, contrarily, it has been moving fast on creating this
draconian apparatus to divide up everyone into legal and illegal
populations. How far off are we from living in a moated and checkpoint
society?

This is where the expression, "careful what you wish for," is most
appropriate. A police state is the unintended consequence of demands
to seal the border. Police states do not discriminate. Once
entrenched, a police state will do whatever is necessary to
consolidate and expand its power. One path toward achieving such a
state is dividing up populations into legitimate vs. illegitimate ones
– into legal ones vs. illegal ones.

Truly, outside of fringe elements, including racial supremacists, it
is doubtful that this is what even immigration restrictionists had in
mind. Given a choice, and I've had enough conversations to know this,
that most people do not want to live in such a society because under
such a scheme, categories of illegitimate and illegal populations will
invariably grow. Yet, it is not too late. Given a choice, I am still
confident that it is a future that most Americans –– including the Lou
Dobbs' of the world – will reject. What most people want, I presume,
is a solution, not a police state. What most people want, I believe,
is a narrative of freedom.

Rodriguez, PhD, can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com