Border


 * BORDER **

Buenos Dias, my name is Faustino Morales and I am here to talk to all of you today about a major challenge in our society’s debate over immigration, the border. I and 13 other students embarked on a quest two weeks ago to research and analyze the two land borders that surround the US, specifically, the Canadian and Mexican borders and created a museum exhibit. In the past two weeks we have studied how the borders work and why they are in use. We have also looked at the impact of the borders and its affect on the people who cross them. I will now present some of our findings and recommendations. After researching and discussing our findings, we have discovered that the borders are ineffective at combating the issues they claim to solve. The borders have been setup to protect US interests and territory from an invasion of terror, drugs, and immigrants. But contrary to US perceptions, the borders have become nothing more than symbolic lines, which do not stop any so-called invasions or invaders. Drug smugglers are still entering through our borders, now dressed as border patrol with replica border patrol vans. Others have even dug underground and have effectively entered the United States. Patrol personal have even negotiated turning a blind eye so that border policy is not executed and fails. Since NAFTA’s reign, in 1993, maquiladora plants have blossomed and have created great instability and ridiculously unfair conditions for non-US workers. But why should we, in the US, care about maquiladoras in Mexico? Well, when we argue that factory jobs are no longer available in this country, we must realize that those jobs have moved to the border in order for those companies to pay workers less, allowing companies to make a greater profit. Therefore, we have found that the focus should be on these corporations’ ability to move to another country and pay workers extremely low wages, under terrible conditions. We need to hold these companies accountable for their profit margins and their inhumane working conditions. If we did that, workers would not need to cross our borders to look for better paying jobs. And we, Americans, would not feel as if our jobs and futures were being shipped and taken from us. If the US’s primary interest is to catch criminals and prevent crimes and catastrophes, law enforcement is greatly needed in our large urban cities now, and not on ineffective borders as people, who live along the border, on both sides, do not need protection from each other. We have found border lands and sister cities to be very similar, not just physically in their landscapes and biomes, but also in their economic and social conditions. Again, keeping these sister cities in mind, such as San Diego and Tijuana, or Brownsville and Matamoros, we have found that the borders have not really separated the people that inhabit them, but has instead created a new, individual culture, a border culture, which does not reflect the interests of one country. These cities have become fused and have developed their own culture, reflecting the struggles of border towns. The border may attempt to separate them physically, but their interests, socially, culturally and economically, mandate that they work towards the same goals and systematically work unified. We have concluded that the best way to meet the many challenges that are facing our borders is to take elements of both open and closed borders. We need legitimate and effective enforcement to protect the United States from terrorism and drugs. At the same time, however, we need to recognize that there are people who are seeking jobs, honest work, or simply wanting to see or be with their family. Towards this end, we propose the creation of special facilities or buildings to be built on the border, opened to both sides, which will assist the entry and exit of people who wish to cross the border for simple and honest reasons. What are simple and honest reasons? Jobs, family, friends, and simple tourism, as all human beings have the right to control their mobility. These migration buildings would allow entry paperwork to be done quicker and more efficiently by hiring dedicated professionals to direct the flow of immigrants and emigrants at borders. Why will this work? Because by designating points of entry where people can cross, which is monitored but immigrant friendly, entry in other areas can be protected against the criminals we all seek to capture. If legal crossing is made easier and is fair, criminal activity can be isolated into other areas of our borders. We need to stop blaming immigrants, who do not hurt or hinder our country, and instead focus our efforts on graver concerns to our security and our prosperity, such as unchecked corporations, whom harm us more than immigrants. Immigration policy must be improved; it must be fair and represent the ideals on which it was founded in this country with justice for all; all workers, all families, all friends, all human life!