On May Day, thousands of people gathered at the Seattle Center to protest the immigration reforms that are currently being deliberated in congress. Some came in families; others in political groups, and some individual bystanders even joined in on the march.

The chants of the day said “no human is illegal, human rights for all!”, “no nos deportation”, “ahorra amnestia!”, and “si se peudes!!” Some people carried signs and wore T-shirts informing that immigrants pay taxes too, and that the Mexican community accounts for 35% of our economy.

The Mexican communities weren’t the only ones to protest. There were communities of Koreans, Japanese, Arabic, and even white American supporters. The Japanese community were there protesting, remembering a time not too long ago, when the internment camps unjustly discriminated and took away their freedoms.

The political groups were also active in iterating the economic intentions behind the STRIVE act. The wall is a materialized economic division of society, and that the social attitude towards illegal immigration is blindly influenced by it. Not only do Americans fear unemployment, now they fear unemployment caused by illegal immigration.

I reviewed the immigration reform bill before the protest, and I must say, Americans will have to be deeply paranoid in order to allow congress to pass this act. The S-330 is the bill that “authorizes secure borders and comprehensive immigration reform, and for other purposes.” This bill works in conjunction with other acts, such as the HR-98, the STRIVE act, and others to fight illegal immigration.

In the S-330, it asks for more than $400 million for the fiscal years of 2008 and 2009 for things like an unmanned aerial vehicle program, construction of border control facilities, cameras, poles, sensors, and other technologies unspecified in the bill. What’s more is that these funds are to be kept available at their disposal, and that the bill didn’t charter any accountability to any surplus funds. (Section 102 of S-330).

What will it take to convince Americans that we ought to build a wall, institute internal security, and deport people? I remember in Economics 100 small group discussion on ‘minimum wage’ turned into an expression of fears; fear of terrorism, fear of unemployment, fear of alien reconquistadors, and illegal drug trafficking. By the way, don’t buy marijuana, or you’ll be supporting terrorists in Afghanistan. (Remember that commercial?) I mean, a far-fetched connection like that requires a certain level of ignorance to detail.

I would also like to make one thing clear about the “unemployment issue”: There are a lot of things that affect unemployment, and let’s not get blindsided by immigration. We should instead be looking at the problem of economic diversity, which is supposed to act as a safety net for displaced workers of trade, mechanization, imports, and population influx. Will building a wall really secure our jobs? Who will really stand to gain from it?

The bill also seeks cooperation from the Mexican government in three areas: the sharing of information with the U.S. and Canada, education on immigration laws, and promoting circular migration. The stated reason for the immigration laws and its edification, is for their “own good”, as America would put it, “…to secure that the citizens and nationals are not exploited while working in the United States.” (Section 117c). Yeah, so the found illegals can return to Mexico and work in the Maquiladoras under the exploitation of NAFTA, and live on a minimum wage of $4/day.

I mean, after the Macquiladoras supplanted the Braceros program, one would think that this trend of immigration is predictable. Just across the border, a Mexican working in a Macquiladora can sell his hourly labor for more than what he can in 2 days. That is a strong incentive for them to make that run and escape their poverty. I have worked in many places alongside with such people, who live and work in the United States just to send money back home to feed their family.

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