North Carolina and immigrants
Found, via Ed Cone, some comments about the poll that the N&O had about the immigrant population here in North Carolina. Elros, at Carolina Progressive, checks on the credentials of some "group that support immigration curbs", and not so surprisingly, finds it allied with groups previously identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups.
Furthermore, a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Jack Pinnix, takes issue with the wording of the poll, which clearly suggests a response by describing immigrants as ?illegal?.
But with the exposure I have had to immigrants, the only clear thing is that North Carolina benefits greatly from our presence: not only in cheap and reliable labor, but also in adding diversity and contributing to the economy and political development of this state. Of course, in hard economic times, when jobs are scarce and there is uncertainty about stability, it is easy to blame foreigners and seek only the comfort of what is known, but much more dangerous is the continuous transfer of jobs to other countries, and the increasing deficit in trade, than a few jobs here in a couple of chicken plants.
Comments
Agreed. On the positive side, in my experience, a few more people in my area of North Carolina seem to be realizing the economic benefits brought by our immigrant community. There are the usual racists and bigots, as evidenced by recent accounts of Davidson County Sheriff Hege's policies, but I see the occasional encouraging sign, such as comments by local employers regarding stellar work record of immigrant employees. And yes, I realize that recognition of an individual's work ethic is a far cry from accepting or appreciating the diversity that individual brings to our community, but mindsets change slowly in my area, if at all, so if self-interested recognition of an economic benefit is the first step, so be it. I am also congnizant that, in some cases, recognizing the availability of a ready work force can easily be the first step toward exploitation. Hopefully, a growing awareness of the issues will lead to some positive legislative action to prevent such abuses.
Posted by: shoveldog | November 29, 2003 8:43 AM
The guys at Salsa's are great.
/stereotype
Posted by: Gaffer | November 29, 2003 4:08 PM
Just for the record : here in germany the hospital service and the sanitation service and most of the restauraunt scene would fall apart if all immigrants suddenly (were) departed/deported.
Then hear the bigots' outcry when they couldn't eat out, so ate at home, then their garbage didn't get collected, so they got sick and there was noone to look aften them.
Hey, good idea! It's a self-rectifying situation, folks!
Stu
PS: I'm an immigrant Scot in Germany :-)
Posted by: Stu Savory | November 30, 2003 10:02 AM
I find this poll depressing but not surprising.
Posted by: frm | December 1, 2003 6:26 PM