A Day Without a South Asian American: Boycott May 1st

All across the country May 1, people will be wearing white shirts and not buying things- That’s right, Monday is the Day Without an Immigrant Boycott. With over 2 million strong, will South Asian Americans make a difference if we all boycotted? A doctor that calls in sick, a taxi worker that stays home, a professor that cancels class? Though not as numerous as other immigrant communities, these days we can be positive that there is a South Asian American representing in almost all lines of business and a boycott by our people will make a mark in a lot of industries.

Choosing May Day for this boycott is significant in itself – it is International Workers Day, and 120 years ago was the mark of bloody riots for workers rights.

In 1884, the U.S. Federation of Organized Trade and Labor Unions had passed a law declaring that, as of May 1, 1886, an eight hour workday would be the full and legal workday for all U.S. workers – the administration had that much time to recognize this new law and put into effect. The factory, workplace and corporation owners refused.

On May 1, 1886, workers took to the streets in a general strike throughout the entire country to force the administration to recognize the eight-hour working day. Over 350,000 workers across the country directly participated in the general strike, with hundreds of thousands of workers joining the marches.

In what they would later call the Haymarket riots, during the continuing strike action on May third in Chicago, the epicenter of the U.S. labor movement at that time, the Chicago police opened fire on the unarmed striking workers at the McCormick Reaper Works, killing six workers and wounding untold numbers.[link]

May 1st here in Los Angeles, there will be a group of South Asians taking part in the boycott at MacArthur Park at 3:00pm listen for the sounds of the dhol to see where the desis at. I highly encourage you to organize (& post in SM events tab if you do!) your own posse of desis to take part in the activities all across the nation. Take pictures and send them to us. If you are able to take off work or school, please do it on behalf of the rest of the desi immigrants who can’t because a day without work would be too big of a loss. I know we’ve been discussing the debate here for the past few weeks, but it’s because when Congress goes back into session this week, this will be at the top of their agenda. Let’s make sure the South Asian voice is heard in the debate.

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About Taz

Taz is an activist, organizer and writer based in California. She is the founder of South Asian American Voting Youth (SAAVY), curates MutinousMindState.tumblr.com and blogs at TazzyStar.blogspot.com. Follow her at twitter.com/tazzystar

259 thoughts on “A Day Without a South Asian American: Boycott May 1st

  1. I really do not understand why most South Asians would be compelled to partake in this boycott if they are acting only in their own self interest. The entire point of the boycott is to demonstrate the importance of Latino Americans, since apparently, legal Latinos feel such comradery with their illegal bretheren and so strongly feel that they should be granted amnesty, that they want to make a statement as a whole – standing together as illegals and legals. Since the amnesty issue is not something that really concerns South Asians on nearly as large a scale, and the contribution of legal immigrants is not being called into question, I dont understand the logic of a physician or taxi driver not going to work.

    Personally, as a South Asian whose parents and other family members put their lives on hold because they could get notice at any time that it was their turn to immigrate legally , I don’t particularly support other Indians who overstayed their Visa or jumped the border from Canada. I believe that the fact that there is such a massive movement amongst the Latino community to grant amnesty to immigrants who came to this country by breaking it’s laws is rooted in their desire to retain and bolster political power. I can’t really blame them – it is shrewd maneuvering by Latino political leaders, but I think it is kind of disingenous that there is a more significant motive.

    My final point – I think that the majority of Americans understand and appreciate the contribution made by legal immigrants. Ostracizing them by not showing up to work as part of an organized effort to support the amnesty for illegal immigrants is not a step in the right direction.

  2. If you are able to take off work or school, please do it on behalf of the rest of the desi immigrants who canÂ’t because a day without work would be too big of a loss.

    Nobody will feel it if you take off school, except your own self when you have to cover that extra coursework later. If you can take off work, then your work is probably not important enough to register anywhere. If your work is important, and you still take a day off for this, you are being unprofessional and that is probably not the right message you want to send across. There are many ways to fight the immigration bill, and this is not the best way to do it. Do you want to tell the voters (and ultimately the legislators) that immigrants are important for this country because they participate in this society, fulfil important functions, add to the culture and are ultimately beneficial to this country by educating them on this, or do you want to put it across forcefully by saying “look, we were not there for a day, and you were put to so much hardship”?

    You don’t protest by putting your fellow citizens to hardship, or by being unprofessional.

  3. Correction in the 2nd para – *disingenous to claim that there is a more significant motive

  4. What is SM becoming – a board to encourage stupidity of the worst kind by encouraging this kind of collectivist attitude? I refuse to even acknowledge May Day. I will work for 13 hours in protest against the protests on May Day 🙂

  5. With over 2 million strong, will South Asian Americans make a difference if we all boycotted? A doctor that calls in sick

    forgot to add– am i the only one who feels squeamish at the thought of Doctors not going to work? i agree with anil.

  6. Breaking the law is wrong. Supporting the cause is stupidity. The message sent by taking part in the protest sends a wrong message across the world. Encouraging such stupidity is worse.

  7. Sorry Taz,

    I do not support illegal immigration/immigrants of any sort from any race……..I think its a slap in the face of all the people working patiently and tirelessly for a right to live and stay here in the US legally.

    A doctor calling in sick in support of illegal immigrants and denying legal citizens healthcare !!??

    Am I the only one who finds the suggestion callous,irresponsible and ridiculous!!

  8. GO TAZ! Much love for posting this. I don’t have much time just now, but will add my 88 paise when I can.

  9. The next time someone has the audacity to accuse this blog of being too conservative…

    Well, here it is already: this blog is too conservative 😉

    I really do not understand why most South Asians would be compelled to partake in this boycott if they are acting only in their own self interest.

    Do what you want. If you don’t care or it does’t fall in your self-interest to support undocumented people who haven’t seen their kids in 8 years, green card holders H-1bs and everyone else who can be deported for things like DUI (and an ever expanding category of crimes), legal immigrants just like you who want to bring their families over but can’t because of the tremendous backlogs that you definitely know about, the economies of large parts of the world, and some basic principles of decency, then that’s you’re prerogative.

    Those of us who care about more than just model-minority issues (and some of us about more than just our ethnic identities!) will be out in the streets building connections with one another in case you want to find us.

  10. Why do you all want to live in a country that hates you so much? If you don’t like it, just leave.

  11. ignorance of law cannot be a defense…….when those undocumented people ‘crossed over’,what exactly were they thinking they were doing?taking a trip to the next village?that they havent been able to see their kids in 8 years is hmmmm…lets see….the American government’s fault??

    To borrow an (in)famous mutineer’s earlier slogan,’my compassion is not expandible’……I’d rather reserve it for people who have not broken any laws.

    And please could we stop blowing the ‘decency’ horn and claiming the moral high ground here…..I care too hoots about my ethnicity and even lesser about any purported model-minority.However,I have my own sense of decency and right & wrong.I do not go around claiming to be ‘decent-er than thou’ just because my values differ from someone else’s.

  12. Taz,

    Get real. People of color solidarity does not exist. Last week a group of Latino kids started taunting my mom in a parking lot, and called her a “terrorist bitch.” And in the LA Times a few weeks ago, a protestor was quoted as saying, “We’re Christians, we’re not terrorists.” Translation: Pass the blame and deport the Muslims, the Hindus, and the Sikhs, because we’re not them. So good luck with your call for organizing — because I think it’s a joke.

  13. Echoing MV – GO TAZ.

    Breaking the law is wrong. Supporting the cause is stupidity. The message sent by taking part in the protest sends a wrong message across the world. Encouraging such stupidity is worse.

    What is this “wrong message”? That peaceful strikes are wrong? How do you ever expect to change anything in societywithout defying laws? Laws, just because they’ve been legislated, do not make them just – people often have to mobilize against them to have them changed. May Day, as Taz has alrady posted is a case in point as are civil rights movements, independence movements, etc. Are we so far up the capitalist rectum that we’ve all forgotten what a broad-based good old fashioned protest is and what it means to have an opinion and excercise your right to dissent? Or are those days over?

    I don’t see what this whole “irressponsible” and “callous” deal is – we aren’t mere cogs in some faceless machine, are we? As workers (whether that be doctors or ticket collectors) we have the agency and the right to make our needs and our demands known. Nobody is forcing anyone to boycott – please excercise your own conscience and your beliefs, but for the love of god – when did sheep-like complience to The Man become a virtue? While you may have a responsibility to your community, if it’s doctors you’re worried about, then let’s remember they have a responsibility to humanity, not legal papers. So while it may seem like it’s inhumane for immigrant doctors to withhold services for a day, it’s a million times more heartless that people who reside in the US and DO contribute to the economy (illegal immigrants usually want JOBS, not to merely float around sucking people’s blood for fun) have no access to health care.

    Nobody expects this day in and of itself to change much. But this is a way for people who feel strongly about the immigration issue to make their voice heard en masse.

  14. If you don’t care or it does’t fall in your self-interest to support undocumented people
    legal immigrants just like you

    There’s “legal”, and then there’s “undocumented”. How silly.

    If you can’t bring yourself to say the dreaded word “illegal”, at least call the legal immigrants “documented” immigrants, for consistency’s sake.

  15. Great post.

    [quote]ignorance of law cannot be a defense…….when those undocumented people ‘crossed over’,what exactly were they thinking they were doing?taking a trip to the next village?that they havent been able to see their kids in 8 years is hmmmm…lets see….the American government’s fault?? [/quote]

    By your logic Gandhi broke the law during his salt march and doesn’t deserve any respect. These people didn’t land on the border, the border landed on them.

  16. These people didn’t land on the border, the border landed on them.

    Wow! Forced abduction and helicopter drops? LOL!

  17. These people didn’t land on the border, the border landed on them.

    I like “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink” better.

  18. Ignorance is thinking that everyone who came to the US crossed a border — what about the kids that were brought over as babies? read the story of Thi, a state less college student…LA Times did a piece here

    The judge ruled that her parents wouldn’t have to return to Vietnam, the lawyer explained, but he ordered them deported to Germany. However, because they had never been German citizens—only refugees—Germany was unlikely to accept them. That would cancel the deportation order, but still not make them U.S. citizens. Her parents could stay in the United States indefinitely, but they would have to work under the table. As for Thi, he added, her situation was a little different. Because she was born in Germany to Vietnamese citizens, and Germany has never granted birthright citizenship, she was stateless. There was no country where she could legally live, vote or work—not Vietnam, not Germany and not the United States, her home for the last 12 years. Thi was shocked. She started to cry. “Grow some balls,” the lawyer said. “This happens to people.”

    I just want to re-remind folks that this isn’t an issue solely on the “illegal immigrant turning citizen” issue – this is about comprehensive immigration reform – personally, I’m not a fan of giving illegal immigrants citizenship, BUT i do think that something needs to change in immigration, and as obvious from the story above, immigration stories are not black and white– No matter if you support the boycott or not, obviously from the thread people do have an opinion on immigration, now is the time to take action and let your representatitve know.

  19. These people didn’t land on the border, the border landed on them.

    Nicely put. And let’s remember us documented-immigrants (I love it!), we’re not here because we’re somehow more deserving. We’re here because we got lucky. We’re lucky we were born into the families we were born into, the countries we were born in, the immigration line we stood in, the kind of day the officer was having when we applied. We are not better people than those who are not able to get papers, so let’s show a little humility that we got what we wanted while millions could not.

    And maybe if the North wasn’t systematically ruining the economies of the rest of the world and hoarding all the wealth (while of course tossing a few pennies their way to keep the rabble happy) people wouldn’t be so desperate to leave their families and homes and lives and take their chances as the absolute bottom rung of a country that hates them.

  20. To the contrary, Taz, I think now is the worst time to try to make your message known if it differs from the objectives of these boycotts and protests organizers. It will just be lumped into the same “cause.” These rallies are not being touted or percieved as broad based immigration reform that will affect all nationalities – they are billed as marches for immigration reforms for Latinos and, more significantly, amnesty.

    Although it will be going down just a few blocks from me here in Chicago, I am staying far away.

  21. BrownFrown,

    By your logic, we ought to have open borders.

    As for your second paragraph…I don’t even know how to respond, but to say, “thanks for the laugh.”

  22. dei-latno-bhai-bhai,

    that was f-in’ brilliant,

    from now on,we will be honoring anyone who breaks the law with a Gandhi memorial plaque and a cerificate of appreciation(and respect) by the society.

    And I aplogize Taz,I am sure your intentions are all great.Unfortunately,these protests have become nothing more than showmanship by a particular ethnicity and a rallying cry for ‘amnesty’.I believe my voice will be heard more clearly by writing to my senator/medical director/dean/university president rather than joining jose and maria in a march where it will drown out in the shrill cries of amnesty.

  23. Nicely put. And let’s remember us documented-immigrants (I love it!), we’re not here because we’re somehow more deserving. We’re here because we got lucky.

    You’re oversimplifying. For many, its a combination of superior skills/ hard work and some luck which enabled them to get immigrated. Everybody born into the “good” families and given all the opportunities and education do not make it, the way you seem to automatically consign.

  24. continuing #26,

    …and so many people not “given everything” make it too, LEGALLY.

  25. Does anybody here know what Mexico’s policy on illegal immigrants is?

    Check this out: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20060418-1004-mexico-mistreatingmigrants.html

    For those of you who don’t want to read the whole article, here’s a snippet: “While migrants in the United States have held tremendous demonstrations in recent weeks, the hundreds of thousands of undocumented Central American migrants in Mexico suffer mostly in silence.

    Considered felons by the Mexican government, they fear detention, rape and robbery. Police and soldiers hunt them down at railroads, bus stations and fleabag hotels. Sometimes they are deported; more often officers simply take all their money.”

    Can you say “hypocritical”? Why is nobody bringing this up?

    BTW I do not support the boycott. It makes no sense to me to demonstrate the impact of illegal immigrants by not working for a day. Will it make a difference? Of course, because illegals have an established place in the economy. But the fact of the matter is, if those same illegals really weren’t here, legals would take their place. The boycott also seeks to de-emphasize the drain illegals place on taxpayers by making use of taxpayer-funded services.

    Illegal immigrants bring the price of labor down to a point where legals cannot compete for certain low-skill jobs. Supporting this boycott is a slap in the face to all the hardworking Indian immigrants who’ve come here and made successful lives for themselves the legal way.

    I do not think that deportation or making illegals felons is practical or right, and I but I do not support this boycott.

  26. thanks for posting this taz. there will be south asians representing in the bay area as well.

    sizzle, do you really think people should only act in their own self-interest? by the way, there are undocumented south asians here. but i guess that’s not in your self interest. and open borders don’t sound too bad.

    anil- sometimes you do protest by putting other citizens through hardship. too much comfort leads to apathy.

    anna- i have the audacity to say this blog is way too conservative.

    srinivas- please expand your vocabulary

    gujjubhai–i hate to break the news, but this country hates your ass too!

  27. Sizzle- fine, don’t take political action. See if I care.. 😉

    nofixedaddress,

    Asian Americans/South Asian Americans getting muffled in the debate is in a lot of the e-mails I’ve been getting, and there have been a few articles about it… Is it the boycott a latino/amnesty issue because they are the only ones getting mainstream coverage? In that case isn’t it better to come out in mass to highlight that desis are a part of the debate?

    Here

    Much of the attention so far has been focused on Latinos. But the nation’s roughly 10 million Asian immigrants also have an enormous stake in the debate, which will resume as Congress returns from recess this week. Their priorities, however, are often different from Latinos’. Statistics help explain why: Only about 8% to 10% of the Asian population is here illegally, compared with more than 20% of Latinos. Latinos accounted for 78% of the nation’s 11 million illegal migrants in 2005, compared with 13% from Asia, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. As a result, Asian activists say, their communities are most concerned about reducing family visa backlogs — a goal opposed by some immigration-control groups. Asians also oppose other proposed measures that they say would harshly curtail the civil rights of legal immigrants. Because their homelands are an ocean away, they are not as concerned with a proposed guest worker program or with enhanced border enforcement.
  28. am i the only one who feels squeamish at the thought of Doctors not going to work?

    Very squeamish. Doctors, engineers in public works positions, nurses, pharmacists, etc. not going to work on an immigration issue is not cool.

    With all the ‘a day withouts [insert minority here]’, has anyone thought about a day without the majority (white folks)? This issue breaks down into greater socio-economic lines than pure race/nationality/ethnicity.

    I, for one, will not be boycotting anything. I don’t think punishing and harassing common folk for this particular issue is the right way to go about it. For those who do, especially in positions where it affects innocent folks (doctors, nurses, pharmacists), are they willing to take responsibility for their actions? Getting fired, reprimanded, possibly losing their jobs, etc. If they are without any complaints (for example, neglecting one’s patients and facing said consequences), then atleast they’re manning up, which is what real civil protest entails.

    Too many people believe one can protest, but not suffer any effects from it. If you’re prepared to accept those logical consequences, then more power to you and your protest.

  29. @taz,

    asian=?

    i believe the asians refered to in your post #30 refers mainly to east asians. the 13% includes everyone from asia. it is not clear desis are as involved as you imply.

  30. I just want to re-remind folks that this isn’t an issue solely on the “illegal immigrant turning citizen” issue

    sure, but there’s “solely” and there’s “mostly.” people who want to show solidarity can. but i for one hope that brown americans stay away from this and not be identified with what seems to me primarily a latino ethnic issue.

  31. i have the audacity to say this blog is way too conservative.

    I find this effort to define everything in black or white, conservative or liberal categorizing to be intellectually lazy. The writers here have more depth than “too conservative” or “too liberal”.

    I have the audacity to say this blog is simply sepiamutiny, and to me, it represents a variety of issues and ideas tha span our own myopic definitions. It isn’t too [center,right,left].

    This place rocks and it’s a credit to all the writers and guest writers. Definitely a mixed vegetable sabji.

    I’ll stop the e-fellating now.

  32. heh. the blog is what it is. if the blog is “way too” something for anyone, they should read another blog or start their own. no one is forcing your hand to type this URL into your address bar….

  33. anjoo,

    I think that when people primarly work for their own self interest, things typically work fairly well. That’s not to say we should never work in anyone else’s interest, but in this particular situation, hell yes we should be working in “our” interest. I think it is incredibly naive, and even foolish, to be altruistic when it comes to political matters, espeically with these very blatantly political rallies (I am not sympathetic to the “human rights” angle some are putting on these marches), and espeically when I have no expectation that any favors by the South Asian community would ever be reciprocated.

    This is a political issue, first and foremost. And while going to such rallies might help build alliances with other communities, given what this protest is largely about, lending South Asian support would expend our community’s political capital on something that doesn’t really affect us in the same way it affects Latinos. Even the stats that Taz put forth above reflect mainly on East Asian immigrants.

    All in all, without writing an overly lengthy posting, I feel, as a practicing Sikh who is acutely aware of identity politics through life experience and through study, that these are not worthwhile marches or causes that would advance South Asian issues in any significant way. In fact, I think it would hurt us. So, if you want to fault me for not being more altruistic in this instance – so be it. I would contend that you are incredibly naive.

    One last very general point – In a time when Latinos and Blacks are starting to wage a sort of cold war over political power as the predominant minority, do you think either group would go out of their way and lend significant political support to the single most successful immigrant/minority group in the US (South Asians)? The answer is no. This may seem cynical, but it is also reality. And it is that underlying premise by which I am very careful as to how I think Asians should interject themselves in these battles over the “politics of race.”

  34. anjoo,

    I think that when people primarly work for their own self interest, things typically work fairly well. That’s not to say we should never work in anyone else’s interest, but in this particular situation, hell yes we should be working in “our” interest. I think it is incredibly naive, and even foolish, to be altruistic when it comes to political matters, espeically with these very blatantly political rallies (I am not sympathetic to the “human rights” angle some are putting on these marches), and espeically when I have no expectation that any favors by the South Asian community would ever be reciprocated.

    This is a political issue, first and foremost. And while going to such rallies might help build alliances with other communities, given what this protest is largely about, lending South Asian support would expend our community’s political capital on something that doesn’t really affect us in the same way it affects Latinos. Even the stats that Taz put forth above reflect mainly on East Asian immigrants.

    All in all, without writing an overly lengthy posting, I feel, as a practicing Sikh who is acutely aware of identity politics through life experience and through study, that these are not worthwhile marches or causes that would advance South Asian issues in any significant way. In fact, I think that interjecting ourselves in this political battle would hurt us. So, if you want to fault me for not being more altruistic in this instance – so be it. I would contend that you are incredibly naive.

    One last very general point – In a time when Latinos and Blacks are starting to wage a sort of cold war over political power to become THE predominant minority, do you think either group would go out of their way and lend significant political support to the single most successful immigrant/minority group in the US (South Asians)? For the most part, tt is highly unlikely unless the cause were to benefit them as well, or at the very least, would not hurt them or give South Asians any perceptible “edge.” This may seem cynical, but I believe it to be the reality. Such are the “politics of race.” I think we are now beyond the point of “All of Us Minorities” v. Whitey. And it is that underlying premise by which I am very careful as to how I think South Asians should interject themselves in these battles over regarding the politics of race.

  35. All in all, without writing an overly lengthy posting, I feel, as a practicing Sikh who is acutely aware of identity politics through life experience and through study, that these are not worthwhile marches or causes that would advance South Asian issues in any significant way.

    hm. thought exp., imagine hundreds of thousands of sikhs attend these rallies. people see turbaned dudes with beards on the evening news. is it good for the sikhs??? i don’t think so. i think the issue with other brown people is less problematic because we just look like other brown faces amongst a bunch of latinos. one can argue this is building long term coalitions…but in the short term i don’t think the outcome is going to be a positive one if south asians became identified with this. not that i think that will happen, activist south asians with an interest in social justice and international human rights will go. but i doubt they will go because this has a strong brown angle, they will go because they are progressive internationalists.

  36. Damnit – my bad about the duplicate My wireless was cutting in an out. The second post is a more complete reflection of my thoughts.

  37. Razib,

    I agree with you completely. Perhaps my perspective is a bit skewed in terms of conspicuousness. And yes, I think much of the support for these rallies by South Asians is rooted in Left/Progressive support rather than identity politics. I, of course, am arguing from the identity politics angle.

  38. And thus, I strongly disagree with South Asian organizations formally lending their support in name. However, if individuals attend these rallies, that of course is far less problematic when it comes to the “identity politics” angle.

    Pardon all the posts – I recently discovered this website, think it is pretty freakin’ sweet, and this fairly intelligent discussion about a relevant issue is a much needed distraction from a take home exam that I reallllllllly don’t want to be working on.

  39. And yes, I think much of the support for these rallies by South Asians is rooted in Left/Progressive support rather than identity politics. I, of course, am arguing from the identity politics angle.

    this is a key issue. i think it is fine to be concerned about class/human rights issues. but, i am skeptical about this tendency to want “south asians” to represent on these topics, as if there is a fundamental relationship between identity politics and class/human rights issues. the latter are universal considerations, while the former are not always. this is where i tend to be confused. my personal experience is that “activist” asian americans (judging from my friends who were into such organizations) tend to not be a representative subset of asian americans as a whole, and in some ways they might share more with activists in other groups. so, coalition building and solidarity would come naturally because on some level there is a lot of commonality between the various activist classes who attempt to represent for an identity politics group. in other words, a gay rights activist and an asian american rights activists share a lot as activists. similarly, if you care about workers’ rights and what not in relation to cabbies, i think it is easy to switch toward empathizing with farm workers. the problem is when you try to generalize down the activity pyramid, so to speak.

    on another thread someone stated that “all oppression is fundamentally connected.” this is as profound as saying “we are all fundamentally made up of quarks and leptons.” well yeah, that’s true, but what does it mean in our own lives? consider the situation in france where there is a conflict between oppression upon muslims who insist on their particular female garb, and women who were being terrorized and intimidated into wearing such garb in suburbs where islamist gangs were starting to exert power. you have two oppressions working at cross-purposes. the normal answer i see to these issues is that “the ultimate cause of oppression is the white man.” which is kind of funny, it sounds a lot like catholic philosophers who say the ultimate cause of everything is god. so i guess the white man is a god? evil or god, you decide.

    anyway, itz complicated 🙂

  40. a skeptic: There is no excuse for prejudice verbal assault. And there’s also no excuse for stereotyping an ethnic group based on a few ignorant people. the fact of the matter is, if those same illegals really weren’t here, legals would take their place. The boycott also seeks to de-emphasize the drain illegals place on taxpayers by making use of taxpayer-funded services.

    Let’s be real here. If there was no demand of unskilled immigrants (because Americans would do their jobs) then illegal immigration wouldn’t be an issue. Zero demand, no supply. And the drain on the economy is a myth. Most taxpayer-funded services require proof of legal status. Yes, there are taxpayer-funded services used by undocumented immigrants…but most undocumented immigrants pay taxes and social security because they work using fake social security numbers.

    People started these massive protest because of the Sensenbrener Bill that would criminalize US citizens and documented residents for helping people in need if those in need were undocumented. As a citizen, I am outraged that the House would pass a bill criminalizing anyone for being a good samaritan. We need a sensible immigration policy. The millions of undocumented people in the US are not going to leave…employers don’t want them to leave…let’s deal with the reality.

    Thanks Taz.

  41. I’m not South Asian but i found this site through a blogger search after posting my own statement on the ‘day without an immigrant’ protest (which i will be joining tomorrow with great joy and excitement). I’m a filipino-american second generation whose mother came here illegally (although she hates illegal immigrants just about as much as some of the commenters on this blog seem to). I find this dialogue fascinating though, since it is such a polarized one and so clearly shows some of the deep divisions around race, ethnicity, culture and immigration status in this country. My one comment I’d like to add in response to those who are putting down the civil disobedience of this day so vehemently is that it was Black people who broke many laws and sat down at lunch counters and got hosed down by police during the civil rights movement that helped make it possible for you to even live and work in this country at all; and other Asians who suffered the harsh anti-miscegenation laws that were only repealed in the 1960s who paved the way for your very privileged ‘legal’ immigration status today. Remember history or be a victim of your own ignorance.

  42. My one comment I’d like to add in response to those who are putting down the civil disobedience of this day so vehemently is that it was Black people who broke many laws and sat down at lunch counters and got hosed down by police during the civil rights movement that helped make it possible for you to even live and work in this country at all; and other Asians who suffered the harsh anti-miscegenation laws that were only repealed in the 1960s who paved the way for your very privileged ‘legal’ immigration status today. Remember history or be a victim of your own ignorance.

    am i the only one who feels that comparing the current plight of illegal immigrants in this nation to black americans living under jim crow trivializes what black americans went through??? the fact is that this a population brought over as slaves, forced to work under grueling conditions as chattel, then given de jure rights of equal protection under the constitution and then subject to having these rights yanked away from them via dubious legal sophistry about ‘separate but equal.’ it seems to me that black americans in the 1960s were fundamentally fighting for rights that they were due by a plain reading of the constitution.

    i don’t see illegal immigrants as the same at all, on the balance. the majority of illegals are mexicans, and they come for economically driven reasons (as commenters here have made clear, and as i hear elsewhere). the issue seem to be economically ‘inevitable’ forces. i find it bizarre to see people reiterate the mantra of the market, supply & demand, and then switch to the comparisons with girls being hosed down in alabama.

    whatever. and thanks for the quotes around ‘legal.’

  43. p.s. and re: law-breaking, one can argue that the civil disobedience was fundamentally due to the fact that southern states were dragging their feet in adhering to brown vs. board of education. on other words, it was inextricably connected to legal processes.

  44. the_much_hated_Mexican-

    1. Your zero demand / zero supply argument makes no sense. Illegal immigrants will always undercut legal workers for the same low skill jobs, so they are taking the place of legal workers.

    2. As for your statement that “Most taxpayer-funded services require proof of legal status”, as razib pointed out, how about education and medical care? .

    3. What is your view on Mexico’s own treatment of their “south of the border” immigrants?

  45. What is your view on Mexico’s own treatment of their “south of the border” immigrants?

    ok, this has been brought up several times, and it isn’t totally irrelevant, but in the end, who cares how mexicans treat their own illegals??? is anyone surprised that they treat them like crap? there are many nations which are in worst situations than mexico, which is a middle-income nation which can export much of their labor force to a wealthy neighbor to the north, but comparing to the USA to mexico seems like apples and oranges. let’s stick to the high ground, we are a nation governed by laws, we should never consider treating the undocumented barbarically. there are problems with the current laws, i agree. but we shouldn’t be stuck with a black & white choice.