Hello, Arizonans. I heard about your new law against undocumented aliens. Wow! That's some radical stuff you've got there.
With all due respect, however, I think you have a few of your facts wrong. For example: It seems some of you believe undocumented aliens don't pay taxes.
Do you think that when an undocumented person pays his or her rent, property taxes are waived because of his undocumented status? Do you think that when they buy clothes and food and theater tickets and gasoline, all of the state, federal and local taxes are subtracted from their totals? Are you also aware that many undocumented workers are paying employment taxes into accounts that are not legally theirs, and that they have no prospect of ever receiving their investment in return when they retire?
Many of you are under the impression that the undocumented are here taking jobs away from Americans. The reality is that our market economy invisibly "pulls" people form other countries for positions not filled with the labor force at hand. These people would not come here if our market weren't desperate for them to come.
You argue that what you want is for these people to follow the law. I agree with you on that one. However, has it occurred to you that maybe the law is wrong?
When the United States was dry during Prohibition, it was against the law to drink or produce alcohol. After several years of that unfortunate experiment, the wise people of our country decided to change the law.
Our laws are not written in stone. They change in a process that over time shapes our society. For example: We make it easy for someone to emigrate if they have a Ph.D. because of our national "brain drain." Well, we also have a "labor drain," and we need those hard-working folks from south of the border to do the jobs our markets are desperate for.
Sorry to give you more bad news, Arizonans. We in the United States are losing a worldwide battle of ideology and population. There are more and more people being born into the world who do not believe in the same things that we do. People with political, economic and religious ideologies that are in complete competition with ours in the United States.
Do you know what that means, oh you wise Arizonans? It means we will soon be outnumbered in the world by people who don't like us and don't share our beliefs and ideas.
Ever since 9/11 we have, unfortunately, equated aliens with criminals. These undocumented aliens are criminals only because we won't give them legal status.
We should change the laws and allow more people into our country and give them the opportunity to live and work and buy homes and pay taxes and, well, become Americans. I want for there to be more people, not fewer, who believe in the American way.
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Raymundo Garcia operates El Taco Real in Hammond. The opinion expressed in this column is the writer's and not necessarily that of The Times.
