Blowing Smoke
Ruben Navarrette Jr. had a really puzzling column in yesterday's Sacramento Bee. Mr. Navarrette usually puts forward a pretty good argument, organized and well-reasoned, but yesterday he failed miserably. It wasn't until I read the last paragraph or two that I finally figured out what he was trying to say, and I didn't much like it.
It appears that Mr. Navarette expects the undocumented workers in the US, the ones who clogged traffic in downtowns across America, to stand down, hats in hand, so that their betters (especially those in Congress and the big business entities that own them) can craft the immigrants' futures. More importantly, immigrant groups should not forge alliances with other interest groups (organized labor and anti-war groups) because, well, because they shouldn't. It won't work.
It's understandable that immigration activists would want to reach outside their comfort zone and broaden their base of support, and that they would buddy up with organized labor and the anti-war movement to make that happen.
But it's also a mistake. The conflicting goals will catch up with them. In fact, they already have. The only way to get a comprehensive bill through Congress is with support from Republican moderates who will go along only if the package includes guest workers for their pals in the business community. Organized labor considers that a deal-breaker. It worries that guest workers will hurt American workers, not to mention undermine the unions that represent them. ...
Those on the far left want legalization but they're not willing to go along with guest workers to get it, while those on the far right want guest workers but not if it means supporting legalization. The extremes never want to negotiate. [Emphasis added.]
Using Mr. Navarette's reasoning, abolitionists should have shut up in the 19th Century, leaving the issue of slavery to the people of good will (all of them white, many of them slaveholders) in Congress. Suffragettes should have shut up in the early 20th Century, leaving the issue of women's right to vote to the moderates (all of them male) in the country. After all, justice is an unwieldy abstraction that is meaningless until pragmatically negotiated.
Mr. Navarette, some things just shouldn't have to be negotiated.
It appears that Mr. Navarette expects the undocumented workers in the US, the ones who clogged traffic in downtowns across America, to stand down, hats in hand, so that their betters (especially those in Congress and the big business entities that own them) can craft the immigrants' futures. More importantly, immigrant groups should not forge alliances with other interest groups (organized labor and anti-war groups) because, well, because they shouldn't. It won't work.
It's understandable that immigration activists would want to reach outside their comfort zone and broaden their base of support, and that they would buddy up with organized labor and the anti-war movement to make that happen.
But it's also a mistake. The conflicting goals will catch up with them. In fact, they already have. The only way to get a comprehensive bill through Congress is with support from Republican moderates who will go along only if the package includes guest workers for their pals in the business community. Organized labor considers that a deal-breaker. It worries that guest workers will hurt American workers, not to mention undermine the unions that represent them. ...
Those on the far left want legalization but they're not willing to go along with guest workers to get it, while those on the far right want guest workers but not if it means supporting legalization. The extremes never want to negotiate. [Emphasis added.]
Using Mr. Navarette's reasoning, abolitionists should have shut up in the 19th Century, leaving the issue of slavery to the people of good will (all of them white, many of them slaveholders) in Congress. Suffragettes should have shut up in the early 20th Century, leaving the issue of women's right to vote to the moderates (all of them male) in the country. After all, justice is an unwieldy abstraction that is meaningless until pragmatically negotiated.
Mr. Navarette, some things just shouldn't have to be negotiated.
Labels: Immigration
posted by Diane at 4:04 AM
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