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CSU Faculty, Staff, and
Students Oppose Governor’s Anti-Immigrant Stance
Governor Schwarzenegger’s recent public proclamation in support of the
Minuteman Project is reprehensible and irresponsible. His enthusiastic
pronouncement of support for their efforts does little to solve the
problem of illegal immigration. What was he thinking?
What we need is a thoughtful and open dialogue on immigration policy in
this State, and country. The Governor should stand up and take the lead
on this discussion. He must find better solutions to the issues while
simultaneously refraining from enflaming the passions of these
“mad-men”. He should know that we will never resolve the present crisis
by continuously erecting bigger and better fences. So long as there is
employment for undocumented workers in this country, there is not a
fence long enough, or a Berlin-type wall strong enough, to keep
undocumented workers from crossing the border. They will simply wait
until the “minutemen” leave and then proceed to cross as usual. They
already know what most Americans won’t admit--that there aren’t enough
border patrol agents, police, military, or “minutemen” to patrol the
1300 miles of the Mexican and American border, 24/7, 365 days a year
forever.
Mexico and the rest of Latin America are part of the American continent.
They are our neighbors. They need to be at the table. A workable,
mutually acceptable solution to the immigration issue is not resolved by
closing down borders, erecting bigger, broader or taller fences,
supporting vigilante groups, or acting unilaterally without
consideration of the political, economic, and social impacts to Mexico
and Latin American. We need to work together as equals to find mutually
agreeable solutions that will benefit all. For historical reasons, we
are inextricably bound. Our fate is one. As Dr. Martin Luther King
reminded us more than forty years ago, we need “to rise above the narrow
confines of our individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all
humanity. The new world is a world of geographical togetherness. This
means that no individual or nation can live alone. We must learn to live
together, or we will be forced to die together”.
Governor Schwarzenegger’s enthusiastic and very public endorsement of
the “minutemen” was an insult to our neighbors to the South, and was
never intended to contribute to any meaningful policy discussion of the
immigration policy. He went for the national spotlight, to gain support
from the conservative base of the Republican Party, and to divert
attention away from his unpopular policies. Was he thinking that a
fearful population, largely ignorant about immigration issues, is easier
to control?
Rather than pander to these new “vigilantes” the Governor should propose
a Task Force, to include all parties concerned, to address the issues of
illegal immigration. Perhaps such a Task Force will promote a dialogue
that will result in mutually rewarding solutions. Rather than build
fences to keep people out, we ought to be mending fences to help find
workable solutions to heretofore, largely intractable problems.
Statement drafted by CFA Latina/o Caucus
Lillian Vega Castaneda, CSU Channel Islands
John Halcon, CSU San Marcos
Theresa Montano, CSU Northridge
Armando Vasquez Ramos, CSU Long Beach
Nestor Ruiz, CSU Pomona
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