After reading the chapters for class about Mexico and the expansion of America into Mexico, it really got me thinking about the issues in our world today, and the fact that we are trying to close the borders. But is it really right to be closing the borders when in the expansion years the Americans crossed the Mexican borders "illegally" and made themselves at home by taking their land and resources? I personally don't think that it is. We are all immigrants to this nation and therefore I believe that everyone should be welcomed in if they are willing to follow the rules of the nation. And so I was wondering what other people thought about this.
1. Do you think that we should be closing the borders?
2. Do you think that it was right for the American's to cross the Mexican border and take their land?
3. Who really can claim America as "their" land?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Although in a couple weeks I'm going to be arguing the "pro" side of closing the borders for the town meeting, this is definitely not my personal opinion. Like this post was saying, who can actually claim America as "their" land? I understand that there are major drawbacks such as overcrowded schools (i'm from southern california) and other financial issues. But I don't think the solution is to completely close the borders.
ReplyDeleteSimple answers.
ReplyDelete1) No we shouldn't close the borders.
2) No we should not have taken their lands.
3) What does "America" mean? The U.S.? The Western Hemisphere? What? That must first be answered before this third can be. Since the original post originated from the U.S., I will suppose it means the U.S., but I would urge you to choose how you refer to your nation more carefully because it does not encapsulate all that is "America". So I guess to answer the question simply, the native inhabitants of this land, indigenous peoples and Native American Indian tribes.
Not to throw a wrench into things, but I really don't think we could close the border if we wanted to. The only thing slowing undocumented immigrants as of late is our depressed economy. Every time we have tried to close the border we have just made it worse...we'll talk more about this in class. What we currently have in place is the illusion that the border is closed when in fact it is nowhere near closed. Here's a thought...why don't we open the borders and regulate who can come in and out (i.e., criminal checks) and that way we would at least know who is here. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI agree Charlie! Open the borders, make it easier to come in, but still regulate it. That would solve a lot of the negative consequences of illegal immigration.
ReplyDeleteAlso, on a related side note... America is extremely apologetic for it's history, which starts to get annoying. Yes, blacks were enslaved at one point. Yes, others stole this land from Native Americans and Mexicans. But I submit that NONE of us were there, so we shouldn't feel guilty about it! It is obvious to see that prejudicial policies created vicious cycles that are still at work today. I think all of us wish we could snap our fingers and make it all go away. But we won't find a solution by complaining about how horrible our predecessors were. There are solutions to be found, but by looking to the future, rather than staying mired in the past mistakes of others.
But how can we look to the future when we don't understand the past? How many people really know what happened in our past?
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people consider the phrase "closing the border" synonymous with "securing our border." Two very different things, we should secure our border for domestic security reasons such as drug trade, terrorism, human and weapons trafficking. Closing the border on the other hand will just do the opposite, make us less secure. People will flow across the border whether it's closed or not, and in pushing them to the shadows we cannot regulate who is here and where they came from. That is essentially what border security is, allowing us to regulate and document anyone who enters and exits this country.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is that we've never had either and that through our inaction we have enabled and allowed most people to flow into our country undocumented making our country less secure.
However valid an anti-illegal immigrant argument might be based on principle (rule of law), it does nothing to provide a viable solution to securing our borders. I feel the only way to make our nation's borders secure is by passing reform that will enable everyone to be documented (documented does not necessarily mean citizenship) and accounted for. It will also be necessary to mend immigration laws that currently make it near impossible to legally cross the border.
Considering the financial and logistical resources required to actually close the border make it clear that is impossible.
What's worse is the harm it would cause to our diplomatic relations with Latin America. Closing the border and denying access to the neighbors who we took land from isn’t the best way to maintain diplomatic relations. Building big barricades regulated by a heavy military presence will only create negative outcomes. Does the word Gaza ring a bell? Not exactly my definition of secure.
1. no
ReplyDelete2. no
3. the tired, the poor,the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the homeless and tempest-tossed.
I believe that since the United States government is over the American lands, we can claim these lands to be "ours." I don't think it is right for people to come into our country illegally because it is against the laws of the US government. However, there are many push and pull factors making it inevitable for these floods of people to come from Mexico. The government either needs to find a solution to control this, or somehow change the immigration laws to offer some other options to these people because obviously, the system that is in place is not working.
ReplyDeleteI have asked my self these questions also. I believe that it is impossible to close the borders. People will find ways to come in legally or illiegally. Being a foreigner myself, I know first hand how hard it is to get and maintain a visa to come and stay in this country. So I'm of the opinion of opening the borders, but knowing how are the people here. This way we can better accomodate everyone.
ReplyDelete