Journal 9: Home to Who?

Being a San Diego native, immigration and the laws surrounding them are very familiar to me. When you live about 5 miles from the border of Mexico you can't help but notice or be aware. California has been a sanctuary for many different races immigrating to America even before the 1860's. From China to Mexico, a wide range of immigrants have found a way to settle in the prosperous land of California. Even today many people seek to come to California for work, mostly from Mexico. But one thing hasn't changed in all these years and that is the constant struggle in politics about immigration laws. Whether the reason be exclusion due to hostility, like the Chinese Exclusion Act, or for the fear of overcrowding in already crowded cities, both sides had a reason to argue their case.

What is funny is that even today this political battle is continuing. Some states would like to pass laws, and some have, that have limited immigration into America. Others call this unconstitutional and believe that we should welcome all kinds in with open arms to escape persecution. I see in the past where our laws about immigration have been to severe and probably led to the killing of many Jewish refugees fleeing Europe. Could we have possibly saved a few thousand more from returning back to a gas chamber? But I've seen with my own eyes the economic destruction of a city where there are too many people and they demand so much, too soon.

In the reading they talk about immigrants "flocking" to America, and taking the benefits and opportunity by storm. It is the true American Dream to be able to build a life for you and your family out of having nothing. But there must be a line drawn to how much is too much and how many a house or home can hold before it causes that home to be destroyed from the inside out.