One thing that we can agree on is that there is a problem with the immigration situation between the US and Mexico. The picture you paint of illegal immigrants coming to this country is objectionable for many reasons. First of all, the premise of your analogy is faulty in that people who come here illegally have not had strings pulled for them by anyone in their government, they did not "call their congressman," or else they would be here legally. Immigrants from Mexico who have money and connections are able to come here legally, and are ostensibly not the subject of your song. Second, the broadly-drawn picture that you paint of illegal Latino immigrants is that they are "invading" us, and that they are irresponsible, lawless, and most likely dangerous. This song is not about changing government policy -- it is about feeding into stereotypes. I have taught immigrant students, and I have not yet met one who was indifferent about learning to speak English. In addition, children pick up languages fairly easily, but this is not so for adults -- If we were to take 100 average Americans and plop them down in Germany, what percentage do you think would be able to feel confident about speaking German, either in a few months, or ever? Also, I would like to know where you are "seeing" what you purport to see. Take identity theft. . . Do you personally know someone that this happened to? I certainly don't and have never even heard of someone having their identity stolen by an illegal immigrant. As for gang violence, it is certainly not limited or particular to Latinos, as there are Black, Asian, and even good-ol-white-American gangs. If you truly want to be part of a solution, then why feed fuel to a fire that does nothing but divide people? I believe in the power of music to unite people for a cause, I simply feel that the tenor of your song is to make Americans angrier at illegal immigrants, rather than move this unfortunate situation towards any type of resolution. We used to admire people who often risked their lives to come here and make a better life for their families. Both sets of my grandparents came through Ellis Island, some learned English and some couldn't. They immigrated legally because although they were poor, they had enough resources to make it here with help from someone on this side. I would imagine that the vast majority of these immigrants are like you and I, simply wanting the best life possible for themselves and their families. America is a resourceful country, and if we can stop name calling and demonizing people and get to work, maybe we can actually do something about the issue. Let's be frank, you are making money off of this situation, and I challenge you to funnel a portion of the profits into balanced, non-partisan avenue that seeks to honestly address this important issue. Regards,
Let me say that I am not necessarily against making it more difficult (although not more deadly) to cross the border, or against making it tougher to hire someone who is here illegally. I am, however, against a xenophobic attack on Latino immigrants, either legal or illegal, and painting an inaccurate picture of what most of these men, women, and children, are like.
Ingrid
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