Editorial written by Leona Wieland
When I’m proposing “comprehensive immigration reform,” I’m asking us to address justice and human rights so all can live in our world.
Has everyone viewed the “19 Reasons Latin Americans Come To The U.S….”? How can we be proud of what we America have done to others? We pride ourselves on respecting “human rights” when often our actions are about taking other nations’ resources. Our U.S. foreign policies and removing democratically-elected-leaders has led to many wrongs and disrupted many lives.
NAFTA and CAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement, Central American Free Trade Agreement) were “free”, but were they “fair” for people? Was it right to flood southern markets with our commodities which undersold theirs, directly forcing hundreds and thousands to migrate in search of making a livelihood in the bigger cities, forced to find work in new and different surroundings?
Are we so self-sufficient that we don’t need to work and trade and care about PEOPLE and FAMILES? Why do U.S. corporations outsource, going out of the country to find cheaper labor, concerned more about “their” bottom line, more than the livelihood effects on their employees? When will government leaders step up and do their job of justice for all?
The Roman Empire flourished for nearly 500 years. The first 200 were years of prosperity and peace, with clean water, good roads, fine buildings and trade with neighboring tribes. When it failed to grant citizenship to those conquered, the empire was divided and it disintegrated. The Golden Rule remains, “Do unto others as you would like to be treated.”
Let’s see the big picture. It impacts all of us. Don’t just take my word for it. Check out these FACT sites. The Nuns on the Bus and our own SD Sisters efforts in a coalition who prepared a brochure for positive action on immigration reform:
