I’d be much more amenable to the arguments against Bank of America’s new credit cards, now being tried out in Los Angeles, if those making the argument were just as opposed to selling illegal immigrants groceries, gasoline, cigarettes, and cars. They should also insist that only legal workers service their nice suburban lawns, clean their motel rooms and serve their children’s Happy Meals.
The entire anti-immigration argument is more a racist argument against the browning of America than what immigration, illegal or otherwise, truly is in a global economy – a ‘guest worker’ program.
Removing millions of illegal immigrants from our nation will only drive up prices and, at least initially, reduce the sales taxes paid when goods are purchased, not to mention the Social Security taxes paid by workers who will never collect benefits.
Of course, as an African American I’m much less afraid of a brown America. But it’s easy to feed on the fears of well-intentioned citizens to make racist arguments against brown-skinned immigrants. African American’s who have dealt with arguments such as “reverse discrimination,” for example, are well aware of the conservative movement’s strategy.
