Journal 15

In Response to "Border Patrol State"

While reading this essay I was horrified that such incidences occur in the United States regularly. I knew about Border Patrol agents, I've even watched the show "Border Patrol," but I had no idea that they pull people over and have check-points so far away from the border. I agree that this is a problem, that the indigenous people's don't deserve this kind of scrutiny, however, those that are not citizens have no rights in that country. It sounds a little stern, but its true, Silko did not deserve that treatment in America, and once she showed her Arizona driver's license she should have been let go, no questions asked. It isn't fair that the poor German Shepard was set on her, but as she said, "I had a small amount of medical marijuana in my purse" why did she have that marijuana? was it prescribed to her? I don't mean to be so suspicious, but I was under the impression medical marijuana is for people who are dying of cancer, she seems perfectly fine. Transporting illegal drugs, no matter the amount over state lines is illegal. So what she was doing was wrong.

Then later in the essay she talks about the way indigenous people's of the Americas need to help each other out, that refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala are being smuggled into the United States by Native Americans. This however noble, is illegal. I think racial profiling is wrong, that border patrol agents and police officers shouldn't pull someone over because of their color, and certainly shouldn't treat them so poorly when they do, but this issue isn't black and white. Illegal immigration is just that, illegal, if all laws were treated so crassly our nation would fall apart. But like I said before this issue is more complicated than that. The problems aren't "over there,"but right here at home. Lets face facts, the reason people immigrate here is because it is beneficial for them to do so, in California, and throughout the country, big farms/plantations hire illegal immigrants so that they can pay them basically nothing. It is Americans that are causing these problems, if illegals knew that they wouldn't be hired in the US without papers they wouldn't immigrate here because they would be worse off.