Infiltration

Illegal Immigration - Sentinel Article by Wasbir Hussain
ram SarangapaniSat, 08 Jan 2005 07:30:09 -0800
Wasbir Hussian compares the problem in the US to that
in Assam.
Netters have discussed this at some length, but
Hussain writes 'If there are stark similarities in
Assam and the US on the issue of immigration, the
political approach could not have been more
dissimilar.'
Would like to see what netters think.
DATELINE Guwahati/Wasbir Hussain
Natives and aliens: Assam in the US of A!
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger may be
celebrating his Republican Party’s commitment to
immigration. After all, it was as a scrawny boy that
he had migrated from Austria and went on to accomplish
the great American dream of migrants from across the
world. But President Bush appears to be at his wit’s
end to tackle the immigration issue, described by The
Economist as a ‘nightmare for the American right.’
As much as eight million immigrants are said to be
residing in the United States illegally and an
additional one million illegal migrants are arriving
each year. Bush, The Economist says, is under pressure
to do something about the problem with political
leaders from the states with international borders
painting an anarchic picture like increasing
shoot-outs with smugglers, ‘bankrupt hospitals’ and
decomposed bodies with an estimated 2,000 deaths on
the border areas in the past five years.
According to reports, America’s homeland-security
bosses say they are wasting time policing economic
migrants. The President’s aides are pushing for
immigration reforms as a means to deal with the highly
sensitive issue.
After scanning the American media coverage on the
subject, including an interesting article in a recent
edition of The Economist, I have found stark parallels
with the situation prevailing in Assam over illegal
migration from Bangladesh.
If there are eight million illegal aliens in the US
now, Assam alone is supposed to be home to five
million illegal Bangladeshi migrants. Of course, Union
Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal, who had
placed this figure in Parliament last year, was
corrected by one of his colleagues a few days later
who told the House that Jaiswal’s figure was ‘based on
hearsay.’ Numbers aside, the politics of citizenship
is very much a major political issue in Assam, one
that can make politicians lose or win an election.
Well, like in Assam, where political parties have
differing positions on the issue, some who are seen as
soft on the migrants and are accused of using them as
vote banks, and others, like the AGP and the BJP, who
are seemingly opposed to migration, in the US, too,
politicians are sharply divided on the issue.
The Economist writes: "The two main groups are
restrictionists, who want fewer legal immigrants, a
tougher border and sterner treatment for illegals, and
liberalisers who want to bow to economic reality and
regularise the current situation, through guest-worker
programmes and the like…"
In January last year, President Bush gave shape to a
plan to grant temporary-worker status (for
three-to-six years) to millions of ‘undocumented
aliens’ while at the same time making provisions
easier to get citizenship. This plans could not be
pushed through, and upon his re-election, Bush is
expected to get going with immigration reforms.
In the Assam context, too, there are some people who
have been arguing that giving the migrants work
permits could be one way of keep track of the illegal
aliens and restricting their stay and privileges. I
have always opposed this idea for a very simple
reason: those illegal migrants from Bangladesh who
have voted in many a election in Assam over the years,
with their names in the voters’ list, and have managed
to dodge election authorities and other officials for
years, would not stick their necks out to obtain a
work permit should the government decide to introduce
it.
To my mind, introduction of work permits will only
encourage those fresh migrants who have crossed over
into Assam and have still not managed to procure
relevant documents to stake a firm claim to
citizenship in this country. Besides, it could also
encourage more people to cross over, get hold of such
a permit and stay on to earn a livelihood.
The US has realized that a status quo on the issue of
immigration could be disastrous and that the
situation, as it is now, has become unsustainable.
Besides, it is seen that large chunks of the American
economy is dependent on illegal immigrants: they are
believed to account for three in four agricultural
workers at certain times of the year.
If there are stark similarities in Assam and the US on
the issue of immigration, the political approach could
not have been more dissimilar. Take a look at one of
the speeches of Governor Schwarzenegger, for instance:
"To my fellow immigrants listening tonight, I want you
to know how welcome you are in the party…We encourage
your dreams. We believe in your future." Well, I’m
sure some of our politicians here would very much like
to talk on the above lines, but cannot for obvious
reasons!