I am a Venezuelan currently (or permanently) stranded here in the US and had also the great opportunity of having been an Executive Director at the World Bank (2002-2004) where I represented Mexico and all the other Central American nations. And so of course, as an alien though an earthling, I am more than interested in the ongoing immigration debate.

In this respect I would like to share the following thoughts with you. I admit they are a bit egoistic, localistic or region centered; and that they do not embrace the whole world…but I guess that’s life; and you also need to start somewhere.

Any person who has seen many of his friends losing jobs is naturally scared the same will happen to be and will therefore naturally be prayed upon by the politician who offer him some ilusion of safety; and it would be ridiculous to expect it to be otherwise when in fact, if elected, as government, they are supposed to help to calm those same fears.

So our best hope lies that the politicians in their tricking for the votes do not construct obstacles that makes it even harder to fulfill their promises if they win.

One of such obstacles might be the use of NAFTA and CAFTA as the boogey man. Since much of the pain is caused more by the globalization process itself than by any regional trade agreement the politicians instead of saying stop NAFTA and CAFTA would be more correct saying “stop the world I want to get off” but, since they can’t really do that without looking as outdated fools, they settle with bashing the neighbors.

I on the contrary, find that the best contribution I could give that region, dear to me, is by telling my American friends “Now, if you are going to lose your job anyhow, try then at least to lose it to your neighbor. It is actually in your best interest”.

PS. I’ve got some more, like:

Who on earth tells the rest of the diners at the table to go home just when the check is presented to them?… on the contrary in order for the US to grow itself out of its current mess, excuse the word but that is what it is, the best thing it could do is to get itself 40 million additional willing workers, from their neighboring countries of course.

http://www.reason.com/news/show/36207.html

I can see them with tears in their eyes and broken voices whispering… “But he was so against Bush!”

And so, besides studying geography it would also do some people a lot of good to study the real facts before taken the spoken and paid for isms for granted.

Angie
www.WhatNewsShouldBe.org

In this respect I have always wondered why US programs like that of MCC do not team up much more directly with what could be their true development partners namely the emigrant/immigrant workers from the developing countries.

Allen Taylor