Web Letters: A New Green Card Deal

By Mae M. Ngai

This article appeared in the July 9, 2007 edition of The Nation.

June 21, 2007

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Mae M. Ngai's article offers what few essays on the immigration problem do, namely constructive criticism.

I wish more people shared Ngai's insight, backed up by experience, that our green-card policy does not create reality, but merely responds to it and should conform to it. Denying green cards does not slow the pace of immigration; it only makes more immigrants illegal.

But Ngai does not stop there; she also considers the impacts of NAFTA and CAFTA and the need to replace these treaties with agreements that respect the rights of workers. This reform would seize our migration problem by the roots and change everybody's real economic circumstances for the better.

Eric Paul Jacobsen

Saint Paul, MN
06/30/2007 @ 10:42am
Mexico continues its corrupt system of the small elite taking most of the money and providing no social services for the majority of its citizens. They tell their citizens to go to the US illegally, work, send money back to Mexico. That's an "economy"? No, that's in fact designed to keep the citizens from demanding their fair share.

What the US should do is to create development zones in certain areas in Mexico; the land would be delineated and held in trust for the people of Mexico. The governments of the US, and private businesses, would build permanent housing, parks, sanitation, water purification, schools, hospitals, colleges, transportation, and businesses to employ the residents. A certain amount of land would be set aside for farming. Get that one zone going, in twenty years they will be self-sufficient, highly educated and probably spread throughout the country. Both US and Mexican citizens could live there, with each having certain rights, but each retaining their citizenship in their own country. The policing would probably have to be a joint effort since so much of Mexico's police is corrupt. All of the businesses and residents would be subject to certain taxes as they begin making money, and the taxes would be used to offset the initial investment.

Mexico has tons of land, resources,and a young, hard-working population. They do not have an honest government, or a business community that is willing to invest in their own people. This entire project could probably be initially funded by a few philanthropists. The buildings and facilities could be built by the people without profit, similar to Habitat. If we want to end the immigration flow from Mexico, it might make more sense to start investing in Mexico and giving the people of Mexico a real opportunity inside their own country.

Nancy A. Butterfield

Camarillo, CA
06/29/2007 @ 7:48pm

Web Letters: A New Green Card Deal

By Mae M. Ngai

June 21, 2007

Saint Paul, MN

Camarillo, CA

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