First, if you haven’t already done so, read this post from blackademic and then send a letter to your senator.

Let’s stay on the topic of immigration shall we?  Tomorrow is a day of action for immigrants rights.  Thousands of people will be taking action in the name of subjectivity.  Its beautiful.  Since i’m a teacher and it won’t really do a whole lot of good to walk out on four-year-olds, i’ll be participating in other ways.  Unfortunately, i’m unable to make it to the big migrant workers rally an hour and a half away (so sad).  Instead, i’ll be facilitating a workshop on racism in the radical environmental movement (i’m good at making friends in this town).  We will be focusing on immigration since so many “radical” White environmentalists like to blame immigrants for the degredation of this beautiful landscape.  Damn immigrants, everywhere they go they bring their insta-New Jersey kits.  I digress.

In the spirit of fighting for immigrants rights and asylum, i have also written the following letter to our local newspaper (the big one that hates people and is run by an office a thousand miles away, Mister Mister’s Daily Telegraph).

Dear Editor,

In recent days, thousands of people have taken action in cities across the United States to speak out for immigrants rights.  Students have walked out of schools.  Workers have called in sick.  And cities like Los Angeles and Chicago have found their streets flooded with those marching for justice.  With draconian bills on the floor like HR 4337, which equates illegal immigration to terrorism, and viligante groups like the Minutemen taking up arms to “secure the borders”, it is no wonder that immigrants are starting to take action, because silence would mean imprisonment, deportation, poverty, depression, and possibly death.  So many people already risk so much trying to come here for the chance of a better life.  I can’t imagine what it must feel like to finally get here and realize that you are hated, despised, and hunted as an enemy of the state.  So I thought I’d take just a brief moment to list a few of the things that would be a little different if immigration is outlawed.

As those of us in North Carolina know, you could pretty much kiss everything from Kentucky Fried Chicken to Christmas trees goodbye, because it is mostly migrant workers in the slaughter houses and on the tree farms.  In fact, we have the highest number of migrant workers per capita.  Our state economy depends up them.  But that’s not all.  We can say goodbye to the year’s two best films. Brokeback Mountain’s director, Ang Lee, immigrated to this country from Taiwan in 1975 to study film production and Crash’s director, Paul Haggis is Canadian.  Sports fans would be missing a few keys players as well.  Basketball, baseball, soccer, and hockey all depend heavily on foreign players.  And there’s the matter of all the immigrant doctors, engineers, professors, and other professionals.  And this is only the tip.  Let’s face it, they only people in North Carolina who would be better off without immigration are the Cherokee Nation, but we can hardly turn back the clock now.

But we can take action now to secure a better tomorrow.  Show your support for the innumerably ways that immigrants help to make this a better place to live.  Call Senators Dole and Burr and tell them to vote No on HR 4337.  Tell them to help create an immigration bill that helps everyone, not partisan politicians.