If I could ask powerful world leaders a question and get an honest answer the question that interests me the most is "How do you see the future of your country? Who is a part of it? How are they a part of it?"
In the US Republicans are peddling a vision of a white, English-speaking, Christian America. A nation with very few or no non-citizen residents.
America is currently a largely white, overwhelmingly Christian nation with a significant population of non-citizen residents.
1/
11 million people out of 326 million people, who live in the US, aren't citizens and will never be citizens (unless we change something.)
They are here because US companies can pay them lower wages. A non-citizen is less likely to complain. Not because "Americans won't do those jobs."
I hate when people say that. These people are essentially Americans. How can we make *that* argument while also saying they are somehow mysteriously able to do exhausting, work for low wages?
2/
From most Democrats the "vision of the future" is murky, but amounts to "just leave things as they are" far too often.
I think we should be a diverse nation, as we have always been. A nation that both assimilates and is changed by the people who live here.
I don't think we should have a significant portion of the population who lives here indefinitely but will never really be a part of America.
It's OK to visit, but if you live here we need your help with running the government.
3/
The Republican project to eliminate undocumented Americans is either a fake out: that is, we will look around in 10 years and there will still be millions of undocumented people working in the shadows with no path to citizenship.
OR it's the same kind of eliminationism that leads to some of the worse crimes in history.
I want to hear someone say NO. There should be a path to citizenship. Requirements should be reasonable. Become a part of America if you want to stay.
4/
I think a lot of people would agree with "Become a part of America if you want to stay."
A friend of mine works in roofing. He's been doing the job for 20 years which is amazing because it's a very dangerous job. From time to time I've had to talk him down from supporting Republicans because he sees directly how his wages are lower, his job is less safe because most of the other people doing the same job are here illegally.
It's easy to blame immigrants for "not following the law"
5/
Since he works in roofing his wages have gone down because while the team he's on might get a contract they will bring in extra undocumented workers who are paid much less to catch up the slack.
Democrats talk about how wonderful immigration is in the abstract and don't say anything about what it's doing to wages to have undocumented workers who can't form a union in the market.
If there weren’t any immigrants, the two ways the bosses could react would be paying all their workers more, or figuring out how to pay their workers less *anyway* — I feel like historically some industries have managed the first but we’re moving pretty hard toward the second.
“Just world “ worldview can’t see the second possibility. Although who trusts the big bosses?
well, I like that one!
*technically* it's the first way with extra steps, but a hell of an important reframing
After convincing the guy in question that undocumented immigrants aren't the root of the problem? I mean, ideally, labor could do it starting from our loaded system and in doing so convince this guy.
@futurebird @clew you’re right that it is technically the first. I think the agency of advocacy is important, too.
Every time I react and blame big D Dem messaging, I remember that the small d dem messaging is as, if not more, important. Especially when the stakes are democracy or authoritarianism.
That by all means we might save some, to quote somebody.
myrmepropagandist
tltroup
clew