Yana Kunichoff launched the first of a 3-part series on immigration yesterday at Truthout. This article illustrates a problem I have with all the knee-jerk responses being legislated in Arizona, Tennessee and other states: immigration, immigrant rights and how this all relates to fundamental human rights and persistent structural racism in the United States is very complex. As a national collective we need a lot of discussion and de-mythifying, a lot of open-minded and open-hearted listening as we undertake serious, compassionate and just immigration reform.
Kunichoff's first article takes a look at some of the not-so-obvious truths that make immigration issues so complex:
Rita, a 47-year-old Hispanic woman, may in fact be the blueprint for a growing number of Mexican-American immigrant lifestyles: Rita is an undocumented immigrant, and a taxpayer.According to her 2009 tax return, the divorced mother of three, who asked that her last name not be used for fear of prosecution, made $18,295.68 of which $1,170.41 was withheld for Social Security tax and $273.73 for Medicare - benefits that Rita is unlikely to ever see.
Read the whole article here.
