Posted by me in response to Petition against Mr Lou Dobbs of CNN
Like it or not.
Americans are coming together against both legal and illegal immigrants. And they had been doing this for quiet some time. Just now that the economy is not as good, these people are getting their share of fame or atleast an appearance in the limelight.
If you sign petitions, how many petitions are you going to sign? There is no proper channel for the (legal) immigrant communities to express their views.
I would split immigration into two basic categories. When you look immigration as a whole the whole system looks corrupted and anti-American. So we need to seggregate ourself as a legal-immigrant group. Once this seggregation is made, we need to represent our thought and show the american people that why legal immigrants and H1B workers are better and how we help the economy of the country.
The word immigrant to many Americans brings a picture of an illegal uneducated non-english speaking immigrant working as scavenger, living in shacks, driving a huge wagon/truck with his broom/janitorial supplies on top and his family of 20 people squeezed inside it . We need to change that image and identify ourselves as an elite group of immigrants who are better / equal in all aspects. Don't misunderstand me, I am not against them nor do I hate them. It is just that we need to identify and project ourselves different from them. Come'on its a Darwinian world, we need to be fit to survive.
The anti-immigrant groups are gaining more momentum than ever. They have a representative and they know how to make their worries and words heard. They have a decent websites to explain their cause to the general public. But we sent scattered letters and petitions like the one to Dobbs. How many more petitions are we going to sent? We as the elite-legal-immigrants are not together and we lack representation. We need a proper channel to publize our views.
Now comes the question of leadership. Who to lead and who would sponser such a movement / organization? Who else but the AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association)? The community that benefits from the immigrants? Why doesn't AILA step up and publish the views and sentiments of the clients they represent? Instead of sending these kind of individual mails it would be more effective to sent it from a group. Why do we need to work in individual groups? why can't we figh back with the collective cohersiveness?
The next question would be funding. The AILA can collect fee from each of the applicant for running thgis cause. Say if they collect $10 per application as a fee of representation, I would guarantee it would be in millions.
Don't think I am whining. Compare the sites www.FairUS.ORG and www.AILA.org and see the diffence for yourself. The first one is a anti-immigrant site which is being there for about 3 decades now and see what AILA has. Selling T-Shirts?
I maybe too naive and may lack the legal complications of sucha group. But it is time for AILA to step up and give back to the community from which they got so much.
Wish you guys agree with me, or post your opinion. It is high time we petition AILA to represent us.
hth
dyno