17 April 2005

By Richard N. Baldwin T. /HispanicVista.com

     Of course "vigilante justice" is an oxymoron, a contradiction of terms. But if it caught your attention, that was my objective.

     We should note that the word "vigilante" is a Spanish word that made itself into the American English language back when California was still part of México. The citizens in that territory became so alarmed with the prevailing corrupt and inefficient justice system under Mexican rule that they armed themselves and simply took the law into their own hands. They were regarded as heroes at the time and a lot of folklore grew up about that time in history.

     But, in reality, note that this type of "justice" is without any "due process" to protect the accused before conviction in a fair trial. This type of justice was fairly common in the Deep South after the Civil War and was known as "lynching". In an orderly society, this type of action is neither condoned nor permitted. When it does exist, it is evidence of a breakdown in the system of laws.
     Strangely enough, the vigilante action of today, known as the "Minuteman Project," is not the first time in recent history that such an action takes place against Mexican "illegals". In 1973, the United Farm Workers, organized by that famed union founder, Cesar Chávez, launched the "wet line" to stop illegal immigrants from the South from crossing into California and work as union busters. And, of course, the organized workers of Chávez were for the most part of Mexican origin.

     The Minutemen say that they are only going to "patrol" a spot in the Arizona border and report the presence of illegals to the border patrol. But the problem of a renegade force operating outside of the established legal system still remains. We can only wait and see what transpires in this volatile situation.

     I watched an interview with one of the leaders of this action recently and according to him, the border patrol "troops" liked what the Minutemen were doing. But the official border patrol position says that these people are causing many false alarms by tripping existing hidden electronic detection equipment. Who to believe? Personally from here it looks like a disaster in the making. But it does do one thing in illustrating that the present situation is and has been out of control for a long time. Remember the famous TV interview of a former INS head that took place on the California border wall? In the background, where she was speaking, you could see Mexicans climbing over the wall and escaping into the US unhindered while she was saying that the border was in complete control! That was classic.

     Pundits tell us that the simple solution is to just reinforce the border patrol with the National Guard and seal it. How simplistic! The Mexican border is 2,000 miles in length. The US has (or will have soon) around 6,000 border patrol personnel there. That makes an average of 3 people per mile guarding this border. Do the math. The US does not have the personnel in the National Guard to make that much of a difference. Maybe you heard of something called Iraq?

    On the northern border of 4,000 miles, there are only 1,000 border patrol agents. And what border did the terrorists of 9/11 cross? The one terrorist that was caught (with a carload of explosives heading south to blow up LAX in Los Angeles) was picked up at the Blaine, Washington crossing.

    Columnist, Patrick Osio, Jr., stated recently that the border "problem" is not at the border, but on the interiors of both the US and México. Consider the following:

     As long as the Mexican political and business systems choose to maintain an economic system designed to keep the majority of its people in poverty to be available for "cheap" labor, this "escape" pressure will continue. In addition, the failure to recognize the drastic changes in the Mexican agriculture system taking place is paramount in this disaster. As I have written before, México has a situation as bad as what happened in the US in the 1930's here in our farm sector. But nothing is done about it. Let's be frank about it, México depends on "exporting" our poor to maintain social stability. It is our "dirty little secret".

     Looking at the other side of the equation, this massive human wave would not function if there were no one that would hire them in the US. There are laws in place to fine employers that hire illegals but there is an obvious total breakdown on enforcement. I should say that the company that I worked at in Chicago, mainly staffed with Mexicans, required that all employees were legal, and it is a successful company. Why not apply the law evenly to everyone? The resistance to any reform with something like a "guest worker" program (mainly in the Republican "business oriented" side of the aisle) would seem to be coming from interests that like things just like they are. After all, illegals are not the "union joining" type, and can't argue that much about "worker's rights". It is an effective (but illegal) way to bring down costs and raise profits in the US.

     The EU has a working system of moving workers to where they are needed. The NAFTA treaty talks about this, but has no implementation. The EU also has done investment into more "backward" countries to help bring them up to speed and level living standards. This is not even talked about on this side of the pond.

     This situation will continue as long as no real action is taken on both sides of the border in the political and business sectors. Let's hope that no one gets hurt before that takes place.

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Richard N. Baldwin T., a HispanicVista.com (http://www.hispanicvista.com/) contributing columnist, lives in Tlalnepantla, Edo de México. E-mail at: R1041643422@aol.com