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 Rev. Dan Larsen of the Congregational Unitarian Church (left) and program host Dr. Nelson Borrelli (right) look on as Ann Legg and Patrick Murfin review questions for speaker Salvador Cicero at the September Current American Issues program.

 

            The hot topic of immigration received a cool and considered examination at the McHENRY COUNTY PEACE GROUP’S first CURRENT AMERICAN ISSUES forum of the new season at McHENRY COUNTY COLLEGE Thursday night.  Chicago attorney SALVADOR CICERO explained the myths and realities of immigration, especially Mexican immigration, to an audience of almost 150 in the college Conference Center.

            With graphic illustrations projected behind him, Cicero traced the roots of Mexican immigration to this country, the economic realities that fuel it in both countries, and the controversy over what some see as “an invasion.”

            Cicero was quick to point out that Mexicans make up only a portion, albeit a large portion, of overall immigration to the United States, both legal and undocumented.  And they are also only a part of a wider Latino immigration that includes people from Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Spain.  But Mexican immigrants have concentrated in four states—California, Texas, Arizona, and Illinois—and the Chicago metropolitan region is second only to Los Angeles as a destination.

            The misconceptions are that all Latinos are Mexican and that they are all “illegal.”  Cicero pointed out that huge swaths of the US were once Mexican and people in those areas have been citizens for generations.  Immigration patterns also reach back to the 19th and early 20th centuries when many Mexican railroad workers followed the tracks north and began settling in Chicago.  People from the same regions and villages tended to follow one another and establish communities.  Today a large majority of people of Mexican origin in the United States are American born, citizens, or in the country legally.

            Still, “illegal” immigration has risen dramatically in recent decades due to a population explosion in Mexico, economic necessity and the desire for family reunification.  For its part, American industry has welcomed the semi- and unskilled labor provided by the immigrants.

            Changes in immigration law may have actually acerbated the situation.  Earlier many Mexican workers came seasonally for agricultural work, returning to their homes yearly.  Others came to work for a few years and returned with their saving to their families.  But current immigration law makes such routine border crossing difficult and encourages worker to stay in the U.S.  rather than risk not being able to come back.

            Following the presentation, questions were collected from the audience on note cards and read by moderators ANN LEGG and PATRICK MURFIN.  Murfin acknowledged that the issues were emotional and that people of all shades of opinion would be in the audience.  He promised that all questions, even those that clearly arose from an exclusionist view point would be read, subject to time constraints and legibility.  Only questions that were “insulting” would be disregarded.  In the end, none were disallowed on that basis and a wide ranging discussion was possible.