2008 Woodie Awards
Nebraska not immune from political criticism
Chuck Lippstreu
Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: Opinion
The United Nations weighed in last week on the treatment of non-citizen migrant workers in the United States, slamming government policy on a number of counts and calling on citizens and government alike to recognize our national need for migrant workers.
U.N. investigator Jorge Bustamante found in a three-week fact finding mission to Los Angeles and six other major cities that the United States engages in overuse of excessive detention to deal with migrants who commit minor crimes, largely as a result of 1996 laws passed to restrict U.S. immigration policy. He also noted growing xenophobia and racism directed toward immigrants.
Xenophobia, eh.
Who knew?
Bustamante specifically criticized - with good reason - our lack of facilities for detaining women and children, as well as government unwillingness to compromise on penalties and its propensity to lock migrants up for unreasonable amounts of time rather than look at alternative methods of control, such as tracking bracelets.
The government, of course, was quick to categorically refute everything contained within the report, taking its usual "you're-clearly-insane" tone with the United Nations.
The United States delegation to the U.N. touted our green card system and propensity to accept refugees as a neglected aspect of U.S. policy.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials joined in, arguing the report neglects the appeals systems and court access available to detained migrants.
In a perfect world, argues the government, migrants are treated to a totally fair legal system and refugees come home in the United States to open arms and welcoming neighbors.
Maybe if you say something long enough, that makes it true.
Who knows.
But if living in the Midwest has taught me anything about the national attitude toward immigrants and foreign workers, it's that we're totally sold on being fine without them.
I almost wish Bustamante would have come to visit us here in Lincoln.
Granted, he only had three weeks and wasted at least a day or two of that time being denied access to federal detention facilities in Texas and New Jersey - and this after an explicit invitation from the United States.
And to be sure, Los Angeles has a huge population of migrant workers and immigrants, as do other borderlands that were visited in preparing the Bustamante report.
But can you really write about xenophobia without a visit to Nebraska?
If Jorge really wanted a taste of good ol' boy racial and ethnic distrust, he should have come for lunch with Gov. Dave Heineman; it would have been an informative time all around, assuming we could have convinced Heineman to refrain from calling him George.
(Note to self: "Can Gov. Heineman pronounce "Jorge"? What about "Bustamante?" Would he try?)
Anyway, Bustamante could have enjoyed tender Nebraska beef - packed, very likely, by migrant workers or immigrants - with the governor on the lawn of his mansion.
They could have strolled within walking distance of a whole handful of ethnic groceries and restaurants that the governor could have readily discounted in the midst of a tirade against the handful of illegal students receiving in-state tuition at our universities.
If things got awkward, Attorney General Jon Bruning could have baked cookies with little American flags on them.
The good U.N. investigator surely would have gotten the whole lowdown on Heineman's immigration-related troubles with that frustratingly internationalist Nebraska Unicameral, and they could have had a frank discussion about the racialization of school districts in Omaha.
After supper they could cut out newspaper clippings from Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and scrapbook them.
At the very end, Heineman could have poured delicious, delicious iced tea and joined the government chorus claiming we're a nation of seamless diversity and cooperation.
You could write a U.N. report about this stuff, couldn't you?
But these reports never mention us.
We're not just flyover country when it comes to politics, we're forgotten when it comes to committing wacky economic and political injustices as well.
That can't mean our leadership gets some sort of free ride from criticism when we're talking about xenophobia within the United States.
Next time the U.N. sees fit to call out the U.S. government on its legal woes and the U.S. population on its tolerance issues, the Midwest should be spared no barb - especially as long as people like Heineman get to set our state's tone on immigration.
Chuck Lippstreu is a senior international studies major. Reach him at chucklippstreu@dailynebraskan.com.
U.N. investigator Jorge Bustamante found in a three-week fact finding mission to Los Angeles and six other major cities that the United States engages in overuse of excessive detention to deal with migrants who commit minor crimes, largely as a result of 1996 laws passed to restrict U.S. immigration policy. He also noted growing xenophobia and racism directed toward immigrants.
Xenophobia, eh.
Who knew?
Bustamante specifically criticized - with good reason - our lack of facilities for detaining women and children, as well as government unwillingness to compromise on penalties and its propensity to lock migrants up for unreasonable amounts of time rather than look at alternative methods of control, such as tracking bracelets.
The government, of course, was quick to categorically refute everything contained within the report, taking its usual "you're-clearly-insane" tone with the United Nations.
The United States delegation to the U.N. touted our green card system and propensity to accept refugees as a neglected aspect of U.S. policy.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials joined in, arguing the report neglects the appeals systems and court access available to detained migrants.
In a perfect world, argues the government, migrants are treated to a totally fair legal system and refugees come home in the United States to open arms and welcoming neighbors.
Maybe if you say something long enough, that makes it true.
Who knows.
But if living in the Midwest has taught me anything about the national attitude toward immigrants and foreign workers, it's that we're totally sold on being fine without them.
I almost wish Bustamante would have come to visit us here in Lincoln.
Granted, he only had three weeks and wasted at least a day or two of that time being denied access to federal detention facilities in Texas and New Jersey - and this after an explicit invitation from the United States.
And to be sure, Los Angeles has a huge population of migrant workers and immigrants, as do other borderlands that were visited in preparing the Bustamante report.
But can you really write about xenophobia without a visit to Nebraska?
If Jorge really wanted a taste of good ol' boy racial and ethnic distrust, he should have come for lunch with Gov. Dave Heineman; it would have been an informative time all around, assuming we could have convinced Heineman to refrain from calling him George.
(Note to self: "Can Gov. Heineman pronounce "Jorge"? What about "Bustamante?" Would he try?)
Anyway, Bustamante could have enjoyed tender Nebraska beef - packed, very likely, by migrant workers or immigrants - with the governor on the lawn of his mansion.
They could have strolled within walking distance of a whole handful of ethnic groceries and restaurants that the governor could have readily discounted in the midst of a tirade against the handful of illegal students receiving in-state tuition at our universities.
If things got awkward, Attorney General Jon Bruning could have baked cookies with little American flags on them.
The good U.N. investigator surely would have gotten the whole lowdown on Heineman's immigration-related troubles with that frustratingly internationalist Nebraska Unicameral, and they could have had a frank discussion about the racialization of school districts in Omaha.
After supper they could cut out newspaper clippings from Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and scrapbook them.
At the very end, Heineman could have poured delicious, delicious iced tea and joined the government chorus claiming we're a nation of seamless diversity and cooperation.
You could write a U.N. report about this stuff, couldn't you?
But these reports never mention us.
We're not just flyover country when it comes to politics, we're forgotten when it comes to committing wacky economic and political injustices as well.
That can't mean our leadership gets some sort of free ride from criticism when we're talking about xenophobia within the United States.
Next time the U.N. sees fit to call out the U.S. government on its legal woes and the U.S. population on its tolerance issues, the Midwest should be spared no barb - especially as long as people like Heineman get to set our state's tone on immigration.
Chuck Lippstreu is a senior international studies major. Reach him at chucklippstreu@dailynebraskan.com.
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