Immigration problems shown through NW Campus speaker
by Dusten Gambrell, Reporter

   Immigrants are often seen as a plague on this country, Ruben Martinez said as he discussed immigration issues on NW Campus Oct. 9.
   “Immigrants get picked on for not being American,” he said.
   Martinez, the author of many works on immigration and the underlying people in a surrounding city, said that countries protect the border from one nation to another, but a border is between people not nations.
   The United States, Martinez said, exists because of immigration, but since its beginnings, its inhabitants have resented the arrival of new immigrants.
   This nativism began in colonial times and continues today as most politicians illustrate a negative image of immigrants.
   Martinez criticized governor-elect Arnold Swarzenegger, who is against giving illegal immigrants any type of help.
   “Swarzenegger was an illegal immigrant at a time,” he said.
   At one point, Swarzenegger’s student visa had expired, and it was a while before he got his work permit, Martinez said.
   “Immigration is a movement of people across frontiers,” he said.
   People emigrate to seek better jobs, Martinez said.
   “For every immigrant who breaks the law, an employer breaks the law by hiring him,” he said.
   Martinez said immigrants are a part of the economy in the United States but are neglected in use of tax-supported services because they fear getting in trouble.
   In his book, Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail, Martinez describes the trials a family goes through while immigrating to the United States from Mexico.
   Martinez said he tries to show all sides of a Latino community in his books, both the good and the bad.
   “A border is artificial, as all are caught up in the same problems,” he said.
   All countries experience similar problems when facing unemployment and financial hardships, Martinez said.
   He believes people often have a right to have negative views on immigrants, but both sides act as they do out of necessity.
   Towns with work shortages will often use Mexican immigrants to fill jobs; towns may start with one culture and then become a mixture of their own and the immigrant’s culture, Martinez said.
   “Mexicans are great at finding jobs anywhere, the immigrants, they’re still on the road,” he read from his book.
   “I grieve for this country because it won’t give rights and respect to immigrants,” he said.
   Martinez said he hopes to raise awareness of unjust treatment of immigrants.
   He believes the economy affects how immigrants will be treated.
   “If the economy is bad, society needs a scapegoat,” he said.
   Responding to a question, Martinez said immigrants accept low-paying jobs because they have no choice.
   What is important to immigrants are their children, the speaker said.