June 13, 2005

Mexicans flocking to Framingham, Waltham Mass.

If you read the report "Mexicans flocking to region" about large numbers of Mexicans moving to various cities in Massachusetts, you might notice something a bit strange. It spans three short pages, yet there's only one brief use of the noun immigrants in relation to these Mexicans. In fact, there are so many uses of that latter word I'd quote some of their text but I'm afraid of being accused of keyword stuffing. So, suffice to say these flockees are almost completely identified by their nationality rather than the usual use of "immigrants."

There's one small clue about many of these flockees' status:

...Census figures undercount the Mexican population because many Mexicans don't fill out Census forms because they fear the information could be shared with immigration officials...

The article is based around a study conducted by a UMass professor with the assistance of (guess who!) the Mexican consulate. A consul has the following to say:

"We're not as big or active as other (immigrant) communities," said Marquez. "But that is how it is in the beginning."

Yeah, until the Mexican government gets their hooks in. It looks like the Northeast might be getting some of the "liberalism" they've forced on the Southwest fed back to them.

Posted to Immigration2005b at June 13, 2005 08:05 AM

Comments

The fact that the US and Mexican governments collaborate to subvert US immigration laws is an assault on the democratic rights of the citizens of the US. US immigration laws were democratically enacted and the vast majority of US citizens want them enforced. Why are the people of the US, of all the people in the world, denied the right of self-determination?

Posted by: mr civil rights at June 13, 2005 05:03 PM

"they've forced on the Southwest"

Not sure how this process worked or is working. And note: Bush is the titular head of the 'open borders lobby', his father also did nothing about the problem, McCain is a Republican, as is Cannon, and Reagan signed the last amnesty. So it's not clear to me this is really a 'liberal' vs 'conservative' issue, although I agree with your take on the general situation.

As for Massachusetts, this is always the way it is in the early stages: you see a few Mexicans, then a few more, some burrito joints spring up -- it seems harmless enough. Naturally this sort of happy article appears absolutely asinine to someone from California who knows what will inevitably happen as the numbers grow. Luckily there are more and more savvy people around the country who do have an idea of what's in store for their communities if nothing is done; but without the cooperation of the federal government, it's not clear what they can do against it.

Posted by: eh at June 14, 2005 04:39 AM