Running Against the Undocumented

We Americans used to run political races against each other: The Republicans blamed the Democrats for all our problems, or the Democrats blamed the Republicans. Now both parties have reversed their strategies, and both candidates in the Western North Carolina congressional race are running against “the undocumented,” these men and women who are doing America’s hardest jobs for the lowest pay and with the highest risks for their health.

Every other ad by these candidates on WLOS is projected to blame those who have no power to change the laws of this land. Neither do they listen to these ads, for they are out in the fields at work. Only those of us who have worked hard to build up the United States, but who are now too old to work, listen to these negative ads of both parties. We sit in front of our television sets and eat some of the best food in the whole world, while “the undocumented” are out on the farms producing the apples or the tomatoes for us to enjoy. They are giving their backs and their hands to improve America, while the politicians pollute the airways with ad after ad blaming these persons for our problems.



Why
do we blame these persons for our problems? Are we not responsible as
citizens for the actions of every administration, whether a democratic
or a republican majority is in control of Congress? We are the citizens
of the United States who vote, so we are ultimately responsible. Why do
the candidates not run some ads on WLOS dealing with issues like better
and safer education for our children and youth, health care for the
depressed and needy, even better gas prices, and a cleaner environment
for the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains—just for starters?


Why do we blame
“the undocumented” when they cannot even vote for or against the issues
we Americans have to face? We need their labor, but we have not given
them the opportunity—not even to the hardest working or to the most
honest—to be more than our peons. We will not open the door, not even a
crack, for them to be more than “the undocumented.”  We should take the
time to know these persons, to feel for their families, and to reach
out to them with a helping hand. Indeed, then we could express our
Christian virtues, and at last be a part of a planet where, as the
Declaration of Independence reminds us: “We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”


“The
undocumented,” unquestionably, broke the law when stepping across our
border. Yet, our federal government allows these same persons the
privilege and the right to pay taxes on wages they are not supposed to
earn. Many of them have a legal tax ID, and with this legal IRS
document they may pay their taxes just like any other law-abiding
American.


For years I
drove to West Asheville from Montreat or Ridgecrest once or twice every
day. I often set my cruise control on sixty or sixty-five miles an
hour, according to the speed limit of our state government. Almost
every driver on I-40 broke the law, for they were all driving seventy
or more. Only occasionally would I pass a truck or a slower driver on
this marvelous freeway.


May I ask: Who
has not broken the law in some way? One Monday night, the count was
1,032 persons in line at the Buncombe County Courthouse for having been
charged with breaking some law. Our prisons are the fullest they have
ever been with persons who have broken the law and have been found
guilty—and most of these prisoners are citizens. Yet, I have not seen
any political ads about these issues that we must face to build a
better, more law-abiding congressional district or a healthier land in
which both we and our children may live safely.


My only request
as one United States citizen to our two congressional candidates, who
are flooding WLOS with ads, is the following: Speak forth positively
about the issues that are before us! The immigration issue is valid,
but please don’t blame those who cannot even vote.


I consider both
of you to be gentlemen, but you must be responsible for facing our
issues and needs. The reason is that both of you not only have the
great privilege of being able to vote, but also, as respectable
leaders, you are among the first to be called to improve our nation.


Russell B.
Hilliard, Sr. is a missionary and pastor emeritus. He worked as a
volunteer among Spanish-speaking persons—and other minorities—in
Western North Carolina for seventeen years after having a career
teaching in Spain.