We must unite to stop immigration conflict

Our communities have become more polarized over immigration, yet no one seems to want to talk about the dirty little word "illegal."

When the announcement of a newly appointed Mexican consul for Utah was made at the Alta Club and the University of Utah, with a focus on expanding cultural, economic and political ties between Mexico and Utah but nothing about "immigration," it didn't bode well for our state. It looks like business as usual, where the business community in Utah and the Mexican government are more concerned about lining their own pockets at the expense of the poor Mexicans and the fiber of our communities.

My concern about the plight of the recent Mexican immigrants in Utah is borne out of the life my Mexican parents experienced —isolation and poverty, and my father having to work on the farms and railroads with a pick and shovel all his life, where discrimination was just one of those things that was to be tolerated.

Today, when I see Mexican children coming to school, poor, malnourished, in need of medical care and struggling to learn a new language, my heart goes out to them. I was one of those 6-year-old kids.

And, when I see business people dining at the Alta Club with members of the Mexican government, anticipating the great benefits they will gain but once again ignoring the plight of the Mexican immigrant and our communities, I hope you can understand my skepticism and my continued fight for the values we espouse in our society — the dignity and value of every human being and the notion that we are our "brother's keeper."

Neither the Mexican government nor our business community seems to care about the growing conflict over illegal immigration, allowing it to become a flourishing industry for their mutual benefit. Though it is important to develop good working relations between neighboring nations, it should not be done on the backs of the poor and the powerless.

If the consulate's primary mission is to protect the interests of Mexican citizens, then that can best be done by first eliminating the resentment now mounting against Mexican immigrants who are perceived as a burden on Utah's state and local governments.

The KUED documentary "Shadow of Hope" will be aired again on Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. Viewing it would help the new consul answer three important questions for Utahns:

1. Why do the poor Mexicans have to leave their country?

2. What will the Mexican government do to help them and protect them from abuses here?