Brookhaven Courier

Issue date: 4/16/07 Section: Opinion

As a writer for the Brookhaven Courier, when I covered the Farmers Branch illegal immigration debate, I tried my best to do justice to both sides.

My effort, however, was not good enough for one reader who wrote me in his e-mail, "don't bring your simplistic social solutions to Farmers Branch."

I think a simple solution is what is missing in the whole brouhaha.

The reader suggested I should write about Nepal (that's where I am from; he had apparently googled me) if I was so concerned about the world's inequalities. So let me use an analogy to offer a simple social solution to FB's woes.

In Nepal there are certain ethnic minority groups who are treated as untouchables by clans that enjoy a higher status in society. These "untouchables" are restricted from going to the same temples as the rest of the community.

I am ashamed to admit that I never thought of their distressful situation until I came to the United States and understood how the minority feels.

Empathy is the solution. The rhetoric supporters and opponents of illegal immigration laws use is lacking just that.

Between platitudes such as "Illegal immigrants are breaking the law," "We're all neighbors," what gets left out is how comprehensive reform can occur.

I don't think banning illegal immigrants from renting apartments, suing the city council or displaying yard signs will do the trick.

As a student with an F1-visa, I am in the United States legally. I feel obliged to specify because I have had people just assume I must be illegal since I don't look like I belong here.

I am not a resident and cannot vote. But I would like to ask all those who can vote to be empathetic when they go to the ballot. Understanding where people on the other side of the issue are coming from should be the first step. I know it sounds simplistic, but I know it would work if it were implemented.

For instance, undocumented immigrants need to understand that people in Farmers Branch welcome legal residents and they need to work on getting their papers. (I would like to know how too.)

Similarly, supporters of Ordinance 2903 that bans illegal immigrants from renting apartments in Farmers Branch need to understand that if the ordinance gets passed, the illegal immigrants will just move to another city. Or is it that the supporters do not care what happens to them as long as they are out of FB? That sounds more like segregation and less like a solution to illegal immigration.

Pardon me if I seem to be an outsider, frustrated with the complicated situation of a city where I do not even live. But I still go to school in FB and believe it can be a town to be proud of.

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