In spending much of
last week in New Mexico, I heard a great deal
about Arizona’s immigration debate. Each day
a new story appeared in the newspaper. Each
night the television news would run another
piece. When I finally got home late last night,
I hopped in a cab, pining for my family. But no
sooner did the cab pull away from the curb,
than the conversation with my Pakistani cab
driver began. His voice is nowhere to be heard
in the raucous immigration debate. It should
be.
I remember working with the Orange County Register back in 1994 when they were covering Prop 187, also known as “Save our State,” which called for the screening of all individuals and families before receiving health care, education and other social services, in order to keep out illegal immigrants. Ultimately, that law was struck down by the courts. But, at the time, one of the things the Register editors told me was that they had regretted their coverage of Prop 187 – which they said merely mirrored the cartoonish debate between opposing sides, and failed to illuminate the underlying issues.
I always admired the Register folks
for their forthrightness and dogged honesty;
and their coverage of other tough issues over
the ensuing years proved to reach their
aspirations. But, now, during the Arizona
debate, we could all take a lesson from the
Register. Where are the voices of people who do
not fall squarely at either pole of this
debate, who are wrestling with the competing
values and issues involved, and who are in
search of a solution that reflects the best of
America?
I found one of these voices as my
cab pulled away from the curb. At first, my cab
driver and I “talked” about the best route
to get to my house. We disagreed some, but
finally reached some accommodation. It’s
possible.
Then, our conversation turned to his
children. I don’t remember exactly why or how
that happened; no matter, the story that
unfolded was moving and engaging and reflected
something rich and enduring about the American
experience. My cab driver has five kids. One
is now a lawyer who attended Virginia
Commonwealth University (VCU) and has clerked
for two judges; he let me know that he has
counseled her to pursue a legal profession in
which she can “do right.” He has another
daughter, also a VCU grad, who just received
her MBA. His son, a twin, is going off to VCU
in September. And yet another daughter is a
graduate of VCU as well. Four out of his five
kids will be VCU grads. As we talked, I leaned
over the front seat, and said to him, “You
know, your children are living out the
American Dream.” He smiled, and with the
inflection of a proud father, said,
“That’s right.”
I then asked him what he thought
about the recent immigration debate. He said
that people should keep coming to America, but
that they must also follow whatever rules are
set up. We talked for a good amount of time
about this. He recounted that he came to this
country 19 years ago, following the path of
relatives already here. This country had
offered him everything, he said (including a
double shift that day). At one point, I asked
him if he planned to return to Pakistan. He
told me how he wanted to go back to care for
his ailing mother. But, then he said, “But
this is my country.” Slowly, he looked at me
and asked, “Is it alright that I say ‘my
country?’For that’s how I feel.” Our eyes
met, and I said, “That’s great you feel
that way. That’s how it should be.” And he
said softly, “Yes, that is how it should
be.”
The immigration debate is a
complicated one. There aren’t any easy
answers. And my intention in recounting this
story is not to suggest there are. Nor is it to
promote one policy position over another.
Instead, what concerns me today is that the
debate ought to reflect the best of us – not
the worst. It ought to be about what kind of
country we want to be, and, yes, the rules such
a vision requires. In that process, we must
not fall prey to demonizing others or pushing
one another into a corner. Indeed, let us
demonstrate respect for the people among us,
like my Pakistani cab driver, who came to us as
immigrants, who are contributing greatly to
our country, and who now bless our nation.