MLK & illegal immigration

On Monday, the nation celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a visionary who placed the highest value upon the content of one's character and not the color of one's skin.  Eighty-three years after his birth, almost 43 years after his death and with the election of the first Black President in American history, we have so far to go.

With the appointment of Cecilia Muñoz (a ten-year NCLR Senior Vice President of Policy) to serve as Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC), President Obama has driven a stake in the ground and hearts of those who desire to see Dr. King’s dream become reality.  The NCLR (National Council of La Raza “The Race”) works to ensure that those who choose to violate our immigration laws are rewarded with unearned citizenship while those who do not agree with this policy are branded as racists and xenophobes.

By definition, racists believe in the superiority of one race/ethnicity over another.  Xenophobes fear the unknown.  As a nation, we welcome over 1 million legal immigrants into the American family each year; the highest rate of any other nation in the world.  We value the diversity offered not only through skin color but through the heritage offered by differing backgrounds, cultures, skills, religions, etc.  We do not fear or hate the foreigner or stranger, we embrace them and are eager to learn and to teach.  Each of us benefit from the creativity that each inventor, doctor, lawyer, teacher, student and child has to offer.

Born a US citizen in 1929, Dr. King sought true change.  Dr. King’s words were uttered by a man who experienced mistreatment at the hands of those for whom color was the guiding barometer.  Yet, the same groups (NCLR, SPLC and MALDEF) that preach equality and justice use race to continue to separate and divide; these organizations are no better than the Jim Crow laws and KKK groups of yesteryear.  The tactics of NCLR and others remain the same only their targets are now those who seek the enforcement of immigration laws.

As native-born Americans and legal immigrants, we understand that there is more to being an American than escaping capture at the border.  We must stand firm to see that Dr. King’s dream is fulfilled.  As the civil rights warriors of the 60s withstood a torrent of physical abuse, we must withstand the torrent of verbal abuse and inaccuracies.  Hold dear the vision of not only Dr. King but our founding fathers as well.  They pledged all for this grand and continuing experiment called America.  Let us pledge to continue to fight for it.