Auburn residents were supposed to hear the Holland Wind Players tonight but U.S. officials refused them entry into the country for some crazy paperwork reason. It is hardly an unusual thing these days. Traveling across borders is strictly a permission-only activity, and state officials are quick to say no. Even if everything seems fine, anyone can be refused at the last instant, merely for giving a vague answer on a question or for not having contacted the correct bureaucracy in advance. The U.S. is among the worst places in the world at this point, so it is just a bit disingenuous for people to condemn Alabama’s own war on undocumented workers; the state is only following the nation trend. Of course it is a classic case of shooting yourself in the foot, insofar as economic health goes. Farmers are already panicked. If all the undocumented workers (who do most of the farm work, tile work, bricking, street building, housing work, repairs, infrastructure upkeep, etc. etc.) leave, I have no idea who is going to replace them. This whole move is going to have terrible economic repercussions.
The OA News today, with savvy eye to irony, also runs a story on how Dayton, Ohio, sees a market niche in inviting immigrants to the state. Ohio’s gain is Alabama’s loss.
{ 2 comments }
“The U.S. is among the worst places in the world at this point, so it is just a bit disingenuous for people to condemn Alabama’s own war on undocumented workers; the state is only following the nation trend.”
I don’t doubt the opening clause is true, but saying, “the state is only following the nation trend,” is giving them a pass. The mechanics of this “war” are more police power and intrusion. Not politically smart either — perception is reality and I can see the snarly disgust from the left: “Yup. Looks like the racist Southerners are at it again…” And you know that’s what the establishment press will imply.
Pity.
Anyway, it’s cool that the Mises Institute lies in the heart of some of this controversy, sort of a monastery of sensibility amongst the barbarism outside.
The NY Times had a recent article about a similar phenomenon in the UK: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/arts/britains-conflicting-entry-rules-stymie-visiting-artists.html?_r=1
It’s a truly baffling state of affairs: person A wants to play music; person B wants to listen; and person C gets paid (with stolen money, no less) to prevent this from happening!
I recently participated in a semi-pro competition in a country recently added to the EU. The Ugandan delegate wrote a lengthy screed to our mailing list about how, despite a year’s worth of work, $400 out of pocket, and having to travel to Kenya and back because the host country had no embassy in Uganda, he had been unable to acquire a visa and could not attend. The entire Nigerian team–usually five players or so–was absent, presumably due to similar issues. Even a rather wealthy Australian was unable to attend due to last minute visa issues. An American confided that when he learned of the host country, he didn’t even attempt to qualify, since he had the misfortune of being born in India, and has found EU visa requirements nearly impossible to satisfy. This is a man who has a PhD in computer science and has a teaching job at a US university! The idea that he would try to overstay in a non-English speaking country with half the per capita income of the US is absurd!
I think (hope) that future generations will look back at this system with the same befuddlement we have at the counterproductive policies of centuries ago.
Comments on this entry are closed.