Stop Letting People Ignorantly Say that "Immigrants" Owe the U.S.

Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) was always fond of saying "people in capitalist societies don't know how to think.  They only know how to react to stimuli."  His analysis is the only way to effectively explain how so many people within the U.S. and Europe have been led to embrace this phony disdain for people living in those countries who were not born there.  Its especially disappointing to see African people - who's radar for racism should represent the most heightened in these societies - signing on to these bogus concept with slim to no critical and historical analysis.

Of course the basis of this backward argument is that people living in capitalist countries, take the U.S. for example, who were not born here, are taking advantage of resources this country has.  Resources the argument wages, these people have no right to.  Underneath this argument is the subtle, yet clear, racist assumption that by immigrants, these people are talking about colonized people who want handouts provided to them by the wonderfully successful European (white) people who grace us with their presence in the Western Hemisphere (and everywhere else).  In short, their position is that brown people, colonized people, are stealing the wealth of Europeans.

What immigrants are these people talking about though?  Its ill-refutable that people living in the U.S. who are not so-called "citizens" of the U.S., whatever that really means, work jobs everyday and contribute millions of dollars in tax revenues to the coffers of this country.  The racist belief that all immigrant labor is paid under the table is a myth.  A very large percentage of these people have individual tax identification numbers (ITINS) which they can obtain in order to be eligible to work within the U.S.  You may choose to make the worthless argument that undocumented immigrants figure out ways to get ITINs, but you are still going to be making my argument for me because the point is that once the ITIN is received, its used to work - "legally" within the U.S.  That means a W-2 is issued and taxes are paid.  Again, these folks, working fast fast, custodial work, etc., pay millions in taxes, but most public services they are ineligible for.  As a result, contrary to popular misinformation, these folks pay a lot more into the system than they receive out of it.  This is ill-refutable unless you're one of these people who demand an existence within an ignorant realm where your fears become reality above scientific evidence.  And, most people from Central America and the Caribbean would fall within the categories described in this paragraph, so clearly, if anything, anyone claiming U.S. e.g. American identification; you owe these people, not the other way around.  And, that's before we add in that unforgettable point that all of this is taking place on land that was violently stolen from these people in the first place.  Obviously, when its said these people owe the U.S., its not these people that you can be talking about.

Regarding so-called immigrants here from Africa.  The only reason these folks are here is because of colonialism and slavery.  This is true whether those folks know anything about those systems or not.  Its still the reason they are here because it was those systems that destabilized Africa while continuing to keep her destabilized.  Its that destabilization that has prevented the development of the educational and economic opportunities for people in Africa to benefit, although it is still the cheap and human resources that provide the foundation for the wealth that exists within the capitalist world today.  For example, I read yesterday that the massive cocoa industry, which is based in West African countries like Ghana and the so-called Ivory Coast, produces upwards of 50% of the cocoa products e.g. chocolate, in the world today while less than 2% of the wealth generated from that industry returns to Africa.  We can tell you the same ill-refutable story about the cobalt industry (cell phones, lap tops, flats screens, etc.), bauxite (aluminum products), gold, diamonds, uranium (nuclear power), etc., etc.  The multi-national corporations like Chevron, Shell, Samsung, Apple, who steal all this wealth make billions every year from their theft while the Africans forced to displace to the U.S. to get an education (because their countries haven't been able to develop the capacity to provide that for them) are supposed to give up their birthright to all that wealth in exchange for a worthless college degree in the U.S. that at best, will give them the opportunity to slave for the very corporations who are robbing Africa in the first place?  I'll tell you what, next time you do anything at all on your cell phone, remember that you owe them, not the other way around.  So, clearly, its not these African so-called "immigrants" who owe anything to this country.  Again, that analysis is made before factoring in the slave trade and colonialism which robbed Africa to such a degree that no monetary number can ever compensate for it.

So, if its not the Central American, Caribbean, or African people coming to the U.S. and the other capitalist countries who owe something to those countries, what immigrants are they talking about?  Oh, it must be those from the Asian countries?  The people who work in sweat shops to produce the clothes you wear right?  The ones who toil for companies and corporations doing that oppressive labor.  The ones you dry clean with, eat food with, etc., who still have to pay so much more in taxes than they can ever receive in services.  Nope.  You owe them too.  Not the other way around.

The only people left would be the masses of descendants from Europe who settle in the Western Hemisphere on other people's lands.  Yes, for these people, unless they are involved in a just and organized struggle to spread truth about what is actually happening.  Unless they are actually fighting against the forces of settler colonialism, capitalism, white supremacy, etc., then yes, it is these people who have the debt to pay.  In fact, they are the only ones who should be expected to pay a debt.  And, to be clear, by fighting we don't mean participating in some liberal process that ultimately upholds capitalism.  By doing that you do nothing to correct these wrongs.  You must be engaged in a process to eliminate the system of oppression, not make it seem more tolerable.

So, the next time you hear someone spreading this filth about so-called immigrants, make an effort to bring integrity into your day.  Correct them and ask them when they made their last contribution?