During the controversy over Linda
Chavez’s appointment as secretary of labor, President Bush
squandered an excellent opportunity to show some compassionate
conservatism toward the tens of thousands of undocumented workers who
have risked their lives to live and work in the United States.
In the 1960s, I grew up on a farm on
the Rio Grande outside of Laredo, Texas, where we hired and housed Mexican
illegal aliens. They were among the hardest-working people I’ve ever
encountered. They were also religious, and they had strong family values. We
worked, ate, and played together, and I counted them among my friends.
Among my fondest memories is helping them hide from the Border Patrol.
Hiring illegal workers from Mexico was
common on the border. Many middle-class families had a maid, who often
became an integral part of the family, playing an important role in the
upbringing of the children.
Both employer and employee profited.
The workers received more money than they could have in Mexico. The
employers benefited from the hard work and loyalty that Mexican workers
traditionally displayed.
The only exploitation came from
immigration laws. Whenever a maid became displeased with one job and
moved to another, she faced the risk that the disgruntled housewife whose
employment she had left would report the maid’s new address to
immigration officials.
One day, I asked the local sheriff
whether my cousin and I could hold a Christmas show for the illegal aliens who
were incarcerated in the local detention center. He agreed.
On the appointed day, we appeared at
the center, where about 150 undocumented workers were seated before a
makeshift stage and a microphone. My cousin began strumming his guitar and
singing some classic Mexican songs, such as “Cielito Lindo.”
(Both of us were fluent in Spanish.) After a while, he announced that he
needed a break and handed the microphone to me. I said to the men:
“Despite the fact that you are
here in jail, do not ever think that you are criminals, because you are not. For
you have done nothing morally wrong. All that you have done is what God
expects of you — to sustain and improve your life and lives of your
family through labor. Why shouldn’t a person be free to cross a
border to do that? The true criminals are the federal judges, the federal
marshals, and the immigration officials who put you here and the guards who
keep you here.”
It was not difficult to see that we had
brought some unexpected cheer into the lives of men who were spending
Christmas in jail for the “crime” of simply crossing a border in
search of work.
President Bush may have been
justifiably upset over Chavez’s lack of forthrightness, but he could
have overlooked that and used the opportunity to take a stand against the
punishing of Americans who hire or harbor illegal aliens. He could have called
for the repeal of these immoral laws and announced pardons for everyone
who had violated them.
He could have taken a stand in favor of
the free market, liberty of association and contract, the Statue of Liberty,
the Sermon on the Mount, and God’s second-greatest commandment.
Instead, President Bush stood quietly
aside in the midst of the political storm. So much for compassionate
conservatism.
Mr. Hornberger is president of The Future of Freedom Foundation (www.fff.org.) and co-editor of The Case for Free Trade and Open Immigration.
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