Bill Ong Hing's article "Deporting Our Souls and Defending Our Immigrants" discusses the governmental issue of deportation of immigrants from the US. He asserts that rather than deport the immigrants (many who's spent most their lives in America and do not know the life of their "motherland") the government should implement a system that targets the core of the problem, a "rehabilation approach." He also argues that relational justice should be considered and that section 212(c) relief should be reinstalled.
This was definitely an interesting reading for me. Whenever I hear about deportation, or discuss immigration issues and concerns, the few things that I always think about to is 1) didn't America start as some sort of immigration nation--the whole idea that settlers came here for better economic opportunties, etc.; (I do not know much about immigration and deportation politics, so this may be naive and ignorant of me to think/say this); and 2) what is America thinking for deporting people who has spent their whole lives in America? (I guess to some extent, Hing is asking a similar question and therefore makes the assertion that America should try and fix the problem that causes these individuals to be deported rather than just deport them and hopes the problem fixes itself). To some extent, I feel like the deportation system only benefits the white and therefore to some extent, deportation is another way in which the white reinforces their power over colored people (almost racist?). Honestly, these are just my thoughts, but like I stated, my knowledge in this area is rather small.
My question that results out of this is: What other systems are in place that perpetuate a white dominate society and how might we, a community of color, work to make the system more fair for us?
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