[AAACE-NLA] immigration and adult ed

Mon May 14 07:50:52 EDT 2007

John,

How are educators who would provide free or nearly free ESOL services to known
illegal aliens in a substantially different ethical position than the
employers who knowingly hire the same?

I don't know that you are as complicit as the coyote, but yes, you and anyone else who who turns a blind eye to illegal activity is certainly contributing to creating an illegal-friendly environment. I don't find it at all disingenuous or conflicting to be an adult ESOL educator and a patriot. In fact, love of my country and its culture is one of the biggest motivators for me to teach ESOL to immigrants. But I am not going to help a single illegal immigrant if I can help it. I have suspected several of my previous students were here illegally. Even though I know such things are easily faked, I asked several to show me their SSAN cards. One student, who had a very good attendance record, and with whom I had developed great rapport, immediately stopped coming to class. 

Loving one's country doesn't make one a fascist or a nativist. Wanting to enforce immigration laws that recognize our border, that protect our culture and national security, and that allow for the continued viability of our health services, education programs, social services, state budgets, etc. doesn't equate to hating brown people. 

Kearney Lykins

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Subject: AAACE-NLA Digest, Vol 48, Issue 42

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Today's Topics:

   1.  immigration and adult education (Holst, John D.)
   2. Re:  A primer on immigration (andresmuro at aol.com)

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Message: 1
Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 13:44:58 -0500
From: "Holst, John D." <JDHOLST at stthomas.edu>
Subject: [AAACE-NLA] immigration and adult education
To: aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org
Message-ID:
    <2EFE80177AFF964D903D1F1E0CC5E767029F1D7D at UST-EXCH8.stthomas.edu>
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I have been following with interest the debate on immigration and have the
following comments to add to the discussion.

Trying to claim that the national discussion on immigration should center on
the narrow issue of the legality or illegality of crossing the border is
fruitless and leads, as this discussion has shown, to, on the one hand,
abstract appeals to dictionary definitions, etymological origins of words,
and moral principles, and, on the other, calls for the mass detention and
removal of large sectors of a nation's population not seen since the days,
and with similar ideological foundations, of European fascism.

Claiming this is a narrow legal issue, is like saying the national debate on
abortion is merely about a medical procedure.  It really leads nowhere
because it detaches the issue from its foundations in the historical,
economic and social development of the nation.

It also strikes me as disingenuous if not outright hypocritical for adult
educators to take anti-immigration stances, and to be so sanctimoniously
outraged by 'these' people's "criminal" act of crossing borders.  I spent
about 7 years in the ABE classroom.  During these years, most of my work was
with "illegal" immigrants.  In fact, the entire ABE program in Chicago,
funded based on attendance, depended on the mass participation of "illegal"
immigrants.  All of our jobs, whether we were in the ESL or the GED
classroom, depended on the "criminality" of immigration.  The ABE classroom,
overflowing with "illegals" was my first entry into education.  Both
literally and figuratively "illegal" immigrants put food on my table.  Now
as a professor of education, I have to honestly admit that my whole career
is founded on this original sin.  I can't help but think that from the
narrow legalistic framing of the immigration debate, my entire career is
really fraudulent and illegal.   How can I as someone who has benefited so
much from the field of ABE, now call for the confinement and/or deportation
of those upon which I built a whole career?  Am I not as complicit as the
coyote, himself?  Are not our programs?

John Holst

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Message: 2
Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 15:35:06 -0400
From: andresmuro at aol.com
Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] A primer on immigration
To: aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org
Message-ID: <8C962E3C77F3FE7-1D18-199D at WEBMAIL-MC17.sysops.aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

 Regarding educators, the policies that they should follow are the ones of the school, funding, etc. 
 they really have no choice. Teachers are not immigration officers, so, they shouldn't be asked to enforce immigration policy. In our program we serve the students that come. the funding pretty much dictates who we can serve. Our adult education ESL funding is for people who want to learn English. Our GED funding is for people who want to get a GED. Our migrant education funding is for people involved in agricultural work. Our health education funds are to provide health literacy classes and so on.

 Schools should serve people that want to learn, provided that they teach what people are asking for. It should be pretty straight forward. 

 Regarding national or global immigration policy, I cannot speak of one definite policy. The immigration issues are the result of global economic issues of poverty, displacement, inequality, etc. Policies will not prevent immigration issues as long as there are issues of poverty, inequality, etc. People will talk about immigration policy for a while. In a couple of years, after the next election, and a couple of Paris Hilton type scandals, a few sports tournaments, etc people will have forgotten that we have an immigration issue. We will continue to co-exist with pretty much the same immigrants and get along fine. At some point, a few years later, another Lou Dobbs will come along and make immigrants the scapegoats for the all problem of the time. 

 My personal policy is to treat people as people. I try not to make distinctions about nationality, race, gender, class, sexual preference, religion. 

 Andres

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