Immigration is welcome — when it’s legal

This is the story of Glen and Zenaida Gotidoc, people who immigrated here from the Philippines and became citizens of this country.

My father-in-law, like many Filipinos, joined the U.S. Navy. He enlisted in 1968. His scores were high enough that, unlike most Filipino nationals in his time who were in the surface fleet, Glen was sent to submarine school. Along the way he became one of the first Filipinos to pass all of the Navy’s “Sub Safe” requirements — no small accomplishment in a Navy that still segregated Filipinos from the rest of the sailors. You could either be a steward, cook or in supply. You were required to often use different entrances, weren’t allowed in some clubs or offices. Shortly thereafter, he returned to the Philippines, got married and brought his new bride back to the United States.

My wife’s mother, Zenaida, didn’t speak the language and worked hard at being a Navy wife and new mother of three while also learning how to navigate in a new country — all while her husband was usually away at sea. Things like shopping, paying bills and driving were either all new or all different. Nevertheless, by the time my wife was in third grade her mother had become a U.S. citizen.

Glen retired as a chief in the U.S. Navy after having served more than 20 years for his new country. He went on to continue working for the city of Seattle. When I first met my wife’s parents, one of the first things I noticed was that although they kept close ties to their heritage (the house was adorned beautifully with Filipino and other Asian décor), they had a U.S. flag flying from the front of the house. Glen’s truck had a U.S. flag sticker on the window.

They showed me that you don’t have to choose between your former country and your new one. You can maintain your cultural heritage and still be proud and respect your new country, too. It was disheartening to learn about the number of times Glen and his family and friends, most of whom were also U.S. Navy retirees, endured racist slurs and treatment. They were told to “go back where you came from” and the like after serving his new country and working so hard to be successful — and by people who often had never served a single day in the service of their country.

But Glen takes it all in stride, far better than I would expect anybody to. Growing up, my wife spent summers in the Philippines with her parents. Perhaps this is why she is so patriotic, proud to know her heritage but also to be an American, and why my wife doesn’t take it for granted that we enjoy the liberties and life we have in this country.

So I read that there are those in our government who are thinking of granting amnesty to thousands of illegal immigrants, and I honestly have to say that I feel insulted. I feel insulted on behalf of people like Glen and Zenaida, who worked hard at coming to this country legally, then worked hard to become citizens. They were people who continued to work hard at learning their new country’s language, culture, laws and other aspects of what it means to live here, and are genuinely proud to be Americans. What are we telling the Gotidocs and thousands of other immigrants who worked hard at coming to this country legally when we are willing to, with the stroke of a pen, grant amnesty to those whose first act in this country was/is to break the law? What does it say about all the hard work and effort of those who did it right? Why did they bother?

I’m told that many of these illegal immigrants are here to “do the jobs that most Americans don’t want to do,” and frankly, I don’t buy it. Have you ever been to Kodiak? The fishing industry employs thousands of new Americans or foreign residents as fish roe processors (you don’t have to be a citizen of this country to at least work here legally). Obviously, it is possible after all to come here legally to do minimum-wage work.

I’ve always liked the following analogy: imagine you come home from work and find somebody has broken into your house and is eating your food, using your appliances, etc. However, they’ve also swept the floors, cleaned the counters or otherwise did some of the chores you don’t like doing.

Do they get to stay? Are you the bad guy for calling the police and insisting on throwing them out? This argument about doing the work we don’t want to do is weak. It’s a poor substitution for an excuse or reason.

I also hear race being thrown out as a factor. And while it’s true that the majority of illegal immigrants in this country are from Mexico, isn’t that just a natural consequence of that country being to our immediate south across a porous border? Of course they’re going to make up the majority of illegal immigrants. If race is truly a factor, then couldn’t one state that there is racism in the fact that nearly all the government’s attention is directed at appeasing illegal immigrants of Hispanic descent while almost completely ignoring all others? People should tread very carefully when introducing race into what some call “the immigration debate.” That sounds so much better than what it really is — the illegal immigration debate. Race can easily be used both ways.

The illegal immigration debate is understandably a tough one for both major political parties. It’s essentially a stare-down, with thousands or even millions of votes on the line. Whichever party blinks first loses those votes. And if we look at it as a stare-down, then imagine millions of Americans on the sides shouting, begging and pleading with them to stop the stalemate and take action now.

Immigration is good. Immigration and diversity are part of what has made this country strong. And let’s be honest, with the exception of Native Americans, we are all descended from immigrants. But there are reasons for our laws and we face grave consequences when politicians think about waiving laws in order to buy votes. For those who have come here legally, I say “welcome!” For those whose first act in our country is to break the law, well pardon me for not feeling so accommodating.

Ben Compton is a Palmer resident and publishes his column under the tagline “Compton’s Corner,” the same title used by his grandmother, Phyllis Compton, a longtime Frontiersman columnist.