Bay Buchanan delivered an enthused presentation entitled “Illegal Immigration and
Its Tragic Consequences” to a cozy audience last night in Chase Hall Lounge. The talk was sponsored by the Bates College Republicans, and Buchanan was introduced by club president Alix Melamed ’10.
Melamed noted that Buchanan was the youngest United States Treasurer in the history of our country when she worked under Ronald Regan from 1981-83. She is now chair of Team America PAC, which is committed to securing the borders of the United States from illegal immigration. She also managed her brother Pat Buchanan’s political campaigns and served as an advisor to Mitt Romney during his recent presidential bid.
Buchanan began her speech by noting that Melamed’s mother was her roommate and best friend at Rosemont College. She acknowledged that she expected that many Bates students would disagree with her.
“The great spirit of America is that we can debate and disagree and walk out laughing and talking,” she said, a theme she returned to later, urging Bates students to debate again and again, “until the firestorms do not disturb you”.
Buchanan promised that intense, passionate debate would create the strong leaders that she says America is lacking. She decried politicians’ fear of speaking their minds. “One of the most common votes in Washington is a party line vote…sheep can do that” she remarked.
After a few comments on the anger Americans hold regarding the issue of illegal immigration, Buchanan discounted the relevance of race in the debate. She painted stories of small communities “destroyed by illegals,” particularly emphasizing the effect that cheap illegal labor has on small businesses which cannot compete while paying their workers fair wages. “It’s a job issue,” she said, condemning the notion that illegal immigrants fill unwanted jobs. “These are jobs Americans can surely use today” she said. “We are a nation of immigrants…but through history we have shut the door at the proper times…but we don’t shut them anymore.” The recession, she said, would justify a widespread halt of legal immigration with few exceptions, until the economy recovers.
Buchanan spoke extensively about problems of increased crime, particularly related to the “billion dollar business” of bringing drugs into this country. “The government could fail in two places that would severely hurt our national security: Pakistan and Mexico. There are drug cartels there” she said. “There are bodies on the street everyday in Mexico…our border is wide open”.
Reiterating what she considered to be the main problems with illegal immigration, Buchanan listed “crime, drugs, gangs, job situation…and cost.” She cited cases of hospitals near the border closing because of a huge demand for emergency room services for illegal immigrants who could not pay, as well as the increased educational costs. Buchanan was especially critical of the costs of ESL programs for communities that “aren’t speaking the language they should.” She argued the importance of a period of assimilation.”
Buchanan constantly returned to the theme of a government failing to uphold its laws, blaming the lack of “guts” in Washington. In the question and answer period, she argued against students who raised humanitarian concerns. “We have to do what’s best for the United States,” she said. “Just because there are needy people and good people doesn’t mean we should let them come in illegally.”
After Buchanan’s speech, the Bates Immigrant Rights Advocates met in the Multicultural Center to discuss her argument. Mert Karakus ’11, Political Action Coordinator for BIRA, noted that Buchanan “started out angry at Washington…and maintained a tone of anger” throughout her talk.
The group discussed the issue of assimilation, particularly that of Spanish speakers in America. “I don’t think she believed that an American identity can be acquired later in life…but that you have to be born into it” said Karakus.
Uriel Gonzalez ’11, a Mexican immigrant and a resident of Texas, pointed out that in some cases illegal immigrants who have already assimilated to American culture are deported and find themselves “losing their identity” with “nowhere to go”. He related his own experiences, and noted “I’m assimilated, but I’m still seen differently…you can’t change how you look.”
“I think a lot of this is fear of the unknown” said Cristian Ruiz ’12, Community Engagement Coordinator for BIRA. The group agreed that since American culture is constantly in flux, it is useless to try to prevent change. “The desire to go elsewhere to look for opportunity is innate and it’s human” argued Sarah Davis ’10, President of BIRA.
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