It's Like Pumping Water Up The Hill

That's three I know about in the last three days.

Now, I very seldom take a public political position—although as you may know, I'm an iconoclast and I'm pretty much against what's normal. But that's in general.

But on the immigration issue, I've got close connections. Of course, I’m NOT in immigration attorney, and I do stand to be corrected… And this doesn’t apply to those who are rich and are willing to invest huge sums of money in the U.S. economy, because, of course, they can get in…

I've got a wife and a child in Panamá. My situation is sooo unique. I’m one of the few who theoretically could get my Hispanic wife and child here legally… Though the process could take up to 6 years… (Great way to have a marriage, ¿no?) But they don’t want to come to the U.S. Why? Life is better for them in Panamá. But to continue…

I know what it feels like from the immigrant's side. And in the last three days, three people that I know, or who are in the larger family, have been deported or have stories of deportation.

First, it happens with the father of Adan—which translates to Adam, like the name of the first man. Adan is trying to make a better life for himself. He's 18 years old. His father is 38 years old, still trying to make a better life for himself.

His father was waiting at a place where day laborers gathered, as a lot of people have to do when they first come to this country. It’s morning at Home Depot. This is not because this is what they want to do, or it's their level of life. It's because it's what they have to do here. They’re marginalized.

Remember, like most people, they have to work… You know, “Give us this day, our daily bread…”

Remember, they only have 2 options. Find someone who will employ them and pay them cash – as many senators and high officials do for domestic and landscaping work – or, if they are extremely lucky, they can use a false social security number in a place of regular employment. This is, of course, a ticking time-bomb – because they will be found out within 18 months, depending on timing, after the employer files the annual year end reports and the IRS notes the discrepancy…

And in this particular epoch the police in Nashville, Tennessee, have been on a pick-'em-up episode. Oh, none of these people have committed any crimes… They represent a threat to no one… They only ask the most meager wages… And the police come swarming up with machine guns, paddy wagons, billy clubs, grab 16, and he's one of 'em. He's going back to Honduras.

Then, at lunch recently, I went to one of these "roach coach" events. A roach coach is a catering truck, right? But the food's authentic, and they're staffed by latinoamericanos, normalmente centroamericanos—that is, normally Latin Americans from Central America. We met a young lady named Julisa, and she told us her story because she knew she could trust us.

I was actually with two other Hondureñas, and of course I speak Spanish, so there was no barrier there. She told us the story about how she was deported several months back. She'd been back in the country for six days. She'd been working four of those days. She's back.

I'm not going to say the name of the place we met her to protect the innocent - or the guilty, if you think that way.

And then, I had a friend come visit me…and he had the bad news that his cousin had been picked up and deported.

Now granted, I live a lot closer to the Latin life than you may, and I definitely am seeing more of this, and sharing more, than most people.

I live on both sides of the fence. I'm a Gringo and a Latino; I'm American and Latino. And I tell you, I don't know how we're going to resolve this thing, but we have a problem that we need to put HoloMagic to.

I could easily tell you my opinion, but my opinion's not the issue here. The situation is that we need to work together with love and justice.

We're sending a lot of good, productive people back; but they're not staying back. It's a repetitive thing. It's an ongoing, repetitive expense, like sending water up a hill. Then it comes back down the hill, and then you have to pump it back up the hill again.

This is happening in America – the land of immigrants…

The system isn't working. We have good neighbors.