This past week, I read an editorial titled "Undocumented Immigrants Will no Longer be able to Rent in this Small Nebraska Town" on Think Progress. The editorial was written by Esther Yu-Hsi Lee and discusses a Nebraska town's effort of keeping undocumented immigrants from staying and finding jobs. Due to the rapid growth of undocumented immigrants, the town feels that native citizens have been put under a "financial burden" due to legal challenges through property taxes. Fremont, Nebraska hope to follow in Hazleton, Pennsylvania and Farmers Branch, Texas' footsteps by passing a city ordinance banning undocumented immigrants from find jobs and renting homes.
In this editorial, Lee expresses many logical ideas. She quotes many outside sources and presents them in a manner pertinent to the topic at hand. She quoted Laurel Marsh, the ACLU Nebraska director, by stating "If this law goes into effect, it will cause discrimination and racial profiling against Latinos and others who appear to be foreign born, including U.S. citizens." This theory is plausible, simply due to the fact that some people appear to be of foreign nationalities, when in actuality, they are not. Also, she brings up that the nearby Hormel plant recruits large numbers of low- paid, undocumented workers. This is a reason why this ordinance should not be passed. Foreigners who immigrate and end up in Fremont are hungry for opportunity, and are willing to work the jobs(Hormel) that documented citizens are not willing to work.
Lee presents her ideas in a short and direct manner. She uses many sources, which make her work credible. From a personal standpoit, I believe that undocumented immigrants should not be turned away. However, I do am not against them gaining citizenship so that they can get jobs and find homes in Fremont. They only need the opportunity to feel welcome.
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