As the Republican Party looks to improve its image among Hispanics, it probably shouldn't consult Notre Dame sociology professor and immigration expert Jorge Bustamante.
In a column last month for La Reforma, one of Mexico's most prominent newspapers, Bustamante said those who hope Congress will approve legislation to legalize illegal immigrants are in for a disappointment when the debate reaches the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.
Bustamante, a Tijuana native who joined the Notre Dame faculty in 1986, wrote that the legalization issue is as divisive in the United States now as was the issue of eradication of slavery in the 19th century. Then, after writing that in both controversies, cheap labor was at stake, he added this jaw-dropping comment. I will first quote it in his original Spanish for those might want to check the translation:
Algo que muchos estadounidenses están dispuestos a jugársela con las armas antes que perder las ganancias derivadas de la baratez de la mano de obra.
Wanting to be certain that I translated this correctly, I sent Professor Bustamante an email. I identified myself as a Notre Dame alumnus and asked if this would be a correct translation:
This is something that many Americans are willing to take up arms to fight for rather than lose their profits from cheap labor.
Professor Bustamante responded with this: "Thank you for your message. The translation you made is completely adequate. I'm very glad you gave me the pleasure of serving a Notre Dame alumnus."
Now, Bustamante has too many credentials as an advocate for illegal immigrants to be dismissed as a crackpot.
He founded Mexico's College of the Northern Border, which has long done important work about Mexican migrants and other subjects. In 2006 the Mexican Congress nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2007 the American Sociological Association honored him with the Cox-Johnson-Frazier Award for his work on behalf of Mexican migrants. He has also served as a special United Nations rapporteur on migrant rights.
But his comments are among the most provocative I have ever seen in the discussion of U.S. immigration policy. In a follow-up email, I asked the professor to identify legalization foes who had expressed a desire to take up arms. I told him I would like to expose them. I also observed that "many employers of undocumented workers … are lobbying in favor of a broad legalization program."
More than a month after sending that email, I have received no response. I remain amazed at the column, which Bustamante ended on this ominous note.
Fundamentally, the availability of the labor of millions of the undocumented is seen by those who oppose legalization as a resource that belongs to them, for whose availability they are willing to fight to the extent necessary before allowing it to be lost. The rancor that this fight will produce is only beginning to come into view.