May 1st was designated as “A Day Without Immigrants”, where, according to KCRA 3,

people tried to show the contributions immigrants make in society. Many people skipped work and school and avoided shopping as part of a protest over immigration legislation now under consideration by Congress.

In San Diego, I definitely noticed a difference around town. I did not see any protests firsthand, but I did see some footage from a news helicopter of people on the Mexican border trying to block traffic from coming into the U.S. These weren’t Americans, but Mexicans trying to get people to participate in their boycott. What I did notice was the lower amount of traffic during the normal rush hour. I was traveling down the freeway during rush hour, but it was moving along quickly. I also went to one of my favorite discount stores, Ross. From my personal experience, Ross and Marshalls are the places where people from Mexico buy low-priced items. Perhaps they are for themselves, but items may also be purchased to sell across the border. There was a substantial decrease in the amount of people shopping and most of the items were still on the shelf instead of strewn across the floor. So, that was another plus. Yet, gasoline prices were not affected, which is the main thing I would like to see.

I am sure there were some companies around the country who lost money during the “Day Without Immigrants”. Yet, there were also a number of us who weren’t directly affected and only saw a positive outcome (less congestion). That’s only because less people were out and about town. So, I’m not sure what effect the protests and boycotts will have on the community. It could divide society between those who want to close the borders and those who want to give immigrants the chance to become citizens and continue to add to our society. I think one day of protests and boycotts doesn’t truly show what would happen if they continued for a month or more. I think only then would we all feel the effects.

I have mixed opinions on the subject and am not sure of the right way to go. Do we treat everyone equally and only allow people into the U.S. after having passed a citizenship test or those who possess a visa? What about those who have lived here for years, are paying taxes and have children who are American citizens? Do we give them a leg up and speed up their citizenship process or do we send them back to their native country? What about those who are trying to get across the border for the first time today? Do we build a fence until we figure out what to do? It’s hard to say.

It is defintely a tough issue since this country was built upon the toil of immigrants. I mean, everyone except Native Americans are immigrants. What was different in the days of Ellis Island compared to today? Was it more difficult to come into this country back then? Did people follow the rules back then and do all of their paperwork? I don’t know. That’ll require a bit more research. For now, I’m thankful for the freedom we have here to talk about these types of issues and help make some decisions.