Immigration

Hundreds of guest workers are lured to the United States under false pretenses. They are ruthlessly exploited by the labor contractors who bring them here. Their U.S. employer turns a blind eye to this exploitation. And the contractor bullies the workers into paying fees and taking out loans that keep them in virtual slavery.

My mother’s birth certificate, dated 1915 and issued in Brooklyn, New York, gives her name as Maria. I knew her only as Mary, the name that appears on her marriage certificate, her social security card and her gravestone. Her sister Philomena was so determined to get away from her name that she had it changed legally to Phyliss. Their brother Philipo chopped his down to Philip. Their other siblings? Anna became Anne, Elisa morphed into Alice and Cosimo was known to his friends as Pete.  

Hundreds of high school and college students gathered around the state capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday. They were there to convince Gov. Jan Brewer to veto Senate Bill 1070.  These young protesters were disappointed though. Brewer signed the bill and instantly set back relations between whites and Latinos in Arizona and other parts of the country.

This time of year, high school seniors around the country answer that question on a daily basis. Most can offer a ready—and truthful—answer. They’re heading off to college, joining the military, starting out in a trade.