i remember as a child going with my family on vacation in a neighboring state. as we crossed the border, all vehicles with out-of-state license plates were instructed to pull off the highway where the driver would be questioned by state police about what the purpose of the visit to the state was, how long they would be staying, and whether there were any agricultural products in the vehicle, all these being asked as the officer or officers looked inside the vehicle at the contents and the other occupants. it was a frightening introduction to the state, especially for a young child.
i am reminded of these interrogations each time i pass through a customs checkpoint when returning to this country, where the agents are often rude and demeaning. i often wonder if they are as discourteous to non-citizens coming into the country on business or vacation. i hope not. my experience with border crossings into most other countries has always been pleasant, and i have felt welcomed. the only exception was on our recent trip to russia, where we spent a couple of days. the passport control officers there were brusque and, while they were stiffly polite, we didn't feel that they wanted us in their country.
as i read of people's encounters with border control agents in this country at the checkpoints they have set up in states like new hampshire, i can imagine the reaction of those who are stopped on the highway and asked about their citizenship status. though the courts have ruled that these agents have the right to stop people and ask such questions, it seems an invasion of privacy to have one's progress on the highway miles away from any international border interrupted solely for the purpose of determining whether the traveler is a citizen of the usa. at these checkpoints, there is no pretense at having cause to stop every vehicle as it travels down the road. the checkpoints are there for only one reason: to try and apprehend undocumented aliens. one person i heard interviewed recently was a native-born new hampshire citizen who refused to answer the question about his citizenship status. he was held by border control for several hours, though it was obvious that he was a legal resident with a new hampshire car tag and driver's license, and his residency could easily be verified by accessing his driving record and car registration.
in our government's zeal for finding, arresting, and deporting those who are here illegally, our country is being turned into a police state. by recalling the checkpoint that my family went though as we travelled to another state, i can get a small sense of the fear that the undocumented who have lived here for years, contributed to our economy, built lives for themselves and their families must feel, knowing that at any moment their lives may be destroyed by one simple question: "are you a citizen or legal resident of this country?" the racial discrimination that those who skins are a little too brown or who speak english with a slight "foreign" accent must endure because someone suspects that these traits signal the likelihood that these "different" people are illegals is abhorrent.
we read of many instances where people of color are attacked or challenged by other citizens because they are in places where their attackers don't believe they should be. for instance, a black resident of a neighborhood was confronted by a white resident at the community swimming pool, which required a keycard that signified residence in the neighborhood for entrance, despite the woman's possession of such a keycard. the police were called, and they confirmed that the woman had every right as a resident of the neighborhood to be there. her attacker was forced to resign his position with the community home owner's association, but in the meantime, this woman had been humiliated simply because she was a member of a racial minority who resided in a predominately white neighborhood. such incidents are becoming all too frequent in our society, and the current climate of suspecting those who are somehow different from the majority and the permission to act in a openly racist manner that our president and his administration have given to our citizenry are erasing years of progress toward becoming an open and free society. racism is alive and well in the usa, and our fervor for expelling those who have come here to escape violence, poverty, and oppression because they don't have the right papers in their possession contributes to repression of those who aren't "white" enough or who don't speak with a "real" american accent.
may we defend those who have too few defenders in the current climate of bigotry in this country. may we embrace those who appear or sound different from the majority. may we have compassion for those whose only hope is to reach this country and establish new lives for themselves here. may we again become a beacon of freedom for the world, rather than the promoters of the worst sorts of racism. may we say with emma lazarus, "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." shalom.
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