Is This What You Mean by "Pro" Life?

h/t racismreview

The Tennessee report has discussed the comments of a Tennessee state representative thus:

Rep. Curry Todd remarked during a Fiscal Review Committee presentation this week that the idea of government-funded care for pregnant women [Mexican immigrants] who cannot prove they have United States government permission to be in this country struck him as not unlike inviting a rat infestation. The Collierville Republican made the comments after asking CoverKids program managers whether the state checks the citizenship status of care recipients. . . . [They] responded that CoverKids doesn’t provide medical coverage to pregnant women, but it does offer “unborn coverage …. ”Rep. Todd responded: “Well, they can go out there like rats and multiply, then, I guess.”

I was very sad, and I felt like I was a slave.

That's probably cause in some ways, you were a slave.

You must read this editorial from the New York Times, " 'The Jungle,' Again." I'm usually only focusing on the racial disparities facing African Americans. But, my aim and goal is equality and justice for all. Including those who "legally" shouldn't be here. And I mean to use "legally" cynically. Yes, I understand a nation has the right and duty to protect its borders. It's just that I also understand that thirst and hunger and poverty know no borders. And when I see undocumented workers from Europe, most especially northern and western Europe, being attacked with the zeal as the undocumented workers from Latin America are attacked, I feel like the issue really is about borders and not skin color.

That said, here're two paragraphs from the must-read editorial:

The conditions at the Agriprocessors plant cry out for the cautious and deliberative application of justice.

In May, the government swoops in and arrests ... the workers, hundreds of them, for having false identity papers. The raid’s catch is so huge that the detainees are bused from little Postville to the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo. The defendants, mostly immigrants from Guatemala, are not charged with the usual administrative violations, but with “aggravated identity theft,” a serious crime.

Pretty Sure This Isn't Montgomery, Alabama

Or, 1964.

And a hint for anyone seeking domestic work - don't live in the home with your employers. I'm sure it looks like phone on TV; but historically, it has only led to sexual assualt and harrassment and even rape, being "on-call" 24/7, losing a sense of control over one's destiny, etc, etc.

Shared Struggle Led Women to Political Action
Domestic Workers Spurred Montgomery Protections

By Katherine ShaverWashington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 21, 2008; A01

Most Sundays for the past six years, about 25 live-in nannies and housekeepers from across the Washington area have gathered in Silver Spring to share stories of mandatory six-day workweeks, 14-hour days and salaries that amount to as little as $1 an hour.

Calling themselves the Committee of Women Seeking Justice, they gather in a circle and commiserate in English, Spanish, Hindi and French. Among the topics: no sick days, little overtime pay, feeling "on call" at all hours and sleeping on basement floors. Several have shared stories of having been kept as modern-day slaves, organizers said, rarely allowed out of the house and never seeing a cent.

Some are so worried their bosses will find out about the meetings that organizers use code -- "Come to my nephew's christening" or "Come to my niece's birthday party" -- when calling their employers' homes.

Click here to read more.