Local commentator Ricardo Pimentel shared a bit of his enthusiasm for journalism with the ASU community as he spoke about immigration policies at the national and state levels on Thursday.
Pimentel is a columnist for The Arizona Republic, a fiction writer, and the son of Mexican immigrants. He is a strong advocate for loosening up the restrictions of current immigration laws. In his speech, called "Immigration Where Justice Takes a Holiday", Pimentel explained his controversial beliefs and the reasons behind them.
"The economic wealth that we have in the United States is due in a large part, to [immigrant] labors, and we need a broad reform program," Pimentel said.
Among the changes Pimentel felt were most important for immigrants were larger and better guest worker programs that come with the possibilities of residency and some sort of process for orderly and legal immigration. Pimentel also said that the United States should increase the allowable visas for countries with the most people immigrating.
"I don't advocate an open border, but we will probably eventually gravitate towards that, and it does us little good to demonize undocumented immigrants," Pimentel said.
According to Pimentel, most studies show that immigrants pay more in taxes than they use in government assistance. He also noted that as the need for unskilled labor rises and Americans don't fulfill the positions, immigrants will be a necessary component of economic growth.
"We deal with everything as harshly as possible and we have the resources at the boarder to create a huge wall so people don't come through," Pimentel said. "But even if we build something like the Berlin Wall, people will come in."
Pimentel is a strong advocate of the Dream Act, which would allow infants who come to the United States to be educated through college. However, he stands firmly against the Clear Act, which would allow local law enforcement officials to become immigration agents.
"I know immigration is an emotional topic, but we must realize that it's very complex," said Pimentel. "We tend to get very simplistic."
According to Professor Cecilia Menjivar, an ASU immigration instructor, the problem is a lot of misinformation in the media.
"The politicians and public officials who buy into the public's fears simply feed back fears," said Menjivar.
"It's really interesting and beneficial to hear opinions to juxtapose a lot of what is portrayed in the media," ASU business student Laurel Buonpane said. "It really creates a more well-rounded perspective."
Still, some students were not swayed by Pimentel and his stance on immigration.
"I felt the speaker was very well informed on the subject, but lacked any plausible solutions," business student Mark Fischer said.
Pimentel wrapped up his speech by explaining that the ultimate solution to all of this is for the United States to help Mexico become less of a third world country.
"Lets devise a system that is fair," said Pimentel. "We must always remember to use a humanitarian sense and sense of justice in dealing with immigration policies."
Katie McDevitt is a reporter for the Web Devil. Reach her at kathleen.mcdevitt@asu.edu.