The Truth About Immigration

By
Genevieve Van Cleve
– September 9, 2009Posted in: Culture, Politics

People Move

Mexican Migrant 1954 232x300 The Truth About Immigration

Life Magazine Photo of Migrant

No law, no government, no ocean, has ever stopped the
movement of people. Not even almost certain death or
disappearance.

We move.

We go where there is food and shelter. We go where
there is slavery, genocide, lawlessness.

We go to the newest trash heap on the outskirts of Quito, Peru
The gypsy camps of Romania
The slums of Bombay

We go to university in London
Nursing homes in San Diego
Hotel laundries in Berlin

All for the same reason- The survival of our people.

We have traveled over continents, trampled civilizations
Simply to draw a circle around a cabin and say,
-This is where we live.

Why else would white sharecroppers brave starvation
and dust to pick lettuce in the golden valleys of
California?

There’s no border, no fence, no language requirement
That can stop us.

Why else would a young Guatemalan man bribe a border
guard in Chiapas, cross the Sonoran desert, and die in
a truck in El Paso if he did not dream the same dreams
as white sharecroppers?

Why else would New Orleans high school students
protest in the halls of a Texas high school?

Drawing a circle around their lockers
between the lunch room and the gym,
-This is where we live. Until they throw us out.

People move. Whether they want to or not.

At the barrel end of a gun
At the bottom of an empty stomach
At the invitation of an imperialist power
At the unquenchable behest of rapists, pedophiles, popes, and kings

We move.

How else can you explain the women and children
bought, sold, stolen, and hoodwinked
-Into cargo ships bound for brothels on every shore?

How else can you explain the forced migration of
Africans 400 YEARS AGO or YESTERDAY
From Ghana
From Ethiopia
From the Sudan
-Bound for bondage or a refugee camp?

From Germany to Isreal
From Palestine to Egypt
From America to Liberia
From Tibet to India
From China to Taiwan
From Vietnam to America, Ireland to America, Haiti to
America, Mexico to America, Cuba to America, Italy to
America, Germany to America
From Georgia to Chicago
From New Orleans to Anywhere

And in the beginning, long before America was America…
Tribes of Human Beings believed that no one could own
the Earth we could only hope to live in harmony with her.

Why are we surprised when the waves come?
Be it slave ship or hurricane
Be it genocide or famine

There is no poverty, no violence, no humiliation we
are not willing to endure to survive.

We will never stop. We move.

To those coming, we welcome you.
To those forced to come, we welcome you.
To those that will eventually take us in
-We are tired. We’ve traveled a long way.

There is no law, no government, no ocean
Will ever stop the movement of people.

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About Genevieve Van Cleve

Genevieve Van Cleve is the Deputy Political Director at Annie’s List. Prior to Annie’s List, Genevieve served as the Campaign Manager for Rep. Diana Maldonado. Rep. Maldonado is the first Democrat to be elected in Williamson Count in over a decade.Genevieve is a published poet and veteran spoken word performer. In 2005, her work was chosen to appear in the college textbook, Poetry Slam: Redux. In 2007 her poetry was picked to appear in two anthologies, Adam’s Rib, edited by Mahogany Brown, and Word Warriors, edited by Alix Olsen (Seal Press). In 2006, Genevieve released a CD of her work entitled Lady Business. She has appeared on stages across the United States, Ireland, England, and Denmark.The late, great Molly Ivins, featured Genevieve at her monthly political salons and characterized her work as “funny as hell.”