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Panelists Call for Immediate Action

Wednesday, 23 March 2011 19:37

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Immigration Week at the University of Arizona, hosted by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, began Sunday night with a panel discussion entitled, “Southwest Entry Point: Immigration and Human Rights.”  Through the presentations of the four panelists, the common message delivered was a call for action from the public, immediately.

The panel was moderated by Joseph Wilder, director of the Southwest Center, which is aimed at promoting the character of the greater Southwest.  Wilder also served as a panelist alongside Dr. Raquel Rubio-Goldsmith, adjunct lecturer of Mexican American Studies; Isaías G. Noguez, coordinator of political affairs and outreach at the Mexican Consulate in Tucson; and Mike Wilson, a Tohono O'odham human rights activist.

The call for action was most passionately delivered by Wilson and Noguez.

Wilson urged the public to be less hesitant to criticize the Tohono O’odham nation.  According to Wilson, nearly 42% of all migrant deaths occur on the tribe’s land.  These numbers, along with many other factors, have led Wilson to criticize them. 

“My criticism is not against my own people, but against the tribal government for not accepting and evading its moral responsibility to prevent human suffering and human death on my tribal lands,” he said.

Wilson’s criticism against other citizens is that they are not holding the Tohono O’odham nation accountable for their activities, or rather their inactivity in the matter.  “Why are we not being held accountable?” he asked. “Accountability is the hallmark, is the capstone, of a democratic society.”

“It is a deathly silence, because our collective lack of accountability on the Tohono O’odham government says, 'no more deaths' except on the Tohono O’odham nation, then it's okay,” Wilson said.  “In doing this, it seems to be saying, ‘Well what do you expect, they are only Indians.’  It's not even a double standard.  It is simply a lack of moral standard when it comes to holding the Tohono O'odham people accountable.”

Noguez’s call for action was centered more around the American people as a whole, and the need for cooperation between the United States and Mexico.  After describing some of the difficulties that he deals with on a daily basis, Noguez explained the main problem lies with conflicting efforts of the two countries.

“We [the U.S. and Mexico] have to share this responsibility, it affects both countries, we have to trust and respect each other,” Noguez said. “We have common problems and challenges to deal with and we can reach solutions together.”

Going along with the need for compliance between the two nations, Noguez urged the audience to keep an open mind about possible solutions.  “You all can take action and try to change the current conditions. It is important to have a wide-open perspective about immigrants.  You decide whom your authorities are, authorities that make important decisions.  It is important you allow Mexican government to be part of the debate on immigration.”

These calls to action served as the welcoming message to the SBS Immigration Week.  For the next few days, the UA will be home to a multitude of exhibits, speeches, panel discussions and film presentations all relating to issues with immigration in the United States.

Wilson ended the discussion with a message that served to help end tension within the room, but also serves as a very meaningful message that should be absorbed by all who participates in Immigration Week.  “We need to humbly look back at our history of immigration.  All of us are beneficiaries, we have received blessing, upon blessing, upon blessing that result from immigration. We are all here because of immigration history in this great country.”

Written by Wil Rapp You are reading Panelists Call for Immediate Action articles

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