It's not even so long my people have even been in this country. On my father's side, I am only the second Herrera born here, and I come directly from migrant farmworkers. My father is a professor and an author, but he worked the fields as a child. He is proud that my abuela, my nanita—his mother—got her citizenship, but I don't care. I see her, him, and myself as no different than these people getting rounded up left and right. I do not place such moral stock in these papers the State gives or takes away based on whim, based on wars waged on false means, authority and decisions stamped in blood, signed in secret, proposed and paraded as something entirely different for the people.

On my mother's side, I am the third in our family line to be born here. Like my Romanian/Polish Great-grandmother who stowed away on a ship and fled to America fleeing the fallout of Der Kristallnacht, my people are again being hunted. This time it is Mexicans under the scope of those who fear mixing blood with other kinds. Screaming about numbers, borders, cultures, languages—but we are not stupid. We know what you want. We know what you fear. Wipe the language, wipe the accent, wipe the traditions and memory, burn the flag, wipe the name; The Morph to "American" and Lose Your Self game. I understand perfectly well. It's what you want to do to todo el mundo. One world, one people. Americans. White Americans. If not White in color, than White in the eyes, White in the bones, White in the fingers, White in the belly, White in the heart.

You hunt my people, you hunt me. You offer false reasons, and you wag your guns and keys. You corral my people into jails, begin to terrorize and remind everyone who is The Master. One more time. I hope you understand what you are starting. But I suppose you do, and that is why even as we speak, you are fully prepared to level Martial Law on us all. Call me paranoid, just keep your nose to the wind, 'mano. Keep your eyes up, and don't drop your chin.

I—like these men, women, and children you now lock up—hail from the Indians who came to this continent, farmed it, and lived on the land long ago. Thousands of years we've walked this continent. Not two hundred. Not five. Thousands. You now score the scars that are hardly cooled. You now deepen divisions you would do better to heal.

When you abuse these people, these faithful scapegoats, these hardworking humans who helped build your nation—as my family has—who have tirelessly fed your commerce engine; people who starve in the shadow of this American goliath, these people who help put food on your own table—when you turn and persecute them, shove them into concentration camps because it suits your fear, your notions of White Supremacy, or your hypocritical political opportunity—my blood boils, you see. My hot, hot, memory-steeped, Mexican blood boils within me.

[A]t the Taylor facility of the 400 people "held" there, 200 are children. And all are families that can be held there for whatever length of time without due process conducted in a timely manner.

To top it off, as long as the men, women and children are held there, the facility's operator draws a daily profit - per person.

The children range in age from infants on up.

According to the lawyers who have visited their clients in the facility, the children receive one hour of education, English instruction, a day and one half hour of indoor recreation.

Jeans and t-shirts have been replaced with jail uniforms; children are issued uniforms as soon as they can fit into them — and everyone must wear name tags, even the babies.

—Latina Lista

Bullying children, scaring children. Jailing children. Tearing families apart. Words like "enforce the laws" while you break every single one that suits you, even rescinding the bedrock rights of Americans. Words like "Hiring more Whites." Words like "a different breed of worker, now that more money is being offered." Now. That more money is being offered. A PR stunt to let all the Dobbsians know that SEE there are Americans willing to do those slimy, messy, stinking, ugly jobs. No need for Mexicans at all, actually.

Jobs. The clarion call of the TV-fed American who chooses to know nothing about history. Who chooses not to attack those from India when American companies hire hundreds and hundreds of people there to avoid paying workers here. And is this American aware of the American companies that fire American workers to build factories in Mexico? Does this racist, Nationalist, TV-fed American not know of all the many, many ways their own government feeds itself cash while cutting corners on every single issue that concerns human beings?

Fools. We are all living in the shadow of the crumbling empire, the falling dollar. You and I do not matter. Mostly, Mexicans don't matter right now. Unless they can be used. Used for their labor, for the symbolic value of locking us up, used to build fences to keep the rest out. While you suck up all the little pieces of culture that you find oh-so-tasty. I hope you choke on your next tamale, Nationalist.

And yet, you're not done.

We know, this has been in the works for a while. And Halliburton once again cashes in on human pain. And we know why there was no celebration of the #300,000,000th American this year. What's to celebrate? The browning of America?

Those of us who do pay attention to history know what America celebrates. And judging by the past, the hardest partying is dead ahead.

...[A]s the Chinese established themselves, starting businesses and becoming active members of the community, they were first ridiculed, their businesses were boycotted, and then they were intimidated. Finally, angry mobs rounded up the Chinese and threatened or beat them until they left town. By 1910, this ethnic cleansing of many small communities was complete. We look back on that moment in the West’s history as an ugly time that ultimately took a toll not only on the victims of the intimidation, but also on the culture of the communities where it happened. Judging by December’s raids and their painful aftermath, we haven’t learned much from our mistakes.

—vailtrail.com

Your aggression against this idea of the Other continues. Your aggression and hate against my people continues. The long war against Mexico continues. Am I to smile, spout Alberto lines, talk about cards and be grateful I don't need to worry about mine? No, I will not do this. For now, I watch you. Many of us watch you.

You make yourself perfectly clear.