Are you looking at me?

Are you talking to me? I only ask, because there is no-one else here.

Actually, that's not true. There are one million of us each year, actually.

14% of us come from Mexico, which I guess makes me part of the majority as far as the US is concerned; yes, fully understand the insanity of dividing the world into Mexico and "everywhere else", but wait a moment and I shall explain.

Who are we? We are legal immigrants to the United States.

Yeah, that's right - I'm going to be an immigrant. No, I don't speak Spanish. No, I don't come from a third or a second world country. No, I didn't get here via a dusty lorry along backroads with my passage lubricated by pessos and catcus oil.

I come from the fourth largest economy in the world, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, member of the G8, NATO and the EU. I speak the same language as you. I am Caucasian . . . okay, for those of you who want to pretend that Hispanic is a real ethnic division (it's not, really, it's not) and not just part of Caucasian, I am Anglo-Caucasoid. Yes, I just made that up.

And that is the point that I wish to make here.

I'm not going to get involved in the debate about immigration - because, frankly, it bores me. And it is ridiculous and incomprehensible. No, I am not going to talk about the fact President Bush says that the National Anthem should not be sung in Spanish, and yet uses Spanish himself a lot. Neither am I going to ask how many American-born citizens can innumerate the five freedoms granted in the First Ammendment to the United States Constitution vis-a-vis the number of immigrants who can do the same. I am not going to mention the Dubai Ports debacle and the implied racism of that.

No, such issues - from a European perspective - are non-starters.

Briefly, who the Hell are you? I mean, come on. I own books older than your country. You came from nothing yesterday. As far as most of Europe is concerned, you are all immigrants. In fact, as far as many of you yourselves are concerned, you're all immigrants. You lot come over here looking for your histories and families. You make a big thing of it.

That is fine and wonderful - personally, I wouldn't. Personally, I'd say, "I'm a United States Citizen" and concentrate on getting some history myself. But I digress.

Anyway - putting this aside, what points am I here to make? I am not going to talk about the immigration "issue" - partly because it bores me, but partly because I can't speak intelligently on it. It's not that I don't know about the issues - but rather I can't even grasp the rationale behind the debate. I don't know why people hold the views they do.

But, the point I am trying to make? It is very simple.

14% of legal immigrants are from Mexico. That means the other 86% are not. The majority of legal immigrants to the US do not conform to the image you probably have of them, nor are they even included in the groups you are discussing in the debates.

860,000 non-Mexican people - roughly - will become permanent legal residents of the USA in 2006. One of them will be me.

So, why the furore about Mexico? Is it because it is from Mexico and Latin American that the majority of illegal immigrants come?

The anger appears to be that a law might be passed that would make it easier for people to legally become residents of the USA; a fast-track, an amnesty, whatever.

No-one bitches about the 860,000, do they?

So, the problem isn't about legal immigrants - it's about illegal ones. Okay, that I can understand.

But why the anger about making those 1 million illegal immigrants simply another 1 million legal immigrants? Why the anger about this? You know these people would be vetted - they would have to pay for the service. Alongside making legal immigration easier, illegal immigration would have to be made harder. This is logical. The only thing spoken off has been with reference to benefits to the USA.

At this stage, one has to ask; is this really about immigration?

Or is it, perhaps, simply about race?

I don't think it is - but, then again, I know "Hispanic" isn't an ethnic division.

Do you? And, I ask again, are you - when you think of "immigrant" - looking at me?

Darknight