Eddie Herrera came to mind last night when I was listening to the news. All the talk about immigration reform, border security, and worker permits for illegals made me think of my former classmate. Eastern Oregon agriculture was dependent on migrant farm workers who lived in what we then called labor camps during the summer. Eddie’s family lived and worked in the community year around. They were one of the very few Mexican American families in our area who were not migrants.

We have a long history of economic dependence and exploitation of people who have come legally and illegally to our country. Illegal immigration looks to me like a problem we have created. I think we run the risk of looking silly when we try to blame the victims.