Transcript
Antonio Salcido
Engineer, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
I am really appreciative to be here. I am an engineer and in the evenings, I teach ESL and do other things with my community. I served on the Idaho Committee on Hispanic Affairs for six years and this program is called The Americans, Los Americanos. Y toda la gente que está aqui, all of us here, are Americanos, my eyes may be different but I was born in America. A little bit south, but in America, and it is time to face reality. September 11th gave me a different perspective of the whole works. There are people that have very different lifestyles and abilities and opportunities to succeed in life, and many of them live south of the border. That's why they come here, because they watch TV and now they have the internet. They don't come here to achieve "The American Dream"; they come here to better themselves and their families. Why? We here are not going to fix the problem, it is our governments that need to fix the problem. The reason why people come here is because if I am in Mexico and I weld a piece of metal, I make only 50 cents an hour and if I come to the States, I make $5.50 an hour. I come here legally or illegally, because I need to survive. Your cost is my contribution. I contribute; I pay taxes. I am an engineer, I was educated in Mexico, I am contributing to the INEEL to the best of my abilities and I am high in the ranks of INEEL.
|