San Jose takes a leaf from the Martha’s Vineyard Book of Migrants

Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day, everyone! I hope that you’re celebrating with a new land acknowledgment.

Any time that we think about Native Americans we can also think about immigration, a process that certainly did not in any way replace Native Americans on what is today U.S. territory.

We are informed that low-skill migration into an advanced economy makes all native-born residents richer. At the same time, we are informed by low-skill migration into an advanced economy with ever-higher rents can lead to homelessness. See “From violence to homelessness: Colombian migrants’ journey to Silicon Valley” (San Jose Spotlight), for example.

Arias and Castillo, with an 8-year-old daughter and 1 1/2 -year-old son, had no option but to flee their homeland.

Arias and Castillo said they were sent to San Jose by ICE, which funded the trip. Others were led here by dishonest “guides” who claimed there would be resources for them, according to county officials.

It is “dishonest” to say that Californians who have “migrants welcome” signs on their lawns will actually welcome migrants?

With a language barrier and no idea where to find shelter or food, the family became homeless and ended up in Roosevelt Park in San Jose.

The county said many families arrive under a false impression that designated resources and housing are available. County officials have been working with the Colombian consulate on an education campaign.

“For folks who do not have status, there are limitations on what they’re eligible for—in housing or otherwise,” she said. “They should expect long waitlist on just about everything.”

Maybe a city packed with folks who say that they welcome migrants and want to help the unhoused can build some housing for those migrants and the unhoused? “San Jose: City workers urge council to scrap controversial tiny home site for homeless residents” (Mercury News, 9/19):

Following a backlash from neighbors, city workers are recommending that San Jose back down from a proposal to build tiny homes for homeless residents on a controversial piece of land across the street from an elementary school — the latest indication of the daunting difficulties in combating homelessness.

As part of its goal to build more much-needed shelter for the city’s growing homeless population, the San Jose City Council voted this summer to move forward with tiny homes on Noble Avenue near the Penitencia Creek Trail that winds between the Dr. Robert Gross Ponds. But the city employees tasked with vetting the project now want councilmembers to reconsider. Citing “additional associated challenges” with the Noble Avenue site, Deputy City Manager Omar Passons said the location is not feasible.

… Passons’ findings are likely to elicit applause from neighbors who objected to the plan.

San Jose, which has more than 6,700 homeless residents, is leaning heavily on tiny homes as a strategy to mitigate its worsening homelessness crisis.

Nearly 3,500 people have signed a Change.org petition titled “Say NO to the homeless tiny homes on Noble Ave,” citing the need to preserve the “safety and peace of our children.” The site is across the street from Noble Elementary School.

Think of the children!

Speaking of Martha’s Vineyard, here are some members of the Vineyard Poverty Relief Committee walking over the Thames (from last week’s trip to London):

7 thoughts on “San Jose takes a leaf from the Martha’s Vineyard Book of Migrants

    • That’s a great point. The Dalai Lama shouldn’t have to host any migrants (see https://www.newsweek.com/dalai-lama-says-europe-europeans-refugees-should-go-home-and-rebuild-1120065 ) but the Pope should open up his incredibly spacious apartments! (I will make my standard offer to pay for the migrants’ food if His Holiness will give them shelter in his own home.) There should be room for at least 1,000 migrants immediately if the Catholic officials are willing to use spare bedrooms. Then there is a 4-hectare open space that is seldom used (St. Peter’s Square, suitable primarily for outdoor spreading of COVID-19). That’s 40,000 square meters. If we figure 40 square meters per migrant in an apartment building, 1,000 migrants could be housed per floor of a residential skyscraper. The Vatican is sovereign so they needn’t worry about Italian/Roman zoning laws. They can go up 100 stories like the world’s other super tall residential buildings, yielding a hearty welcome for 100,000 additional migrants.

  1. People in Texas have begun helping migrants with these posters https://i.imgur.com/0NJMeCO.jpeg, which translate to “In the US illegally? Houses with these signs [for democrat politicians] will help. Visit for food, water, clothing, money, and free housing.”

  2. @philg: While in London did you get a glimpse of the confrontations between “angry motorists” and the Stop Oil Now and Animal Rebellion protestors?

    • There were some protests on our last day in the city, a sunny Saturday. Nobody in Britain is in a good mood right now due to markets’ reactions to their Reagan-style political-economic plan. What worked in the 1980s is anathema given what we know today.

  3. Fox News, 10/07/22 – Las Vegas stabbing suspect is in US illegally, has criminal record in California

    https://www.foxnews.com/us/las-vegas-stabbing-suspect-us-illegally-has-criminal-record-california

    “The suspect accused of killing two people and injuring six others during a stabbing rampage on the Las Vegas Strip is in the U.S. illegally, sources told Fox News.

    “Yoni Barrios, 32, is a Guatemalan national in the U.S. illegally with a criminal record in California, a source with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said…”

  4. Now that Trump isn’t president anymore & we can be politically incorrect again, maybe we can rename Columbus day to something more useful like exploration day. Let’s celebrate landing on the moon, landing on Mars, flying an SR-20 to Wisconsin.

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