In 1999 a US Senator was approached by a novelist for
help with a US-Mexican immigration plan for the novel "Estados
Unidos/United States" (pub. 11/03). In 2004 Bush, then Kerry,
proposed plans duplicating the fictional amendment.
(PRWEB) September 21, 2004 -- In August 1999, the United States' press reported that the city of El Cenizo, Texas was rumored to be seceding from the union. In June 2003, USA Today reported that Hispanics were now the largest minority group in the USA. In January 2004, President Bush proposed a sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws that could give legal status to millions of undocumented workers in the United States, followed in the fall by John Kerry's similar plan which additionally offered citizenship eligibility within a five year period to immigrants.
Ironically (or perhaps not), in 1999 a sitting US Senator was approached with an almost identical immigration plan written by a couple of novelists, Kris Kline and Stephen Kline, who were writing a fictional book on Mexican-US immigration policy. The senator took their proposal and constructed it for them into legislative terminology. They called their plan the Dow Amendment and it became the theme for the novel "Estados Unidos/United States" which was submitted for publication in November of 2003, before Bush announced his immigration proposal.
Bush's startling proposal, and Kerry's five-year citizenship eligibility addition, beg the question: Was the Klines' novel "Estados Unidos/United States" responsible for shaping future US-Mexican immigration policy?
The Dow Amendment reads as follows:
THE DOW AMENDMENT ENABLING ACT
AN ELECTIVE AMENDMENT TO THE IMMIGRATION LAWS
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Article 1
Any US state may elect to open its borders to Mexican immigration, providing the following conditions are met.
Article 2
Citizens of Mexico shall have the right of unrestricted movement into the United States upon providing proof that they are guaranteed employment within the ratifying state. No restriction exists on travel within the United States, but a new issuance of immigration cards will be provided, valid for employment only within the sponsoring state.
Article 3
Minimum wage for first-year Mexican workers shall be eighty percent of the prevailing minimum wage, increasing incrementally to minimum wage over a five-year period. Ratifying states are required to provide any shortfall in Social Security and Medicare withholding taxes equivalent to minimum wage levels throughout the five-year period. Actuarial formulas will be prepared by the General Accounting Office.
Article 4
After no more than five years of residence and employment in the United States, each Mexican worker and his or her immediate family will be eligible for United States citizenship, including all rights and privileges.
Article 5
Enforcement and facilitation of these articles shall be entrusted to the US Immigration Service, which will form a special division to serve each noncontiguous, ratifying state, also to provide funding. Contiguous states may share unified enforcement.
Article 6
Upon completion of first-year employment, no state-sponsored immigrant shall be deported without due process as defined under current immigration statutes.
Article 7
If not ratified by one or more states within seven years of adoption, this amendment to the US Immigration Code becomes null and void.
"Estados Unidos/United States" probes the potential for this ambitious union between the United States and Mexico in a story that vividly captures the sweep of social diversity and political intrigue while teeming with an extraordinary cast of characters.
Esteban Sanchez, a wealthy Mexican businessman, solicits the sponsorship of a right-wing Texas senator to implement his Dow Amendment, the border-cracking legislation. His brilliant, captivating son Carlos works separately behind the scenes, calling on the positions and expertise of his closest intimates - among them his highly honorable and politically astute American lover Janet, their American-born Latina confidant, Maria, and Carlos closest compatriot, Miguel - to employ more drastic tactics to carve out a separate nation for himself by taking advantage of Texas's perpetual right to divide itself into five states (a historical fact).
More information about "Estados Unidos/United States" is available through www.galleryNOW.com/estadosunidos The book can be ordered through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and other better book stores.
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