immigration reform

Recently Stan Marek, CEO of the MAREK, a construction company with headquarters in Houston and branch offices in Atlanta, Austin, DFW, and San Antonio, was interviewed by Andy Uhler for National Public Radio’s Marketplace about the viability of the recently-filed E-Verify System Act of 2018.

The curtain is rising once again on Immigration Theater, that political playhouse in which the Trump administration engages in headline-grabbing showmanship rather than actually addressing the issue of illegal immigration.

If passion, energy and heated rhetoric could solve our immigration issues, then Congress would have long ago passed a comprehensive reform bill. Instead, as slogans grow more bitter, workable solutions recede. Civil discourse, not inflammatory speech, ultimately propels progress. Thankfully, the Center for Houston's Future, a non-profit, has stepped into the breach with a series of films directed by Gregory Kallenberg that aim to create a common ground and spark conversation among the silent majority of Americans who largely agree on a mix of immigration reform policies, including a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants.

In an event that brought tears to the eyes of some in attendance, the filmmakers behind The Rational Middle Immigration Documentary Series unveiled their newest work to Houstonians Wednesday night at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Pointing to the magnificent setting for the evening’s discussion, CEO of MAREK Construction, Stan Marek, said “Everything you see here, my team of immigrants built.”

“What part of illegal don’t you understand?” is a common retort in discussions of what should be done about undocumented workers in industries such as construction. The answer isn’t as clear cut as it seems.