Miners' Legal Status is a S(m)oot Point

Ever since the devastating mine collapse at Utah's Crandall Canyon Mine trapping six miners, there has been speculation voiced regarding the legal status and qualifications of three of those miners who happen to be Mexican immigrants.

Their names are: Carlos Payan, 23; Manuel Sanchez, 41; and Luis Hernandez, 24.

During these times of rampant anti-illegal immigrant hysteria, the foremost question everyone seems to be asking is: "Are they legal?" -- as if that should factor in the decision to deem them worthy of saving or not.

In an AP story, it was reported that the Mexican Consulate told Utah Governor Jon Huntsman that they were legal immigrants.

Others have questioned their qualifications. Of the three, Manuel had the most experience -- 15 years. The other two had several weeks under their belt. Not unlike fellow trapped miner Brandon Phillips, 24 years of age, who had been trained only three weeks ago himself.

But perhaps what is more disturbing is to read those news stories with headlines like: "Mine collapse illustrates influx of Hispanics into Utah's mining industry" or "More Hispanics are Working Utah's Mines."

Each story planting the implication that Mexicans working in the mines make them unsafe, or that Mexicans working and dying in U.S. mines is a newfound phenomenon.

Well, it's not, and I don't have to look any further than my own family to know that.

My grandmother routinely recounted the story of how she lost her younger brother in what has historically been the worst loss of life for Mexican immigrants in a mining disaster in the state of Oklahoma.

On December 17, 1929, my great-uncle Rafael Nevarez Salazar and thirty-one other Mexican miners died when a spark from an electric cutting machine ignited a gas explosion at the Little Bolen Mine in McAlester, Oklahoma. The disaster claimed five sets of Mexican brothers.

Twenty-four of the miners were buried in a mass grave that since has been designated part of the National Register of Historic Places. It's simply referred to on the list as "Mass Grave of the Mexican Miners."

The difference with what happened to my great-uncle and what happened to the Utah miners is that the 1929 incident was an accidental disaster, what happened in Utah was a ticking time bomb.

"Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO national secretary-treasurer and former president of the United Mine Workers of America, called the federal mining safety regulatory agency a cadaver Wednesday and accused President Bush's administration of inattentiveness to all worker safety issues in the wake of a Utah mine collapse...

"Of the Aug. 6 Huntington, Utah mine collapse, where the search continues for six trapped miners, Trumka said, "Here's one thing: It wasn't an act of God. It was an act of man. One of two things is inevitably true. Either they weren't following the laws or the laws weren't strong enough to protect them. In either case, there's got to be changes made to protect workers...

"This administration is not enforcing the mining laws in this country as they should. I think it applies to every area of workers' safety," Trumka said. "I think it applies to OSHA (the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration) as well as MSHA."

Be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact that nine men, nine miners have either lost their lives or may be hanging on by a prayer. At this point, wondering about someone's legal status makes no difference.

But what does make a difference is focusing on the real problem and cause of this disaster so that no more miners' lives are lost -- and people are left to wonder.