As usual, Chomsky is right. While mostly talking about the (ir)responsibility of the media in fomenting “terror” among the population, he makes the following observation about immigration and our “conflicted” attitudes … the results of inadequate and misleading media reports:
… Right around Boston, there’s a pretty large community of Mayan immigrants. They’re still coming right now. They live right near here, but under the radar because they’re undocumented. Why are Mayans coming here? They don’t want to be here. Some of them I know pretty well, and when you talk to them, they say, “We’d rather be home.” They don’t want to be here.
Why are they coming? Well, because in the early 1980s, there was a virtually genocidal attack on the highlands in Guatemala that was supported by Ronald Reagan, backed by the United States. It practically 
wiped the place out, and there are now actually trials going on in Guatemala of the perpetrators, but nobody here talks about it. So, you know, we destroy their country and people flee because they can’t survive. In fact, there’s an interesting book coming out by David Bacon, who is an immigration activist. It’s called “The Right to Stay Home.”
It was obvious, for example, that NAFTA was going to destroy Mexican agriculture. The Mexican campesinos can be as efficient as they like, but they can’t compete with highly subsidized U.S agribusiness, and that means people are going to flee. And, in fact, it’s not just coincidental that the year NAFTA was passed, Clinton started militarizing the border. It was an open border before, and so, of course, people are going to come. Well, these topics aren’t discussed.
If you’re worried about immigration, let’s take a look at why people are coming and what our responsibility is and what we can do about it…
Catherine Komp, Truthout.org via Salon.com: “Noam Chomsky: America is a terrified country“
The Mex Files 
And not a coincedence that the displaced then provide cheap labor. Monopoly Capitalism at it’s zenith, and it’s happening all over the globe.
As someone who spends his winters in Guatemala, I must say the Highland Maya are doing better than they were in the past. We did the road between Coban and Nebaj last winter, there was a good bit of building going on in this very remote region. The town of Nebaj looked prosperous, it was in the center of the civil war.
We, my wife and I went down for the Maya calendar rollover last year, we went to a highland ruin called Mixco Viejo. It is a pretty remote ruin, we were the only gringos there for the event. There were 300 Maya and Latinos and 300 Federal police (armed to the teeth) for the party. We asked the military commander ” why so many soldiers?” He said, “for your protection.” Things are still a bit tense in the highlands of Guate. A show of force it was and it was effective, no drinking, no fireworks and no protests. Our protection in a pigs eye…
Progress toward peace is on going, the last election brought a government into power that is center right that replaced a government that was cener left but the election seemed to me to be as honest as any US election.
We are going down for the first quarter of next year-let me know if you want to tour a bit of that back country.