Immigration

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Immigration
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Statue of Liberty

• give us your tired, your poor, your huddled
  masses yearning to breathe free.

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• Immigration restrictions 1800s
• paupers, ex-convicts, mental defectives and
  Chinese
• 18 million new citizens came in and U.S. became a
  melting pot

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• Currently brings in 1 million new residents a
  year
• More than 1 in 10 U.S residents are immigrants
• 1890-1910 it had been 15 population

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• Most new immigrants come from Latin America and
  Asia
• Will fundamentally change America (like it did in
  the early 1900s)
• How close is Immigration and Naturalization
  Service guarding nations borders?

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• 3 of the 19 hijackers from Sept 11 attacks were
  here in the U.S. with expired visas
• Other 16 were able to roam country at will even
  though they should have raised suspicions
• 2 were on a watch list

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• After 9/11 immigration regulations were looked at
  to try to combat domestic terrorism
• Government tired to bolster border security,
  detain young Middle Eastern men for questioning
  and deportation on immigation violations

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• Was it fair to immediately focus suspicion on
  immigrants? Did the detention of young Middle
  Eastern men amount to racial profiling?

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• Immigration Act of 1965
• Emphasis on reuniting families and granting
  asylum to refugees, favoring immigrants with
  desired job skills and ending the longstanding
  preference for Western Europeans

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• Increased rate of legal immigration 297,000 in
  1965 to 850,000 in 2000
• Prior to 1965, 9 out of 10 legal immigrants to
  the U.S. were from Europe or Canada
• More than half come from Asia or Mexico now

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• Figures dont include rate of illegal immigration
• At least 275,000 a year are illegal
• Some say illegal immigrants exact a high cost on
  society without making a contribution
• Others say illegal immigrants take jobs many
  Americans dont want, urban areas and
  agricultural states

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• Now, the concern is not about how many immigrants
  are in the country, but about whether those
  immigrants are being properly screen
• Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act
  of 1996 restricted benefits for illegal
  benefits, raised income requirements for those
  who sponsor, doubled Border Patrol agents

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• 1996 Welfare reform law excluded legal
  immigrants from many federal benefits, such as
  food stamps and Supplemental Security Income for
  the disabled
• State governments were in control of whether
  legal immigrants could receive welfare and
  Medicaid

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• Disability and food stamps benefits were restored
  to some legal immigrants who were in the U.S.
  before 1996
• Every state but Wyoming is permitting immigrants
  to get Medicaid after a 5 year waiting period

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• Every state but Alabama is permitting immigrants
  who arrived before 1996 to get welfare
• Bush proposed restoring food stamp benefits for
  an estimated 363,000 low income legal immigrants
  who have been in the U.S. for at least 5 years

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• Californias Proposition 187, passed by voters in
  1994, would have denied almost all benefits to
  illegal immigrants, including public education
• Many of the restrictions were overturned in
  court, state officials eventually dropped their
  appeals

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• Most Americans (63) think majority of immigrants
  came here illegally
• Half of American say the country is too open to
  immigrants
• Since Sept 11, there has been an increase in the
  number who want to reduce immigration

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• 58 want a reduction in immigration
• We dont know if this is a long term shift in
  attitudes or a short term reaction to the shock
  of the terrorist attacks

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• Most Americans say they support detaining
  noncitizens indefinitely without charging them
  with a crime if they are believed to be a threat
  to national security
• 86 say government is justified in detaining
  immigrants who had overstayed their visas or
  violated immigration law

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Perspective 1

• Honor our commitment to newcomers
• Nation of immigrants
• Makes us different from so many other societies
• Obligation to welcome newcomers

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• Humanitarian concern and our commitment to the
  plight of refugees
• Benefits from immigration
• Hard working immigrants start businesses, create
  jobs, help economy grow

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• Enrich America with arts, traditions, and
  languages
• US has always gained more by immigration than we
  have lost, no reason to think that will change

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• Maintain legal immigration at current levels
• Give guest worker visas to illegal immigrants
  who have jobs
• Keep native languages and customs if they choose
  to

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• Continue to be a refuge for individuals who face
  political oppression in their home countries
• Ensure that all legal immigrants get the benefits
  that come with citizenship

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Argument for Approach

• Cultural and economic benefit we get from
  immigrants more than outweigh the short-term
  costs
• Decency ought to require us to take in people
  feeling political and social persecution
• Immigrants are highly motivated

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• Concern about language and culture are overblown
• Weve always had ethnic neighborhoods and people
  who cling to their home language- America has
  coped with this before and we can do so again

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Argument Against This Approach

• Our first obligation is to provide jobs and
  social services for people already living in this
  country. We cannot afford to help everyone who
  want to come.

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• In the past, large waves of immigration were
  followed by period where the rules were tightened
  up. We need a breathing space to absorb the
  immigrants we already have.
• Sept. 11 shows that we need better border
  security.

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• Amnesty programs reward people for breaking the
  law. Thats not only a bad precedent, its also
  an insult to the many immigrants who followed the
  rules and went through the red tape to get here
  legally.

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Perspective 2

• Cutting back to preserve our security and culture
• Tighten visa requirements. Increase funding to
  improve border security, upgrade computers, and
  hire immigration agents.

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• Sharply reduce legal immigration, including
  student and word visas. Accept only as many
  immigrants as can be checked out by authorities.
• Reform bilingual education and require immigrant
  students to learn English as quickly as possible

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• Deport immigrants who commit crimes in the U.S.
  and pursue illegal immigrants more aggressively

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Arguments for this Approach

• In an age of terrorism, we cannot allow lax
  immigration policy that allows terrorists to
  enter the country unchallenged
• We cant keep allowing more immigrants in than
  authorities can check out, or more than we can
  integrate into society

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• Most countries insist that immigrants enter the
  culture mainstream by learning their language
• If trends continue, English will no longer be our
  common language. Without a common language, the
  U.S. will fracture into separate cultures

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Arguments Against This Approach

• Historically, there have always been dire
  predictions that immigrants are too different and
  wont integrate into society- they were wrong
  before and theyre wrong now

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• Experience shows that while some first generation
  immigrants dont master English, the second
  generation is almost always fluent and
  Americanized
• This favors white Europeans and excludes the rest
  of the world

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• This punishes the vast majority of immigrants,
  who only want a better life, out of fear of a few
  radicals and terrorists

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Perspective 3

• Cutting back in response to economic realities
• Concern should be economic cost imposed by the
  huge influx of immigrants and their effects on
  wages and jobs

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• We need to educate and employ the people we have
  here already before we can worry about paying for
  the education, welfare, and health care of
  hundreds of thousands of newcomers each year

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• Burden isnt spread evenly- most immigrants
  settle in big cities and Sun Belt states
• Should restrict the number of newcomers, and look
  more closely at how their arrival affects us

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• The immigrants we do accept should either have
  jobs waiting here or have the skills to support
  themselves
• Nations first obligation is to protect the
  welfare and well being of those who are already
  American citizens

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• Cut the total number of legal immigrants
• Accept immigrants only if they can support
  themselves here
• Favor newcomers who either have useful skills or
  who are willing to take jobs Americans dont want

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• Require sponsors of legal immigrants to earn
  substantially more than poverty level wages
• Grant political asylum only to individuals who
  can prove that they face persecution

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Arguments for this Approach

• Influx is straining public schools, hospitals,
  and over services
• Many Americans are struggling economically- the
  government should not make things worse by
  inviting immigrants to compete for jobs
• Take care of our citizens first- in public
  services, jobs, and education

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Arguments Against This Approach

• Immigrants open businesses, create jobs, and
  bring needed skills to U.S. companies
• Relatively few immigrants receive public
  assistance
• Legal immigrants pay taxes. They ought to be
  able to benefit from the public services their
  taxes pay for.

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• Many immigrants are working in menial low-wage
  jobs that native-born Americans shun. Theyre
  not depriving anyone of work.

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Today

• DREAM Development, Relief, and Education for
  Alien Minors

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• This bill would provide conditional permanent
  residency to certain illegal aliens of good moral
  character who graduate from U.S. high schools,
  arrived in the United States as minors, and lived
  in the country continuously for at least five
  years prior to the bill's enactment.

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• If they were to complete two years in the
  military or two years at a four-year institution
  of higher learning, they would obtain temporary
  residency for a six-year period.

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• Within the six-year period, they may qualify if
  they have "acquired a degree from an institution
  of higher education in the United States or has
  completed at least 2 years, in good standing, in
  a program for a bachelor's degree or higher
  degree in the United States" or have "served in
  the armed services for at least 2 years and, if
  discharged, has received an honorable discharge

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• Military enlistment contracts require an
  eight-year commitment, with active duty
  commitments typically between four and six years,
  but as low as two years.

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• "Any alien whose permanent resident status is
  terminated... shall return to the immigration
  status the alien had immediately prior to
  receiving conditional permanent resident status
  under this Act."6 This bill would have included
  illegal immigrants as old as 35 years of age

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Criticism/Support

• Opponents of the DREAM Act argue that it is an
  amnesty that encourages more illegal immigration
  and rewards immigrants.

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• They also claim that the act will cause social
  and economic burdens such as taxpayers paying for
  immigrants education, diminishing both college
  admissions of native born students and
  opportunities of federal aid. Many also claim
  that if the DREAM Act is approved it would not
  have provisions to provide proof for students who
  are qualified.

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• Advocates of the DREAM Act claim it will benefit
  the country in numerous ways. It will make the
  country more competitive in the global economy
  while at the same time having economic benefits
  by reducing the deficit and increasing government
  revenues.

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• The act would help universities by increasing
  their revenues since more students will be
  enrolling yet it will not affect the admission
  rates of native-born students since 10 states
  already allow in-state tuition and many have done
  so in community colleges.43 Taxpayers will not
  pay for these students to attend universities
  because they will not be able to receive federal
  grants, they would only be qualified for federal
  student loans.

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Arizona SB 1070

• Going to the Supreme Court to be decided
• The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe
  Neighborhoods Act

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• (introduced as Arizona Senate Bill 1070 and thus
  often referred to simply as Arizona SB 1070) is a
  legislative Act in the U.S. state of Arizona that
  at the time of passage was the broadest and
  strictest anti-illegal immigration measure in
  recent U.S. history. It has received national and
  international attention and has spurred
  considerable controversy.

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• The Arizona Act additionally makes it a state
  misdemeanor crime for an alien to be in Arizona
  without carrying the required documents,8
  requires that state law enforcement officers
  attempt to determine an individual's immigration
  status during a "lawful stop, detention or
  arrest" when there is reasonable suspicion that
  the individual is an illegal immigrant,

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• bars state or local officials or agencies from
  restricting enforcement of federal immigration
  laws, and cracks down on those sheltering, hiring
  and transporting illegal aliens. The paragraph on
  intent in the legislation says it embodies an
  "attrition through enforcement" doctrine.

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• Critics of the legislation say it encourages
  racial profiling, while supporters say the law
  prohibits the use of race as the sole basis for
  investigating immigration status.14 The law was
  modified by Arizona House Bill 2162 within a week
  of its signing with the goal of addressing some
  of these concerns.

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• There have been protests in opposition to the law
  in over 70 U.S. cities, including boycotts and
  calls for boycotts of Arizona. Polling has found
  the law to have majority support in Arizona and
  nationwide. Passage of the measure has prompted
  other states to consider adopting similar
  legislation.