Immigration Reform
The process of immigration reform is starting in Congress. I wrote this in 2010 after some pretty brutal exchanges with Internet folks, and a column by Mary Sanchez in the Miami Herald. Lots of things have happened since then but my feelings have not changed by much.
Reform is more than just the current enforcement of the laws on the books. It will require some changes that make clear what our immigration policy is and some agreement on how that will help build the country and the people who want to come here.
Posting a notice on the border to just stay home as suggested by some won't work and they know it.
Stepping up efforts to identify and deport everyone here illegally won't work and they know it. More efforts to identify and deport illegal aliens that are involved in serious criminal behavior is needed.
Blaming immigrants who cover illegals and legals for the high cost of food stamps, public assistance, exploding medical care and filling our prisons and failing public education is scapegoating of the worst kind. It is a misuse of statistics to say that the 4% of our population that has no legal status is conveniently responsible for all these problems and that deporting them would come anywhere close to solving the problems in these areas of public policy is xenophobia. Just blame the minority. As Mark Twain said there are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics.
Saying your parents followed the rules and so should everyone else is a quaint idea. Let's just suspend reality and say the attack on the WTC never happened, that the economy is at full employment, that the immigration system can provide needed services with its budget based on fees collected from people who want to come here to work and live..
And finally. I do not want to dismiss the terror that some Arizonans have experienced if they believe their lives have been threatened by strangers on their property, but I would bet that there have been many more illegals coming to the door and the person answering the door knows them and their children who were born here. This problem needs a serious review and good policy, not internet hysteria.
Posting a notice on the border to just stay home as suggested by some won't work and they know it.
Stepping up efforts to identify and deport everyone here illegally won't work and they know it. More efforts to identify and deport illegal aliens that are involved in serious criminal behavior is needed.
Blaming immigrants who cover illegals and legals for the high cost of food stamps, public assistance, exploding medical care and filling our prisons and failing public education is scapegoating of the worst kind. It is a misuse of statistics to say that the 4% of our population that has no legal status is conveniently responsible for all these problems and that deporting them would come anywhere close to solving the problems in these areas of public policy is xenophobia. Just blame the minority. As Mark Twain said there are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics.
Saying your parents followed the rules and so should everyone else is a quaint idea. Let's just suspend reality and say the attack on the WTC never happened, that the economy is at full employment, that the immigration system can provide needed services with its budget based on fees collected from people who want to come here to work and live..
And finally. I do not want to dismiss the terror that some Arizonans have experienced if they believe their lives have been threatened by strangers on their property, but I would bet that there have been many more illegals coming to the door and the person answering the door knows them and their children who were born here. This problem needs a serious review and good policy, not internet hysteria.
Keep trying.
You could start the reform by enforcing one existing law...Only citizens and non-citizens with work authorization documentation are permitted to hold jobs in the United States.
ReplyDeleteI-765s usually require a significant fee and take time to process. Some employers in encourage law breaking by not checking for work authoriztion, accepting fraudulant documents and then do not collect or pay payroll taxes. Living in Miami there are many distortions in the labor market and the local governments have ordinances against wage theft by employers, and the state legislature is trying to weaken local legislation. The current law is hardly fair, riddled with loopholes,financed by fees which distort the process and can require lawyers that are an extra expense and the process can take a long time.
ReplyDeleteMy parents married in Canada, crossed the border so my sister would be born a citizen. The immigration process my parents went through to become citizens bore no resemblance to the current process.
Going after rogue companies is exactly what I mean by enforcing the law. Local statutes or wage theft laws should have no bearing on whether you qualify for the job in the first place. If the application of the law is unfair, it is unfair to non-citizens. In those cases, whatever their home country laws provide for non-citizens I would be willing to consider doing the same here. Like whatever it takes to get a work permit in Mexico, applies to Mexican nationals applying here.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what happens in Mexico. My father's company moved its corporate headquarters to a PO Box in the Bahamas from Chicago in 1971. The Bahamas required three Bahamian hires for each US Immigrant. As part of a larger process he commuted to Nassau until the company completed the process of becoming a financial company, rather than a meat packing company and most of the jobs in Miami were eliminated. Generally I think trade should be encouraged. The agricultural part of Miami's industry needed lots cheap labor until the housing bubble sent agricultural folks to the construction industry. Then landscapers and complained there were no workers to cut grass, trim trees ... Sort of a game of whack a mole, but generally the undocumented are subject to more exploitation and companies that employ them bitch that there are no citizens that will take these jobs. Like how many tech companies say they need workers from India on the high skilled side of the equation.
ReplyDeleteI asked my dad when I was younger and we were living in Harlingen Texas what he thought about migrant labor and illegals. He was stationed there as a liaison officer. His job was to fix problems that occurred between the soldiers and the surrounding community. He saw a lot. His comment was the most success he saw was with the Bracero program. The Bracero's labor was needed and in the program there was a least some protection for them.
ReplyDeleteI've had conversations with Joe Rodriguez on this also. We're both conflicted by the problem of illegals. On one hand this is the "land of the free" and turning people that struggle to get here away at the door does not sit right with either of us. Joe's family came here three times before they were successful in staying. I'm adopted, not born here, and appreciate the hell out of my good fortune. We both think that legal immigration should be made easier but the border needs to be tightly enforced. The big conflict here is you finally made it to the promised land and you get turned away.
It's a complicated problem and I have had a great deal of experience with the issue while living in Miami. Thanks for your comments. Control of the border(s)as an issue is important but given the existing trajectory of imigration being a function of economic health, it may not be such a big deal because Mexico is doing relatively better recently and lots of folks are staying home.
ReplyDelete