Cutting Welfare for the Children of Immigrants will Devastate California

Some say that the "big one" -- the earthquake that will destroy California and send it seeping into the Pacific Ocean - lies in patient dormancy beneath us, waiting for the perfect time to strike. But lately, competition for the state's imminent destruction has been fierce. With budget woes reaching a fantastical level, and problems tricking in from every corner, the matter has become not a question of if or when California will be devastated, but what or who will get there first.

One of the main contenders is yet another form of powerful movement: immigration. But the threat is different than it was when the first migrants traveled across the border to seek work in the U.S, almost a century ago. Now, the demographic shift in California due to immigration is not a threat at all, but a fact. By 2030, more than half of the population of California will be immigrants and their children.Inbound immigration is slowing, and the "immigrant stock" in America is growing from within.

And yet, instead of recognizing the major shift and accepting it as a significant part of California's future, long-outdated, irrelevant fears persist. Now, the anti-immigration movement has aimed its efforts at penalizing this growing majority of California's population in the hope it will shrink.

The Los Angeles Times reports that activists are campaigning to cut welfare payments benefiting the children of immigrants born in the U.S.

The "big one" just got closer.

If these children, who are not only American citizens, but also, inevitably, hold the key to California's future welfare, experience such a dramatic blow to their already-limited resource bank, the consequences for the entire state will be dire. Second generation immigrants carry the burden of success: they must climb the social ladder from bottom to top if they are to fill the void being left by a retiring baby-boom generation, as USC Professor Dowell Myers explains in his book "Immigrants and Boomers:"

Two of the most crucial questions in California are whether this future generation of workers will be able to replace the highly skilled baby boomers who are retiring and whether they will be able to carry the tax burdens required to support services for this large population of retirees.

In order to do so, the children of immigrants need to be socially upwardly mobile at an accelerated speed. Many must move from impoverished households and working class labor markets to professional and powerful careers. They must become the first generation in their families to not only excel at higher education, but even to complete high school. They must stride up the social ladder, because there is no time to tip-toe. The boomers are already retiring and California is in trouble.

But moving quickly requires more resources, not less. Rapid upward mobility depends on whether or not the children of immigrants are provided with social support, community connections, and the means to traverse bifurcated labor markets through educational opportunities. It also depends on whether or not they are able to maintain cultural bonds, such as language, in a process labeled "selective acculturation" by theorists Alejandro Portes and Rubén G. Rumbaut, authors of "Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation."

The children of monolingual Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles, for example, may have little or no chance of practicing English at home or getting help with their homework, resulting in complete reliance on a public school system that is, frankly, in disarray. And because resources continue to be cut, social upward mobility is slow, especially in inner-city markets. Despite the increasing dominance of the Latino population in Los Angeles, the children of immigrants are trapped in the same cycles of low-education and poverty as their parents. Drop-out rates are high and test scores are low. Despair and resignation is deeply entrenched. Cultural bonds are weak or isolated, and alternative options for integration and definition, such as gangs, are prevalent.

In fact, breaking free of the social glue that binds second generation immigrants to the lowest rungs of the labor market has arguably become more difficult now than when the immigrant population was small enough to be an exception, rather than a rule. The children of immigrants are surrounded by opportunities to leave school early and enter long-established, working class communities. Resources, the kind of which could potentially counter-balance the negative factors of assimilation, continue to wane.

Meanwhile, economic woes are causing a few Californians to point fingers at the immigrant stock. "The great demographic transition has been poorly received because the majority population resists accepting the decline of its dominant position," writes Myers. Although the last 50 years has seen impressive levels of upward mobility for Latinos in America, including great strides into positions of power, an overwhelming number of second generation immigrants are trapped under a low glass ceiling. We can either raise the roof, or bring it down on them, and take cover as California falls apart.

Emily Henry is currently working on a series of stories about second-generation Latino immigrants in California for the Carnegie-Knight sponsored News21 project.

Follow Emily Henry on Twitter: www.twitter.com/EmilyHenry

Comments

[oregonrain]

All of our states are struggling with social services. Cuts here , cuts there . I feel for the children of illegals , it is the parents who came here illegally, and , the children had no choice. Having said that , it is time we stopped giving out welfare to all illegal immigrants. We citizens must drive with insurance , pay taxes, go without health care coverage, while our own govt gladly sets up programs for "illegals" . In state tuition (we citizens dont even get that ). When was the last time you tried moving into a new state , and applied for in state tuition ? Does anyone remember when Bush was setting aside a billion a year , to cover the cost of health care for illegals ? How soon we forget .

[2scent]

con't...

Being a teacher of adult learners of ESL, brings me close to these issues everyday. Education is a key factor on the viability of doing anything positive for the population of these immigrants who are here. Otherwise, we are just perpetuating a low-skilled, low-paid underclass of worker bees in this country dependent on government subsidies. With our economy in shambles, fewer jobs, higher prices for commodities, and the need for re-tooling of our native-born dislocated workers, the competition for resources has increased dramatically. Let's not forget that those undocument immigrants, who pay into Social Security, and will never claim their benefits, are contributing to the solvency of the fund. It goes without saying, that this is a very complex matter for this nation.

[Willow712]

I grew up near Pueblo, Colorado, which has a 68% American born Hispanic population that speaks English as a second language. These people have been here for generations. While I don't like the illegal immigrants coming in, we have to realize one situation. Nobody in the US is willing to pick tomatoes for 16 hours a day. Nobody wants to follow the crops, Perhaps we need to have day passes, or migrant passes, and have them pay a percentage for insurance. Because the costs would skyrocket if we kept the completely out of this country.

[jcwtts1]

Or, maybe we should pay people a decent wage to do that job. there were no illegal immigrants than instead of paying someone 2 dollars a day to pick avocados they would pay people minimum wage. Yeah, our produce would cost more money but we wouldn't treat people like second class human beings.

[FairfaxCALady]

Good point, Emily. The wealth of nations is in how many sober, hard-working people are engaged in meaningful work (Adam Smith). Immigrants are a large part of our strength here in California. Soon the financial crisis orchestrated by our governor, when he refused to allow short-term borrowing in June, will cause progress in this state to grind to a halt. Immigrants, school children, state employees, college students, the poor and vendors who provide goods and services to the state will be hit first. By the time the average citizen realizes what has happened, additional millions (in borrowing costs) will cause taxes to rise, regardless of how people vote. Unless the media wakes up to what is happening in California, it will take years for the state to achieve financial equilibrium. Since the state is short over $26 billion, this shortfall cannot be made up in one year by "balancing the budget." Only a consortium of banking interests, with the future in mind (and loan guarantees from the federal government) will be able to resolve this issue. Immigrants are scapegoats in California; people need to focus on the real problem.

[recessdawn]

California has a $26 billion deficit. How do you say IOU in spanish?

[luizgonsa]

Wow, when even most on the Huffington Post are against immigrants who came here without papers, you can pretty much see the writing on the wall for amnesty or whatever it's gonna be called this time. Whenever the country is in a financial mess, don't expect any movement for more cheap labor. Ain't gonna happen, Obama or no Obama there is no stimulus to move this topic forward w/ the recession and two unfinished wars. Not all, buy many illegal immigrants be they from wherever think they can get everything American citizens have struggled for. Code for Obamas plan that they get to the end of the line and pay a fine basically means no amnesty. Back of the line for Mexico since legal entrants have to wait an average of seven to nine years for green cards = No green card in at least a decade, and w/ fines supposedly $5000 game's over!

[timetorevolt]

If the CEOs of large corporations stop exploiting the cheap labor of these immigrants most would return to Mexico. These corporations, Hilton,Wal-Mart, Marriot, McDonalds etc... all hire these immigrants at minimum wage with little or no benefits. Force them to pay a living wage that provide benefits and the problem is solved...because Us citizens would compete for the jobs...but it would decrease the BONUS amount for the CEOs of these corporations.

Think about it...Imagine what the cost of a night at a Hilton would cost if Mexican immigrants weren't cleaning the rooms and cooking the food.

Call out the Big Boxes and the Jack in the Cracks and make them follow the law.

[mat3]

That would be great, then the people that use the services would pay, not EVERYBODY through higher taxes.

[mitsu63]

part of my comment didn't make it through:

I travel around and talk to people about their work-related injuries, and I talk to employers. There is an enormous amount of fraud taking place, and in the course of investigating this fraud we very often find people using fake social security numbers, names, etc. In the course of my job, I have heard more than one manager tell me that most of the illegal immigrant farmworkers here are not at all interested in integrating into our country and society. They are here strictly for the money, wherever it comes from. And this comes from Hispanic, Spanish-speaking people who have their information straight from the horse's mouth. I deal with workers' comp, and I can tell you that many, many people come here just expecting to be given a handout as soon as they arrive. They don't really understand the system but they file a claim and wait for the checks to start arriving. The amount of time and resources spent on this is stunning in its scale. (Of course it's also job security for people like me.) I see this more often than not - really it's quite striking how frequent it is. I go to talk to people, interpreter in tow, and often the first thing I am asked, is, "Where is my check?"

[mitsu63]

I find it really refreshing to see that so many comments here reflect the truth as I see it. As a California native, I see these scenarios play out every day. As an insurance investigator, I see a lot in my professional life that the ordinary person does not.

I have an appreciation for the hardships involved with coming to a new country where one doesn't even speak the language, and trying to make a new life for ones self and children. I don't resent or hate any individual immigrant, and I am not a racist. That being said, taken as a whole, they represent an enormous problem.

(continued)

[mitsu63]

(continued)

How should we deal with allocating our precious (and limited) resources when it comes to illegal immigrants? We cannot deny their children an education, that would be like creating a permanent underclass. We cannot deny them emergency health care, that would be a humanitarian tragedy. We are obligated to treat them in a humane and respectful fashion, and that is extremely expensive.

I agree with dan-o that perhaps we need to reconsider automatically giving citizenship to anyone born in this country, regardless of their parents' immigration status. This is a thorny issue but we are all paying the price. I think we have been more than generous in subsidizing people's "anchor babies" and need to reconsider how this system works.

(continued)

[mitsu63]

(part two)

A couple of years ago when immigration reform was on the table we saw huge protests in California. People took to the streets demanding "rights" they did not have or earn. Many of them were flying the Mexican flag, and that is telling. They identify themselves as Mexicans, because they are only here for the money, not to be Americans. I think it makes a difference how one enters a country. I have traveled to about eight different countries in my life, and at no time did I ever sneak across the border. If I had, I certainly wouldn't have expected to be able to stay, much less draw government benefits and demand my rights as a citizen of the country I was squatting in illegally, much less insist that said country start providing services in my language instead of theirs! Really now, is that not preposterous? Mexico certainly doesn't provide all that, in fact their immigration laws are very strict.

If someone wants to enter this country, let them do so legally, and we will welcome them. Perhaps we need to reform our immigration system, to cut down in wait times, etc. More to the point, perhaps Mexico needs to do something to change its corrupt system which withholds wealth from the overwhelming majority of its citizens - but that is a whole other discussion.

[dan-o]

Great post. You are right in the fact that Mexico could solve a lot of this if they didn't have such a corrupt system. I think it is very telling that in a country as poor as Mexico that the man who is fighting out for second place with Warren Buffet in the Forbes 400 richest is from Mexico. The Mexican system prevents competition and has allowed a massive accumulation of wealth but new wealth has not been created but has concentrated what there is into very few hands. We may have a large accumulation of wealth but here the pot has increased in size so all benefit to some degree. I do think that if we are not careful we could become a Mexican type system with little growth but the limited wealth is more and more concentrated.

[2scent]

While many of the undocument are from Mexico and Central America, there are also many from Eastern Europe and Asia. As a teacher of ESL, I have taught students from around the world. A critical issue among the Mexican students is their low levels of education-at its worst are those who have had no formal education-at its best, most only have the equivalent of a sixth grade education. Many cannot read or write Spanish. Adult education programs offer free study opportunities for those wishing to earn a Spanish GED credential, but for many even that is out of reach. I have had many young people, who have come to here with their undocumented parents, who were never enrolled in schools, here. Mexico is not meeting its obligation to educate its populace.

Secondly, my students report that it very difficult to find a job in Mexico if one is over the age of 35. Why this is their perception, I don't know. I suspect that because most of those whom I teach are at a literacy level, the jobs available to them in Mexico are few and very low paying. As one ages, the pool of appropriate jobs shrinks for this population.

The US has a critical problem in this population. They subsidize their low-wage jobs by having more children and depending on entitlement programs to see them through. It is a vicious cycle.

[oregonrain]

Have you ever seen what it takes to immigrate to mexico? Not that I would want to , but , they have very strict immigration laws !

[nightwind928]

My father came from Mexico in the 1940's and consequently had two children with my white mother in California. He soon returned and left us to be raised by our maternal grandparents. They never asked for nor accepted any handouts from anyone, they would have been ashamed beyond words.Growing up I can tell you that we had little but made do with what we had. Welfare was not even instituted at that time anyway. Illeagle immigration wasn't a problem either. Today we pour our diminishing wealth on foreign people who come to this country not for political reasons but economic ones. As population levels explode across our nation, small communities, who are scraping the bottom of the barell for money to keep themselves alive are already overburdoned with the infrasturucture problems that come with this migration of poor, uneducated and illeagle refugees. They are also expected to find money to provide them and their ever increasing families a quality lifestyle at the expense of their own citizens. Is it any wonder there is a grassroots revolt against this practice? Enough is enough. America is wonderful but if you want to be here, just like anyplace else, you have to pay your own way.

[Chaimirija]

I am about as bleedin' heart as you can get. But, to expect taxpayers to support people who basically ended up here because their parents broke the law? I have to follow the law...why do I have to reward those who do not? If I don't file my tax return, I could end up in jail. And there are no jobs! Means less tax revenue...should we borrow money to pay entitlements? Plus, by even writing this, I risk being called a racist

[AnnfromCA]

Welfare benefits are being cut. Disability benefits are being cut. Obviously, the state is in dire economic straits, and we simply can't afford to pay for problems that rightfully belong to Mexico.

[TommyMcCarthy]

Sorry Anne,

We've been in agreement many times in the past, on a host of issus.....­.......... but not this time.
If you're born in the United States, you're an American citizen, period.

There's been a failure of will on the part of administrations of both parties to deal with the immigration question for DECADES now ....and people of goodwill can disagree on various points surrounding this complex issue.

It is also an unfortunate fact that California has always born a disproportionate share of the burden of that faliure at the federal level.


But creating a SUB-class of Americans, not entitled to quite as much "equal protection of the laws" based on.... (and lets call it for what it is, here).....the RACE of their ancestors......
is abhorrent ...and will not solve either the problems surrounding immigration nationally, or California's finanicial woes.

As a practical matter, such an idea is patently un-Constitutional on it's face,...and thank God for that!

Just imagine if the BUSH administration had been allowed to choose a group of American citizens to be singled out for a diminished version of citizenship based on criteria of thir own choosing!

Can there be any doubt that you and I would have been among those so chosen?

Just the same...it's good to see you still posting here, sis!........Hoping you are well.

Regards
tm

[2scent]

I have earned my bread and butter for many years teaching mostly undocumented adult learners English as a Second Language through federal and state funded adult education programs in community colleges and community based organizations.

It is a fact that many of these undocumented immigrants came to this country to bear children here, so they could derive benefits eligible to their American born children, such as food stamps, health care coverage, and low income housing, just to name a few.

I have always thought it not only unfair, but immoral that hard working, tax paying native born Americans don't share in the same entitlements as these undocumented immigrants. Over the years, I have taught hundreds of adult students and I'm quite familiar with the educational, health and entitlement benefits they reap while here. It is well know among adult educators that most of our students use false documents for work and drive without driver's licenses or insurance. Often times it feels that because I know these things about my students, I am somehow complicit in their law breaking. I see abuses and it is very frustrating. The fact of the matter is that as an adjunct faculty member working part-time for a community college, I receive no benefits whatsoever; not health care, not retirement, not even a paid holiday. Yet, my students, though undocumented, receive such benefits through their employers. I wish that these inequities would be part of the discussion on illegal immigration in this country.
I

[nee]

Well stated!

[WilliamL]

People do not like hearing this reality.