Today in the Senate, Senator Schumer is holding an important hearing: "Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2009, Can We Do it and How?" At NDN, we believe the answer to whether Congress can pass reform this year is "yes." Below are seven reasons why:
1) In tough economic times, we need to remove the "trap door" under the minimum wage.
One of the first acts of the new Democratic Congress back in 2007 was to raise the minimum wage, to help alleviate the downward pressure on wages we had seen throughout the decade even prior to the current Great Recession. The problem with this strategy is that the minimum wage and other worker protections required by American law do not extend to those workers here illegally. With economic times worsening here and in the home countries of the migrants, unscrupulous employers have much more leverage over, and incentive to keep, undocumented workers. With five percent of the current workforce -- amazingly, with one out of every 20 workers now undocumented, this situation creates an unacceptable race to the bottom, downward pressure on wages, at a time when we need to be doing more for those struggling to get by, not less.
Legalizing the five percent of the work force that is undocumented would create a higher wage and benefit floor than exists today for all workers, further helping, as was intended by the increase in the minimum wage two years ago, to alleviate the downward pressure on wages for those struggling the most in this tough economy.
Additionally, it needs to be understood that these undocumenteds are already here and working. If you are undocumented, you are not eligible for welfare. If you are not working, you go home. Thus, in order to remove this "trap door," we need to either kick five percent of existing American workforce out of the country -- a moral and economic impossibility -- or legalize them. There is no third way on this one. They stay and become citizens or we chase them away.
Finally, what you hear from some of the opponents of immigration reform is that by passing reform, all of these immigrants will come and take the jobs away of everyday Americans. But again, the undocumented immigrants are already here, working, having kids, supporting local businesses. Legalization does not create a flood of new immigrants -- in fact, as discussed earlier, it puts the immigrant worker on a more even playing field with legal American workers. It does the very inverse of what is being suggested -- it creates fairer competition for American workers -- not unfair competition. The status quo is what should be most unacceptable to those who claim they are advocating for the American worker.
2) In a time of tight budgets, passing immigration reform will bring more money into the federal treasury.
Putting the undocumented population on the road to citizenship will also increase tax revenue in a time of economic crisis, as the newly legal immigrants will pay fees and fines, and become fully integrated into the U.S. tax-paying system. When immigration reform legislation passed the Senate in 2006, the Congressional Budge Office estimate that accompanied the bill projected Treasury revenues would see a net increase of $44 billion over 10 years.
3) Reforming our immigration system will increasingly be seen as a critical part of any comprehensive strategy to calm the increasingly violent border region.
Tackling the growing influence of the drug cartels in Mexico is going to be hard, cost a great deal of money, and take a long time. One quick and early step toward calming the region will be to take decisive action on clearing up one piece of the problem -- the vast illegal trade in undocumented migrants. Legalization will also help give these millions of families a greater stake in the United States, which will make it less likely that they contribute to the spread of the cartels influence.
4) Fixing the immigration system will help reinforce that it is a "new day" for U.S.-Latin American relations.
To his credit, President Obama has made it clear that he wants to see a significant improvement in our relations with our Latin neighbors and very clearly communicated that message during his recent trips to Mexico and the Summit of the Americas. Just as offering a new policy toward Cuba is part of establishing that it is truly a "new day" in hemispheric relations, ending the shameful treatment of Latin migrants here in the United States will go a long way in signaling that America is taking its relations with its southern neighbors much more seriously than in the past.
5) Passing immigration reform this year clears the way for a clean census next year.
Even though the government is constitutionally required to count everyone living in the United States every 10 years, the national GOP has made it clear that it will block efforts for the Census Bureau to count undocumented immigrants. Conducting a clean and thorough census is hard in any environment. If we add a protracted legal and political battle on top -- think Norm Coleman, a politicized U.S. Attorney process, Bush v Gore -- the chance of a failed or flawed census rises dramatically. This of course would not be good for the nation.
Passing immigration reform this year would go a long way to ensuring we have a clean and effective census count next year.
6) The Administration and Congress will grow weary of what we call "immigration proxy wars," and will want the issue taken off the table.
With rising violence in Mexico, and the everyday drumbeat of clashes and conflicts over immigration in communities across America, the broken immigration system is not going to fade from public consciousness any time soon. The very vocal minority on the right -- those who put this issue on the table in the first place -- will continue to try to attach amendments to other bills ensuring that various government benefits are not conferred upon undocumenteds. We have already seen battles pop up this year on virtually every major bill Congress has taken up, including SCHIP and the stimulus. By the fall, I think leaders of both parties will grow weary of these proxy battles popping up on every issue and will want to resolve the issue once and for all. Passing immigration reform will become essential to making progress on other much needed societal goals like moving toward universal health insurance.
7) Finally, in the age of Obama, we must be vigilant to stamp out racism wherever it appears.
Passing immigration reform this year would help take the air out of the balloon of what is the most virulent form of racism in American society today -- the attacks on Hispanics and undocumented immigrants. It will be increasingly difficult for the President and his allies to somehow argue that watching Glenn Beck act out burning alive of a person on the air over immigration, "left leaning" Ed Schultz give air time to avowed racist Tom Tancredo on MSNBC or Republican ads comparing Mexican immigrants to Islamic terrorists is somehow different from the racially insensitive speech that got Rush Limbaugh kicked off Monday Night Football, or Don Imus kicked off the radio.
So for those of us who want to see this vexing national problem addressed this year, this important hearing is a critical step forward. But we still have a long way to, and a lot of work ahead of us if we are to get this done this year.
(Also check out our recently released report, Making the Case for Passing Comprehensive Immigration Reform This Year, which succinctly lays out our case for why Congress can -- and should -- pass comprehensive immigration reform this year).
Cross-posted at the NDN Blog.
Immigration reform: Will the climate ever be right? - CNN.com
Immigration Reform Advocates Ready to Try Again - US News and ...
Should illegal immigrants get an amnesty?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8032153.stm
BBC, Monday, 4 May 2009
"A coalition of NGOs, MPs and trade unions is calling for long-term illegal migrants to be given leave to remain in the UK. What do you think about these proposals? London Mayor Boris Johnson is among those backing the campaign for a pathway into citizenship for a Spanish-style regularisation of long-term undocumented migrants, which would see nearly half a million people leave to remain. To qualify they would have to have been in the UK for six years.
Thousands of people gathered in Trafalgar Square at a rally in support of the 'Strangers into Citizens' day of action. "
With all due respect, your entire screed reeks of "entitlement" dismissing any aspect of national sovereignty and the laws applicable to it while conveniently excluding the devastating impact this swarm of law breakers is having on our economy and way of life. This is not immigration in any form. This is an invasion of a sovereign nation by 20 million + uninvited people the likes of which the world has never seen. These law breakers are not fleeing a war torn region, nor are they being persecuted for their religious or political beliefs, nor are they escaping from under the iron hand of a despotic dictatorship. They are looking across the fence at their neighbors yard, seeing the grass is greener on the other side, and in lieu of planting their own lawn, decide to camp out in ours. The economic impact of these law breakers has overwhelmed our social services system, filled our prisons, suppressed wages and dumbed-down the education of our children.
I respectfully submit that as proud Mexican citizens it is incumbent on them to work collectively and diligently in their own country to build a nation which represents and addresses the needs of its citizens. Building a nation is no easy task. People in this country have fought and died doing just that. If the 'proud' Mexican citizens don't take this problem into their own hands and work towards resolution in their own country, who is suppose to?
These are not guerilla troops in some Mexican effort to saw off part of the US, it's overwhelmingly people who come here in desperation because their own government's stupidity and corruption has kept them in poverty.
Like other immigrants, they are being acculturated and absorbed by the American culture -- sometimes, I'm sure, to their parents' dismay. We've had much worse conditions with previous legal immigrants -- the Irish had a very high crime rate and launched a rebellion in New York City during the Civil War that required army troops to suppress. Many nativists wanted to shut them out, but in the end, they were also assimilated.
Hispanic immigration is not a serious problem. Most of them work hard, pay taxes and contribute to the GDP. We need a viable guest worker program, and Mexico needs to get a competent and honest government. Possibly, Mexico needs another revolution -- maybe this time we won't be a-scared of "communists" and we can encourage the revolutionaries.
Now I'm going to listen to some Mariachi :-)
Sure, we need to make it easier for people to come to this country and work legally. We need to open our doors to people. But should 90% of the people we accept be Hispanic? 65000 legal work visas a year for trained, skilled people from all over the world. A million 'free passes' because we have an open border with a nation in chaos.
Open the doors, yes. But no favors to those who entered illegally. Even if the law is faulty, they broke it.
Any illegal should be put at the bottom of the list for permanent residency and citizenship, and let the ones who come legally step in front.
your and others attempts at painting those who want the law upheld or who are against "comprehensive reform" (amnisty) is not working. Just read the posts. Even progressives see through your ploy.
Lets be honest, thats really what all this is about.
The first group is welcome, the second group is not.
5) Passing immigration reform this year clears the way for a clean census next year.
The census is about apportionment, not the sloppy way that the votes are currently counted.
6) The Administration and Congress will grow weary of what we call "immigration proxy wars," and will want the issue taken off the table?
If they cannot stand the heat, they should get out of the kitchen. – Harry Truman
7) Finally, in the age of Obama, we must be vigilant to stamp out racism wherever it appears?
Black Students in Little Rock were at first denied admittance to the school of their choice because it might have resulted in injury to Black People. That was the position of the Governor and it was ruled to be racist by the Feds. Allowing people to violate the law based on race or nationality is inherently racist.
1) In tough economic times, we need to remove the "trap door" under the minimum wage?
Statistics show that only about 2% of the workforce earned at or below the minimum wage. There is no trap door. The erosive force posed by Illegal Immigrants is on wages far above the minimum wage. Meatpackers average $12/hr today whereas in 1980 the average wage was $22/hr in today’s dollars.
2) In a time of tight budgets, passing immigration reform will bring more money into the federal treasury?
In #1 above it is claimed that Illegal Immigrants are in low paying jobs. Today, people in low paying jobs get more tax money back than they pay because of various tax credits. Legalization would qualify Illegal Immigrants for this same benefit.
3) Reforming our immigration system will increasingly be seen as a critical part of any comprehensive strategy to calm the increasingly violent border region?
Illegal Immigrant smuggling is less profitable than drug smuggling so in fact drugs are the driver of this situation. In our state law enforcement has eradicated most Meth production so it now comes from Mexico.
4) Fixing the immigration system will help reinforce that it is a "new day" for U.S.-Latin American relations?
So now we are supposed to tolerate law breaking behavior to make our neighbors feel good?
Continued ...
How making all the illegals legal will drop the number of people illegally crossing the border is never stated in this post. The only way is to put up a fence and man it with enough agents to stop illegals and drug smugglers. This person does not say that is what he is in favor of and I have to assume he is against it.
This is NOT a progressive idea at all. Clinton was NO progressive or even that friendly to labor, NAFTA for example. The wages in meatpacking WERE at $19/hr, and thanks to the illegals are down to $9/hr, WELL above the minimum wage. This is also a RACIST proposal since it is black, brown, and less educated whites who bear the heaviest burden of illegal immigration. It makes THEM second class citizens in their own country.
From a social point of view it allows families with children to remain here legally on a path to citizenship. It also allows those working here to continue "above ground". Though a myriad of guest worker programs are available they all require that wages be "comparable" and working conditions be tolerable. Rather than enforce these draconian measures it is best to concede.
Economically it allows business to continue unfettered by upward wage pressure and costly health benefits. The dilution of the non college educated labor pool with an inexhaustible supply of immigrants provides a surplus of workers that maintain the lowest possible labor costs.
Those opposed to reform seem to be those most adversely affected by it. Americans of limited education working at those jobs "Americans won't do" seeing their pay stagnate and losing health benefits. How can those who sweat and toil make sensible decisions? The calluses on their hands have produced a callous attitude. It is best that we who are not affected economically, are better educated and whose eyes are not hampered by a sweated brow make the decisions.
Obama promised to emphasize enforcement against illegal employers. Efforts here would be self-financing while discouraging illegals coming/staying.
Eliminating subsidies of food exports to Central America, or even imposing export tariffs on selective food stuffs, would reignite employment south of our border.
In any case, Mr. Rosenberg's original post here is a prescription for fresh waves of illegals.
Long before any fresh round of earned citizenship, our gov't needs to restore credibility to controlling worker migration.