Approaches to the study of
Immigration
• Migration is defined as the movement of people
and their temporary or permanent geographical
relocation.
• Immigration is a multi-causal phenomenon, the
product of many different forces operating at
different levels.
– For a world history of immigration, see David Held et
al (2000) Global Transformations, ‘People on the
Move’
(Macro) Theory of neoclassical
economics
• Geographical differences in labor and wages plus a microeconomic model of decision-making motivate international
migration (Massey et al 2002:9). For example, the U.S. has
higher levels of income and consumption than Mexicans, so
any rational Mexican individual would assume a positive
net return to migrate and therefore make the cost-benefit
calculation to cross the border.
• This theory focuses on macro-structures of supply and
demand and then assumes migrants are always acting in
self-interest rather than part of a household.
• This theory fails to explain international migration in the
absence of wage differentials and circular migration
practices.
New Economics of Labor Migration
model
• Claims that people act collectively to maximize
opportunity and return for the family, household, or
community (Stark and Bloom 1985:11).
• Households engage in migration to manage risk (e.g.
without stable insurance and futures markets) “by
diversifying their allocation of productive resources,
one of which is labor” (12). In this way, households
“manage risk through diversification”—placing
members in different economies. Despite examining
smaller units of analysis, this model is still largely
economically focused.
World Systems Theory
• Wallerstein strikes again
• Relates migration processes to macrolevel social
and economic structures, such as the expansion
of capitalist markets from the core into the
peripheries (13). As the quest for profits yields
greater technology and mechanization, the
demand for labor sinks and results in a “mobile
labor force” (13). These global economic forces
also create social and cultural links between
nations that encourage migration.
Segmented Labor Market theory
•
•
•
•
Similar to World Systems Theory
Declares that migration stems from the “permanent demand for unskilled labor that is built into the
economic structure of developed nations”—not by push but rather by pull factors (15). This
demand for “cheap, flexible labor” is sustained by native-born residents resisting lower tier jobs
that do not correlate to increases in social status (social constraints on motivation) and the
demands of capitalism to minimize the “variable portion of demand to be met by the addition and
subtraction of labor” (duality of labor and capital) (16).
While this historical-structuralist approach recognizes the macro-economic forces and neo-colonial
implications on migration, it can overlook the role of the state (such as the strength of public
policies). Zolberg (1999) asserts that the “role of state policies”—specifically how legality and
illegality are defined, variation in receiving labor markets, and obstacles to exit—mustn’t be
neglected (73).
The segmented labor market theoretical approach may also presume all migrants belong to one low
class (Grosfoguel 1997, Portes & Rumbaut 2006). Geography and status of dependence affect the
quantity and class of migrants while public policies affect the success of migrant incorporation.
Grosfoguel warns against overly deterministic analyses such as push-pull factors, however claims
that the majority of migrants reside in urban areas due to incorporation into the labor market
without consideration of social networks (see Menjivar).
Social Capital theory
• An individual’s access to “social capital
through membership in interpersonal
networks and social institutions...improve or
maintain their position in society” (19). For a
potential migrant, a social network in the
foreign country minimizes potential costs and
maximizes benefits through access to greater
resources.
Cumulative Causation of Migration
• Each migration undergirds the web of social
networks and subsequently stimulates greater
migration.
• However, social networks are not always
unproblematic and do not always reduce costs
or maximize benefits.
Tripartite Causal Model of activated labor demand,
cultural penetration of sending countries, and
development of social networks
• Portes and Rumbaut (2006) determined that
contemporary immigrants are incorporated into
society according to their personal resources
(which prepare them to be unskilled laborers,
skilled professionals, or entrepreneurs) and
classification by the government (20). While this
model adds the “role of the state,” which was
missing from Massey’s theory, it is still oriented
to macro-level forces.
Gender in the Migratory Process
• Dominant theories of international migration have failed to
consider the implications of gender. For years, female migrants
were perceived as passive, involuntary victims of migration, partly
due to an imbalance in gender relations and the disregard of
migration to labor markets in the private sphere. However,
statistical evidence suggests that female migrants outnumber men
and analyses elucidate their active role in patterns of migration.
• According to Lutz (2010), a gendered approach to migration must
consider feminized and masculinized labor markets (e.g. private
versus public sphere), care practices (management of labor and
childrearing), and the shifting discourses and practices on gender
orders in both the receiving and sending countries within three
levels of analysis—the macro (labor markets), meso (organization of
work) and micro (individual practices).
Transnationalism
• Process by which immigrants (transmigrants)
forge and sustain multi-stranded social
relations that link together their societies of
origin and settlement (Glick-Schiller, 1993).
• Continuous circulation of goods, services,
people, information and capital between
various settlements that constitutes a single
community across multiple sites (Menjivar
2000:28, Kearney, 1991).
History of Immigration Law
• Colonial: 1609-1775: immigrants from the British Isles
• American Revolutionary 1776-1840: Euro immigration
slowed because of war and discomfort with “foreign born”
• Old Immigration 1841-1882: Local govs recruited Northern
Europeans. Chinese immigrated w/ little difficulty
• Regulation 1882-1920: Chinese excluded from immigrating;
major entry through Central, Eastern and Southern Europe.
• Restriction and exclusion 1921-1952: quota system
restricted immigration from Central, Eastern and Southern
Europe and all Asians were excluded from
admission/citizenship eligibility.
• Partial liberalization period 1952-1965: Asians assigned
same quota as Europeans and allowed naturalization
1965 Immigration and Nationality Act
• Liberalized policy 1965-present: quota policy was
repealed, immigrants from 3rd world and all countries
allowed
• Prior to 1965 immigration was mostly from Europe, but
under President Johnson, immigration became based
more on occupation than national origin.
• October 3, 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act
(Amendments):
•
•
•
•
Abolished national origins quota
Est preferences for relatives of citizens and permanent residents
Exempted immediate relatives of citizens
Limits of world coverage to 20k/country
1980 Refugee Act
• Removed refugees as preference category (but
has a ceiling)
• Sanctuary Movement
1986 IRCA
• Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
• Legalized many undoc’d immigrants but made
it unlawful to hire undoc’d workers
• 1990 Immigration Act: Increased annual immigrant
limit to 700k and established Immigrant Investor
Program (can immigrate if you are willing to invest lots
of $)
• 1996 Welfare Reform: ended many cash and medical
assistance programs for legal immigrants
• 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) expanded enforcement ops
of Immigration and Naturalization Service
• 2001 USA Patriot Act: Response to 9/11. Federal
officials get greater power to intercept
national/international communications.
S.744 Comprehensive
Immigration Reform
CIR S.744
• Border Security, Economic Opportunity and
Immigration Modernization Act of 2013
• Written by Gang of Eight: (Bennet (CO),
Durbin (IL), Flake (AZ), Graham (SC), McCain
(AZ), Menendez (NJ), Rubio (FL), and Schumer
(NY)
• First introduced 16 April 2013
• 27 June 2013 Senate passed bill 68-32
For more visit National Immigration Law Center at nilc.org/s744summary1.html
Summary
Title 1. Border Security & Triggers
Title 11. Immigration Visa Programs
Title III. Future Immigrant Flows:
New Merit-based Visas w Two-Tracks
Immigration Integration
Title IV. Interior Enforcement
Title V. Reforms to Non-Immigrant Visa
Programs
Border Security
•
•
•
•
Goal is to apprehend 9 out of 10 immigrants (“effective control”
$46.3 for border enforcement
Extend to 700mi of barriers/fencing along U.S.- Mexico border
Before registered provisional immigrants can obtain lawful
permanent resident status, DHS must:
– Certify U.S.-Mexico border strategy has been “substantially
deployed”
– Deploy over 38,000 FT active-duty Border Patrol agents along
border
– Implement mandatory E-verify system for all U.S. employers
• If effective control is not achieved, will not proceed with
next steps of reform
Immigrant Visas
• In order to be eligible for RPI status, individual must:
–
–
–
–
–
Been in U.S. on or before 31 Dec 2011
Maintained continuous presence until application
Settled any assessed federal tax liability/pay all back taxes
No record of certain criminal offenses
Cost $500
• After 6 years in RPI status, individual may renew for an additional $500. To
renew, individual must demonstrate regular employment and average
income above federal poverty level
• After 10 years in RPI status, individual may apply for LPR for $1000 (green
card). Must demonstrate regular employment and average income at
125% federal poverty level. Must pursue English or U.S. civics studies.
• After 3 years in LPR status, individual may apply for U.S. citizenship (13
years total)
• Includes Dream Act legislation
2-Track System for Merit-Based
Permanent Visas
•
Track 1
–
–
–
–
•
Subject to cap of b/w 120,000-250,000 per year, visas allocated based on points system
Points allocated based on education, job skills, employment in certain fields, and family ties
Individuals with pending or approved petitions in other immigration categories may not apply
Http://www.migration policy.org/pubs/CIRbrief-LegalFlows.pdf (Remaking Green Card)
Track 2
– Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Residence for Immigrants in Conditional Legal
Status (LPR)
– Eligible: (after 10 years in RPI status )
– Satisfaction of federal tax liability
– English skills
– Registers for selective service (if eligible)
– Background check
– $1,000 penalty
– Once granted LRP status may naturalize after 3 years
DREAM Act
• “First introduced 1 August 2001 but Congress has yet to pass
• Provides temporary legal status and path to permanent legal status
• You may be eligible if you:
– Under 16yo when first arrived to U.S
– Lived in U.S. for 5 years or more
– “Have maintained good moral character”
– Have graduated high school or obtained GED
• You may be eligible for legal permanent resident (LPR) status if:
– Complete two years of college or four years of U.S. military service
• PA Dream Act, introduced in March 2013, would allow undocumented
students to pay in-state tuition rates (SB713)
For more visit Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (PICC)
paimmigrant.org/programs/immigration-reform/dream-act
Adjustment to Lawful Permanent
Residence for Dream Act Eligible
Immigrants
•
•
•
•
Hold RPI status for 5 years
Arrived in U.S. at age l5 or younger
Possess h.s. diploma
Meet either: 2 years college or military service
4 years
DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD
ARRIVALS (DACA):
• Announced 15 June 2012
• Provides protection against deportation and a permit to work in the
U.S for 2 years. It is renewable.
• You may be eligible if you:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Under 31yo as of 15 June 2012
Under 16yo when first arrived to U.S.
Have lived in the U.S. continuously since 15 June 2007
Physically present in the U.S. 15 June 2012
Entered without inspection or lawful immigration exp by 15 June 2012
Enrolled in school, graduated, earned GED or were honorably discharged
by U.S. military
– No convictions of felony or significant misdemeanors
For more visit U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: www.uscis.gov/childhoodarrivals
Conditional and Lawful Permanent
Residence Status for Agricultural
Workers (Blue Card)
• Exempt from numerical cap on immigrant
visas.
• For one year with option of extension for up
to l8 mo.
• 5 years to LPR
• Starting 10/1-2014- visas allocated to
noncitizens w approved employment and
family based petitions pending for at east 5
years
• Between 2015-2021 –those filed prior to bill
enactment
• Eligible to apply for LPI
Interior Enforcement
• EEVS electronic employment eligibility
verification system (E-Verify)
• Increased worker protections, POWER Act
• Asylum and refugee provisions
• Immigration court reform
• Provisions for violators of immigration law
that constitute crimes
Immigrant Integration
• Establishes Office of Citizenship and New Americans to
address integration policy and program need and promote
citizenship efforts
• Establishes Federal Inter-agency Task Force on New
Americans headed by Homeland Security (!)
• Creates US Citizenship Foundation
• Authorizes funds to assist immigration benefit applicants &
state and local integration programs
• Reduces barriers to naturalization
• 10 million authorized for first 5 yrs of OCNA and sums as
necessary to sustain in subsequent years
• 100 million to grant programs
Reforms to Non-Immigrant Visa
Programs
• Establishes W non imigrant visa for lower
skilled jobs, allowing multi-year employment
w / option to apply for permanent residence
(see visa reforms section
Non-immigrant visa types
A visas
• A1: Ambassador, diplomat, and immediate
family
• A2: Foreign government official and
immediate family
• A3: Personal employee of A1, A2
• All A visas handled through US Dept of State
B visas
• B1: Temporary Visitor for Business (setting up a
new business, taking orders, providing services
for a foreign company, attending a professional
conference)
• B2: Temporary Visitor for Pleasure (vacation,
attend personal event, noncommercial activities,
prospective students)
• B visas do not allow you to work for a US
employer but you may be able to change
employment status
C visas
• C1 Continuous Transit (passing through the US
to another destination, stop over less than 29
days)
• C2 Travel to UN Headquarters in NY (may only
travel within 25 mi radius of Columbus Circle,
NY)
• C3 Like A2 but in transit
• CP Similar to S
D visas
• D Crewman’s visa (landing temporarily, sea or
air)
E visas
• E1 Treaty Trader
• E2 Treaty Investor
• E3 special for Australian Free Trade
Agreement
• For managers and essential employees of
foreign companies engaged in trade with the
US.
F visa
• Status to attend school at any level through graduate
school. School must be accredited (by ICE?) to issue Form I20, document proof that the school has accepted the
student. Students may be able to work (limited- workstudy,
coops/internships, if authorized due to unforeseen “severe
economic hardship”) but must prove that individual must
prove can financially support studies without working
(tuition and living expenses) and that there’s no intention
to immigrate to the US. This proof can be through an
Affidavit of Support with supporting documentation
(bank/tax records, etc). Affidavit submitted by immediate
family members are most successful.
• F2 Dependent of F1
• F3 Border commuter student
G visa
• G1, 2, 3, 4, 5 For individuals working for
international organizations (UN, WB), their
immediate family and employees. GB and GT
(Guam)
H visa
• H1A Professional Nurses (eliminated 9/1/1995) became H1C
(nurses in areas of healthcare worker shortage)
• H1B Temporary Professional worker (requires BA/BS/equivalent);
Allowed to stay up to 6 years straight. You need not prove you have
a residence abroad.
• H2A Temporary Agricultural Worker (employer must be certified
and unable to find US workers, employee must be paid “prevailing
wage”)
• H2B Other Temporary Workers (short term/start up). Requires proof
of unavailability of US workers. Visa for 1 year at a time with 3 year
limit. (Oz’s Argon visa)
• H3 Trainee (for training program not offered in home country). 2
year limit. Could be to train people for the foreign office of a US
company.
• H4 Spouse of Dependent of H1A, H1B, H2, H3 workers
I visas
• International Journalist (employed by foreign
media organization). No limit to stay as long as
employer doesn’t change.
J visa
•
•
•
•
J1 Exchange Visitor (Students, scholars, researchers; Sometimes comes with requirement that visa
holder return home for 2 years after visa expiration, and in that period cannot change to H visa or
permanent resident status. Muna had a J1 for 1 year. Did not have to return home, able to switch to
B2)
J2 Spouse, dependent children of J1
The Exchange Visitor Program is carried out under the provisions of the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961,
officially known as the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (Pub.L. 87–256,
75 Stat. 527). The purpose of the Act is to increase mutual understanding between the people of
the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural
exchanges. The Exchange Visitor Program is administered by the Office of Exchange Coordination
and Designation in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
In carrying out the responsibilities of the Exchange Visitor Program, the Department designates
public and private entities to act as exchange sponsors. Sponsoring organizations facilitate the entry
of foreign nationals into the United States as exchange visitors to complete the objectives of one of
the exchange visitor program categories, which are:
–
Au Pair, Intern, Student, College/University, Student, Secondary, Government Visitor, International Visitor
(reserved for Department of State use), Physician, Professor and Research Scholar, Short-term Scholar (6
month max, no extension), Specialist (1 year max, Summer work/travel, Teacher, Trainee (18 month max)
K visa
• K1 Fiance, Fianncee Visa
• K2 Minor Unmarried children of K visa holders
• K3 Spouse of US citizen awaiting immigrant
visa
• K4 Child of K3
L visa
• L Intracompany Transferee (employed abroad
at least 1 year, with specialized knowledge;
employment in US must be for that company
or an affiliate). Limit 3 years.
• L2 Spouse/dependents of L1
M visa
• M1 Technical or Vocational School Student
(Barred from changing to F1 status while in
US. Must leave and reapply for F1. Can change
to H1B)
• M2 Spouse/dependents of M2
• M3 Border student
N visa
• N8 Parent of Certain Unmarried Minors who
are Special Immigrants (G1 nonimmigrants
may qualify for permanent residence as
special immigrants)
• N9 Unmarried minor Child of N1 or special
immigrant
NATO visa
O visa
• O1 Individuals of Extraordinary Ability (in
sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics
with national/international acclaim)
• O2 Accompanying/assisting O1
• O3 Spouse/dependents of O1/O2
P visa
• P1 Internationally Recognized Athletes and
Group Entertainers
• P2 Entertainers coming through an Exchange
Program
• P3 Artists/Entertainers coming to Give
Culturally Unique Group Performances
• P4 Spouse/dependents of P1, 2, 3
• Eligible for P status for up to 5 years, with an
extension up to 5 years
Q visa
• Q1 Cultural Exchange Visitor (15 months, to
participate in cultural international exchange
program, approved by ICE?, that helps US
public learn about foreign cultures)
• Q2 Irish Peace Process Trainee
• Q3 Spouse/Dependent of Q2
R visa
• R1 Status for Religious Workers (must have
been a member of religious denomination for
at least 2 years preceding application, can
extend 2 years)
• R2 Spouse/dependents of R
S visa
• S5 Criminal Informants
• S6 Informants on Terrorism
• Admit up to 100 people for help related to
criminal prosecution/terrorism information.
Admits spouse/dependents as well.
• S7 Spouse/dependent of S5, 6
•
SIJS visa
• Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (dependents
of juvenile court, would be harmed if returned
to home country)
TN visa
• TN NAFTA Professionals (available to Canadian
and Mexican nationals coming for professional
work)
• TD Spouse/dependent of TN
T visa
•
•
•
•
T1 Victim of trafficking
T2 Spouse of T1
T3 Child of T1
T4 Parent of T1 under 21 years of age
U visa
• U1 Victim of criminal activity (physical or
mental abuse, including domestic violence)
• U2 Spouse of U1
• U3 Child of U1
• U4 Parent of U1 under 21 years of age
V visa
• V1 Spouse of lawful permanent resident
awaiting immigrant visa who have already
waiting 3 years for the approval of their visa
petition or for an immigrant visa to become
available.
• V2 Child of lawful permanent resident
awaiting immigrant visa
• V3 Derivative child of V1 and V2
W visa
• WB Temporary visitor, business
• WT Temporary visitor, pleasure
What about regulation in our
neck of the woods?
2012 Congressional Districts by Party
The PA congressional
delegation is heavily red.
Republicans control the
legislature (13/18 seats) and
governor’s office.
Despite claims of partisan
gerrymandering, they are
largely unresolved/unchanged.
In a fractured 2004 decision,
the Supreme Court upheld a
gerrymander in PA by
Republicans.
PA support of controversial law
• As a state attorney general, Tom Corbett
supported Arizona’s controversial immigration
law, which challenges a law suit brought on by
the US Dept of Justice, which claims that the
Arizona law unjustly asserts state power in the
federal issue of immigration.
Who gets to decide?
• During the federal legislative stalemate, global cities
and states enact their own immigration legislation
• In 2006, Hazleton PA enacted the Illegal Immigration
Relief Act Ordinance, which made it unlawful for
anyone to employ or rent to an undocumented
immigrant (and in some cases even those the federal
government considers lawfully present), and did not
provide due process.
• California’s Prop 187, requires people to identify and
report suspected unauthorized immigrants
• Raises the question of who qualifies as a
citizen/resident and who gets to decide.
Law of the land
• Under the Supremacy Clause, federal law is the “supreme [l]aw of the
[land]” and preempts state law. However, pursuant to De Canas v Bica
(1976), a court must first engage in a 3-pronged test (De Canas test) to
determine if a state/local law regulating immigration is preempted. It is
preempted if:
– Congress has manifested an express intent to preempt any state law
– Congress has intended completely to occupy the field in which the law
attempts to regulate
– The state law “stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of
the full purposes/objectives of Congress”. In other words if it conflicts, if
compliance to state law makes compliance to federal law impossible. For
example, if the state restricted employment of aliens who under federal law
were permitted to work, that would conflict.
• In this regard, the Hazleton Original Ordinance specified immigrants
“whose current status is illegal” which is incompatible with federal law,
which doesn’t classify immigrants as illegal (but rather unauthorized alien)
(349). Hazleton then revised the ordinance to be consistent with the
federal definition. The revised ordinance
CIR in PHL?
• Philadelphia legislators (democratic) already
support CIR
• Local immigrant organizations are working to
gain republican support for CIR
• The Targets:
– Rep. Gerlach, PA 6TH District
– Rep. Meehan, PA 7TH District
– Rep. Fitzpatrick, PA 8th District
Sanctuary or Ice Collaborator?
• The Original (U.S.-Central American) Sanctuary Movement of the
1980s. Dictatorships, civil war, and revolution in El Salvador,
Guatemala, and Nicaragua led many to seek asylum in the United
States. According to Byrne (Perla and Coutin 2010), 25 percent of
the Salvadoran population were displaced or refugees.
• However, the U.S. government’s entanglement with some of the
Central American regimes complicated its reception of refugees. For
example, the Refugee Act of 1980 allowed for political refugees, but
the Reagan Administration labeled the Central American refugees
as economic migrants (Press 1985).
• In response, immigrant and religious organizations built a
movement to secure Central Americans’ rights and protect them
from deportation.
Philadelphia before 2008
• Philadelphia was largely regarded as a sanctuary city
until its contract with ICE in 2008.
• To recover from population declination and compete in
the global city marketplace, Philadelphia Councilman
James Kenney proposed a 12-step plan to attract
immigrants as “new Philadelphians” or “replacement
people,” capable of revitalizing Philadelphia through
economic development, increased tax revenues and
blight mitigation. However, increased xenophobia
consequent of 9/11 terrorism dissolved Kenney’s
proposed Office of New Philadelphians and the city has
remained divided on immigrant reception ever since.
Philadelphia since 2008
• In 2008, Philadelphia agreed to support the USCIS Secure Communities
Program and entered into a contract with ICE to facilitate ICE access to the
Preliminary Arraignment System (PARS) database.
• Secure Communities enlists local law enforcement to send biometric data
of all arrested individuals to ICE’s database.
• PARS is a real-time database of everyone in Philadelphia Police
Department (PPD) custody. These arrest records include individuals
regardless of citizenship status, for offenses as minor as traffic violations.
• When the data culled via the Secure Communities Program or the PARS
database match someone previously apprehended by ICE (e.g. at the
border), ICE orders local law enforcement to detain the individual for 48
hours to facilitate their transfer to ICE custody. This process occurs before
the Constitutional right to due process and is subsequently a threat to civil
and human rights. Participation in Secure Communities and the PARS
contract are completely voluntary. New York, Chicago, New Orleans and
Newark have all terminated their collaborations with ICE.
Philadelphia 2013
• In 2013, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter
established the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and
Multicultural Affairs as an extension of his 2008
Executive Order No. 8-09, which mandated that
immigrants have access to city services without
barriers or fear that their immigration status will be
questioned or disclosed.
• At the very same time, the Mayor renewed a contract
to collaborate with Immigration and Citizenship
Enforcement (ICE) deportation initiatives, by sharing
biometric data, conducting raids, and detaining
individuals, regardless of their citizenship status and
violating their right to due process.
March 12, 2014
• Philadelphia City Council held a public
meeting to discuss the drafting of a new
mayoral executive order that eliminates ICE
holds for non-citizens in city custody
Top 10 Myths about Immigrants
1. They steal American jobs
• Between 2000 and 2005, the supply of lowskilled American-born workers decreased by
1.8 million, part of a larger trend resulting
from better education and an aging
population. To fill the void, employers rely on
immigrant workers. For decades, Mexican
laborers were recruited—even hoodwinked—
into migrating to the U.S. for work through the
Roosevelt initiated bracero program.
2. They don’t pay taxes
• Immigrants pay taxes every time they purchase gas,
clothes, or food. The Social Security Administration
estimates that half to three-quarters of undocumented
immigrants pay federal, state and local taxes, including
$6 billion to $7 billion in Social Security taxes for
benefits they will never be able to claim.
• Where the fallout occurs is that most of their taxes go
to the federal government rather than to the local,
state entities that fund necessary social services. This
leads to a tension between local, state and federal
governments over who will pay.
3. They’re a drain on the economy
• Despite paying taxes, undocumented
immigrants are not eligible for welfare or food
stamps. Moreover, once naturalized, the
foreign-born are better able to seek
employment and open small businesses,
which increase local revenues and taxes and
create jobs. These new jobs result in greater
disposable incomes, which lead to greater
consumer demand and spending and
ultimately economic growth.
4. They should’ve immigrated the right
way like my parents/grandparents…
• Immigration was largely unregulated until the
1870 Naturalization Act (a precursor to the
1882 Chinese Exclusion Act). Under current
immigration policy, many of our immigrant
ancestors who arrived between 1790 and
1924 would not be permitted.
5. There’s no more room, America is
getting overpopulated
• If the entire world’s population of 7 billion
moved to Texas, it would only be as dense as
New York.
6. They immigrate because of poverty
in their home country
• Migration requires a lot of resources.
Furthermore, increases in emigration levels
typically coincide with increases in the gross
national product (GNP). In the 1970s, South
Korea had one of the highest GNP growth rates
and highest immigration rates to the U.S. More
than not, immigration results from the growth of
political and economic ties to the U.S. Check out
NAFTA’s role in Mexican migration to the U.S:
http://www.thenation.com/article/165438/howus-policies-fueled-mexicos-great-migration.
7. The U.S. only deports criminals
• In 2011, the Obama administration promised it would only deport
“individuals who have been convicted of serious crimes” rather
than those whose only crime was entering the U.S. undocumented.
However, according to data analyzed by Syracuse University, less
than 15% of deportations have been related to criminal activity.
• Local participation in federal deportation programs is completely
voluntary. Chicago, Miami, New York, New Orleans, and Newark
have all terminated their collaborations with Immigration and
Citizenship Enforcement (ICE). However, Philadelphia continues to
comply with ICE, allowing them access to biometric data of anyone
arrested—regardless of citizenship status—for offenses as minor as
traffic violations. ICE then orders local law enforcement to detain
the individual for 48 hours to facilitate their transfer to ICE custody.
This process occurs before the Constitutional right to due process
and is subsequently a threat to civil and human rights.
8. Deportation makes the country
safer
• When local law enforcement collaborate with ICE,
it destroys community trust. When large portions
of the community do not feel safe reporting
crimes and cooperating with the police, all local
residents are put in danger. This summer, a
community member told me that she and fellow
“undocumented people are unable to speak out if
they see something bad happening in the
streets,” because they are afraid of being
detained and deported (July 30, 2013).
9. They make our neighborhoods
worse
• According to Census and FBI data, between
1990 and 2010, the foreign-born population in
the U.S. grew from 7.9% to 12.9%, and the
number of undocumented immigrants grew
from 3.5 million to 11.2 million. During the
same period, the violent crime rate declined
by 45% and the property crime rate fell by
42%. Newcomers immigrate to secure a better
life for themselves and their families, so they
are unlikely to commit crimes.
10. They’re undermining American
culture
• Culture is not static. American culture is
constantly evolving. But immigrants do share
American values—family, morality, education,
hard work, and community.
What’s the big deal?
Cultural Identity
• “A national culture is a discourse—a way of
constructing meanings which influences and
organizes both our actions and our conception of
ourselves. National cultures construct identities
by producing meanings about “the nation” with
which we can identify; these are contained in the
stories which are told about it, memories which
connect its present with its past, and images
which are constructed of it.”
--Stuart Hall
Representation
• Signs synecdochically stand for or represent our concepts,
ideals and feelings in such a way as to enable others to
“read,” decode or interpret their meaning.
--Stuart Hall
• Tropes, icons, and emblems
• In Covering Immigration: Popular Images and the Politics of
the Nation (2001), Leo Chavez discovered a direct
correlation between an economic recession and a magazine
cover concerning immigration between 1965-1999.
Frequency of covers is also related to public opinion,
attitudes favoring less immigration reached an all time high
in 1980 (likely compounded by recession and increasing
media attention).
So what is American culture?
Multi/culturalism
• According to Vertovec’s definition of
culturalism (241), how can we understand the
implications of multiculturalism
• What is the danger of having culture?
• What is nativism?
Cultural citizenship
• How culture informs notions of citizenship, which is
often taken for granted as a universal, natural entity,
rather than a marginalizing, productive project
• The right to be different (in terms of race, ethnicity, or
native language) with respect to the norms of the
dominant national community, without compromising
one’s right to belong, in the sense of participating in
the nation-state’s democratic processes. The enduring
exclusions of the color line often deny full citizenship to
people of color.
--Renato Rosaldo
IBO Model
• Identities-borders-orders (245)
• Some sense of cultural identity is presumed to
characterize a people
• This identity/people is believed to be continguous with
a territory, demarcated by a border
• Within the border, laws and a moral economy underpin
a specific social and political order…different from
orders outside the border, both draws on and
reinforces the sense of collective identity
• Kearney saw the border as a “composite geographic,
legal, institutional, and sociocultural structure and
process” (2004:131)
Un/desired
•
•
•
•
Desired as laborers
Contributors to society
Evidence that US is superior
Praised for multiculturalism
• Excluded from public
benefits
• Suspect of maintaining
disparate loyalties
• Challenge to US sovereignty
• Maligned as “illegals” that
won’t assimilate
Naturalization ceremonies
• Attributed naturalization to immigrants’ desire
for Americanization
• Choice of the US over country of origin
• Need of US to be renewed through “new
blood”
• Privatized, homogenized, and tamed what
might otherwise be characterized as
disruptive foreign differences and thus created
generic public citizens (515)
Disjuncture
• Naturalization can be a way of furthering
international integration rather than transferring
migrants’ allegiance from one nation to another
• Naturalization ceremonies celebrate
creation/incorporation of new citizen-subjects
but these subjects are created by (ritually)
erasing histories and rendering difference generic
• Naturalization may be driven by fear of
disenfranchisement rather than desire to become
American
Self-made man
Chock: Remaking and Unmaking Citizen in Policymaking Talk about
Immigration (1994)
• (Re)defining citizenship is a political act with material consequences
• The terms citizen and immigrant are dynamic and in a dialectical
relationship.
• The immigrant success story is a performative enactment, which
constructs ideologies of acceptable personhood--it enables aliens to
transform into "new men," "persons" that can be "legalized" (IRCA).
These narratives try to erase social difference or deny its
significance.
• Those who don't conform to this mold (whitened, sanitized, selfcreating, male) are denied access to social/moral personhood,
which implies that women and children are not citizens/immigrants
in their own right but reliant on citizenship by proxy of their
patriarch's status.