How much immigration is good for the USA?
The USA’s immigration laws
The 1990 Immigration Act (IMMACT) limits the annual number of immigrants to 700,000.
Controversy has arisen over existing immigration law and immigration outside the law, especially
over the 7.5 million illegal alien workers with more than 12 million household members already
inside the U.S. Another 700,000 to 850,000 are predicted to enter each coming year.
Illegal immigration and Mexico
The USA more than most is a nation of immigrants. The debate in the USA is about who should be allowed in,
how many should be allowed in and on what basis.
Mexico is a pressing issue. Roughly half of Mexico's population lives on less than $5 a day. The US minimum
wage is $7.25 an hour. It’s not hard to see the attraction of El Norte.
Economic Migrants and Refugees
“America has constantly drawn strength and
spirit from wave after wave of immigrants ...
They have proved to be the most restless, the
most adventurous, the most innovative, the
most industrious of people”
President Bill Clinton, 1998
As with all countries, it is important to distinguish
between economic migrants, who generally do not gain
legal admission, and refugees, as defined by
international law, who can gain legal status through a
process of seeking and receiving asylum.
Refugees compose about one-tenth of the total annual
immigration to the United States.
Operation Jumpstart
“There's an important debate facing our
nation, and the debate is, can we
secure this border and, at the same
time, honor our history of being a land
of immigrants? And the answer is,
absolutely, we can do both. And we will
do both”.
President Bush, 3 August 2006
President Bush attempted to neutralise the
immigration issue with his Immigration Bill of
2006-07. “Operation Jumpstart” was his plan to
solve the immigration problem.
Like much else of Bush’s domestic agenda, the
President ran into Congressional opposition and
the bill ultimately failed in June 2007.
He did though succeed in using the National
Guard to patrol the US/Mexico border.
Border Security USA
Pro-Immigration groups: A Day without Immigrants
Strength of feeling on the issue was
illustrated in March 2006 when
hundreds of thousands of activists
marched in California to protest
against plans to criminalise
undocumented workers.
The Day Without Immigrants protest
was a day when legal and some illegal
immigrants stopped work to show the
contribution immigrants make to
America
Anti-immigration groups: The Minutemen
"I think it is very
important to have a
secure border right now
anyone can cross our
borders and just come
right in. How secure are
we from 9/11 type attack
if anyone can just walk
over? If it keeps up we
will not be Americans,
but part of Mexico in the
not too distant future."
Spokesperson,
By contrast, the Minutemen are a
vigilante group who volunteer to
patrol the US/Mexico border to keep
out illegal immigrants.
The Minutemen
The language debate
The widespread use of Spanish in
American cities has generated a public
debate over language. Some English
speakers are calling for a law declaring
English the official American language.
Others consider such a law
unnecessary and likely to cause harm.
They cite Switzerland as a place where
the existence of multiple languages
does not undermine national unity.
Recognition of English as the official
language, they argue, would
stigmatize speakers of other languages
and make it difficult for them to live
their daily lives.
Are immigrants a drain on resources?
It is argued that immigrants drain scarce resources. A study in the Journal of
American Physicians and Surgeons concluded that the burden of illegal immigrants
on the health care system in the US forced many hospitals to close due to unpaid
bills.
Crime
The lack of an effective immigration policy means that people traffickers (coyotes)can exploit
poor immigrants.
Even after paying to be trafficked into the USA, illegal immigrants can be used for
prostitution, cheap labour or to smuggle drugs.
Do immigrants enrich America?
Supporters of immigration point to the contribution immigrants make to the US
economy. They claim that new immigrants work harder and they also add to the
cultural melting pot which the USA has always been.
Are immigrants necessary for the US economy?
It is highly unlikely that many businesses in Southern California, especially, could cope
without immigrants.
That was the essential message of the Day Without Immigrants protest. Vineyards,
restaurants, housemaids, cleaners, low paid, insecure jobs are carried out by illegal
immigrants, often paid less than minimum wage, with no holiday or sick pay.
A Human Rights Issue?
Defending the rights of immigrants was one of the founding principles of the American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Just as African slaves played a key part in the building of America, human rights activists
claim illegal immigrants are the slaves of modern America.
Arizona Law
Arizona’s state law on
immigration, SB1070, signed on
April 23 2010, makes illegal
immigration a state
misdemeanour (in addition to
being a federal civil violation).
It empowers local police to make
“lawful contact” in order to check
the immigration status of people
who cause “reasonable suspicion”
and to arrest them if they lack
documents.
To the Hispanic community, this,
in effect,
means that Hispanic looking
drivers will be pulled over by the
police on potentially any pretext.
Arizona Law
The New Politics of Immigration
There is the possibility that other
states, notably New Mexico and
Texas, could follow Arizona’s lead.
On the other hand, pro-immigration
groups have been mobilised. There
has been talk of boycotts of the state
and private companies have
cancelled conferences.
“Your Vote is Your Voice”, slogan of the Southwest Voter Registration Education
Project.
Antonio Gonzalez of SVREEP says that SB1070 has made the Hispanic lobby “100
times larger than the Tea Party”.
Todos somos Arizona demonstration
President Obama and Immigration
President Obama has promised “comprehensive
reform” of immigration and while criticising
Arizona, acknowledges the lack of federal action
on immigration has encouraged actions such as
SB1070.
He has stated that illegal immigrants need a
“pathway to legal status”. This would involve
illegals registering, admitting that they had
broken the law, pay a fine, pay taxes and learn
English. Not, in essence, that much different from
President Bush’s plan.
Competition for jobs is rising with unemployment.
If President Obama doesn’t move fast in 2010,
reform would become an election issue in 2012.
If the US economy is still in recession,
immigration could be a vote winner for
Republicans tapping into xenophobic feeling.
Obama and Immigration reform
Failure to act could lose him the support of the
millions of Hispanics who voted for him and the
Democrats in 2008.
Unreported World: The Devil’s Highway
The Devil’s Highway Part One
The Devil’s Highway Part Two
The Devil’s Highway Part Three
This excellent programme looks at the fate of
illegal immigrants trying to cross the US/Mexico
border.