Cool Talk on Hot Topics:
Immigration Issues
Professor Virgil Wiebe
University of St. Thomas
Murphy Institute
March 2, 2012
Mark 4:
Credit: Coralie Mercier
Ezekial 17
Credit: Jay Pastore
Immigration Issues in Light of Catholic
Social Teaching
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•
•
•
Refugees
Unauthorized Economic Migrants
Authorized Economic Migrants – “Brain Drain?”
Subsidiarity, Solidarity, and State Action
Catholic Social Teaching
•
•
•
•
•
Common Good
Human Dignity
Solidarity
Subsidiarity
Option for the Poor
Resource: http://www.osjspm.org/
Conclusions
Refugees
• CST recognizes right to emigrate, calls for
welcome and hospitality by receiving states,
and a sharing of responsibilities among states
• US policy over the past decade has resulted in
admitting fewer refugees and granting asylum
to fewer people
• Compared to almost all other developed
countries, the US takes fewer refugees and
asylees per capita
Unauthorized Economic Migration
• “Every migrant is a human person who, as such,
possesses fundamental, inalienable rights that
must be respected by everyone and in every
circumstance.” Benedict XVI (2011)
• Regulating migration to further the common
good of the receiving community is recognized
• But only “grave requirements of the common
good, considered objectively” should lead to
restrictions.
– US Bishops, Instruction on Pastoral Care of People
Who Migrate (1969)
Unauthorized Economic Migration
• 11,000,000 unauthorized live in the US (60%
of them Mexicans)
– Nearly 7,000,000 have been here for more than 10 years
– And by the way . . . 500,000 unauthorized Americans live
in Mexico
• The causes of migration are largely economic
(and not the result of individual moral failure)
• The unauthorized population in the US is
decreasing in numbers for a variety of reasons
Unauthorized Economic Migration
• Current Federal Policy Reactions can be
questioned
– Massive Expenditures on Border Enforcement
– Record Setting (and Costly) Deportations
– New Prosecutorial Discretion directive holds some
promise
Subsidiarity, Solidarity, and State
Action
Solidarity
We are one human family. Our responsibilities to each
other cross national, racial, economic and ideological
differences. We are called to work globally for justice.
Authentic development must be full human
development. It must respect and promote personal,
social, economic, and political rights, including the rights
of nations and of peoples It must avoid the extremists of
underdevelopment on the one hand, and
"superdevelopment" on the other. Accumulating material
goods, and technical resources will be unsatisfactory and
debasing if there is no respect for the moral, cultural, and
spiritual dimensions of the person.
Source: http://www.osjspm.org/
Role of Government and Subsidiarity
The state has a positive moral function. It is an
instrument to promote human dignity, protect human
rights, and build the common good. All people have a
right and a responsibility to participate in political
institutions so that government can achieve its proper
goals.
The principle of subsidiarity holds that the
functions of government should be performed at the
lowest level possible, as long as they can be performed
adequately. When the needs in question cannot
adequately be met at the lower level, then it is not only
necessary, but imperative that higher levels of
government intervene.
Source: http://www.osjspm.org/
“Attrition Through Enforcement”
• “This law attacks our very understanding of
what it means to be a Christian.”*
– Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile, August 2011
• Restrictive state laws push the notion of
subsidiarity to the breaking point
*Source:
http://www.mobilearchdiocese.org/templates/readtjrarticles.cfm?Article=RodiArticle
74.htm
Authorized Economic Immigrants
“Even though they have a right of emigrating,
citizens are held to ‘remember that they have the
right and the duty… to contribute according to their
ability to the true progress of their own community.
Especially in underdeveloped areas where all
resources must be put to urgent use, those men
gravely endanger the public good,’ who, particularly
possessing mental powers of wealth, are enticed by
greed and temptation to emigration. They ‘deprive
their community of the material and spiritual aid it
needs.’”
• Sacred Congregation for Bishops, Instruction on the Pastoral
Care of Immigrants, para. 8 (1969)
Skilled & Educated Migrants
• Pistone and Hoeffner argue for a CST
paradigm shift on this issue:
– Migration is often temporary
– “Brain Drain” exaggerated
– International Transfers of Knowledge
– Money Transfers – Direct Investment and
Remittances
– Technology Development and Transfer
Source: Pistone & Hoeffner, STEPPING OUT OF THE BRAIN DRAIN (2007)
“With what can we compare the
kingdom of God?”
• The long version follows. . . The notes prior to
this page are the basis of the presentation on
March 2, 2012. In that talk, I references
additional slides that would be available on
the Murphy Institute website.
Refugees and Asylum
“The refugee’s rights include his right to enter a
country in which he hopes to be able to provide
more fittingly for himself and his dependents. It
is therefore the duty of the State Officials to
accept such immigrants – and – so far as the
good of their own community, rightly
understood, permits – to further the aims od
those who wish to become members of a new
society”
Pacem in Terris, para. 106 (1963)
Refugees and Asylum
“Asylum seekers, who fled from persecution, violence and
situations that put their life at risk, stand in need of our
understanding and welcome, of respect for their human
dignity and rights, as well as awareness of their duties. Their
suffering pleads with individual states and the international
community to adopt attitudes of reciprocal acceptance,
overcoming fears and avoiding forms of discrimination, and
to make provisions for concrete solidarity also through
appropriate structures for hospitality and resettlement
programmes. All this entails mutual help between the
suffering regions and those which, already for years, have
accepted a large number of fleeing people, as well as a
greater sharing of responsibilities among States.”
Benedict XVI, Migration and the New Evangelization (Sept.
21, 2011)
Refugees & Asylees
• Conflicts around the world – estimate of
10,000,000 to 20,000,0000 refugees
• The US in recent years has capped refugee
admission annually at 80,000
• Asylum grants within the US have been falling
in recent years
Refugee Arrivals
Graphic: Migration Policy Institute
Asylum Grants in US
Graphic: Migration Policy Institute
Asylum Data 1994-2022
Average annual
number of
asylum
applications
Switzerland
25,000
Average annual Average
number of
Acceptance Rate
asylum
applications (per
1,000 of
population)
3.5
39%
Netherlands
35,000
2.2
62%
Belgium
22,000
2.1
32%
France
31,000
0.5
18%
United States 75,000
0.3
30%
Italy
0.2
25%
9,000
UNHCR data cited in Eiko R. Thielemann, Burden Sharing: The International Politics
of Refugee Protection (2006)
Unauthorized Economic Migrants
“The phenomenon [of migration], as everyone knows, is
difficult to manage; but there is no doubt that foreign
workers, despite any difficulties concerning integration,
make a significant contribution to the economic
development of the host country through their labor,
besides that which they make to their country of origin
through the money they send home. Obviously, these
laborers cannot be considered as a commodity or a mere
workforce. They must not, therefore, be treated like any
other factor of production. Every migrant is a human
person who, as such, possesses fundamental, inalienable
rights that must be respected by everyone and in every
circumstance.”
CARITAS IN VERITATE (2009), para. 63
Unauthorized Economic Migrants
• Migration linked to the right to subsistence and
the duty to sustain one’s family
• John Paul II referred to the “Migration of the
Desperate”
– John Paul II, World Migration Day Address 2000
• “Man has the right to leave his native land for
various motives – and also the right to return – in
order to seek better conditions of life in another
country”
– John Paul II, Laborem Exercens (1981), sec. 23
Unauthorized Economic Migrants
• Regulating migration to further the common
good of the receiving community is recognized
• But only “grave requirements of the common
good, considered objectively” should lead to
restrictions.
– US Bishops, Instruction on Pastoral Care of People Who Migrate
(1969)
• The standard is not met when restrictions are
“merely for the purpose of acquiring
additional wealth”
– US & Mexican Bishops, Strangers No Longer (2003)
How many unauthorized migrants are
there in the US?
The US Population 2010
FY10 Removals, 400,000
Unauthorized, 11,000,000
Other Foreign Born (USC
and Legally Residing),
21,000,000
Natural Born US Citizens,
276,000,000
Sources: US Census Data, US Dep’t of Homeland Security, Pew Research
Who are they?
Unauthorized
Population
(2010)
Mexico
6,640,000
El Salvador
620,000
Guatemala
520,000
Honduras
330,000
Philippines
280,000
India
200,000
China
130,000
Other
2,070,000
Total
10,790,000
Source: US Dep’t of Homeland Security
How
Long
Have
They
Been
Here?
1.6 million
3.8 million
2.4 million
3 million
Dep’t of Homeland Security
Why have they come?
Source: Lessons From Mexico Under NAFTA, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Dec. 2009
Source: Lessons From Mexico Under NAFTA, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Dec. 2009
NAFTA?
“Overall, limited employment gains in
manufacturing and services have been offset by
large employment losses in agriculture. With
roughly one million Mexicans entering the labor
force each year, the NAFTA model has failed to
deliver what Mexico needs the most.”
- “Rethinking Trade Policy for Development: Lessons From Mexico
Under NAFTA” 2009 Carnegie Endowment report
Washington Post, 12/31/2011, US Border Patrol data
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/new-fencing-doesnt-stopillegal-crossings/2011/11/28/gIQAbLdBQP_story.html
Why are the numbers flattening out?
•
•
•
•
It’s the economy, ________.
Increasing economic opportunities in Mexico
Increased border violence by drug cartels
NAFTA’s most disruptive effects have worked
their way through the system
• Increased border enforcement – but the fence
not only keeps people out, it keeps them in
• Cyclical migration
Who gets deported?
Removals by
Nationality
(FY11)
Mexico
286,893
El Salvador
18,870
Guatemala
33,324
Honduras
23,822
Philippines
808
India
854
China
1,297
Other
31,038
Total
Philippines India China
0%
0%
0%
Other
Honduras
8%
6%
Guatemala
9%
El Salvador
5%
396,906
Source: US Dep’t of Homeland Security
Mexico
72%
Source: US Dep’t of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement
St. Paul Immigration District
Fiscal year
Removals (deportations)
2007
Criminal Alien Program
Immigration Arrests
1,959
2008
5,309
4,971
2009
6,355
6,217
2010
5,925
6,055
2011
5,748
5,743
2012
780
894
Source: US Immigration & Customs Enforcement
(as of 12/5/11)
Border Enforcement
• Increased Enforcement Spending Border Patrol
2004 ($6 billion); 2009 ($10.6 billion); gone
from 3,000 to 21,000 agents
• Harder then ever to cross illegally
• Demand to enter still outstrips supply of visas
- must match labor market demands and visas
• Discouraging illegal entrance also
discourages legal entrance.
Source: Edward Alden, Immigration & Border Control, Cato Journal (Winter 2012)
Enforcement Alternatives
• Use Cheaper Alternatives to Immigration
Detention
• End policy of criminally prosecuting every
single unlawful border crosser
• Focus more on ports of entry than between
ports of entry
Source: National Immigration Forum, Nov. 2011
Prosecutorial Discretion
• Policy Shift in 2011 by Obama Administration
• Called upon its immigration prosecutors to exercise
greater discretion in what deportation cases to push
forward
• The number of deportation proceedings initiated in last
quarter of 2012 fell sharply to only 39,331 — down
33%ffrom the previous quarter. Even adjusting for
seasonal drop-off and for late reporting, there appear
to have been over 10,000 fewer deportation filings
than would have been expected last quarter.
Source: Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Syracuse University, February 2012
Authorized Economic Immigrants
Authorized Economic Immigrants
“Even though they have a right of emigrating,
citizens are held to ‘remember that they have the
right and the duty… to contribute according to their
ability to the true progress of their own community.
Especially in underdeveloped areas where all
resources must be put to urgent use, those men
gravely endanger the public good,’ who, particularly
possessing mental powers of wealth, are enticed by
greed and temptation to emigration. They ‘deprive
their community of the material and spiritual aid it
needs.’”
• Sacred Congregation for Bishops, Instruction on the Pastoral
Care of Immigrants, para. 8 (1969)
Skilled & Educated Migrants
• Pistone and Hoeffner argue for a CST
paradigm shift on this issue:
– Migration is often temporary
– “Brain Drain” exaggerated
– International Transfers of Knowledge
– Money Transfers – Direct Investment and
Remittances
– Technology Development and Transfer
Source: Pistone & Hoeffner, STEPPING OUT OF THE BRAIN DRAIN (2007)
BRAIN STEM Proposals
• Science, Technology, Engineering, Math
• Bringing and Retaining Accomplished
Innovators for the Nation
– “Proposal to help immigrants with advanced
degrees in math and science secure the right to
live and work permanently in the US”
– Had thought of calling it the New Employees for
Research & Development and STEM (NERDS Act)
STATE IMMIGRATION LAWS: THE
ALABAMA EXAMPLE AND ATTRITION
THROUGH ENFORCEMENT
Credit: Travoc photostream
at·tri·tion
1. a reduction or decrease in numbers, size, or strength:
Our club has had a high rate of attrition because so many
members have moved away.
2. a wearing down or weakening of resistance, especially
as a result of continuous pressure or harassment: The
enemy surrounded the town and conducted a war of
attrition.
3. a gradual reduction in work force without firing of
personnel, as when workers resign or retire and are not
replaced.
4. the act of rubbing against something; friction.
5. a wearing down or away by friction; abrasion.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/attrition
Solidarity
We are one human family. Our responsibilities to each
other cross national, racial, economic and ideological
differences. We are called to work globally for justice.
Authentic development must be full human
development. It must respect and promote personal,
social, economic, and political rights, including the rights
of nations and of peoples It must avoid the extremists of
underdevelopment on the one hand, and
"superdevelopment" on the other. Accumulating material
goods, and technical resources will be unsatisfactory and
debasing if there is no respect for the moral, cultural, and
spiritual dimensions of the person.
Source: http://www.osjspm.org/
Role of Government and Subsidiarity
The state has a positive moral function. It is an
instrument to promote human dignity, protect human
rights, and build the common good. All people have a
right and a responsibility to participate in political
institutions so that government can achieve its proper
goals.
The principle of subsidiarity holds that the
functions of government should be performed at the
lowest level possible, as long as they can be performed
adequately. When the needs in question cannot
adequately be met at the lower level, then it is not only
necessary, but imperative that higher levels of
government intervene.
Source: http://www.osjspm.org/
Some Provisions of the Alabama Law
• Void contracts between unauthorized immigrants and
anyone else
• Criminalizes business transactions with unauthorized
immigrants
• Business licenses pulled if employ unauthorized
• All law enforcement become immigration enforcers
• Registration of immigration status of all school children
• Criminalizes much contact with unauthorized –
“harboring,” renting, transporting
Reactions to Alabama’s Law
“Hospitality is not at the margins of
scripture. Jesus wasn't kidding around
when he said, ‘I was a stranger and
you welcomed me.’”
– Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National
Latino Evangelical Coalition, at the G92
Conference at Samford University, Birmingham.
February 2012
“As Christians, we have a responsibility to
obey the rule of law, not to enforce the
law. And, as citizens of heaven, we also
have a responsibility to feed those who are
hungry without asking them for [their]
immigration status.”
– Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics
and Religious Liberty Commission, February 2012
“The new state law is broadly written. Both
supporters and opponents of the law agree that
it is the broadest and strictest immigration law
in the country, affecting every part of the life of
undocumented immigrants. In doing so,
however, the law makes illegal the exercise of
our Christian religion which we, as citizens of
Alabama, have a right to follow. . . This law
attacks our very understanding of what it means
to be a Christian.”
– Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile, August 2011