Position Paper
"Amnesty has emerged
as the pariah term of the
immigration debate,
disavowed even by those
who believe in its goals.
But what are the
alternatives to letting
illegal stay? Deporting
millions? Devising other
punishments? Doing
nothing at all?...
Whether you fine illegal
aliens or stick them in
English classes or make
them say a hundred Hail
Marys, at the end of the
day, illegals would be
allowed to stay and
become citizens under
this bill [S. 2611].
That's amnesty. And
that's a good thing for
America. Amnesty won't
depress wages globalization has
already done that.
Amnesty will not
undermine the rule of
law... It sounds
counterintuitive, but
with immigration,
forgiving a crime may
be the best way to
restore law and order.
Amnesty won't
necessarily add to the
social-services burden...
Amnesty would offer
millions... a fighting
chance at selfsufficiency and social
mobility."(Nathan
hornburgh, Senior ditor
of TIME magazine)
Immigration legal or not, racial
profiling and amnesty
As an immigrant that went through all the process to
come to this county legally and for basically the same
reason
most
illegal
immigrants
do,
economic
opportunities, more adequate education, better jobs, and
to make ‘the American dream’ real, it has made me
support immigration whether legal or not. I think there
is a significant amount of people in need and that is why
they immigrate to this county. I support illegal and legal
immigration when referring to those people in need,
people that come to this country to make a living, to
support their family, to survive. It is an undeniable truth
that Americans would not do most of the works done by
illegal immigrants; jobs in agriculture, construction and
other low pay but physically demanding work.
This
manual labor provides more than what can be earned in
their country of origin and allows them to afford food
and basic necessities for their entire family living in this
country.
1
Valenzuela- 2
One major problem produced by both legal and illegal immigration is racial profiling. People
tend to label immigrants based on their race and/or ethnicity. I do not support racial profiling
because I believe it is a violation of our human rights. I think it is a form of racism to label,
profile, or judge others for their national origin, ethnicity, or religion.
On the other hand, there are great amounts of people that are against immigration and they don’t
put into account the reasons why people immigrate to this country. The people who are against
immigration, legal or not, tend to racially profile people belonging to minority groups.
Racial profiling also occurs when law enforcement agents use race, ethnicity, religion, and or
national origin when deciding whom to investigate. They claim that by doing this they can
narrow down the number of suspects when a crime is committed.
According to a study conducted by the Domestic Human Rights Program of Amnesty
International USA, the unlawful use of race in police, immigration, and airport security
procedures has expanded since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
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Racial profiling directly affects Native Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans,
African Americans, Arab Americans, Persian Americans, many immigrants and visitors, and
under certain circumstances white Americans, both female and male, it affects all age groups, is
used against people from all socio-economic backgrounds and occurs in rural, suburban, and
urban areas. (http://www.amnestyusa.org/pdfs/rp_report.pdf)
National Estimate of Racial Profiling Victims (U.S.)
Race
Black (Non-Hisp.)
Hispanics
Asian (Non-Hisp.)
Multiracial (NonHisp.)
White (Non-Hisp.)
Total
Pop
34
35
10
RP Rate
47%
23%
11%
Victim
Pop
16
8
1
5
195
19%
3%
1
6
Estimated total racial profiling victims (in millions) 32
The historic fight against discrimination and racial bias in the United States continues and has
perhaps become more challenging in the 21st century.
Although fewer de jure forms of
discrimination remain in existence, de facto racial disparities continue to plague the United
States and curtail the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by millions of people who belong
to racial and ethnic minorities. (http://www.aclu.org/files/pdfs/humanrights/cerd_finalreport.pdf)
Although, immigration contributes to the increase in population growth, it also increases the
consumer base for the variety of goods and services produced in the country. People need to take
into consideration that the illegal immigrants or illegal aliens contribute to the social security
funds and then do not claim it back.
Valenzuela- 4
An amnesty would benefit 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United
States, and it would bring out of the shadows the millions of people that are abused, mistreated
and can’t protest because they are afraid of the repercussions if their legal status is known.
According to a 2007 report issued by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, illegal
immigration actually increases the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by $37 billion each year.
Immigrant workers complement rather than substitute for American citizens or the native
workforce by increasing productivity and income. According to a study published by the
National Research Council, immigrants contribute $80,000 more in taxes than they receive in
public services. While non-skilled immigration is often the center of discussion, 40 percent of
PhD scientists in America are foreign born and as much as 15 percent of the total workforce in
2006 was foreign born.
I think that as an attempt to put a stop to racial profiling local and state government must ratify
laws that successfully prohibit racial profiling. Each state should revise their existing and new
laws to make sure that these ones include the statutes necessaries to prohibit racial profiling.
Also, creating penalties for any law enforcement office that engage in racial profiling would help
to put an end to this problem. Moreover, as an effort to reduce the increase of illegal immigrants
the government should implement new immigration policies. If some policies such as eligibility
to obtain a visa were changed and less requirements were needed, it would make it easier to
immigrate to the United States legally therefore less people would do it illegally. Also, for the
illegal immigrants that reside in the country we could implement a selective amnesty in exchange
for fines and payments of extra taxes, limit the deportation only for criminals, set requirements
that are more specific but not more stringent, cut the benefits for illegal immigrants but create
social programs to ease integration into society for legal residents.
Valenzuela- 5
I belief that if we allow the people that reside in the country illegally to receive amnesty it would
be beneficial for both sides, the new legal residents would be forced to pay taxes which will
positively influence the economy of the nation but they also would receive all the benefits
offered to legal immigrants. This would also change how people view minority groups
especially the Hispanic population.
Illegal or not, immigration has its advantages and disadvantages. It is how the immigrants are
treated that needs reconsideration in the minds of some of the citizens of this country. Racial
profiling will persist until we learn that regardless race, ethnicity, and social status we are equal
and have the same rights, obligations, and that racial profiling is a violation of human rights.
Valenzuela- 6
Report
Illegal Immigration and Racial Profiling
The United States of America was founded by immigrants in 1776. With the exception
of Native Americans, all persons living in the United States are descended from immigrants who
came to the country during the last 400 years. Out of the over 150 million people that immigrate
to the United States annually 50 million of those persons immigrate illegally.
Initially, the U.S. government
Most early immigration laws
encouraged open immigration in the
were instituted in order to control the
interest of settling as much territory as
composition of the U.S. population.
possible.
Following the Civil War,
In 1790, Congress passed the
however, states began to pass their own
Naturalization Act, which effectively
immigration statutes. The United States
limited
persons
of
Supreme
European and Caucasian descent.
In
immigration
Court
came
determined
under
that
immigration
to
federal
1882, Congress passed the Chinese
jurisdiction in 1875, and Congress
Exclusion Act, which made immigration
established the Immigration Service in
from China illegal. The 1943 passage of
1891.
the Magnuson Act repealed this law.
1
http://immigration.procon.org
1
Valenzuela- 7
In
addition
ethnicity,
the
government
was
to
U.S.
Today, over 1 million immigrants enter our country
also
legally per year, while the illegal alien population grows by
concerned with the moral
about 500,000 per year.
composition
borders and enter illegally come from Mexico and other
of
the
Most of those who violate our
population. Between 1872
Latin American countries.
and 1890, Congress passed
illegal immigrants come from Canada and Europe. Close to
laws
the
half of all illegal immigrants now residing in the U.S. arrived
among
legally but rather overstayed their visas. Just as the federal
prostitutes,
government has historically failed to secure its borders, it
restricting
immigration
other
groups,
of,
and criminals, the mentally
Only about 6 percent of the
has concurrently failed to monitor closely visa holders.2
ill and financially unstable
persons.
2
web.ebscohost.com
Valenzuela- 8
One of the mayor issues brought by illegal immigrations is that because most of
the people that violate the law and enter the country illegally come from Mexico and
Latin countries, this population has been singled out by secure laws. In an article written
by Nancy Lofholm, she talks about the release of a study showing that the federal
program has disproportionately targeted Latinos for deportation and that thousands of
U.S. citizens also have been ensnared in a system designed to identify illegal immigrants.
this report was also included that Latinos make up 93 percent of immigrants
arrested under Secure Communities, although they account for only 77 percent of illegal
immigrants in the U.S. An estimated 3,600 U.S. citizens have been wrongly arrested
through the program. ICE said these citizens were no longer detained once their
immigration status was determined. Only 2 percent of illegal immigrants arrested through
Secure Communities are granted relief in court from deportation, compared with 14
percent of all immigration court respondents. About 83 percent of people arrested
through Secure Communities are placed in ICE detention, compared with 62 percent of
all Department of Homeland Security immigration detainees3
3
http://sks.sirs.com.
Valenzuela- 9
As a personal opinion I think laws such as SB 1070 in Arizona which give the powers of
state police officers to ask about the immigration status of anyone they stop, and to hold those
suspected of being illegal immigrants would only lead to racial profiling. Only Hispanics would
be targeted specifically by this law.
I think that as an attempt to put a stop to racial profiling and maybe reduce the increase of
illegal immigrants the government should implement new immigration policies. If this change
was made it would be easier to immigrate legally therefore less people would do it illegally.
Also, for the illegal immigrants that reside in the country implement a selective amnesty in
exchange for fines and payments of extra taxes, limit the deportation only for criminals, set more
specific requirements but not more stringent, cut the benefits for illegal immigrants but create
social programs to ease integration into society for legal residents. I belief that if we allow the
people that reside in the country illegally to become legal it would be a beneficiary for both
sides, the new legal residents would be forced to pay taxes which will influence positively the
economy of the nation but also they would received all the benefits offered to legal immigrants.
This would also change how people view minority groups especially the Hispanic population.
Valenzuela- 10
-Proposal Paper
Immigration whether illegal or not will always be present in the United States. People in need
will do whatever it takes to provide for their families, to survive. It is an undeniable truth that
Americans would not do most of the works done by illegal immigrants; jobs in agriculture,
construction and other low pay but physically demanding work. However, this manual labor
provides more than what can be earned in their country of origin and allows them to afford food
and basic necessities for their entire family living in this country. An amnesty would benefit 12
to 20 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States.
Some of the economic benefits of an amnesty are that millions of illegal immigrants will begin
paying taxes and for the social systems that they use but do not presently support. Businesses
will also have to pay into the system for workers they now are not reporting. Illegal immigrants
use more costly emergency rooms instead of regular doctors over fear of deportation, an expense
that directly affects taxpaying citizens. (//www.ehow.com/list_6122149_benefits-immigrationamnesty_.html)
According to a 2007 report issued by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, illegal
immigration actually increases the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by $37 billion each year.
Immigrant workers complement rather than substitute for American citizens or the native
workforce by increasing productivity and income. According to a study published by the
National Research Council, immigrants contribute $80,000 more in taxes than they receive in
public services. While non-skilled immigration is often the center of discussion, 40 percent of
PhD scientists in America are foreign born and as much as 15 percent of the total workforce in
2006 was foreign born.
Valenzuela- 11
I think that as an attempt to reduce the increase of illegal immigrants the government should
implement new immigration policies. If this change was made it would be easier to immigrate
legally therefore less people would do it illegally. Also, for the illegal immigrants that reside in
the country we could implement a selective amnesty in exchange for fines and payments of extra
taxes, limit the deportation only for criminals, set requirements that are more specific but not
more stringent, cut the benefits for illegal immigrants but create social programs to ease
integration into society for legal residents. I belief that if we allow the people that reside in the
country illegally to become legal it would be a beneficial for both sides, the new legal residents
would be forced to pay taxes which will positively influence the economy of the nation but they
also would receive all the benefits offered to legal immigrants. This would also change how
people view minority groups especially the Hispanic population.
Valenzuela- 12
Poster/Reflection
NO COLOR
NO RACE
IN THE END WE ARE
ALL THE SAME
Valenzuela- 13
Racial profiling is important to me because it affects me directly. Although, I am a legal resident
of this country, I fit the standard description of the ones targeted by law enforcement when race
is used to determinate if one should be stop or not. In the constitution of the United States there
is a phrase that says: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life,
Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. To secure these rights, Governments are instituted among
Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. The founders of this nation
were committed to establishing a government that would guarantee equally to all individuals.
Racial profiling is a national problem; it violates the human rights of those who are profiled,
rights that are given to every citizen of this country regardless of their race.
According to the Rights Working Group, most states do not have laws that prohibit racial
profiling by law enforcement. Only 29 states even mention racial profiling in their legislation. Of
the 29, only 19 states require their law enforcement agencies to collect data on the traffic stops
they conduct, and these reporting requirements vary wildly from state to state. Further, five of
the states that prohibit racial profiling only ban the use of race as the sole factor for initiating a
stop, rather than banning its use as any factor in determining whom to stop.
United States of America is a country rich in diversity; people from all over the place make this
country their home, their own. In the past, the ignorance of the dominant group unwelcomed all
people that did not belong to their race or group. Now, the same attitude cannot be allowed.
Not only the victims but also all concerned Americans should join or form campaigns against
racial profiling. Groups such as Rights working with their campaign named face the truth that
seeks to win reforms in local, state and federal policies to end the practice of racial profiling by
law enforcement, is an example of how concerned citizens are trying to spread awareness to the
Valenzuela- 14
public and create a change with some of the policies that allows racial profiling to target specific
communities in this country.
Work Cited Page
-Public Opinion Polling on Illegal Immigration." End illegal immigration. Americans for Legal
Immigration PAC, 2009. Web. 10 Jul 2012.
<http://www.endillegalimmigration.com/illegal_immigration_polls_surveys/index.shtml>.
-Devan, A.. What are the benefits of immigration amnesty?. N.p., 2011. Web. 10 Jul 2012.
<http://www.ehow.com/list_6122149_benefits-immigration-amnesty_.html>.
-Steven Camarota, . "The High Cost for Cheap Labor."Center for Immigration Studies. Center
for Immigration Studies, 2004. Web. 10 Jul 2012.
<http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html>.http://www.usamnesty.org/
-. "Immigration Amnesty." Us immigration amnesty. USAmnesty, 2011. Web. 10 Jul 2012.
<http://www.usamnesty.org/>.
-Barnes, E.. "Illegal Immigrant Costs U.S. $113 Billion a Year, Study Finds." Fox news.com
fair . Foxnews.com, 2010. Web. 10 Jul 2012.
<http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/02/immigration-costs-fair-amnesty-educations-costsreform/>.
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Valenzuela- 15
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Valenzuela- 16
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