IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
Problem: The civil wars in Central America and the displacement of workers caused by
the North American Free Trade Agreement produced massive migrations from Central
America and Mexico over the last 20 years. Migration flows continue to this day due to
the violent legacy of the civil wars and the desire of people to reunite with relatives
living in the U.S. who fled earlier. Instead of responding to this wave of refugees fleeing
violence with any of the multiple safe haven policies in our laws such as refugee status,
political asylum, humanitarian parole, and Temporary Protected Status, the Obama
Administration has been deporting people back to the violence they were fleeing. In
2015, the Department of Homeland Security deported 235, 413 people. These
deportations tear immigrant families apart leaving many children orphaned. Between
July 1, 2010, and Sept. 31, 2012, nearly 23 percent of all deportations--or, 204,810
deportations--were issued for parents with citizen children. These parents are being
deported back to places where their lives are threatened.
Short- Term Solution: President Obama can order a moratorium on deportations until
Congress passes immigration reform and creates a legal process for undocumented
people to apply for legal status.
Long – Term Solution: Congress creates a legal process for people to apply and be
considered for permanent residency. In 1986, Congress passed a law, the Immigration
Control and Reform Act, that provided a mechanism for undocumented people to
become citizens and President Reagan signed it. The root causes of migration – military
and economic interventions also need to be addressed.
Actions You Can Take:
1) Educate yourself about immigration – there is a lot of false information in the
media. Here are the websites of some organizations that have expertise in
immigration policy:
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American Immigration Lawyers Association – www.aila.org
National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild –
www.nationalimmigrationproject.org
National Immigration Law Center – www.nilc.org
Urban Institute – www.urban.org
Detention Watch – www.detentionwatchnetwork.org
National Immigration Forum – www.immigrationforum.org
2) Come to ECCO’s upcoming training on immigration – Immigration Policy 101
3) Join ECCO leaders at the of offices of the Immigration and customs Enforcement
of Wednesday February 17th at 3:30 pm – 10 New England Executive Park,
Burlington, MA
4) Call Rep. Moulton and Senators Warren and Markey – Ask for a stop to
deportations and a way for undocumented people to gain legal status.
Some Common Myths about Immigration
MYTH: Living in the U.S. without a visa (or illegally) is a crime.
FACT: Living in the U.S. without a visa is NOT a crime. It is an administrative violation. It
is neither part of our criminal code or civil code. Immigration courts are in the Executive
Branch of government not the judicial because immigration violations are not crimes. As
such, undocumented immigrants in deportation proceedings do not have a right to a
lawyer or to a jury of their peers since they have not been accused of a crime. In all
other cases in federal administrative violations are punished by fines. In 1996, President
Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act that
made detention the punishment for being undocumented.
MYTH: Latino immigrants chose not to apply to come to the U.S. legally like immigrants
before them did. They should have to wait in line like other immigrants.
FACT: There is no line to wait in or application to fill out for most Central American
immigrants. They come to the U.S. because their lives are in danger. In 1965, there was
a major overhaul of immigration laws and now, in contrast to our ancestors who came
under country-specific quotas, you need to be sponsored by 1) an “immediate relative”
meaning a spouse, parent, or child over the age of 21 or 2) an employer if you are a
skilled worker in a region where there is a shortage of your particular skill.
MYTH: Immigrants increase the Crime Rate
FACT: Recent research has shown that immigrant communities do not increase
the crime rate and that newly arriving immigrants tend to commit fewer crimes
than native born Americans. Ruben Rumbaut, a professor of sociology at Brandeis
University, found that “even as the undocumented population has doubled to 12
million since 1994, the violent crime rate in the United States has declined 34.2
percent and the property crime rate has fallen 26.4 percent.” Cities where there are
high levels of immigrants, such as New York, Chicago and Miami experienced declines in
violent crime during this period. Other cities with numerous such as El Paso and Laredo,
are among the country’s safest cities to live in.