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Immigr ation Reform

Immigr ation Reform. Katherine Miller Reshma Gouravajhala Claire Edelson. “ Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift up my lamp beside the golden door. ”

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Immigr ation Reform

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  1. Immigration Reform Katherine Miller Reshma Gouravajhala Claire Edelson

  2. “Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:I lift up my lamp beside the golden door.” -Emma Lazarus

  3. 1820s • 1st mass immigration: 300,000 • Why: • Post Napoleonic Wars • Landless • Employment/land in America, freedoms • 1820-1890: 15 million immigrants

  4. 1840s • “Old Immigrants”: white Anglo-Saxon, West/Northern Europe • Irish: Catholic, work for low wage jobs in cities • Germans • Chinese immigrants begin arriving to West Coast (CA gold rush, transcontinental railroad) • American Reaction: nativism (ex Know-Nothing Party), protest • American heritage/national identity

  5. 1880s Immigration Flood • “New Immigrants”: South/Eastern Europe (Germany, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Russia) • Less skilled/intelligent…more of a social problem • More xenophobia…Immigration Restriction League • 1907 alone: 1 million immigrants, 50% S/E Europe

  6. Immigration Laws • 1875: exclude criminals • Chinese Exclusion Act 1882: 10 year ban on Chinese immigrants • 1907: exclude feeble minded, tuberculosis patients, immoral women • Dillingham Commission: learn English, acquire citizenship, abandon native customs • 1917 literacy test

  7. Immigration Laws • 1921 Immigration Act (Emergency Quota Act): 3% of 1910 census • 1924 Immigration Act: 2% from 1890 census • Discriminates against S/E Europeans • 1945 War Brides Act

  8. Immigration Laws • 1952 McCarran Walter Immigration Act: confirms quotas, limits total immigration • 1954 Operation Wetback: return of 1000s of illegal Mexican immigrants (over 1 mil) • Increased US border forces

  9. Immigration Laws • 1965 Immigration & Nationality Act (Hart-Celler Act): ends national origins quotas, preferences to families/skilled workers • LBJ, civil rights legislation • Opens up more immigration from Asia • 1971 72% Asian/Latin American, 1928 86%

  10. Immigration Laws • 1980 Immigration Reform & Control Act (IRCA): penalties for employers hiring illegal immigrants, amnesty for illegal immigrants • 1980 4,289,000 Mexican • 1990 7,841,000 Mexican • 2000 12,000,000 Mexican • 2001 Patriot Act:

  11. Court Cases • 1875 Chy Lung v Freemon: immigration control is an implicit federal power • 1982 Plyler v Doe: TX tries to deny free public education to kids of undocumented alien • Violated Equal Protection Clause of 14th amendment

  12. More Recently… • 1994 California Prop 187: illiegal aliens ineligible for social services except in emergency situations, more documentation control • Preempted by federal law…dropped

  13. Illegal Immigration: Cons • 1961-70: 1.6 million • 1970s: 8.3 million • 2005: around 12 million • 50% in CA/TX/FL/NY • economic/social stress • Use citizen tax dollars as they benefit from social services • Take American jobs • Dilute America

  14. Illegal Immigration: Pros • Economic benefit: cheap labor, without which goods (especially food) in America would be much more expensive • Ex 30-50% farm workers in CA= illegal immigrants (cheaper…less labor standards, lower wages) • Add diversity of cultures, languages, religions… • America was founded by immigrants

  15. Republican Party Platform • “Our determination to uphold the rule of law begins with more effective enforcement, giving our agents the tools and resources they need to protect our sovereignty.” • John McCain, 2008 GOP Platform

  16. Republican Party Platform • Believe that illegal immigrants should not be given amnesty • Overview of Goals: • Enforce rule of law = guaranteeing law enforcement tools and coordination to deport criminal aliens w/o delay and correcting court decisions that make deportation difficult • Impose maximum penalties on aliens and those who bring them in to the US • Government should not offer any privileges to aliens (even if they’ve retracted their crime)

  17. Republican Party Platform • Rule of law suffers if government tries to grant amnesty to those who are illegally making their stay in the United States • Oppose DREAM Act in 2010 • Shouldn’t let aliens “flout the generosity of the American people who provided them temporary entry” • Focus on the economic consequences of illegal immigrants

  18. Democratic Party Platform “I’m committed to comprehensive immigration reform which will uphold America’s tradition of a nation of laws and a nation of immigration. Those things aren’t contradictory; they’re complementary.” • President Barack Obama, Speech to Hispanic Audience, July 2009

  19. Democratic Party Platform • Not a choice b/w amnesty and mass deportation • Overview of Goals: • Federal government resources should be used to secure borders • Unscrupulous businesses should be forced to admit responsibility and face consequences if they hire illegal immigrants • Undocumented workers who are in good standing should be forced to accept responsibility • Admit they broke the law, pay penalty and taxes, learn English • Must do this before earning right to apply for citizenship

  20. Democratic Party Platform • Work together to pass improved legislation that will fix the currently broken legal immigration system • Support DREAM Act in 2010 • Should work to help people that, although they are here illegally, are still living by the law (paying taxes, etc) • Need real-time intelligence, increased infrastructure and personnel at the borders

  21. Green Party Platform • Focus on the “human” aspect of immigration • Recognizes that government and border patrol officials are “taking increasingly extreme measures to enforce prohibitions” leading to “brutal occurrences” like kidnapping and rape.” • Opposed Arizona’s Proposal/Resolution on Immigration • Advocate amnesty, protection of labor rights • Want demilitarization of US-Mexico border • Feel that it is inhumane to put up wall (Berlin)

  22. Interest Groups • Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) • Nonprofit charity that advocates for changes in US that would drastically decrease the number of aliens • Describe themselves to be nonpartisan but viewed as an extremist conservative group • Goals include: No amnesty, no legalization, more enforcement • Support Republican legislation and oppose DREAM Act

  23. Interest Groups • National Immigration Forum (“The Forum”) • Immigrant rights organization • Want to increase number of immigrants in country • Believe that way to do this is to increase understanding not military officials at the border • Support amnesty and want to help immigrants become acclimated to the United States after they’ve accepted responsibility for their actions

  24. Immigration Today

  25. Immigration in Arizona

  26. Arizona New Law • Toughest stand on immigration in the country • Identify, prosecute, deport • Criminalize failure to carry immigration documents • Police can question with “reason to suspect” • Racial profiling? • Latinos • Division • Moral issue, Republicans vs. Democrats

  27. Arizona Cont. 48% of those polled want their state to adopt a law similar to Arizona’s, as opposed to the 35% who do not. 45% think that law will help stop illegal immigration. A majority of 18-34 year olds polled do not approve of Arizona’s law, while most over 35 years old do. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37344303/ns/us_news-immigration_a_nation_divided/

  28. Other Recent Developments • H.R. 4437 • 700 miles of fencing Southwest U.S. border • Label illegal immigrants as "aggravated felons“ • Failed • Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (CIRA) • Fund border security • Grant permanent residency to many illegal immigrants already inside U.S. • Failed

  29. More Recent Developments • Florida: SB 136 • Arizona-like law in progress • Police check immigration status of suspects • No paperwork  misdemeanor, $100 fine • Officers "may not consider race, color, or national origin“ in determining suspects

  30. Obama and Illegal Immigration • Low public approval ratings • “Do you approve of disapprove of the way Obama is handling illegal immigration?” • Border protection plan: Illegal trafficking and crime • Accountability for business who exploit illegal immigrants • Possible amnesty for current illegal immigrants • Learn English, admit mistakes, pay taxes, etc.

  31. Public Opinion Polls “There is a proposal in Congress to allow foreigners who have jobs but are staying illegally in the United States to apply for legal, temporary-worker status. Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose this proposal?“” “How serious do you think the problem of illegal immigration is for the United States right now?”

  32. Polls Cont. "Do you favor or oppose providing a legal way for illegal immigrants already in the United States to become U.S. citizens?"

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