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Immigration Issues. By: Dr. Phil Kingsley’s Section of Christian Values in a Global Community. Demographics. Demographic Trends in Allen County:. Of the approximately 106,000 people living in Allen County, at most 6,000 are Hispanic, both legal and illegal.
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Immigration Issues By: Dr. Phil Kingsley’s Section of Christian Values in a Global Community
Demographic Trends in Allen County: • Of the approximately 106,000 people living in Allen County, at most 6,000 are Hispanic, both legal and illegal. • That would make up only 5% of the total population of Allen County.
Number of illegal immigrants • There is no possible way to determine the number of illegal immigrants located within the Allen county area, but estimates range from 2,000 to 5,000.
Population Facts • Hispanics make up 12.5 percent of the Nation’s population. That number would more than double if illegal's were counted. • This puts Ohio far behind the National average for total Hispanic Population.
Response to Illegal Immigrants • Is Sherriff Dan Beck making a mountain out of a mole hill by cracking down on Illegal immigration? • The Hispanic Population in Allen county is relatively small and has generally followed the larger population trends of the county.
Solutions • The effort and money spent by the County on weeding out illegal immigrants could be put to more positive uses that embrace the Positive aspects of Hispanics in the county rather than Alienating them.
Sectors Where Immigrants Work • Construction • Landscaping • Agriculture • Farming • Livestock • Grain Farms • Fruit Orchards • Vegetable Farms
Importance of Immigrants to Agriculture in Economic Sense • Farmers do not want to use legal immigrants because they have to be paid more and their labor conditions are monitored. Illegal immigrants do not have to be paid much and do not have any legal rights in this country, which means they are not protected from harsh labor conditions. • If illegal immigrants were removed, legal immigrants would be the main option for farmers, because most Americans want office jobs or jobs with less manual labor. • This would force farmers to pay their workers more and they would be forced to become more mechanized then they are now.
Organizations Representing Farm Labors Agencies receive grants from the United States Department of Labor and other governmental entities to administer programs that upgrade farm workers’ skills and provide essential education, including English proficiency for those whose native tongue is another language. > Farm Labor Organization Committee (FLOC) • a union representing migrant farm workers • Formorally organized in 1979 as a union • Headed by Baldemar Velasquez (Bluffton Alumni) • Farm workers' labor helps feed others in America, yet they themselves are one of the most socioeconomic deprived groups in the country.
Organizations Representing Farm Labors • Future Goal of FLOC: learn how to make farm work an occupation with acceptable conditions for those people whose labor produces food for other Americans, rather than to cycle people through an occupation that inherently involves deprived conditions. • According to FLOC, “Another possible solution is extending to farm workers the same legal rights enjoyed by other American workers. As already indicated, farm workers experience general lack of legal protections, reduced standards, and un-enforced rights”. • Because of the FLOC, Farm workers now participate as equals in determining their own wages and benefits in some areas.
Conditions and Experiences of Immigrant Farm workers • The work that farm workers perform is often backbreaking labor that Americans do not favor even in times of high unemployment. • Immigrant farm workers work long hours (12-14 hour days) with no overtime pay • Undocumented workers are disqualified from social programs as well such as food stamps, social security benefits, etc. • Undocumented laborers also experience racial discrimination in work and social environments because most immigrant laborers are non-white.
Effects on Mexico • President Vicente Fox—that Mexico should have the right to export its surplus workers to the United States. • Fewer Mexicans to work the available jobs • Eliminates creation of exported goods • Mexicans with permission to work in the United States will want to bring their families north to live with them • decreasing the amount of money the immigrants send home to Mexico by as much as 40%
Impact of NAFTA • Their purpose: • PROMOTE sustainable development • PROTECT, enhance, and enforce basic workers' rights • CONTRIBUTE to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade and provide a catalyst to broader international cooperation • The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and institutional reforms have kept lots of workers in Mexico • NAFTA raised wages for most Mexicans • NAFTA is working, increasing the efficiency • auto plants on both sides of the border, as factories specialize in one model for a bigger market • US jobs that would probably otherwise have gone to Asia went to Mexico, increasing the likelihood that US workers will produce parts for the Mexican plants.
Providing Assistance • US must aid Mexico • Funding • Jobs • Trade • According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, many U.S. cities’ annual economic output rivals those of entire foreign countries. • There is no reason that resource-rich countries like Mexico and others in Latin America cannot approach such prosperity. • To ease the tide of unauthorized migrants, U.S. foreign policy must seek to balance economies. • North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA)
Is Immigration Good for the Economy Nationally • Illegal immigrants seem to have very little impact on unemployment rates. Undocumented workers certainly do take jobs that would otherwise go to legal workers. But undocumented workers also create demand that leads to new jobs. They buy food and cars and cell phones, they get haircuts and go to restaurants. On average, there is close to no net impact on the unemployment rate.
Is Immigration Good for the Economy Nationally • Illegal immigration has both negative and positive impacts on different parts of the economy. Wages for low-skilled workers go down. But that means the rest of America benefits by paying lower prices for things like restaurant meals, agricultural produce and construction. Another negative impact is on government expenditures. Since undocumented workers generally don't pay income taxes but do use schools and other government services, they are seen as a drain on government spending.
Local Economic Issues • “In five years, if we do not work on this issue, it will be the single most significant issue from a crime and quality-of-life standpoint in this county,” Beck said. “We want to work as best as we can to get this curtailed before it becomes a problem.” (Lima News August 14, 2005) • Prior to Sheriff Dan Beck, City of Lima Mayoral candidate Ned Bushong while on WIMA was quoted as saying that Procter & Gamble had hired up to 200 immigrant workers at its Bath Township facility. He also said he had noticed increased requests for Spanish interpreters over the police scanner, so he just connected that with the immigrant’s rumor. He told The Lima News he heard the immigrant rumor from union leaders, but he didn’t verify either the rumor or his hunch before voicing them on air. (Lima News July 23, 2005)
Illegal Immigration in Ohio • An estimated 40,000 illegal aliens resided in Ohio as of 2000, according to INS figures. This is 173 percent higher than the previous INS estimate in 1996 and 220 percent higher than the estimate for 1990. In the mid-1990s, central Ohio’s immigration office in central Ohio had only one staffer; today, the office has 22 employees and is struggling to keep pace with the workload. • Ohio authorities requested compensation of $3.5 million from the federal government in FY’99 for the incarceration of illegal aliens in state and local jails and prisons (under the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or SCAAP), but it received only $1.3 million in compensation, leaving $2.2 million in uncompensated costs to be borne by Ohio taxpayers.
Local Immigration Statistics • State Population (2004 CB estimate) 11,459,011 • Population Increase 1990-2000 506,025 • Foreign-Born Population 388,800 • Percent Foreign-Born 3.4% • Illegal Resident Population 40,000 • 2025 Population Projection 11,700,000 • All numbers are from the U.S. Census Bureau unless otherwise noted. Additional Census Bureau, INS, and other immigration-related data are available for Ohio.
Discussions on National Level • Sensenbrenner Bill (H.R. 4437) • Classify all 11 million undocumented immigrants working in the U.S. as “aggravated felons,” subjecting them to deportation and imprisonment and depriving them of any access to a hearing prior to deportation. • Senate Compromise • Undocumented immigrants in the U.S. less than two years would be required to leave immediately, those between two and five years will be allowed to stay in the U.S. under temporary visas, those in the U.S. longer than five years will be granted guest worker status and can start an eleven year path to citizenship. • Bush’s Proposed Program • President Bush also proposed a temporary worker program in January of 2004. This program is also non-sector specific for new temporary workers.
Penalties of Illegal Immigration • Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 • Illegal aliens with six to 12 months of unlawful presence are barred for three years; • those here for more than a year illegally are barred for 10 years.
Penalties Upon Conviction • Aliens and employers violating immigration laws are subject To • Criminal fines • Imprisonment • Forfeiture of Vehicles and real property used to commit the crime. • Anyone employing or contracting with an illegal alien without verifying his work authorization status is guilty of a Misdemeanor.
Necessary Actions • Increased monitoring of local business or agricultural hiring practices and increased penalty for offenders. • Increased number of temporary workers visas and make process to receive one easier. • Rewrite immigration code and application to make it more user friendly. • Increase in local police trained to be federal immigration agents.
From the Immigrant’s Viewpoint • Immigrants see themselves as political or economic refugees. • Desire another blanket amnesty so they can stay in the country.
Concerns and Solutions of Border Security and Immigration Reform • Concerns • Pressures our schools/hospitals • Strains our law enforcement resources and emergency services • Allows gangs and violence to enter U.S. • Solutions • Secure border to prevent illegal crossing • Strengthen enforcement of immigration laws • Create a temporary worker program
Three Part Plan to Secure Borders • Part One: Return every illegal immigrant caught at the border • Interior Repatriation: Fly and/or bus illegal Mexican citizens back to their hometowns . • Expedited Removal: Fly illegal immigrants from other countries home within 32 days. • Part Two: Strengthen border enforcement • Part Three: Stop illegal immigrants from crossing border in the first place • Increase manpower, technological advancements, and funding; construct physical barriers; immigration reform; stop document fraud; create a temporary worker program.
View of Illegal Immigration from Illegal Immigrants • Issue of humanity, not right-or-wrongness of immigration. • We should see everyone as people first, and admire their attempts to better their lives and their families’ lives (an act of survival). • Within the issue of border patrol, the hardest place to travel through is Mexico (due to rape, robbery, vigilantes, etc.).
View of Illegal Immigration from Border Patrol and Vigilante Groups • Stop the flow of illegal immigrants by patrolling (boat, car, foot). • “Trying to make the U.S. a more secure nation” • Vigilante groups work this issue on a volunteer-basis. • Both groups patrol hot-spot areas where illegal's are more apt to cross. • Immigrants should all go through legal channels to enter the U.S., and illegal's make that more difficult.
Ways to Get Involved • Local groups such as Brazo en Brazo. • Letters to the Editor. • Lobbying Congressmen and Local Officials. • Raise awareness of the issue, by presenting facts instead of speculations. • Participate in demonstrations. • Bring in professionals involved with the issue to speak and give information.
