Kentucky Council of Churches Assembly October 27 – 28, 2011

1. Kentucky Council of Churches AssemblyOctober 27 – 28, 2011 The Human Scope of Immigration Issues Marilyn S. Daniel, Volunteer Attorney Maxwell Street Legal Clinic

2. Goals • Provide accurate factual information • Address your concerns about immigration issues • Name the complexities and the ambiguities • Find a place where Christians can stand

3. Assumptions: • Every country has the responsibility to determine its immigration laws. • Immigration is not a local, state or even national issue; it is a global issue. • US immigration law is complex, confusing, punitive and out-dated. • Drugs and guns are a serious problem on our southern border and effective law enforcement must be supported. • Non-citizens convicted of serious crimes should be placed into fair and humane immigration proceedings. • Immigration detention facilities must be clean, safe and humane. • The rule of law is essential to an ordered society. • Immigration is driven by economics, families, politics and changing population demographics. • The integrity and stability of families matter.

5. The “BIG” Picture • Estimates are that on Monday the world population will reach 7 billion. • 1804 →→ 1 billion • 1927 →→ 2 billion • 1959 →→ 3 billion • 1998 →→ 6 billion • 2025 →→ 8 billion About 1.8 billion people will live in places suffering from severe water scarcity. World average life expectancy has risen from 48 years in 1950 to 69 years today. In 2011, the three largest countries in the world are: China 1.337B (19% of the world)→→1.417B in 2050 India 1.189B (17% of the world)→→1.614B in 2050 USA 312M (4.5% of the world)→→404M in 2050

6. The “BIG” Picture (cont’d) • As the world grows, unusual things are happening to the population demographics of some countries: • Japan, with a 2011 population of 127M, will have 107M in 2050. Japan has the highest left expectancy in the world: 83.7 years. It’s median age is 44.7. • Germany, with a 2011 population of 81.4M, will have 71.5M in 2050. Germany has a life expectancy of 80.5. It’s median age is 44.3 • The US has a life expectancy of 79.9. It’s median age is 36.9. GDP per person is $45,990. By 2050, there will be 20% of the population over 65. The number of people over 85 will grow from 6M to 22M. • In many African countries the median age ranges from 15.5 to 20.5. • Mexico has a median age of 26.6. It’s GDP per person is $14,260. The developed world has aging populations, fewer young workers and more jobs. The developing and underdeveloped world has younger populations, excess workers and severe human need. The world’s resources are not equally distributed. People all over the world risk their lives daily to move from the poorer parts of the world to the wealthier parts. In 2007 8% of the world’s population received $300B in remittances.

7. Who and where are the undocumented? • Current estimates: 11M undocumented immigrants in US = 3.5% of total population; about 1M are children; 60% are from Mexico; 7,000 unaccompanied immigrant children arrive illegally each year. • 61% have been in the US more than 10 years (as of 2010) • 19% arrived in the 1980s • 42% arrived in the 1990s • 39% arrived between 2000 and 2009 • 4.5M USC children have at least one undocumented parent. • In 2010, they were 5.2% of the US labor force. • Median age of US-born adults = 46.3; undocumented adults = 35.5. • Half of the undocumented population lives in California, Texas, Florida and New York. In FY2012 ICE has been funded ($2B) to detain about 33,400 non-citizens on any given day at an average cost of $5.5M a day. • The current administration deports 1,100 people every day. • In 2011 illegal immigration from Mexico has a net rate of 0.

8. Case Study: Impact on Families • Juan: Lawful Permanent Resident (1988); DOB: 1955; Mexican; has worked in US for 31 years • Maria, Juan’s wife; Mexican; DOB: 1959; has lived in the US for 22 years; has never worked; undocumented • Jose, eldest son of Juan and Maria; DOB: 1975; married to a USC; has worked in the US for 20 years; has two US-born children; sole support of his family; undocumented • Marco, second son of Juan and Maria; DOB:1980; had worked in the US for 4 years; undocumented; unmarried • Guadalupe, daughter of Juan and Maria; DOB: 1996

9. Immigration law concepts • Mixed-status families • Lawful permanent residents • Immediate relatives and family preference categories • Undocumented: EWI and overstay • Removal • Permanent bar • No remedies for most

10. Two of many concerns • They broke the law. • Why don’t they come legally? • 40% of them entered legally. • Most of the rest can’t enter legally. • Visa Waiver Program = 35 countries • Visa applications – 80+ non-immigrant visas • Diversity lottery • Cubans vs Mexicans • Long waiting periods for FP categories. • Income requirements.

11. Let’s talk about law – and lawbreakers • The rule of law is essential to an ordered society. • The United States came into being through revolution, not evolution. Our heroes (Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, etc.) broke the law. • Slavery was the law. Abolitionists broke the law. The underground railroad was illegal. • Prohibition was the law. Violation of the law led to its repeal. • It was against the law for a woman to vote. Women were beaten and imprisoned for challenging that law. • Segregation was the law. Rosa Parks broke the law – and changed history. • The US has the largest total prison population (2,292,133) and the largest ratio (743) per 100,000 population in the world. China has 4 times our population and 123 per 100,000 prisoners. • How are we doing as a law-abiding society?

12. Let’s talk about law (cont’d) • 8 USC §1325 creates a federal misdemeanor for the first instance of illegal entry into the US punishable by not more than 6 months in prison or a fine or both. Subsequent illegal entries are punishable by up to 2 years in prison or a fine or both. • 8 USC §704 makes it a federal misdemeanor to shoot migratory game birds over a baited field punishable by not more than 6 months in prison or a fine or both. • You could get the same penalty for shipping fruits or vegetables in a barrel with less than standard capacity.

13. Martin Luther King, Jr. • In his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Rev. King said: “We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal’…It was ‘illegal’ to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers.”

14. Conclusion (opinion) • “Breaking the law” is not a goal to which a person should aspire. Neither is it the basis for dismissing the tragic and desperate human conditions surrounding immigration in the world today. • How do I view people who break the law? Does the content of the law matter? Does the reason for the violation matter? For Christians it is a personal, complex issue with which to struggle. • Jesus was serious about loving neighbors, including enemies and immigrants.

15. Martin Luther King, Jr. In his 1957 sermon entitled “Loving Your Enemies,” he said: “So this morning, as I look into your eyes, and into the eyes of all of my brothers in Alabama and all over America and over the world, I say to you, ‘I love you. I would rather die than hate you.’ And I’m foolish enough to believe that through the power of this love somewhere men of the most recalcitrant bent will be transformed. And then we will be in God’s kingdom.”