Immigration Welcoming the Stranger Edith Rasell Justice & Witness Ministries United Church of...

ImmigrationWelcoming the Stranger

Edith Rasell

Justice & Witness Ministries

United Church of Christ

IMMIGRATION

Foreign Born Share of U.S. Population (%) 1850-2006

12.1

10.4

7.9

6.2

4.75.4

6.9

8.8

11.6

13.2

14.713.6

14.8

13.314.4

13.2

9.7

0.0

4.0

8.0

12.0

16.0

Perc

ent F

orei

gn B

orn

Unauthorized Immigrants

• Currently 12 million unauthorized

• Twice as many as in 1996

• Growing by half a million each year

• Among the undocumented, about 40% arrived in thecountry legally and over-stayed their visas.

• The other 60% enteredthrough unauthorizedchannels liking travelingacross our southern border.

Unauthorized Immigrants

• There are 6.6 million families whose head of the household or a spouse is undocumented.

• Among undocumented families, 41% have children. In three-quarters of the families with children, at least some of the children are US citizens.

Unauthorized Immigrants

• Slightly more than half (57%) are from Mexico and nearly one-quarter are from the rest of Latin America.

• One-third toone-half have not finished high school.

Unauthorized Immigrants

The Push (NAFTA)• Some 2 million farmers have been displaced

since NAFTA went into effect in 1994 while Mexico’s imports of US agricultural products and corn have doubled.

• Between 2000 and 2005, 900,000 rural jobs and 700,000 in industry have been lost.

• In 2004, average household earnings were 15% below the level of 1994, adjusted for inflation.

Why Do They Come?

The Pull

People come to work and they find plenty of employers who actively seek employees willing to work long hours in grueling jobs for low pay.

Why Do They Come?

There are many reasons not to come:• Leaving their known world• Different language, customs• The future is unknown• Dangers of crossing into

the US• Once in US, they could

be deported or imprisoned at anytime

Why Do They Come?

Hazardous Border Crossing

Since 1995:

• Militarization of the border: fences, fortified checkpoints, high-tech surveillance, thousands more border patrol agents

• Border enforcement expenditures up 5 fold

People Crossing are

Funneled through the Desert

Hazardous Border Crossing

Since 1995:

• 2000 to 3000 deaths of people attempting to cross the border

• Annual number of deaths has doubled

• Most of the increase is occurring in the Tucson Sector

• US General Accountability Office finds the rise in deaths the direct consequence of the policy changes

Hazardous Border Crossing

In nine years (1995 to 2004), more people were killed attempting to cross the US-Mexico border than were killed

attempting tocross the Berlin Wall during its entire 28 years.

Entering Legally is not Possible

Family Reunification

• Immediate family members (spouse, child, parent) of citizens can get visas

• Immediate family members of legal permanent residents: 226,000/year but no country gets more than 7% of these (16,000)

Workers

• People with advanced degrees, “extraordinary ability,” religious workers, investors with over half a million dollars, “skill-shortage” workers: 140,000/year

• Unskilled worker: 5,000/year

• “Diversity Visa Lottery”: 55,000/year, preference for under-represented regions

Entering Legally is not Possible

Detentions

Each year, 250-300,000 people put in detention; 1 million apprehended.

If someone is picked up, they can be:

• Immediately returnedto Mexico

• Released with a date to appear in court

• Held until court date and deportation

Detentions• US has 26,500 detention beds, up from 7,500

in 1994 (expansion largely through private prison industry)

• 230,000 processed through system annually – adults and children

• Cost is $1 billion/year ($95 per day)

• One example: lights on 24 hrs/day, no windows, open toilets/showers, group punishment, allowed outside one hour per day

What to Do

We need fundamental, comprehensive immigration reform.

Needed Policy Changes

• Route to earned citizenship

• Right to drive

• Enforce labor protections, stop workplace raids

• Change trade agreements to promote good jobs and protect domestic agric.

• Separate local/state law enforcement from ICE