PowerPoint Presentation

Cool Talk on Hot Topics:Immigration IssuesProfessor Virgil WiebeUniversity of St. ThomasMurphy InstituteMarch 2, 2012

Credit: Coralie MercierMark 4:2

Credit: Jay PastoreEzekial 17

Immigration Issues in Light of Catholic Social TeachingRefugeesUnauthorized Economic MigrantsAuthorized Economic Migrants Brain Drain?Subsidiarity, Solidarity, and State Action

Catholic Social TeachingCommon GoodHuman DignitySolidaritySubsidiarityOption for the Poor

Resource: http://www.osjspm.org/

ConclusionsRefugeesCST recognizes right to emigrate, calls for welcome and hospitality by receiving states, and a sharing of responsibilities among statesUS policy over the past decade has resulted in admitting fewer refugees and granting asylum to fewer peopleCompared to almost all other developed countries, the US takes fewer refugees and asylees per capitaUnauthorized Economic MigrationEvery migrant is a human person who, as such, possesses fundamental, inalienable rights that must be respected by everyone and in every circumstance. Benedict XVI (2011)Regulating migration to further the common good of the receiving community is recognizedBut only grave requirements of the common good, considered objectively should lead to restrictions. US Bishops, Instruction on Pastoral Care of People Who Migrate (1969)

811,000,000 unauthorized live in the US (60% of them Mexicans)Nearly 7,000,000 have been here for more than 10 yearsAnd by the way . . . 500,000 unauthorized Americans live in MexicoThe causes of migration are largely economic (and not the result of individual moral failure)The unauthorized population in the US is decreasing in numbers for a variety of reasons

Unauthorized Economic MigrationData about Americans in Mexico comes from MSBA CLE on 2/27/2012; Consul of Mexico in Minnesota.9Unauthorized Economic MigrationCurrent Federal Policy Reactions can be questionedMassive Expenditures on Border EnforcementRecord Setting (and Costly) DeportationsNew Prosecutorial Discretion directive holds some promise

Subsidiarity, Solidarity, and State Action

SolidarityWe are one human family. Our responsibilities to each other cross national, racial, economic and ideological differences. We are called to work globally for justice. Authentic development must be full human development. It must respect and promote personal, social, economic, and political rights, including the rights of nations and of peoples It must avoid the extremists of underdevelopment on the one hand, and "superdevelopment" on the other. Accumulating material goods, and technical resources will be unsatisfactory and debasing if there is no respect for the moral, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of the person.

Source: http://www.osjspm.org/

Role of Government and Subsidiarity

The state has a positive moral function. It is an instrument to promote human dignity, protect human rights, and build the common good. All people have a right and a responsibility to participate in political institutions so that government can achieve its proper goals. The principle of subsidiarity holds that the functions of government should be performed at the lowest level possible, as long as they can be performed adequately. When the needs in question cannot adequately be met at the lower level, then it is not only necessary, but imperative that higher levels of government intervene. Source: http://www.osjspm.org/

Attrition Through EnforcementThis law attacks our very understanding of what it means to be a Christian.*Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile, August 2011Restrictive state laws push the notion of subsidiarity to the breaking point

*Source: http://www.mobilearchdiocese.org/templates/readtjrarticles.cfm?Article=RodiArticle74.htmAuthorized Economic ImmigrantsEven though they have a right of emigrating, citizens are held to remember that they have the right and the duty to contribute according to their ability to the true progress of their own community. Especially in underdeveloped areas where all resources must be put to urgent use, those men gravely endanger the public good, who, particularly possessing mental powers of wealth, are enticed by greed and temptation to emigration. They deprive their community of the material and spiritual aid it needs.

Sacred Congregation for Bishops, Instruction on the Pastoral Care of Immigrants, para. 8 (1969)Sacred Congregation for Bishops, Instruction on the Pastoral Care of Immigrants, para. 8 1969, http://www.smc.org.ph/religion/DPMC.htm15Skilled & Educated MigrantsPistone and Hoeffner argue for a CST paradigm shift on this issue:Migration is often temporaryBrain Drain exaggeratedInternational Transfers of KnowledgeMoney Transfers Direct Investment and RemittancesTechnology Development and Transfer

Source: Pistone & Hoeffner, Stepping Out of the Brain Drain (2007)With what can we compare the kingdom of God?

He also said, With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade. Mark 4: 30-32

17The long version follows. . . The notes prior to this page are the basis of the presentation on March 2, 2012. In that talk, I references additional slides that would be available on the Murphy Institute website.Refugees and AsylumThe refugees rights include his right to enter a country in which he hopes to be able to provide more fittingly for himself and his dependents. It is therefore the duty of the State Officials to accept such immigrants and so far as the good of their own community, rightly understood, permits to further the aims od those who wish to become members of a new society Pacem in Terris, para. 106 (1963)Refugees and AsylumAsylum seekers, who fled from persecution, violence and situations that put their life at risk, stand in need of our understanding and welcome, of respect for their human dignity and rights, as well as awareness of their duties. Their suffering pleads with individual states and the international community to adopt attitudes of reciprocal acceptance, overcoming fears and avoiding forms of discrimination, and to make provisions for concrete solidarity also through appropriate structures for hospitality and resettlement programmes. All this entails mutual help between the suffering regions and those which, already for years, have accepted a large number of fleeing people, as well as a greater sharing of responsibilities among States.

Benedict XVI, Migration and the New Evangelization (Sept. 21, 2011)

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI, FOR THE WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES (2012)Migration and the New Evangelization, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/migration/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20110921_world-migrants-day_en.html From the Vatican, 21 September 2011

20Refugees & AsyleesConflicts around the world estimate of 10,000,000 to 20,000,0000 refugeesThe US in recent years has capped refugee admission annually at 80,000Asylum grants within the US have been falling in recent years

http://www.rcusa.org/index.php?page=refugee-admissions-figureshttp://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Resources/Resources%20for%20Congress/Congressional%20Reports/2011%20National%20Immigration%20&%20Consular%20Conference%20Presentations/Refugee_Admissions_Program.pdfhttp://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/refugeeprotection-2011.pdf

21Refugee Arrivals

Graphic: Migration Policy Institutehttp://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/refugeeprotection-2011.pdf

22Asylum Grants in US

Graphic: Migration Policy Institutehttp://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/refugeeprotection-2011.pdf 23Asylum Data 1994-2022Average annualnumber of asylumapplicationsAverage annualnumber of asylumapplications (per 1,000 of population)Average Acceptance RateSwitzerland25,0003.539%Netherlands35,0002.262%Belgium22,0002.132%France31,0000.518%United States75,0000.330%Italy 9,0000.225%UNHCR data cited in Eiko R. Thielemann, Burden Sharing: The International Politics of Refugee Protection (2006)The Center for Comparative Immigration Studies CCISUniversity of California, San DiegoBurden Sharing:The International Politics of Refugee ProtectionBy Eiko R. ThielemannDepartment of Government & European InstituteLondon School of Economics and Political ScienceWorking Paper 134March 2006http://www.ccis-ucsd.org/PUBLICATIONS/wrkg134.pdf24Unauthorized Economic MigrantsThe phenomenon [of migration], as everyone knows, is difficult to manage; but there is no doubt that foreign workers, despite any difficulties concerning integration, make a significant contribution to the economic development of the host country through their labor, besides that which they make to their country of origin through the money they send home. Obviously, these laborers cannot be considered as a commodity or a mere workforce. They must not, therefore, be treated like any other factor of production. Every migrant is a human person who, as such, possesses fundamental, inalienable rights that must be respected by everyone and in every circumstance.CARITAS IN VERITATE (2009), para. 63

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html25Unauthorized Economic MigrantsMigration linked to the right to subsistence and the duty to sustain ones familyJohn Paul II referred to the Migration of the DesperateJohn Paul II, World Migration Day Address 2000Man has the right to leave his native land for various motives and also the right to return in order to seek better conditions of life in another countryJohn Paul II, Laborem Exercens (1981), sec. 23Citied in Pistone and Hoffner, Stepping Out of the Brain Drain (2007), p. 6326Unauthorized Economic MigrantsRegulating migration to further the common good of the receiving community is recognizedBut only grave requirements of the common good, considered objectively should lead to restrictions. US Bishops, Instruction on Pastoral Care of People Who Migrate (1969)The standard is not met when restrictions are merely for the purpose of acquiring additional wealthUS & Mexican Bishops, Strangers No Longer (2003)

Pistone and Hoffener, But the Laborers are many? in Kerwin and Gershutz, And You Welcomed Me (2009) p. 7127How many unauthorized migrants are there in the US?The US Population 2010Sources: US Census Data, US Dept of Homeland Security, Pew Researchhttp://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2009/12/30/us-population-2010-308-million-and-growinghttp://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2010.pdf;

29Who are they?Unauthorized Population (2010)Mexico 6,640,000El Salvador 620,000Guatemala 520,000Honduras 330,000Philippines 280,000India 200,000China 130,000Other 2,070,000Total10,790,000

Source: US Dept of Homeland Securityhttp://www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/reports/ero-facts-and-statistics.pdf;http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2010.pdf

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3.8 million1.6 million2.4 million3 millionDept of Homeland SecurityHow Long Have They Been Here?http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2010.pdf;

http://www.pollwatchdaily.com/2011/12/01/gingrichs-humane-approach-to-illegal-immigrants-putting-some-figures-to-his-approach/;

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2010.pdf

31Why have they come?

Source: Lessons From Mexico Under NAFTA, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Dec. 2009http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/nafta_trade_development.pdf, p. 13. 33

Source: Lessons From Mexico Under NAFTA, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Dec. 2009http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/nafta_trade_development.pdf , p. 12 Rethinking Trade Policy forDevelopment:Lessons From Mexico Under NAFTA, Eduardo Zepeda, Timothy A. Wise, and Kevin P. Gallagher , Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 2009These small and seasonal employment increases have been too limited toabsorb losses from traditional agricultural sectors. Many of these losses came among small-scale farmers producing staple foods, most notably corn, where import competition undercut producers and real prices fell nearly 50 percent after Mexico accelerated liberalization ahead of NAFTAs schedule for sensitive products.34NAFTA?Overall, limited employment gains in manufacturing and services have been offset by large employment losses in agriculture. With roughly one million Mexicans entering the labor force each year, the NAFTA model has failed to deliver what Mexico needs the most.- Rethinking Trade Policy for Development: Lessons From Mexico Under NAFTA 2009 Carnegie Endowment report

http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/nafta_trade_development.pdf35

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2010.pdf 36

Washington Post, 12/31/2011, US Border Patrol datahttp://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/new-fencing-doesnt-stop-illegal-crossings/2011/11/28/gIQAbLdBQP_story.htmlWhy are the numbers flattening out?Its the economy, ________.Increasing economic opportunities in MexicoIncreased border violence by drug cartelsNAFTAs most disruptive effects have worked their way through the systemIncreased border enforcement but the fence not only keeps people out, it keeps them inCyclical migrationWho gets deported?Removals by Nationality(FY11)

Mexico 286,893 El Salvador 18,870Guatemala 33,324Honduras 23,822Philippines 808India 854China 1,297Other 31,038Total 396,906Source: US Dept of Homeland Securityhttp://www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/reports/ero-facts-and-statistics.pdf;http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2010.pdf

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Source: US Dept of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcementhttp://www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/reports/ero-facts-and-statistics.pdf40St. Paul Immigration DistrictFiscal yearRemovals (deportations)Criminal Alien Program Immigration Arrests20071,959 20085,3094,971 20096,3556,217 20105,925 6,05520115,7485,743 2012780894 (as of 12/5/11)

Source: US Immigration & Customs EnforcementFY2012 data is as of IIDS v 1.10 December 5, 2011 as provided by the Statistical Tracking Unit, but from EID data as of NoAverage daily population excludes ORR and MIRP facilitieshttp://www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/reports/ero-facts-and-statistics.pdf;

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Border EnforcementIncreased Enforcement Spending Border Patrol 2004 ($6 billion); 2009 ($10.6 billion); gone from 3,000 to 21,000 agentsHarder then ever to cross illegallyDemand to enter still outstrips supply of visas - must match labor market demands and visas Discouraging illegal entrance also discourages legal entrance.

Source: Edward Alden, Immigration & Border Control, Cato Journal (Winter 2012)43Enforcement AlternativesUse Cheaper Alternatives to Immigration DetentionEnd policy of criminally prosecuting every single unlawful border crosserFocus more on ports of entry than between ports of entry

Source: National Immigration Forum, Nov. 2011http://www.immigrationforum.org/images/uploads/2011/Immigration%20Enforcement%20Fiscal%20Review%20Nov%202011%20.pdf 44Prosecutorial DiscretionPolicy Shift in 2011 by Obama AdministrationCalled upon its immigration prosecutors to exercise greater discretion in what deportation cases to push forwardThe number of deportation proceedings initiated in last quarter of 2012 fell sharply to only 39,331 down 33%ffrom the previous quarter. Even adjusting for seasonal drop-off and for late reporting, there appear to have been over 10,000 fewer deportation filings than would have been expected last quarter.

Source: Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Syracuse University, February 2012

http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/274/Sharp Decline in ICE Deportation Filings: Targeting of Serious Criminals Fails to Improve, February 21, 2012.

45Authorized Economic ImmigrantsAuthorized Economic ImmigrantsEven though they have a right of emigrating, citizens are held to remember that they have the right and the duty to contribute according to their ability to the true progress of their own community. Especially in underdeveloped areas where all resources must be put to urgent use, those men gravely endanger the public good, who, particularly possessing mental powers of wealth, are enticed by greed and temptation to emigration. They deprive their community of the material and spiritual aid it needs.

Sacred Congregation for Bishops, Instruction on the Pastoral Care of Immigrants, para. 8 (1969)Sacred Congregation for Bishops, Instruction on the Pastoral Care of Immigrants, para. 8 1969, http://www.smc.org.ph/religion/DPMC.htm47Skilled & Educated MigrantsPistone and Hoeffner argue for a CST paradigm shift on this issue:Migration is often temporaryBrain Drain exaggeratedInternational Transfers of KnowledgeMoney Transfers Direct Investment and RemittancesTechnology Development and Transfer

Source: Pistone & Hoeffner, Stepping Out of the Brain Drain (2007)BRAIN STEM ProposalsScience, Technology, Engineering, MathBringing and Retaining Accomplished Innovators for the NationProposal to help immigrants with advanced degrees in math and science secure the right to live and work permanently in the USHad thought of calling it the New Employees for Research & Development and STEM (NERDS Act)http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700215359/Will-BRAIN-Act-create-or-drain-American-jobs.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-small-business/post/house-lawmakers-drafting-brain-act-to-retain-highly-educated-immigrants/2011/12/15/gIQAZCiGwO_blog.html49State immigration laws: THE alabama EXAMPLE and Attrition through enforcement

Credit: Travoc photostreamattrition1. a reduction or decrease in numbers, size, or strength: Our club has had a high rate of attrition because so many members have moved away. 2. a wearing down or weakening of resistance, especially as a result of continuous pressure or harassment: The enemy surrounded the town and conducted a war of attrition. 3. a gradual reduction in work forcewithout firing of personnel, as when workers resign or retire and are not replaced. 4. the act of rubbing against something; friction. 5. a wearing down or away by friction; abrasion.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/attritionhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/attrition52SolidarityWe are one human family. Our responsibilities to each other cross national, racial, economic and ideological differences. We are called to work globally for justice. Authentic development must be full human development. It must respect and promote personal, social, economic, and political rights, including the rights of nations and of peoples It must avoid the extremists of underdevelopment on the one hand, and "superdevelopment" on the other. Accumulating material goods, and technical resources will be unsatisfactory and debasing if there is no respect for the moral, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of the person.

Source: http://www.osjspm.org/

Role of Government and Subsidiarity

The state has a positive moral function. It is an instrument to promote human dignity, protect human rights, and build the common good. All people have a right and a responsibility to participate in political institutions so that government can achieve its proper goals. The principle of subsidiarity holds that the functions of government should be performed at the lowest level possible, as long as they can be performed adequately. When the needs in question cannot adequately be met at the lower level, then it is not only necessary, but imperative that higher levels of government intervene. Source: http://www.osjspm.org/

Some Provisions of the Alabama Law Void contracts between unauthorized immigrants and anyone elseCriminalizes business transactions with unauthorized immigrantsBusiness licenses pulled if employ unauthorizedAll law enforcement become immigration enforcersRegistration of immigration status of all school childrenCriminalizes much contact with unauthorized harboring, renting, transportingHospitality is not at the margins of scripture. Jesus wasn't kidding around when he said, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, at the G92 Conference at Samford University, Birmingham. February 2012Reactions to Alabamas Lawhttp://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/24/us-immigration-evangelicals-idUSTRE81N04X20120224Evangelical leaders call for immigration overhaulThu, Feb 23 2012By Tom Bassing, Reuters.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala | Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:02pm EST

56As Christians, we have a responsibility to obey the rule of law, not to enforce the law. And, as citizens of heaven, we also have a responsibility to feed those who are hungry without asking them for [their] immigration status.Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, February 2012

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/27/opinion/noorani-conservative-immigration/index.htmlNew approach by conservatives on immigration?By Ali Noorani, Special to CNN, CNN Opinion

57The new state law is broadly written. Both supporters and opponents of the law agree that it is the broadest and strictest immigration law in the country, affecting every part of the life of undocumented immigrants. In doing so, however, the law makes illegal the exercise of our Christian religion which we, as citizens of Alabama, have a right to follow. . . This law attacks our very understanding of what it means to be a Christian.Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile, August 2011

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=11252Archbishop: Alabama immigration law threatens religious liberty, Aug. 3, 2011.58