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MISU NDERST OOD REAL IT IES OF U .S . IMMIGRAT ION LAW
MYTHS AND MISPERCEPTIONS:
Angela Remus, B.A. International Relations ’16Thanks to Wally Ruehle and the Legal Aid Society of Rochester;
Raul Ramirez, University of Rochester ’18; and all those individuals who shared their stories with me.
11.4 million undocumented immigrants in the US
~ Department of Homeland Security, Jan. 2012 estimate
750,000 undocumented immigrants in NY, or 6.6% of the undocumented population
~ Pew Research Center, 2012
NY Times, Pew Research Center
“18% of Americans believe all undocumented immigrants should be expelled from the country.”
~ Pew Research Center
OUR GOAL
(1) Identify the myths,(2) Transform the misperceptions with facts, and
(3) Become advocates for the facts
UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS DON’T CARE THAT THEY’RE BREAKING THE LAW.
THEY SHOULD JUST GET PAPERS.
MYTH
“I wish I could get papers. I wish it were that easy… It would help me feel safe.”
~ Alex
“People migrate to the US legally from overseas countries everyday. Why are Mexicans acting like their situation is different from every other countrymen on the planet? Or
that their case should be treated differently?”
~ Christine, in an online forum
OBTAINING LEGAL RESIDENCY IS VERY DIFFICULT
REALITY
THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE: FAMILY-BASED IMMIGRATION
US Dept. of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs
THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE:EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION
THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE:EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION
+111,704 Temporary Agricultural Workers
Dept. of Labor, FY 2013
5,000 visas for unskilled labor / year
Dept. of State
=116,704 opportunities
THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE:EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION
116,704 opportunities
414,397 Customs and Border Protection apprehensions
CBP, Fiscal Year 2013
THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE: DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM
“the lottery”
“Up to 50,000 immigrant visas available annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to individuals who are from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States”
~ United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
IMMIGRANTS ARE AN ECONOMIC DRAIN AND TAKE JOBS
MYTH
IMMIGRANTS CONTRIBUTE TO THE US ECONOMY AND FINANCIAL SYSTEMS
REALITY
JOB STEALING?
“Most economists agree that the wages of low-skill high-school dropouts are suppressed by somewhere between 3 percent and 8
percent because of competition from immigrants, both legal and illegal.”
~ Adam Davidson,
NPR Q&A
LOW-SKILL JOBS
“A 2012 analysis of census data by economist Jack Strauss, now of the University of Denver, found that cities with greater lesser-skilled immigration experience lower unemployment rates, lower poverty rates, and higher wages for lesser-
educated Americans—they are not simply substitutes for one another.”
American Immigration Lawyers Association
JOB STEALING?
“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.”
~ Adam Davidson, NPR Q&A
AGRICULTURE
“A 2001 UCLA study found that the undocumented Mexican population alone, if
excluded from the country, would result in a dramatic $220 billion drop in U.S. economic
output.”
~ American Immigration Lawyers Association
AGRICULTURE
Pew Research Center, 2008
25% undocumented
US Dept. of Agriculture,
2012
50% undocumented
AGRICULTURE
National Farm Work Ministry,
2013
78% immigrant labor
AGRICULTURE
“No [American] ever applies. And if they do, they don’t last more than a week.”
~ Dairy Farmer, Western NY
“We used to do it with local help until we got smart. In 1997 or 1998 we started hiring Hispanic help. […] We hired
Hispanic help and it fixed all our labor problems. If you want to sleep at night, you hire Hispanic help.”
AGRICULTURE
UPSTREAM: Packaging, shipping,
marketing, insurance
FARM WORKERS:
x 3.1 =
AGRICULTURE
UPSTREAM: Packaging, shipping,
marketing, insurance
FARM WORKERS:
x 3.1 =
AGRICULTURE
UPSTREAM JOBS: Packaging, shipping,
marketing, insurance
FARM WORKERS:
x 3.1 =
CONTRIBUTIONS TO U.S. GOVERNMENT
$2.7 billion
$6 bil-lion
Social Security Administration
Earnings Suspense File,
2010
Payroll Taxes Percentage of undocumented immigrants not paying taxes Percentage of undocumented immigrants pay-ing taxes
$10.6 billion
$3.53 billion
SSA
SSA
UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS SHOULD JUST BE DEPORTED
MYTH
UNIVERSAL DEPORTATION IS INFEASIBLE ECONOMICALLY AND LEGALLY
REALITY
ECONOMIC INFEASIBILITY
Democrats
Republicans
Independents
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Deporting all undocumented immigrants is unrealistic
Percent (%)Pew Research Center
ECONOMIC INFEASIBILITY
Pew Research Center
ECONOMIC INFEASIBILITY
Deportation cost 2010:
$23,480 / person
382,000 deportations in
2010x
$8.9 billion
ECONOMIC INFEASIBILITY
Total deportation cost 2010:
$8.9 billion
Center for American Progress
Projected deportation cost, all eligible, 2010:
$200 billion
ECONOMIC INFEASIBILITY
American Immigration Council
LEGAL PROHIBITIONS
CREDIBLE FEAR OF PERSECUTION
“A ‘significant possibility’ that you can establish in a hearing before an Immigration Judge that you have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of your race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion if returned to your country.”
~ United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
LEGAL PROHIBITIONS
SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS
“The purpose of the SIJ program is to help foreign children in the United States who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected.”
~ United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
LEGAL PROHIBITIONS
TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PREVENTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT (TVPRA)and the U visa
“The [U visa] is set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity”
~ United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
LEGAL PROHIBITIONS
Pew Research Center
TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PREVENTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT (TVPRA)and the U visa
LEGAL PROHIBITIONS
TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PREVENTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT (TVPRA)and the T visa
A provision for “those who are or have been victims of human trafficking” and “protects victims of human trafficking and allows victims to remain in the United States to assist in an investigation or prosecution of human trafficking.”
~ United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
WE’VE COMPREHENSIVELY COVERED ALL IMMIGRATION MYTHS
MYTH
WE’VE EXPLORED A FEW MYTHS AND A FEW FACTS TO REBUT THEM
REALITY
IN CONCLUSION
“Families want to live here [and] want to work here.
[…]
We live in this country, we’ve established ourselves in this country, and we want to help this country.”
~ Juan