US Immigration Policy

Ardsley High SchoolOctober 20, 2009

Jim Russell, Ph.D.Chairman, Westchester-Rockland Citizens for

Immigration Control

US Immigration has been Increasing

• 2008 Legal Immigration:

1,107,226

• 2008 Illegal Immigration Estimate:

390,000

Mexico

• Dominates both legal and illegal immigration

• Small middle class

• Low taxes, nice for very wealthy

• Plight of poor ignored; encouraged to emigrate

• One of the World’s wealthiest men is a Mexican!

Carlos Helú

• Forbes “The World's Billionaires” (2009)• #3 Carlos Slim Helú & family• Net Worth :$35.0 Billion

203 million U.S. population in 1970

307,738,503 Current U.S. population (October 20, 2009)

439 million Census projection for 2050

571 million Census projection for 2100

900,000 Births to foreign-born each year

3.3 million Annual U.S. population growth

86% % of population growth due to immigration

1,497,226 /

52,325=

Over 28 Full New Yankee Stadiums

1,497,226 /

365=

4,101 Immigrants a day

Ardsley Population in 2000: 4,269

Inter-continental MigrationChart by Migration Policy Institute, 2007

Demographic Results

• Increase in Hispanic and Asian percentage of the population

• Decrease in the White and Black percentages of the population

Westchester Population

Jackson Heights, Queens

• 2005 Population Data

World Population Estimateon October 20, 2009

6,730,466,283

Background Causes

• Expanding Populations of Asia and South America

• Economic Factors (NAFTA, CAFTA)

• Military Intervention creates Refugees (Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Iraq)

Major Immigration Legislation

• National Origins Act of 1921

• Immigration Act of 1965

• Refugee Act of 1980

• Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

Sen. Edward Kennedy on the1965 Immigration Act

• First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immi-grants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same....

• Second, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset. The actual increase in immigration is insignificant when measured against our birthrate. . . .

• Contrary to the charges in some quarters, S. 500 will not inundate America with immigrants from any one country or area. . . .

2008 European Immigration

• Ireland 1,465

• Italy 2,514

• Germany 7,091

• Poland 8,354

• United Kingdom 14,348

• All of Europe 119,138 or 10.8% of Total

• Mexico (Legal) 189,989 (Illegal) 290,000

Polls on Immigration

• Consistently show that a substantial majority of Americans oppose increased immigration.

• A May 2007 CBS News/New York Times Poll: “Should illegal immigrants be prosecuted and deported for being in the U.S. illegally, or shouldn't they?”

Should 69%

Should Not 24%

Unsure 7%

Why have politicians ignored the will of the people?

• Fear of media criticism

• Fear of pressure groups

• Contributions from organizations and businesses that desire cheap labor

Two Different Underlying Philosophies

• America can absorb unlimited numbers of immigrants. Let’s welcome whomever manages to set foot within our borders.

• There are limits to the natural resources required to maintain our quality of life. Just because the US admitted large numbers of immigrants in the past does not mean that we need them now.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Continued High Immigration

Benefits

• Cheap Labor Pool

• Generous Image

Drawbacks

• $$ for Social Services

• Inter-Group Tension

• Increase in Crime

• Stress on Health Care

• Environmental Loss

• Overcrowding

Effects of Immigration

• Economic

• Criminal

• Health

• Educational

• Environmental

• Social and Cultural

Economic Issues (1)

• Jobs Unskilled Skilled H1-B Visas

• Social Services

• Taxes

Economic Issues 2

• Where do US Corporations stand?

• Do they just want cheap labor to exploit?

• What are they doing to encourage and prepare US high school seniors for satisfying careers?

• Instead of trying to lure foreign doctors to the US, we should be preparing our own young citizens to pursue careers in medicine.

Criminal (1)

• Gangs and Drugs

• MS-13

• Methamphetamines from Mexico

• Columbia, Guatemala, etc.

Criminal (2)

• DHS 2007 Crime Estimate:

• 605,000 Foreign-born will be jailed

• Half of these will be removable aliens

• Most will be released and not deported

Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General. Detention and Removal of Illegal Aliens: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), OIG-06-033, April 2006, p. 2.

Mary Nagle

Ronald Douglas Herrera Castellanos

Elizabeth Butler

Ariel Menendez

Patricia Butler

"If he had been deported,my daughter would be alive

today."

State Criminal Alien Assistance Program

(SCAAP)

• At the state level, . . . 47 states received reimbursement for incarcerating about 74,000 [criminal aliens] in fiscal year 2003.

• In fiscal year 2003, SCAAP reimbursed about 700 local governments for about 147,000 criminal aliens.

• Federal cost of incarcerating criminal aliens--totaled approximately $5.8 billion for calendar years 2001 through 2004.

• This is only about 25 percent or less of the estimated criminal alien incarceration costs to states and localities.

SCAAP 2 (Report GAO-05-646R)

• In summary, for our study population of 55,322 illegal aliens, we found that: They were arrested at least a total of 459,614 times, averaging about 8 arrests per illegal alien.

• They were arrested for a total of about 700,000 criminal offenses, averaging about 13 offenses per illegal alien.

Health Care

• Hospitals

Westchester Medical Center

Port Chester Hospital

• Contagious Diseases

Rubella

Multiple Resistant Strains of TB

Education

• Free Education for Illegal Aliens

• Cost of Schools & Increasing School Taxes; Special Language Classes

• DREAM Act

Social and Cultural Issues

• English Language

• Different Traditions and Behaviors

• Conflict between immigrants and citizens

• Conflict between immigrant groups

Environmental

• Overdevelopment destroys ecosystems.

• Water supply is not infinite.

• Pollution often increases with population density.

Refugee Programs (2008)

• Asylum Granted to 22,930

• Refugee Admission Ceiling at 80,000

• Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,000 • East Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000 • Europe and Central Asia . . 3,000 • Latin America/Caribbean . . 3,000 • Near East/South Asia . . . .28,000 • Unallocated Reserve . . . . 10,000

Policy Issues

• Anchor Babies

• Public School for Illegal Aliens

• Deportation of Illegal Alien Convicts

• Enforcement of Laws against Employers

Current Immigration Controversies

• Amnesty

• DREAM Act

• NY: Drivers’ Licenses for Illegal Aliens

• 287(g) Local / State Agreements with ICE

Solutions

• Open Borders

• Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

• Population Stabilization

• Immigration Moratorium

Amnesty for Illegals?

• Fairness to Persons applying Legally vs. persons who violate the law

• How many? How many family members?

Unlimited chain migration?

• At what cost? What background, skills, and needs?

Employers Benefit fromLax Enforcement

• Restaurants

• Landscapers

• Contractors

• Lower Pay, No SS Tax, No Insurance

We don’t need illegal aliens to care for our lawns.

Westchester Issues

• Housing Settlement Implementation

• Village of Mamaroneck: Day Laborers

• Port Chester: Electoral Representation

• County Jail: Deportation of Convicts

Hiring Sites for Illegal Aliens?

• Federal law prohibits aiding illegal aliens to remain in the U.S. and even more strongly prohibits employing illegal aliens.

• Yet, there are hiring sites in Westchester County where crooked contractors can hire illegal aliens, often without paying taxes or insurance.

Immigration Expansion Advocacy

• National Council of La Raza,

• League of Latin American Citizens

• Mexican American Legal Defense Fund

• Westchester Hispanic Coalition

• Immigration Lawyers Association

• Religious Organizations

Immigration Limitation Advocacy

• FAIR

• Numbers USA

• The Social Contract

• VDare

• Center for Immigration Studies

• Westchester-Rockland Citizens for Immigration Control (www.west-rock.org)