FWD.us. Rejecting Mass Deportation in Favor of Immigration Reform

Transcription

1 FWD.us Rejecting Mass Deportation in Favor of Immigration Reform Immigration reform has been in the news throughout the 2016 election cycle. Some candidates have called for mass deportation; rounding up and forcibly removing the 11.5 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. Yet those who are vocal in their support for this awful policy offer little in terms of specifics. This packet highlights how this terrible proposal would have astronomical costs for our economy, communities, and for the future of our country as a whole. This packet includes: The 60 Second Case Against Mass Deportation and For Immigration Reform FWD.us Recent Mass Deportation Polling Data A Costly Immigration Proposal - a study by the American Action Forum Conservative Voices Reject Mass Deportation in favor of Commonsense Reform Why Mass Deportation Is Contrary to America s Values Why Immigration Reform Matters Infographics On Mass Deportation FWD.us Resources Page [ ]

2 The 60 Second Case against Mass Deportation Summarizing the most persuasive messaging against the proposal, the most effective argument against mass deportation is as follows: The proposal to deport 11 million immigrants living here illegally would not only tear apart millions of families and separate 4.5 million U.S. citizens from their parents, it would require a series of unrealistic measures the country could never actually implement. This awful and impractical "plan" calls for the U.S. to be effectively turned into a police state, with hundreds of thousands of immigration police, mass surveillance of the general population, and massive new prison camps along the entire border like the Japanese internment camps during World War II. And it would cost $600 billion in spending and $1.7 trillion in lost economic productivity that we can t afford. Our immigration system is broken and we need reasonable solutions to the problem, not this plan with its astronomical human, economic and political costs. Key Findings The major point that our polling revealed was the level of intensity against mass deportation is high. The data indicates that it would be a disaster for any candidate who fails to vehemently oppose this policy. Not to mention, any candidate who in the general supports mass deportation risks negatively impacting the brand of his or her party for generations to come. Here are some other key findings. A majority of voters oppose the government rounding up (35% support / 59% oppose) or arresting (34% support / 62% oppose) the 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally to deport them. Only very conservative Republicans, who make up 14% of the electorate in these states, support these measures (63% support / 29% oppose), while swing voters roundly oppose them (34% support / 60% oppose). By an overwhelming margin, voters prefer a presidential candidate that supports providing immigrants with an earned pathway to citizenship over one who supports mass deportation (74% earned pathway / 18% deport). Across the board, voters oppose revoking the citizenship of Americans born to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally (32% support / 61% oppose). Swing voters and not very conservative Republicans are bothered by the imposition of a U.S. police state (55% major doubts among swing / 46% among not very conservative GOP) with internment camps at the border (61% swing / 53% not very conservative GOP).

3 FWD.us Recent Polling Data: The Economic Costs of Mass Deportation The doug holtz (AAF) Study 2 pager PDF

4 Conservative Voices Reject Mass Deportation In Favor Of Commonsense Reform Forcibly evict 11 million people from their homes? It can t happen. It shouldn t happen. And, of course, it won t ever happen. But because it s the view of the Republican front-runner, every other candidate is now required to react. So instead of debating border security, guest-worker programs and sanctuary cities where Republicans are on firm moral and political ground they are forced into a debate about a repulsive fantasy. Charles Krauthammer, syndicated conservative columnist, August 20, 2015 It has come to this: The GOP, formerly the party of Lincoln and ostensibly the party of liberty and limited government, is being defined by clamors for a mass roundup and deportation of millions of human beings. To will an end is to will the means for the end, so the Republican clamors are also for the requisite expansion of government s size and coercive powers. George Will, syndicated conservative columnist, August 21, 2015 It is all fun and games until the mass roundups begin. This summer s main form of public entertainment is proposing a contraction in the protections of the 14th Amendment and a continent-wide dragnet to capture and deport more than 11 million men, women and children, overwhelmingly of Latino background because, in Trump s view, they are taking the country and causing it to go to hell. Michael Gerson - August 20, 2015 "There are people who suggest we should just deport everybody and we could do it in two years. That is a half a million people a month. That s not possible. - Governor Jeb Bush - November 3, 2015 As to the 11 million, I want to talk about fixing the problem. We re not going to deport 11 million people and their legal citizen children, but we will deport felons. And those who stay will have to learn our language to stay. - Sen. Lindsey Graham - October 28, 2015 But to think that we re just going to put people on buses and ship them to the border. I mean look at our World War II experience where we quarantined Japanese I mean it s a dark stain on America s history." - Governor John Kasich - November 06, 2015 As an evangelical Iowan, I m looking for a candidate who reflects my own values, including a commitment to the Biblical mandate to welcome and love immigrants. I m not alone: A new poll by Lifeway Research finds that seven in 10 evangelical Christians support immigration reforms including both secured borders and an earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Half of evangelical voters say they would be

5 more likely to support a presidential candidate who championed these policies, while only 15 percent would be less likely to support a pro-immigration reform candidate. Would-be candidates have much to gain, and little to lose, by supporting immigration reform. - Rev. John Shaull, Director of Missions for the Metro Baptist Association of Iowa, April 3, 2015 I am more than willing to have a discussion about allowing at least part of the 11 million people here illegally to have some type of status, he said. I m just disappointed that more people in my party don t want to do that. - Rep. Tim Mulvaney, R-SC - February 21, 2014 These folks have now become part of our congregations we recognize that they are good people. They are strong, family oriented people. They are hardworking people. These are folks who are contributing to our society and to our culture. They re people that we know. They re our friends and our neighbors now, and we believe there is a better way to treat them than they are being treated right now. So evangelicals in large measure are now calling for an immigration reform that will treat them with the dignity that they deserve. Barrett Duke, Vice President for Public Policy and Research, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention October 29th, 2013 As pastors, we witness each day the human consequences of a broken immigration system. Families are separated through deportation, migrant workers are exploited in the workplace, and migrants die in the desert. In their attempts to respond to these human tragedies, our priests, religious, and social service providers in many cases are unable to help these persons without changes to the law. Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, President, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops November 7th, 2013 The worst thing we can do is nothing, because the current system will only encourage more illegal immigration. The Senate has passed a big comprehensive bill that advances the ball down the field but is a long way from perfect. House Republicans have an opportunity to take that bill as a starting point and build on that to give the country a first rate immigration system. Former Governor of Mississippi Haley Barbour August 19th, 2013 " The fact is that our current immigration system is broken. Everybody knows it. It s not serving the interests of our economy, our businesses, our workers, or our collective security. America cannot compete and win in a global economy without the world s best talent, hardest workers, or biggest dreamers... We can do better and we must do better. Immigration reform isn t just a problem to be solved, it s an opportunity to be seized. Tom Donohue, President and CEO, United States Chamber of Commerce April 25th, 2013

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7 Why Mass Deportation Is Contrary To America s Values The anti-immigrant voices yelling for mass deportation have no serious interest in fixing our country s broken immigration system although it is interesting they are finally admitting what the hard-line anti-immigrant restrictionists have taken pains to avoid for decades: they want to forcibly expel millions of immigrants, period. This isn t partisan; this is about American values: Republicans, Democrats, and independents have long understood that immigrants grow our economy and have built this nation. We hope, that despite a few loud voices, leaders from both parties will speak out on what they know is true; to remain competitive in a global economy we need to allow talented people of all backgrounds to contribute. What s absurd is not just these plans, but that those who would seek to represent Americans as president are falling all over themselves to support backward policies that would rip apart American families and collapse our economy. The idea that the United States would best be served by creating a police state to round up approximately 11.5 million undocumented immigrants and deport each and every one of them. Beyond this morally reprehensible idea of breaking apart millions of families removing a population equivalent to 12 states and the District of Columbia this number doesn t include the harm to the roughly 4 million U.S. citizen children with an undocumented parent. Additionally, the discussion around revoking birthright citizenship means supporters of this idea want to rewrite our Constitution in order to expel millions of U.S. citizens to countries where they ve never lived. Adding to the terrible moral cost of splitting apart families and deporting U.S. citizens, the cost to our economy would be astronomical: The conservative American Action Forum recently released a study showing that deporting 11.5 million people would cost U.S. taxpayers $400 to $600 billion dollars, and would take at least 20 years to complete. Even worse, this mass deportation would reduce our GDP by $1.7 trillion over 5%. Many industries would be hit hard, others like agriculture, construction and hospitality would be devastated. Try imagining California or Florida without agriculture. The approximately $100 billion in payroll taxes that undocumented immigrants pay into Medicare and the Social Security Trust Fund would dry up. Developing the massive law enforcement, surveillance systems, and prison camps necessary to round up a population the size of Ohio is anathema to American values. Of course, these reasons are exactly why immigration reform supporters as diverse as the Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, tech entrepreneurs, the Farm Bureau, business and organized labor leaders, Jewish community groups, manufacturers, law enforcement officers, and veterans organizations agree that this approach is hurtful and wrong. As for the American people, 9 in 10 Americans from all walks of life agree that rounding up and deporting those who came here as kids is wrong.

8 Why Commonsense Immigration Reform Matters: Our current policy focus is immigration reform, built on the following principles: What Immigration Reform Would Mean : Increasing economic growth by 4.8 % Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Lowering the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion ($180 billion during the first decade, and $990 billion during the second decade). Adding $300 billion more to the Social Security Trust Fund. Increase all Americans overall income by $625 billion and create an average of 145,000 jobs per year over a decade. Expanding and Supporting US Industries - immigrants start more than 25% of all businesses in seven of the eight sectors of the economy that the U.S. government expects to grow the fastest over the next decade, including construction, healthcare, and retail trade. Fixing our Legal Immigration System: To create millions of American jobs, reduce the deficit, allow for innovation to keep the U.S. globally competitive, and protect families from the fear of separation. It s been a quarter century since we have seen a major update to our legal immigration system. We are in a global economy - a global race for talent - yet our immigration system is governed by outdated laws. We need a high skill immigration system that allows the best and brightest to come here to start businesses and contribute to the economy - this means creating a startup visas to help entrepreneurs, raising the raise the H-1B cap to win the global talent race and stapling a green card to STEM graduate degrees so we aren t sending the best and brightest back home to crease jobs somewhere else. Fixing our legal immigration system will also crack down on abuse and bad actors in the system, who take advantage of our broken and outdated laws. Robust Border and Interior Security : Providing law enforcement with the tools and support they need will allow them to focus on serious criminals and threats - and not going after hardworking law-abiding immigrants. It is also important to develop an effective employment verification system that roots out bad actors who see to use undocumented laborers while also establishing a streamlined process for admitting legal workers who can help meet our future workforce needs. Providing a Pathway : We categorically reject absurd proposals for mass deportation. Creating a pathway to legal status and citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States will allow them to contribute more fully to our economy and communities. We need a process that includes requirements such as passing a background check, learning English, paying back taxes and fines - if they do that hardworking people should be allowed to earn citizenship.

9 Infographics Mass Deportation will be attached to

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