Living Illegal : The Human Face of Unauthorized Immigration

Transcription

1 Living Illegal : The Human Face f Unauthrized Immigratin RESOURCES FOR INSTRUCTORS AND DISCUSSION LEADERS Intrductin Side-bx: Where is Jessica Cltl? Thse wh apply fr deferred actin will nt have a path t adjust their status, rather, they will have a tw-year reprieve frm deprtatin. It als des nt prvide any status r path t status fr family members. Sme versins f the DREAM Acts that are being cnsidered by Cngress wuld establish a type f citizenship that wuld nt allw peple wh have acquired citizenship thrugh the DREAM Act t subsequently petitin fr their relatives (currently a right f all citizens f the United States). Cnsider discussing what it means t ffer such a limited citizenship, a different citizenship t these yung peple. What are the lng-term meanings fr the natin and fr the meaning f citizenship if such an act gets passed? Immigrants and the media: Discussing the use f language and illegal aliens Immigrants, especially unauthrized immigrants, are frequently prtrayed negatively by the media, even when that is nt the intentin. Fr example, it is nt unusual fr wellintentined even pr-immigrant news pieces t use illegals r illegal aliens t refer t unauthrized immigrants. Hw an article is framed, and the language that is used t develp an argument can gravely affect the perceptins f thse wh read r view it. This reprt frm the Natinal Hispanic Media Calitin discusses media prtrayals f Latins and hw these reinfrce negative steretypes pdf Anthrplgist Le Chavez made the argument that that the identity f the Latin- ther is cnstructed in ppsitin t the identity f the United States as a natin in his 2008 bk The Latin Threat: Cnstructing Immigrants, Citizens and The Natin. What Chavez calls the Latin Threat Narrative prtrays present-day Latin immigrants as fundamentally different frm previus immigrant waves and unwilling r incapable f assimilating. Chavez identifies the themes f illegality, pllutin and invasin as central t the Latin Threat Narrative. Chavez, Le The Latin Threat: Cnstructing Immigrants, Citizens and the Natin. Stanfrd University Press: Stanfrd. Narratives are key t the frmatin f a natinal identity. The United States is a cuntry f mre than 300 millin peple and mre than 3 millin square miles f territry; we must

2 find smething t have in cmmn t make us a natin. We have specific narratives that are imprtant t maintaining ur identity as a unified natin. Tw key natinal narratives are: The United States is a natin f immigrants, and The United States is a natin f laws. Hw can an illegal alien fit within these narratives? An illegal alien is excluded frm this narrative, thus he/she can never truly becme American. An unauthrized immigrant is nt nly a mre accurate descriptin, but it als makes the persn acceptable fr inclusin. In ther wrds, the unauthrized immigrant can change his r her status and fit within the existing narratives that are fundatinal t the natin, the illegal alien cannt. Why d yu think Jessica and her parents did nt cme t the United States with visas r becme citizens nce they were here? There was little chance fr Jessica r her parents t cme t the United States with visas, r t regularize their status nce they were here. Visas are extremely limited. There are specific visa categries, and they are very limited in numbers. Having the desire t migrate, get a jb and fllw the law is insufficient. Fr thse wh d qualify, the applicatin and apprval prcess can last many years. Yu can learn mre abut visa categries by brwsing this USCIS page: If Jessica and her parents crssed the brder, then there is n line at all fr them nce they are here. An individual cannt adjust his/her immigratin status (even if they marry a US citizen) if they were nt inspected upn arrival in the United States; that is if they did nt g thrugh an immigratin check-pint. In rder t g thrugh an immigratin check-pint, ne MUST have a visa f sme srt (turist r wrk visa). Visas are inaccessible t mst peple wh crss the brder, with the exceptin f asylees, and thus, nce they are here they are frever prhibited frm adjusting their status. Chapter 1 The last amnesty was in 1986, under the Reagan administratin; the law is called the 1986 Immigratin Refrm and Cntrl Act (IRCA). The IRCA was nt a resunding success fr a number f reasns. First, because it did nt establish a wrkable guest-wrker prgram that wuld endure and allw fr immigrant flw that was adjustable t the demands f the ecnmy. The ecnmy bmed in the 1990s, and demand fr immigrant labr grew.

3 Secnd, the IRCA set up the system f verificatin f eligibility t wrk thrugh the I-9 frm. The enfrcement burden, hwever, falls t emplyers wh are ften just happy t have wrkers. Until recently there were few emplyer-sanctins actually handed ut, as there was n real system in place t plice the I-9 stipulatin f the IRCA. Tw gd bks n the histry f immigratin and immigratin plicy in the United States: Ngai, Mae Impssible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making f Mdern America. Princetn University Press. Ong Hing, Bill Defining America: Thrugh Immigratin Plicy. Temple University Press. There is an appendix in the bk that lists and briefly describes imprtant immigratin laws in the United States this might als be a useful reference resurce fr discussin. List f imprtant terms in this chapter: Wage differentials, push factrs, pull factrs, circular migratin, bracer prgram, IRCA, the GATT, 1996 IRRIRA NAFTA, NACARA, ABC, INS, USCIS, Netwrk thery, Wrld systems thery, chain migratin, segmented labr markets, family reunificatin, visa categries, Chinese exclusin act, knw-nthing mvement, immigratin act f 1924, Hart-Cellar Act/Immigratin and Natinality Act f Chapter 2 Sme peple crrectly pint ut that Mexic enfrces its immigratin law very harshly, yet we in the United States are nt as harsh in ur treatment f unauthrized Mexican immigrants this is an argument that is frequently put frth t advcate harsh immigratin enfrcement in the US. What is the lgic f this argument? Explre the questin f whether r nt tw wrngs make a right when it cmes t immigratin plicy. Ask students if they think that the Mexican treatment f Central Americans is just, justified, r humane. Explre the lgic f applying this same argument t US immigratin plicy. Side-bx: Crssing r Landing? The 1965 Immigratin and Naturalizatin Act makes an imprtant difference between visa ver-stayers and thse wh entered the cuntry withut inspectin EWI s. Peple wh

4 were nt inspected by an immigratin fficer n arrival, that is, peple wh crssed the brder, may NOT adjust their status. Fr example, neither Claudia nr Nrma (whse crssing stries are tld in this chapter) culd adjust their status under the current system, nt even if they were married t US citizens. Thse wh verstayed turist visas can be petitined by relatives (thugh they will have t wait years fr their cases t be heard) and adjust their status. EWI s never had status, thus, it can never be adjusted under ur current immigratin system. A ppular miscnceptin is that peple wh crssed the brder can have children in the US, (pejratively called anchr babies) that can then petitin their parents t remain in the US. This is nt true EWI s cannt adjust their status by having children in the United States, in ther wrds, their children d nt prvide any anchr. The difference between visa ver-stayers and brder crssers is imprtant nt just upn arrival but als upn departure frm their cuntry f rigin. In rder t even qualify fr a turist visa (and therefre have the ptential t becme a visa-ver-stayer) an individual must have access t an upper-middle class incme and have a relatively large amunt f mney in savings. In thery, these peple have n need t migrate, and are traveling fr leisure purpses (they have incmes that allw them t d s) and thus, it is safer t grant them a visa as they are less likely t want t stay, vilate the status f their visa and becme unauthrized immigrants. As the Pew Hispanic Center fund, hwever, a lt f unauthrized immigrants are visa ver-stayers. Furthermre, virtually all frms f immigratin fraud are carried ut by visa ver-stayers wh have the capital t pay an American citizen t marry them fr papers. Even if brder-crssers had the mney t pay smene, their status is nt adjustable. Brder-crssers have t tap int different frms f capital t be able t migrate (as their bank statements d nt reflect the type f financial capital that is necessary t btain a visa). Ptential brder-crssers tap int scial netwrks t secure lans t finance their jurney and rely f scial netwrks upn arrival t find wrk, etc. What are sme f the hardships that unauthrized immigrants face in new destinatins? If life is s difficult in new destinatins, why d they stay? Immigrants stay because they are already all-in. They have taken huge risks and usually large lans t be able t cme t the United States. Smetimes, huses and land are left as lan cllateral, s if immigrants g back, they g back t a deficit. They have invested everything they have. They have taken a gamble t get here and thus they have t play ut their hand. T fld at this pint means they lse everything. The timing f 287(g) is telling: while it has been n the bks since 1996, it was nt implemented until 2002, after September 11. Fllwing the attacks f 9/11 the issue f immigratin has been attached t the issue f natinal security and terrrism, despite the fact that nne f the peple respnsible fr the 9/11 attacks crssed the Mexic/US brder. The INS became the USCIS under the newly-frmed Department f Hmeland Security, and prgrams like 287(g) and Secure Cmmunities began t gain ppularity.

5 Secure Cmmunities and 287(g) increase fear in cmmunities, and generate mistrust f the plice and authrities in general. The majrity f immigrants wh are afraid f the plice are nt afraid because they are terrrists r criminals, they are afraid because they d nt want t be deprted. By increasing fear and increasing the number f peple wh are hiding, it makes it easier fr really bad apples t hide. Chapter 3 What gvernment assistance r benefits d unauthrized immigrants qualify fr? Public schl: It is a frequent cmplaint that children f unauthrized immigrants and children wh are themselves unauthrized have access t tax-funded public educatin. Plyer v. De, a 1982 Supreme Curt decisin, struck dwn a prpsed fee f $1,000 that was t be charged t unauthrized children, setting the precedent fr the availability f public educatin fr unauthrized children thereafter. D immigrants (unauthrized r nt) pay prperty taxes? D immigrants pay sales taxes? What wuld denying access t educatin t immigrant children mean fr their assimilatin and that f their parents? What are the prs and cns f having immigrant children sharing the classrm with nn-immigrant children? Imprtant Assimilatin Terms Imprtant assimilatin terms: Segmented assimilatin, dwnward assimilatin, straight-line assimilatin, dissnant assimilatin See Chapter 7: Grwing up American, in Alejandr Prtes and Ruben Rumbaut. Immigrant America. (2nd ed). University f Califrnia Press: Berkeley, Chapter 4 Althugh this chapter highlights case studies f churches, the subtext is a larger questin abut hw the US is dealing with the presence f immigrants and the way immigrants are impacting American sciety. In this cntext, cnsider the meaning f assimilatin as a tw-way street. Religin is ne f the least negtiable areas fr peple, yet these examples demnstrate t varying degrees f success individuals wh are frced t begin this negtiatin prcess when they are faced with the changes that cme with immigratin. If peple can negtiate their mst deeply held beliefs and practices t make rm fr immigrants in Church, what des this suggest abut the larger issues f immigratin and integratin?

6 This chapter des nt shy away frm the difficulty f integrating cmmunities. Well-meaning peple f faith wh want t pen their churches t newcmers struggle t make the necessary adjustments, and this is als true f immigratin and immigrant integratin: it is a prcess that invlves cnstant negtiatins f the meaning f cmmunity and the bundaries f inclusin in it. Chapter 5 What d yu understand by the plitics f fear (p. 206)? Wh is afraid? The natives? The immigrants? What cnsequences d their fears have? Cnsider the fllwing graph t map ut bth fear, and its cnsequences: Natives fear immigrants because they are different and wn't assimilate Reactin t fear: Immigrants "hunker dwn" and d nt participate penly in American sciety Reactin t fear: Tugh enfrcement laws Immigrants fear being deprted and feel rejected by hst sciety Side-bx: Arizna SB1070 The DREAMers wrte their phne numbers in permanent marker because they were fully aware f the state f immigratin plitics in Arizna they knew that they culd get arrested at any mment because they had cme ut as unauthrized. The cntrversial SB1070 launched Arizna s gvernr and several f its sheriffs int the natinal limelight. Several states fllwed Arizna s path, but like Arizna s SB1070, these state-level immigratin plicies have been challenged in curts.

7 Cnclusin The United States is bth A natin f laws and A natin f immigrants Hw can unauthrized immigrants fit within this narrative? Nte t instructr revisit the questin abut what citizenship means, and what secndclass citizenship means fr the future f the US. What is attritin thrugh enfrcement? What impact has it had n the lives f the peple featured in this bk? Has it had the intended effect? What unintended effects has it had? Hiding in the shadws: Immigratin and natinal security are cllapsed in this ne place (attritin/enfrcement), but hw successful is it? Des it make it easier r harder t hide? It certainly deepens and extends the shadws. D yu think that the immigratin refrm imagined in this cnclusin is plitically feasible? Is it a simple prpsal? Sme argue that we shuld just deprt them all, is that prpsal mre r less feasible? Is it simpler? Hpefully thrugh the curse f the bk readers have learned abut the cmplexity f the prblem. A simple slutin des nt fit the prblem the deprt them all slutin des nt slve the prblem it des nt address the rt causes f migratin, it des nt prevent future migratin (a 10ft. wall will generate a lt f 11ft. ladders), it des nt recgnize the pull factrs, it des nt address the prblems f mixed-status families, etc. Hw will we prevent immigrants frm cming back? What will we d abut US-brn children whse parents are deprted? Hw will the price f agricultural prducts be impacted by mass-deprtatins? Hw will naturalized immigrants, especially Latins, feel abut mass deprtatins? Hw will they react? Hw will this affect scial relatins in this cuntry? Hw des the bttm-segment f the segmented labr market fill its jbs withut immigrants? What will mass-deprtatin d t the Mexican ecnmy, and hw will that affect future migratin? A simple slutin is a deceptive slutin it is dmed t fail because in rder fr a slutin t be apprpriate it has t acknwledge and address the whle (cmplex) prblem. Is the type f refrm prpsed here amnesty? N, it is nt. The type f refrm that is prpsed here includes penalties, fines and requirements fr peple t fulfill befre they can begin the path t citizenship.