Arizona s SB1070. Slide 2. The legendary Native American, Geronimo, couldn t be here today, but he did have this message to everyone.

Transcription

1 Slide 1 YWCA ROUNDTABLE ON RACISM Arizona s SB1070 Slide 2 The legendary Native American, Geronimo, couldn t be here today, but he did have this message to everyone. Earlier this spring, the governor of the state of Arizona s signed into law the controversial Senate Bill This law has generated significant attention and debate at home and around the world. Slide 3 SB 1070: an officer engaged in a lawful stop, detention or arrest shall, when feasible, ask about a person's legal status when reasonable suspicion exists that the person is in the U.S. illegally. The law stated that (among other things) an officer engaged in a lawful stop, detention or arrest shall, when practicable, ask about a person's legal status when reasonable suspicion exists that the person is in the U.S. illegally. It required people to prove that they were authorized to be in the country or risk arrest. Thankfully, at the end of July, at the eleventh hour, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction against this most objectionable section of the law. The injunction was in response to a

2 legal challenge brought against the law by the Obama administration. The issue was is whether immigration enforcement falls under the jurisdiction of the state or federal government. Ok so we nipped that one in the bud, right? Not really. The trouble is far from over. Arizona immediately announced plans to appeal and legal experts predict that the case could end up before the Supreme Court. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said, It s a temporary bump in the road. Slide 4 STATES CONSIDERING SIMILAR LEGISLATION Alabama Colorado Delaware Florida Idaho Indiana Maryland Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Nevada North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Texas Utah Virginia And there are 22 other states who are now considering similar legislation. In fact, right here at home, Iowa gubernatorial candidate Terry Brandstad recently said that people in Iowa stopped on traffic violations should have to prove their citizenship status. He said, If they cannot show they are here legally, they ought to be detained and turned over to the federal government for deportation. Even local governments have enacted laws in an attempt to take matters into their own hands.

3 Slide 5 Fremont, Nebraska The small midwest town of Fremont, Nebraska, is about the same size as Clinton. They actually enjoy an unemployment rate that's far below the national average. Yet, the city recently voted to pass an ordinance that would bar landlords and employers from renting to and hiring illegal immigrants. Renters would have to apply for a license that entails a background police check. Any renters that don't have legal resident documents would be turned over to federal authorities. The law has been challenged and will likely be tangled in legal limbo for months and the court battle is expected to cost residents upward of three million dollars. Ironically, Hispanics comprise only a small minority of Fremont's population, about eight percent. Slide 6 How can this law be enforced? How could this law be enforced? Although the most egregious aspect of SB1070 is not an issue at the moment, there are still a LOT of people who think it is a good idea and want to push it through. So let s take a closer look at this law. It requires an officer to inquire about immigration status when reasonable suspicion exists. So what clues does a law enforcement officer have that would arouse reasonable suspicion? That the person doesn t speak English? That the person has brown skin? What about American citizens who happen to be of Latino decent? Would they now be required to carry proof of citizenship?

4 Slide 7 If you don t happen to have a current passport, you d better know where your birth certificate is! You can also be arrested if you are stopped and are simply with people who are undocumented -- even if they are your family. What about undocumented immigrants who speak English and have white skin? It is estimated that between 65 and 75 thousand undocumented Canadians currently live in the United States. What are the chances of them being asked to produce proof of citizenship? Slide 8 Side effects of SB1070. So it is going to be pretty hard to enforce a law like this fairly. Side effects of SB1070 Here is what else is bad about this law. What a law like this does is to create fear and panic. Honest hard-working, God-fearing families who pay taxes but cannot collect Social Security who are merely trying to seek a better life for themselves and their families are now afraid to go to church, parents are afraid to get involved at schools, immigrants are afraid to report crimes for fear of being discovered, and citizens afraid to hire anyone who has brown skin. Even more disconcerting is that passage of a law like this encourages and justifies racism.

5 Slide 9 Juan Valera Maricopa County, Arizona Recently in Maricopa County, Arizona a man named Juan Varela was killed and his brother was shot in the neck by their neighbor, Gary Thomas Kelley. According to the U.S. attorney s office in Phoenix, Kelley (a Caucasian) pointed a gun at Valera and said, Hurry up and go back to Mexico or you re gonna die. The man who was murdered was a third-generation, native-born American. So for now, the law cannot be enforced because it is out of a state s jurisdiction. But the fact remains that a law was passed that was inherently racist. How in this day and age can a statute that it so blatantly racist be signed into law? How did the people of Arizona think they were justified in passing such a racist law? Slide 10 Because we are still afraid of people who look different. Scary people?

6 Slide 11 A threat to societal security? The term societal security is a fancy term used to describe a group s concern about threats to their identity and survival, for example as a nation, a racial, or religious group. Threats to our identity are often often vague such as a different language, culture, work ethic, family values, and other things that supposedly differentiate us vs. them. This is a type of scapegoating and is key to the immigration debate. Slide 12 There are white nationalists who see immigration of people from non-white nations as a threat to their God-given right to their distinct identity as white Europeans. This is not to say that all anti-immigrant activists are racists, but it does explain why the anti-immigrant cause is so attractive to white nationalists. Slide 13 politics of exceptionalism The anti-immigrant movement as a whole has created an enemy based superficially on legal status. The result has been a politics of exceptionalism aimed mostly at unauthorized immigrants, but since most undocumented immigrants today tend to be Latinos, this exceptionalism tends to be directed at all Latinos.

7 Slide 14 Enemies of the German people? Nazi concentration camps are the most obvious example of exceptionalism. Jews in Nazi Germany were construed as enemies of the German people and they not only lost their citizenship and legal identities, but were subjected to extermination. Slide 15 German Immigrants in America During the 1850 s nearly one million Germans immigrated to the United States. From German was the most widely used language in the United States after English Germans sought to maintain the German language through establishing German language schools. In 1881 approximately 1 million children were attending schools with all or part of the curriculum taught in German. Let s take a look at just a couple of examples of exceptionalism in American history: During the 1850 s nearly one million Germans immigrated to the United States. From German was the most widely used language in the United States after English. Germans sought to maintain the German language through establishing German language schools. In 1881 approximately 1 million children were attending schools with all or part of the curriculum taught in German.

8 Slide 16 Irish Immigrants in America During the Great Potato Famine of the mid- 1800s, nearly one million Irish immigrated to America. The Irish were accused of stealing jobs as they were willing to work for sub-standard wages. They were thought of as drunken, brawlers and were scorned as mindlessly loyal to their Catholic leaders in place of any allegiance to America. The Irish kept to themselves and were slow to assimilate. The sheer numbers of Irish pouring into the U.S. meant that Catholicism was on the verge of becoming the single largest Christian denomination in America. And then there was the Irish experience: During the Great Potato Famine of the mid-1800s, nearly one million Irish immigrated to America. The Irish were accused of stealing jobs as they were willing to work for substandard wages. They were thought of as drunken, brawlers and were scorned as mindlessly loyal to their Catholic leaders in place of any allegiance to America The Irish kept to themselves and were slow to assimilate. The sheer numbers of Irish pouring into the U.S. meant that Catholicism was on the verge of becoming the single largest Christian denomination in America. In many large cities anti-catholic sentiment turned violent. Immigrants were murdered and convents, churches and homes burned. There were, of course, similar situations for immigrants from China, Italy, Eastern Europe and the rest of the world. So what do we really have to fear? Did the influx of German and Irish immigrants in the mid-1800s bring about the destruction of American culture?

9 Slide 17 Today, this exceptionalism this racism towards immigrants continues and affects all Latinos regardless of citizenship status. What can be done about this? We can start to address some of the fears by debunking the most common myths associated with immigrants. Equipped with the facts, we can work to encourage tolerance and understanding. Each of you has been given a card with a statement on it. As I show each of the following slides after I read them out loud, please read the facts on your card out loud for the group. Slide Immigration to the United States for work or family is easy. Only 5,000 green cards are available for low-skilled workers each year, yet our economy relies on millions of undocumented laborers.1 Families wait years for reunification. Spouses and minor children of green card holders face waits of more than five years to join their families in the United States. Siblings of U.S. citizens wait years for visas.

10 Slide Immigrants take jobs away from Americans. Fact: Between 2000 and 2005, the availability of native-born low-wage workers declined by approximately 1.8 million.4 In the same period the number of low-wage immigrant workers increased by 620,000, thus offsetting the total decline by about a third. More recently, a series of reports found that there is little apparent relationship between immigration and unemployment rates of native-born workers at the regional, state, or county level. Slide Immigrants don t pay taxes. Fact: All immigrants pay taxes. Even undocumented immigrants pay sales taxes and real estate taxes (either directly as homeowners or indirectly through rent). The Social Security Administration estimates that 50-75% of unauthorized immigrants pay federal, state, and local taxes, including Medicare and $6 7 billion in Social Security taxes that will never benefit them.8 In addition, a recent study found that 90% of the surveyed population had paid taxes prior to receiving permanent residency.

11 Slide Immigrants are a drain on the economy. Fact: Approximately 26 million immigrants currently residing in the United States arrived after the age of 18 and are in prime working age. They represent roughly $2.8 trillion to U.S. taxpayers, who receive the benefit of their labor without the cost of their education. Immigrants have also played a central role in the cycle of the economic growth of cities over the last two decades. Cities with thriving immigrant populations with both high-earning and lower-wage workers tended to be those that prospered the most. Slide Immigrants come to the United States to get on welfare. Fact: Many documented immigrants are prohibited from receiving most federal government benefits for five years after they arrive in the United States. They work and pay taxes, but do not receive benefits. Undocumented immigrants can receive emergency medical care and schooling for children but cannot receive welfare, food stamps or Social Security.

12 Slide Immigrants send all their money back to their home countries. Fact: While many immigrants do send money back to their families in other countries, they contribute to the U.S. economy in other ways. Through consumer spending and entrepreneurship, immigrants contribute $162 billion in tax revenue to federal, state and local governments Slide Immigrants don t want to learn English or become citizens Fact: 55% - 69% of immigrants who live in the United States already speak good to excellent English.14 Many adult immigrants want to become proficient in English, but despite a significant increase in demand for English classes, funding has repeatedly been cut for English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. As a result, there are wait lists of one to three years for adult ESL classes in most cities.15 In addition, in 2009, the U.S. government declined 1,046,539 applications for naturalization.16 This shows not only the desire of immigrants to become citizens but also the challenges they face in achieving citizenship.

13 Slide Most immigrants are here illegally. Fact: Out of roughly 31 million foreignborn residents in the United States, 66% are living in the country with lawful immigration status. The remaining 34% are undocumented.17 An estimated 40% of people who live in the United States without lawful status entered the United States legally but had overstayed their periods of authorized stay Slide Immigrants are uneducated. Fact: Nearly one-third (30.6%) of all employed recent immigrants had a bachelor s degree or more education in More than 1.3 million (1 in 5) college-educated immigrants living in the United States are unemployed or are underemployed in positions such as taxi drivers, dishwashers and security guards. Many educated immigrants are unable to make full use of their academic and professional credentials, but must pursue expensive and lengthy recertification processes before resuming their former career paths Slide Immigration leads to an increase in crime and violence. Fact: Crime rates are lowest in states with the highest immigration growth rates. From 1999 to 2006, the total crime rate declined 13.6% in the 19 highest-immigration states, compared to a 7.1% percent decline in the other 32 states.21 In Arizona, the state's overall crime rate dropped 12% in 2009 and between 2004 and 2008, it decreased by 23%.22 Research also shows that the incarceration rate for native-born men age has been five times higher than the rate for immigrant men. Even with increased

14 immigration, the violent crime rate in the United States has declined 34.2% and the property crime rate has fallen 26.4%. Slide Immigrants illegally enter the United States to give birth to children. These anchor babies prevent the US from deporting the parents. Fact: When an undocumented immigrant gives birth to a child in the United States, that child automatically becomes a U.S. citizen.24 Undocumented parents are at risk of being arrested, detained and deported. Between 1998 and 2007, the federal government estimates that it deported more than 108,000 parents of U.S. citizen children.25 If a U.S. child wants to petition for his or her foreign born parents to be admitted legally, U.S. immigration law requires the child to be 21 years old before filing the petition.

15 Slide 29 There are other steps we can take: Steps we can take: Tell Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Write to Iowa legislators to let them know we don t want an SB 1070 in Iowa. Talk to our neighbors to clear up myths. Ask Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. If they don t hear from you, they won t make it a priority. Write to Iowa legislators to let them know we don t want an SB1070 here in Iowa. Talk to your neighbors to clear up myths. We have handouts available with the facts we just covered as well as a list of internet resources for more information/action. Slide 30 The Great American Melting Pot In conclusion, I d like to share something I found on the website for the League of United Latin American Citizens: We are a nation of Immigrants. Throughout our country's history, immigrants have contributed immensely to our culture, our economy, our defense and our national pride. Almost all citizens of the United States are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants and each new generation of immigrants has reinvigorated our nation with the values and work ethic that has made America great. Our common experience has demonstrated that immigration is good for America, whether your ancestors arrived before the Declaration of Independence or just a generation ago. We must call upon Congress and the President to embrace and uphold America's tradition as a nation of immigrants and pass comprehensive immigration reform

16 that allows hard working immigrants and their families to become permanent legal residents of the United States. Now let s talk: Slide 31 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Did the influx of immigrants in the 1850s cause harm to the United States? 2. How will the influx of Latino immigrants change life in the United States? 3. Do you think that a law like SB1070 is useful (of any value)? 4. How can such a law be enforced without racial profiling? 5. Could a law like this be passed in Iowa? 6. What could be done to promote better tolerance and understanding of immigrants in the US?