Time and the Economics of Immigration

HuffPost Voces Latino blog post en espanol:

http://voces.huffingtonpost.com/terri-e-givens/la-economia-de-la-inmigracion_b_2000769.html

 

 

Time and the Economics of Immigration

Terri E. Givens 

Organizations who oppose immigration will point to studies that show that immigrants, particularly undocumented immigrants, are a drain on the system, particularly for education and healthcare. These organizations, like the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) tend to minimize what these immigrants pay in taxes as well as what they provide in terms of economic activity and growth. Pro-immigration groups, like the Immigration Policy Center, focus on the positive impact that immigrants have had on the U.S. economy, also noting that deporting all of the undocumented immigrants in the U.S. would reduce our GDP by $2.6 trillion dollars over 10 years. 

In a country that was built on immigration, it is this debate that often animates our discussions around immigration and immigration policy.  Personally, I get frustrated with these debates, because the anti-immigration organizations pick the data that supports their perspective, and the pro-immigration organizations do the same. The reality is that this is a story that has to be told over time.  One hundred years ago, members of Congress were concerned about the flow of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, and moved to restrict those flows.  Yet, those immigrants became well-integrated and soon became valued citizens.  They helped to build this country during very difficult times, including the World Wars, the Great Depression and the consolidation of the United States as a world military and economic power. 

When Congress changed our immigration policy from one that focused on quotas, mainly for Northern and Western Europeans, to one that focused on preferences, including skills and a strong preference for family members of citizens, few foresaw the huge demographic impact that this would have on our country.  With fewer restrictions on immigration from Asia, Africa and Latin America we have seen greater diversity in immigration ever since this important policy change.  We have also seen ups and downs in our economy.  One small part of this is that the kind of technological innovations that have come from immigrant entrepreneurs would have been much less likely if we hadn’t opened our doors to engineers from around the world. 

Another example is the workers who have played an important role in the maintenance and rebuilding of infrastructure, housing, and construction.  They have all helped to maintain the United States’ position as the top economy in the world. This does not mean that there aren’t problems with our immigration system.  I firmly believe that providing opportunities for undocumented immigrants to get visas and work permits would give a boost to our economy. Workers would be able to come out of the shadows, hopefully get paid more reasonable wages, and lead to more job creation.

 

I also believe that any kind of regularization or amnesty needs to go along with comprehensive immigration reform that would provide a more reasonable number of visas to meet the demands of employers, while taking into account the concerns of organized labor and others who have a vested interest in these processes.  This is going to be a difficult process, because there are many interests that have taken positions for and against reform, but all agree change is needed.  It will take pressure from both inside and outside of Washington, DC to get Congress to move forward, but it is in everyone’s interest from both an economic and human perspective to push for change. As history has shown, America’s strength comes from our ability to adapt, grow and incorporate people from diverse backgrounds.  We need not fear change, we can embrace it and maintain the economic engine which has been the envy of the world.

Debating immigration

In case you missed it - here's the candidates discussing immigration in last night's debate:

Investing in a Dream

This week's blog post -
Link to Spanish version on HuffPost Voces Latino: http://voces.huffingtonpost.com/terri-e-givens/invirtiendo-en-un-sueno_b_1948860.html

Investing in a Dream

Terri E. Givens 

Immigrant advocates often focus on the economic benefits that immigrants provide, but as a university professor, I get to experience the hopes and dreams of my students, many of whom are from or have ties to other countries, mostly from Mexico.  I never cease to be amazed by the diversity I see in my classrooms, which vary from 65 to 350 students.  I often tell my students that this is what America is all about, that students from all types of backgrounds can come to a place like the University of Texas at Austin and get a great education.

Our university accepts undocumented students for admission, and if they provide evidence that they have resided in Texas for at least three years and graduated from a high school in the state, they can qualify for in-state tuition. If they are in the top 8% of their graduating class, they are guaranteed admission to the University of Texas.  Many of these students also qualify for state grants and financial aid, although they are not eligible for federal financial aid.  In any case, in many ways we are subsidizing the educations of these students, who clearly are high achievers to make it into the Texas university systems.

The disconnect comes when they are working their way through college, and realize the limitations they will face, even if they are successful and complete their degrees. For example,  I often encourage students in my classes to consider studying abroad.  It can be a great experience for students who want to learn about other countries in an up-close and personal manner, learn a new language and broaden their horizons.  I tell them about how my first trip abroad to France changed my view of the world, particularly seeing the Normandy beaches and the military cemeteries from WWII.  It made me realize that for most Europeans WWII is still very much a part of their lives, not ancient history. 

After telling this story in one of my classes, a young woman approached me and told me how inspired she was by my experience.  She wanted to study abroad, but there was a complication – she was undocumented.  I told her that it would be impossible for her to study abroad under the circumstances.  We both felt disappointed.  I felt that here was someone who had benefitted from public education in Texas since she was a small child, felt that she was American, yet couldn’t take advantage of all that a university education could offer.

I certainly would never ask a student’s status, but since I teach a class on the politics of immigration, I often have students who come to talk to me about their particular situation. Many of the students I have met over the years find themselves with few options to do internships, work or pursue many of the opportunities that their fellow students take for granted, because of their lack of documents.  What we end up with is wasted potential.  A story in the Texas Tribune talks about a student with a degree in biomedical science that went on to work in a restaurant because he couldn’t provide employers the proper documents to get a job in his field.  This is in a country where employers complain that we don’t have enough high-skilled workers and that we must import workers from other countries.  We shouldn’t ignore the talent we have here – I want the tax dollars that I have invested in this state’s education system to pay off for all students. 

No New Immigration Proposals

This week's blog on HuffPost Voces Latino:  http://voces.huffingtonpost.com/terri-e-givens/sin-propuestas-migratorias-nuevas_b_1916313.html


English Version:

“We asked for workers. We got people instead.” ― Max Frisch

Terri E. Givens

It has been a very interesting week in politics.  In the wake of the release of videos showing Mitt Romney writing off 47% of the electorate, both candidates had important appearances on Univision.  Despite the partisan audiences, many important questions were asked on immigration by Jorge Ramos in particular.  Neither candidate had any new proposals or positions to present, but the policy differences were clear, President Obama has been unable to get Congress to pass the legislation he wants on comprehensive immigration reform or the DREAM act and Governor Romney maintains his position on “self-deportation.” For immigrants and those who want immigration reform, the stakes in this election are high.

Amidst the politics surrounding the immigration issue, I was reminded once again that this is not just about politics but about human lives.  The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is at least a temporary step forward, but there are real human lives in the balance if this policy does not turn into a law that will address the situation of these undocumented immigrants for the long-term.

It’s a problem that has haunted U.S. policy makers throughout our history.  One the one hand, we tout the “American Dream” and on the other, we demonize many of those who would dare to reach for it. Although we are a country of immigrants, nativism rears its head on a regular basis, nearly every ethnic group has faced discrimination and been told to “go home” often despite being in the country for generations.  Organizing and voting for pro-immigration candidates is important, but perhaps some of the more important initiatives in moving forward on immigration reform have to do with humanizing immigrants.  People like Jose Antonio Vargas have given a face to DREAMers who came to this country as children.  Several new movements of undocumented youth have grown out of the article he wrote, declaring their status and perhaps influencing President Obama’s moves on deferred action. 

Another initiative for highlighting the stories of recent immigrants is Tony Hernandez’s Immigrant Archive Project (http://immigrantarchiveproject.com).  The videos are a chronicle of the life stories of immigrants from a variety of backgrounds and countries including celebrities like Edward James Olmos to a DACA eligible college student.  Although these stories may not change the political narrative on immigration, they certainly can have an impact on the narrative that these immigrants have for themselves.  Rather than being acted upon, they can take action and take pride in their stories.

As the title quote demonstrates, immigrants are more than units of labor that can be easily shifted around.  They are grandparents, parents, children and members of the community.  They have dreams and aspirations for themselves and their children.  There are millions of them who are here with visas and green cards and millions who have no such documents.  As the politicians debate the issues around immigration, it is important to keep in mind that it is not just policy, but human lives that are involved.  As Governor Romney said, it would not be possible to deport 12 million people.  But some states like Arizona and Alabama are already trying to make the lives of thousands of immigrants miserable enough that they will leave of their own accord, with predictable consequences for those labor markets, particularly agriculture.

Hopefully the immigration reform debate will move forward after the election.  While all voices need to be heard, there is a time for leaders to step forward and be a voice for those who represent the future of our country. We are for the most part a product of our ancestors who came to this country from other lands. We need to honor our tradition of being a country of immigration and deal with this ongoing issue in a responsible and equitable manner.

Blog post from HuffPost Voces Latino - English Version: Latinos and the 2012 Election – Lessons from 1996

http://voces.huffingtonpost.com/terri-e-givens/latinos-y-la-eleccion-de-2012_b_1890659.html

 

Latinos and the 2012 Election – Lessons from 1996

Terri E. Givens

It’s mid-September and the presidential campaigns are moving into high gear.  It is clear that both parties are trying to court the Latino vote (acknowledging the diversity within this category), with Latino politicians playing a prominent role in both the Republican and Democratic conventions.  The latest polls show that President Obama is maintaining a strong lead over Mitt Romney among Latinos. Vice President Joe Biden told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s audience, “Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to become, and already have, the most powerful force in American politics,” at their recent gala. Despite this, neither candidate has talked much about immigration – not necessarily a top issue in comparison to the economy, but still an important to many Latinos. This summer President Obama announced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which falls far short of what is called for in the DREAM Act. Mitt Romney mainly played to his base early in the campaign and came out against an amnesty for the millions of undocumented immigrants in the country, while supporting high-skilled immigration. Despite the fact that comprehensive immigration reform has been a bi-partisan issue, it’s clear that it will take more motivation on the part of Republicans in Congress to move forward legislation that will address the main problems with our immigration system.

Like many immigrant groups before them, Latinos are moving into a position to influence elections in many states beyond places like Texas, California and New York, where they already have strong influence.  I was in graduate school in California in the mid-1990s when then Republican Governor Pete Wilson pushed forward an anti-immigrant agenda with Proposition 187 which would have denied undocumented immigrants and their children welfare benefits and access to public schools. Wilson was re-elected in 1994 and Prop 187 passed with nearly 60% of the vote.  Much like today’s SB1070, it seemed like a restrictionist tide was heading across the country.  Pete Wilson was unable to turn his success in California to success as a presidential candidate, but the Republican platform in 1996 called for legislation that would bar the children of undocumented immigrants from public schools.

However, these restrictive moves prompted increased naturalizations, helped by President Clinton’s Citizenship USA initiative in 1995, and subsequent increased voter registration in the Latino community. Mexican Americans in particular voted in record numbers in the 1996 presidential election.  Clinton won handily, including in California, and naturalizations continued to increase, particularly as permanent residents were being restricted from getting certain welfare benefits under welfare reform. George W. Bush was much more conciliatory towards immigrants, and worked much harder at getting the Latino vote than Bob Dole had in 1996.  Once he became president, he was on course to work with Mexican President Vicente Fox on immigration issues, but 9/11 put an immediate stop to those efforts.

Latino voters were successful in shifting the agenda on immigration in 1996.  With the wave of anti-immigrant bills being passed in state legislatures over the past few years, the question is whether the Latino vote will once again have an impact.  As with Proposition 187, most of the components of SB 1070 have been found unconstitutional. In California, Governor Jerry Brown is pursuing a much more immigrant friendly agenda and is considering whether to sign the TRUST Act which would limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal authorities through the Secure Communities program. In Texas, Republicans have been much more conciliatory on the immigration issue, while promoting the careers of Republicans like Senate candidate Ted Cruz.  Although some are arguing that the Latino vote won’t grow much, if at all in the November election it’s often at the margins where the vote matters, particularly in swing states like Iowa.  Turnout will not only have an impact on the current election, it will have a major impact on the direction of policy for many years to come.

New Blog on HuffPost Voces - with English Version

I just started a new blog for the Huffington Post's Voces Latino - here's the link to the first post:
http://voces.huffingtonpost.com/terri-e-givens/politicas-de-inmigracion-_b_1858075.html

(thanks to Johann Roldan for translating from English to Spanish)

...and here's the English version

The Politics of Immigration – Introduction

Terri E. Givens

Why is an African-American political scientist writing a blog on immigration politics for Latino Voices?  The main reason is that it is an issue about which I am both knowledgeable and passionate.  For my first blog post, I thought it would be helpful to provide some background on me and my interest in immigration politics. My interest began when I was growing up in Eastern Washington State, where seasonal workers were an important part of the agriculture-based economy. Although I went on to study International Relations as an undergraduate at Stanford University, my interest in the politics of immigration continued as I learned how immigration had impacted French politics during a study abroad program in 1986.  When I went on to get my Ph.D. at UCLA, immigration was a hot topic in California. Proposition 187 went on the ballot in 1994, during my second year of graduate school.  Despite thousands of protestors marching in the streets, the proposition was passed, and then subsequently invalidated after five years of political and legal wrangling.  It amazed me at the time, that few in political science were studying the politics of immigration.

For over 20 years I have been a student of immigration policy and politics, both in the U.S. and Europe.  I have lived in Border States (California and Texas) that have taken very different approaches to the issues of both legal and illegal immigration. I have taught literally thousands of students about immigration policy in the U.S. and Europe. I have read countless books, conducted hundreds of interviews and spent time in Washington, DC and European capitals trying to gain insights into the factors that were influencing the behavior of political elites. As I have watched Congress and the President wrestle with issues around immigration reform I have developed my own theories around our current deadlocked politics and want to share them from my perspective as an African-American political scientists and a comparativist who has become a leading scholar in the study of immigration and immigrant integration.

From my perspective, it is clear that comprehensive immigration reform is needed to deal with a variety of issues that we are facing.  There is also a clear need for the passage of the DREAM act. Temporary measures like Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals are a move in the right direction, but don’t begin to deal with the need for long-term solutions, from those who have gotten an education here to seasonal workers and the employers whose labor needs are driving undocumented immigration.  It is an understatement to say that our immigration system is broken, with estimates of 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country, increasing numbers of deportations, and states passing laws in the face of inaction at the federal level.  The dilemma for politicians is how to address the issue in a way that can actually lead to solutions while keeping from feeding into the fears that immigration raises in the general population.  Politicians have painted themselves into a corner by focusing on border security while being unwilling to pursue or compromise on policies that would deal with the immigration problem that is already inside of our borders.

With this blog, I will track developments in immigration politics and provide examples of potential solutions for our current deadlock over immigration policy.  Politicians have been able to compromise in the past, and there will hopefully be compromise in our future.  Stories from the state and local level can also provide the basis for potential solutions to our current impasse. America has been and will continue to be a country of immigration, it is in our best interest to find strength in our past to build a better future.

The Republican Party, Immigration and the Hispanic Vote

As the Republican National Convention winds down to a close it is interesting to note that many of the speakers spoke of their immigrant roots, yet none took a position on immigration policy as noted by Victoria DeFrancesco Soto of NBC Latino: Opinion: The RNC's Immigrant Tease and Alex Seitz-Wald in Salon: Don't say "immigration"

Even Mitt Romney's son spoke in Spanish and got choked up when speaking of his immigrant grandfathers, "Craig Romney's heartfelt story of his family's immigrant roots was among more than half a dozen convention speakers who highlighted their immigrant backgrounds, but it has created what one expert describes as an "awkward dance" because of the GOP's reputation for being hostile to immigration." http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/craig-romney-convention-speakers-cite-immigrant-history/story?id=17117920

However, as pointed out in a Miami Herald article, the GOP has done a better job at recruiting top level Hispanics who outnumber Democrats in the Senate and Governor's mansions: Balancing the GOP Tripwire on Immigration

The GOP Platform takes a tough line on immigration, and calls for "self-deportation" http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/republican-immigration-platform-backs-self-deportation/

However, speakers like Jeb Bush http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/08/30/jeb-bush-and-the-politics-of-immigration/ and Marco Rubio are pushing the GOP to take a pro-legal immigration stance rather than being the anti-immigration party http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/08/marco-rubio-gop-has-immigration-challenge/

It remains to be seen how Mitt Romney will approach the issue as he tries to attract more Hispanic voters and moves more to the center to attract independent voters after the convention.

Federal Court Rules on Alabama and Georgia Immigration Laws, Gov. Perry says nothing has changed in Texas

Yesterday's big news was the ruling by the Federal appeals court on immigration laws in Georgia and Alabama.  It was a mixed result, with the court striking down measures in Alabama related to checking the status of school children, and measures in Georgia that would criminalize the transportation or harboring of undocumented immigrants.  As in the case of the Supreme Court's ruling on Arizona's SB1070, the court left in place the "show me your papers" measures, with the reservation that they would reconsider if civil rights or due process issues arise:

 “The court today rejected many parts of Alabama and Georgia’s anti-immigrant laws, including attempts to criminalize everyday interactions with undocumented immigrants and Alabama’s callous attempt to deprive some children of their constitutional right to education. The court explicitly left the door open to further challenges against the "show me your papers" provision, which we will continue to fight in order to protect people’s constitutional rights.”

Read more: http://www.cbs42.com/content/localnews/story/Federal-court-blocks-most-of-GA-AL-anti-immigrant/QyhoOYPsQ0-D53M8SOhytA.cspx

The New York Times editorial page welcomed the "repudiation of bad laws": http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/opinion/setback-for-rogue-immigration-laws-in-georgia-and-alabama.html

My San Antonio website reported on Governor Perry's response to the implementation of DACA:

“Quite simply, the governor's letter reiterates that the secretary's directive does not change state law, and he expects agencies to continue to follow state law,” Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said. “There are no plans to issue an executive order as Gov. Brewer did."

It would appear that the Governor was more focused on bashing the Obama administration's policy rather than taking action to keep undocumented immigrants from getting driver's licenses:

“I don't think there's anything the kids need to worry about with the governor's letter. I think it was very carefully worded, intended to satisfy some constituents and yet leave the door open to the Latino voters that the GOP will need in the future,” Austin immigration lawyer Dan Kowalski said.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Governor-slams-deferred-action-policy-3802030.php#ixzz24ET2ZJnA

A link to Perry's letter from the Texas Tribune: http://s3.amazonaws.com/static.texastribune.org/media/documents/O-AbbottGreg20120817_1.pdf

NBC News reports on a disturbing case of criminal detention for a legal immigrant and the overall increase in detentions which is fueling the private prison industry: http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/21/12072030-immigrant-detainees-land-in-limbo-in-alabama-jail?lite