Immigration Politics - The view from Texas

Link to HuffPost Voces Latino:
http://voces.huffingtonpost.com/terri-e-givens/politica-de-inmigracion-texas_b_2249579.html

Immigration Politics – the view from Texas

Immigration reform already appears to be high on the agenda for Congress. Although the main debates on immigration reform will be happening in Washington, DC, in many ways the debates at the state level offer an interesting perspective on the potential for reform in the next year or two.  Texas politicians like George W. Bush and Rick Perry have taken a much less harsh approach to immigration than Jan Brewer of Arizona, or Robert Bentley in Alabama.  These states, dominated by Republicans who are pushing for more immigration control, attempted to implement laws designed to encourage illegal immigrants to leave, and require even legal immigrants to carry their papers with them at all times. Although the Supreme Court struck down key provisions of Arizona's SB1070, the section on checking suspects' status was allowed to stay in place.

The Texas legislature is also dominated by Republicans, and several introduced strict immigration bills in the last legislative session, but none of these were passed in the last legislative session, and it is expected that the same will occur in the upcoming legislative session.  What is different about Texas?  Not only is Texas on the front lines in terms of being on the border with Mexico, it is also on the front lines of demographic change in the U.S.  As described by the Center for American Progress “Texas is one of five states in the country where people of color make up the majority of the population. Between 2000 and 2009 Hispanic population growth accounted for 63.1 percent of all growth in the state” (Center for America Progress 2012).  These statistics have clear implications for politicians in the Lone Star state.  As the electorate changes, politicians will have to be more responsive to issues like immigration that are a high priority for many who are immigrants or come from families with immigrant backgrounds.

One of the first indicators of a new/different approach is the fact that outgoing Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, along with outgoing Senator Jon Kyle of Arizona, both Republicans, have proposed  a version of the DREAM act, which they are calling the ACHIEVE act.  The bill would do most of what the DREAM act does, without a path to citizenship.  A bill being sponsored by two outgoing senators isn’t likely to go far – but it is relevant that two Republicans from border states are now pushing a bill that would provide visas for undocumented immigrants.  However, other politicians in Texas want to go farther.

As reported in the Texas Tribune, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, chaired by Representative Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, released "One Nation: Principles on Immigration Reform and Our Commitment to the American Dream," a nine-point synopsis of issues that the caucus believes should be addressed.  This includes the DREAM act with a path to citizenship.  It is notable that Gonzalez is a Texan and he will be replaced in the next session of Congress by another Texan, Representative Rubén Hinojosa, D-Edinburg.

Although it is clear that the Hispanic Caucus is taking a very different approach from Senate Republicans, it is important to note that Texas politicians are taking a leading role on the issue of immigration, and it is likely that any legislation that is introduced will need support from the Texas delegation. Any way you look at it, Texas voters and Texas politicians will play an important role in the upcoming debates around immigration reform. Republicans have managed to thrive in this state, despite the growing Hispanic population, but their positions on this issue and others will have an impact on the future of the party as well as immigration reform at the national level.

Republicans propose new immigration measures

This week's news update includes a story from the Texas Tribune on legislative proposals from Texas politicians:
http://www.texastribune.org/immigration-in-texas/immigration/gop-democrats-still-far-apart-immigration-solution/

Also in Texas news, immigration bills are trickling in before the start of the legislative session: http://www.texastribune.org/immigration-in-texas/immigration/state-based-immigration-laws-slowly-trickling/

In Congress, house Republicans are putting forward bills that would address visas for skilled immigrants: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/us/politics/house-votes-to-ease-restrictions-on-visas.html?_r=0

The House of Representative passed the STEM bill, sponsored by Texas representative Lamar Smith, that would allow foreign students in science and technology to get a green card, but at the expense of the diversity visa program: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/30/house-passes-immigration-bill-to-keep-science-and-technology-students-in-u-s/

The election is over - now what?

The latest blog post is up at HuffPost Voces Latino:
http://voces.huffingtonpost.com/terri-e-givens/se-acabo-la-eleccion-y-ahora-que_b_2118375.html

 

 

The election is over – now what?

Terri E. Givens

Latinos voted. Obama has won re-election, while the Democrats have held onto the Senate and made inroads into the Republican majority in the House.  Obama won 75% of the Latino vote – not just on the issue of immigration, but on a variety of issues where the Republicans seemed tone deaf.  However, both Democrats and Republicans have to face the reality that the Latino vote is now decisive for national elections, as shown in the analysis by Gary Segura and Matt Barreto of Latino Decisions. As I discussed in my previous blog post, politicians are more likely to respond to the interests of groups when they vote and have an impact on the outcome of an election.  This was clearly the case in this election, and it’s an opportunity that should not be wasted.

When it comes to policy change, the election is just the beginning.  Of course the top issue for all Americans is the economy.  The negotiations over the budget will be difficult, and the President and Congress will need to hear from all of us on those issues, so it will be important to stay mobilized. The majority that Obama was able to pull together was the result of a lot of work on the ground.  More young people and minorities voted in this election than the pundits, and certainly Romney’s campaign, expected.  This energy needs to be maintained to help push for policy change.

Once the issues around the fiscal cliff are dealt with, comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM act should be top priorities. However, it will take more than goodwill to move forward on these issues.  The election is just the first step in what is likely to be a long process of finding key legislators to take on these issues, and move them forward. Fortunately there are signs that comprehensive immigration reform is moving higher on the agenda.  GOP leaders like John Boehner, and pundits like Sean Hannity have “evolved” on the issue, and say that it needs to be addressed.

However, it’s not clear that all of the GOP is going to support comprehensive immigration reform. Many have also indicated that they may not be as open to immigration reform as some of their leaders.  What is clear is that the status quo is indefensible, as American Conservative Union President Al Cardenas has said.  The GOP has many issues to deal with after this election, and if the party is to remain relevant, they will have to look at why they failed to attract more votes from women, young people and minorities.

This is also an important time for voters to stay engaged at the local and state level.  If you have concerns about the long voting lines and issues around voter suppression, these have to be addressed in your own communities.  We all need to push for policies that will encourage and facilitate voting.  If we value our democracy, we should value the right to vote, and make it easier for those who are eligible to vote, not make it harder.  It’s embarrassing to try to explain to my European friends why some Americans had to wait as long as 7 or 8 hours to vote on Election Day. Regardless of your political orientation, the ability to vote in a timely manner should not be an issue in 2012.  We have the means to resolve these issues, and it should not be done in a partisan manner.

I look forward to the discussions to come around immigration, the DREAM act, and other policies that will help to fix our broken immigration system.  I encourage those of you who care about this issue to stay engaged, I will continue to write about developments in this blog.  As President Obama said, “we know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come.”

More articles on the GOP and the Latino Vote

Mostly from the Huffington Post, these articles lay out the issues facing the GOP following last week's election:

Obama's Big Hispanic Voter Win In Presidential Election Worries Republicans
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/obamas-hispanic-voters_n_2092492.html

Carlos Gutierrez, Mitt Romney Adviser: Latinos 'Were Scared'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/11/carlos-gutierrez-mitt-romney-latinos_n_2113622.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Mitt Romney Latino Loss Shows Republicans 'Have Been Their Own Worst Enemy'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/11/mitt-romney-latino-loss-republican_n_2104966.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular#slide=1089995

A thoughtful response to the Latino vote issue:
The Demographic Excuse  By ROSS DOUTHAT
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/opinion/sunday/douthat-the-gops-demographic-excuse.html

Another argument that it's economic policy, not immigration policy that sways Latino voters:
Why Hispanics don't vote for Republican by Heather Mac Donald
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/332916/why-hispanics-dont-vote-republicans-heather-mac-donald#

Back to immigration -Ten players to watch in immigration reform:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/267191-10-players-to-watch-on-immigration-reform

Obama wins ~75% of Latino vote - GOP changes tune on immigration reform

It wasn't long after the election was called for Obama that GOP politicians and pundits began to blame their loss on a variety of reasons, but losing the Latino vote was at the top.  The results from Latino Decisions tell the tale:
http://www.latinodecisions.com/blog/2012/11/07/obama-wins-75-of-latino-vote-marks-historic-latino-influence-in-presidential-election/

Now several GOP pundits like Sean Hannity, and politicians like John Boehner are changing their tune on immigration reform:


...and from POLITICO, 20 quotes on immigration reform: http://www.politico.com/gallery/2012/11/20-quotes-on-immigration-reform/000551-007827.html


Rupert Murdoch

"Must have sweeping, generous immigration reform,make existing law- abiding Hispanics welcome. Most are hard working family people."

(Photo: AP Photo)

Article from Cato Institute

This article by Alex Nowrasteh from the Cato Institute does a great job of explaining the economic impact of immigration and a rebuttal to a recent memo by the anti-immigration Center for Immigration Studies:

"Mark Krikorian, executive director of the anti-immigrant Center for Immigration Studies and author of the book The New Case Against Immigration: Both Illegal and Legal, criticized a remarkI made to Washington Times reporter Stephen Dinan about a new CIS memo.

The memo, which can be found here, claims that immigrants are taking most of the jobs created since President Obama took office.  I told the Washington Times that the memo “makes a mountain out of a molehill” because it ignores key economic explanations that have nothing to do with demonizing immigrants.  Steven Camarota, one of the authors of the memo, evenagreed that one factor I mentioned could explain his findings.

In response, Mr. Krikorian wrote that I should, “Tell that to the 23 million Americans who are unemployed, forced to settle for part-time work, or gave up looking for work altogether.”

My response is that the CIS memo is so flawed it should not be taken seriously."

More at:   http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/immigrants-did-not-take-your-job/

Why Vote?

Link to Spanish Version in HuffPost Voces Latino: http://voces.huffingtonpost.com/terri-e-givens/por-que-votar_b_2049484.html

 

“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.” Cesar Chavez

As Election Day draws near, I hear many people saying that they may not vote, that there isn’t much difference between the candidates, etc.  Regardless of how you may feel about the candidates, voting is a right and a duty.  Everyone who is eligible should vote, because it will make a difference. 

I know that my vote will count as a woman, as an African-American, and as someone who feels passionately about issues like immigration.  I have compared the positions of the candidates on a variety of issues and know whose positions are closer to my own.  However, I also know that if I don’t vote, then there will be one less voice for women, and all the other categories that I fit into. 

When the election is over, the parties will look at the results and try to determine what they mean, not only in terms of who is elected president or to Congress, but in terms of the direction that the vote is moving for the future, which will have an impact on policies legislators pursue going forward. Have certain groups of voters been energized or turned off by the issues that were raised, or not raised? Those who voted will have a more legitimate voice after the election in the halls of power, when they are pushing for a particular issue. 

Although I would argue that Latinos don’t make a homogenous voting bloc, they have been treated as one in this election, and President Obama recently argued that he may win the election because the GOP has alienated Latino voters (article). Time will tell if this is true or not. Polls have clearly been undercounting Latinos, as shown in a study by Matt Barreto. You can be sure that analysts will be examining exit polls to determine the impact of the Latino vote, and this will have an impact on policy decisions by those elected. The demographics of this country are changing and we will soon be a majority minority country.  However, that majority has to vote and run for office in order to exercise any kind of power over policy.

The future of immigration policy is in the hands of the voters.  The presidential candidates and congressional candidates have laid out their positions. Of course, this is not the only issue that voters will focus on, it’s clear that the economy is the top issue. However, I would argue that the two issues are intertwined.  A coherent, practical immigration policy will lead to more economic growth in this country as I argued in my previous column. 

I always return to history when discussing these issues and there are many historical examples of groups, particularly immigrants, having an impact on the direction of policy.  German, Irish, Polish, Italians, all of these groups have had an important impact on politics and politicians from these groups have been important to policy change.  It may take time, but every election is another step in a particular direction.  If you care about issues and the future for your family and children, you must raise your voice, vote and help this country determine the direction it will go in the future.

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.