Nov
24
ISAAC Updates – November 2010
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IMMIGRATION IN TEXAS BY THE NUMBERS
The ISAAC Project’s mission includes an education component. Texas Baptists must have facts about immigration, both documented and undocumented, in their possession. In this issue we offer important data on immigration in the State of Texas. The Migration Policy Institute has recently released a report on Texas Social & Demographic Characteristics (2010). Although the data reported here is from 2008, the report is the most recent study.
Here are some of the highlights:
- About 16% of the total population in Texas is foreign-born (3.87 million), compared to 13.9% in 2000. At the national level, the foreign-born population represented 12.5% of the total population. Around 1 in 3 are undocumented immigrants.
- The top three countries of birth of the foreign-born in Texas are Mexico (61.6%), El Salvador (4.2%) and Vietnam (3.7%). At the national level, the top three countries of birth in 2008 were Mexico (30.1%), the Philippines (4.4%) and India (4.3%).
- 52.3% of the immigrant population is male and 47.7% female, compared to 50.1% male and 49.9% female at the national level.
- Almost 1 in 3 immigrants are naturalized U.S. citizens (31.4%). Naturalized citizens make up 7.4% of those eligible to vote in Texas.
- Almost 1 in 3 children in Texas belong to immigrant families (32.8%). Of all children with immigrant parents in Texas, 85.6% were U.S. citizens by birth.
- 45% of all children in low-income families are children of immigrants (1,322,109 residing in families with income below 200% of the federal poverty threshold in Texas).
- According to data from the Pew Hispanic Center in 2009, the most popular boy’s name for Texas-born babies, for ten years running, is José.
Here are some data regarding unauthorized immigration:
- About 50% of all undocumented immigrants live in 4 states: California, Texas, New York and Florida.
- Approximately 1.45 million undocumented immigrants currently reside in Texas.
- About 1 in 10 students in K through 12th grade have parents who are undocumented immigrants.
- Almost 1 in 10 workers in Texas are undocumented immigrants.
- Undocumented immigrants work primarily in jobs that are low-skilled, physically demanding and low-paying, such as farming, building, groundskeeping and maintenance, construction, food preparation and serving, production, transportation and material moving.
A 2006 study by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts yielded the following data on the economic impact of undocumented immigrants in Texas: The absence of an estimated 1.45 million undocumented immigrants in 2005 would have represented a loss to the Texas economy along the lines of…
- 17.7 Billion in Gross State Product (productive economic activity in Texas)
- 424.l7 Million in Net State Revenue ($1.15 Billion in costs, $1.58 Billion in state taxes)
According to a document titled Immigration Trends in Texas, published by Valley Interfaith in Weslaco, Texas, the findings of the Texas Comptroller Office “are consistent with economic studies indicating that undocumented immigrants bring a net benefit to the national economy and budget. There is widespread recognition that states generally bear the brunt of immigration costs without the full benefit of immigrant revenue. Texas, however, is an exception; its budget relies mostly on sales and property taxes –mostly inescapable by state residents”.
Our hope and prayer is that spreading these facts will help Texas Baptists separate truth from myth in regards to immigration issues. This will enable us to minister more efficiently to the immigrants in our midst.
Sep
29
ISAAC Updates – September 2010
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The ISAAC Project was born on May 1, 2007 as a collaborative ministry of the BGCT and Buckner International. Since January 2010, it has become a partnership between the BGCT and Baptist University of the Américas.
Richard Muñoz, the first Executive Director of this ministry, defined ISAAC as a “tool box designed to help churches engage the immigrant community along a continuum of ministry options.” Concern about the hard-hearted attitudes among Christians toward immigrants and the influence of certain talk-radio and television show hosts who espoused negative and hostile views about undocumented immigrants prompted ISAAC to offer unbiased information about immigration and undocumented immigrants from a Christian perspective.
ISAAC has labored hard to reach church leaders through personal visits, sermons and electronic media in order to correct the myths about immigration propagated in the media. To this end, the ISAAC Newsletter was created. It doubled its circulation in its first year of existence. Our blog was launched in April of 2009.
Having sound, unbiased information regarding immigration is the first step in this continuum of ministry options. For churches that wanted to move further along, ISAAC joined efforts with Literacy ConneXus in order to develop literacy programs in churches across the state. Supporting service ministries such as English a Second Language, citizenship and literacy programs became another important goal for ISAAC. Although there is much work yet to be done in this area, we are hopeful that comprehensive immigration reform which results in a path to citizenship for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in our country will position ISAAC to start new programs such as these.
There has been a strong need for quality immigration counseling and service at affordable prices in Texas and all over our nation. The Federal Government allows non-profit organizations, such as churches, to undergo a stringent application process in order to become recognized organizations. ISAAC has provided technical application assistance and online resources to train church representatives to become “accredited” representatives and offer immigration services to their communities.
The application process take approximately one year and it takes effort, dedication and a deep sense of calling to serve immigrants to go through it, but the rewards are immense. ISAAC helped three Texas Baptist groups become recognized, The Ruth Project in Waco, Baptist Immigration Services of Brownwood and Primera Iglesia Bautista in Plano. The first two organizations have since closed their doors. Primera continues to serve the community in Plano.
The new members of the ISAAC Project are Immigration Service and Aid Center in Miami, Florida, Dallas Immigration Services Center and Proyecto ELIM in San Antonio. The first two organizations are currently preparing their recognition and accreditation applications. Proyecto ELIM has already applied and is waiting for federal approval, hopefully soon. They all joined ISAAC in 2010.
ISAAC provided support for Proyecto ELIM to write a $100,000 grant in order to provide citizenship education to eligible resident-aliens in South San Antonio and surrounding communities in 2010 and 2011. We are eagerly awaiting the official response from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Although there is also much work to be done in the area of fund-raising and grant-writing, we are off to an auspicious start.
The ISAAC Project is committed to supporting immigration ministries, developing relationships and providing education to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Two opportunities to participate in interdenominational discussion panels arose recently. On September 28, ISAAC will be present at the CBF’s Together for Hope: Rural Poverty Initiative to be hosted by Iglesia Bautista Peniel in Eagle Pass. A friendly conversation will take place between Christians, members of the Border Patrol, the Mexican Consulate General and the U.S. Secretary of Border Affairs. The Director of ISAAC has been asked to sit at the table and participate in the discussion as one of the panelists.
On October 3, ISAAC will participate in a panel discussion organized by Friends Congregational Church in College Station. It is called Faithful Conversations: Christian Perspectives on Immigration. Christians from across the political and theological spectrum will engage in dialogue that seeks to answer the hard questions about immigration in the light of Jesus’ command to “love our neighbors as ourselves”.
We are truly grateful for the work that the Lord has allowed the ISAAC Project to do in its first three years of life. There remains much to be done, but the challenges ahead of us are a source of hope. As long as there is a stranger, a foreigner or an alien who can be loved and ministered to, ISAAC will be a voice to remind our Christian brothers and sisters that “the alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt” (Leviticus 19:34).
We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
Aug
31
ISAAC Updates – August 2010
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A 24-page report (Detained and at Risk Immigration Detention.pdf) issued on August 25 by Human Rights Watch describes documented incidents of sexual abuse committed against people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The report calls for the government to go beyond policy and operation standard changes and issue “binding legal regulations” that would serve to prevent these incidents from happening.
In August 19, a contracted guard was arrested for sexually abusing several female detainees at the T. Don Hutto immigration facility in Taylor, Texas. The guard allegedly groped female prisoners while he was transporting them to airports and bus stations in order to be deported. The guard faces three counts of official oppression and two counts of unlawful restraint. (If you want to read a media release by the Williamson County Sheriff, go here: http://tdonhutto.blogspot.com.
Some of the details in the report are a reason for concern. Statistics and data on sexual abuse, assault and harassment against immigration detainees are collected in facilities run by ICE, but virtually no data exists on state and county jails where ICE rents bed space.
Immigrants who are detained do not speak out about incidents of sexual abuse for fear of being deported. The sad thing is that most of them are still deported, leaving our country without reporting crimes committed against them. Christians should be deeply concerned about these abuses, especially as so little data is known and these incidents may very well be the tip of the iceberg, as Human Rights Watch reports.
Immigrants who cross our borders in order to find work and end up being detained are human beings made in the image of God. They must be treated with dignity and must be protected against crimes perpetrated against them as they await deportation in our federal jails. These people find themselves in a very vulnerable state and are unable to defend themselves for fear that something even worse will happen to them.
Human Rights Watch includes key recommendations to ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Congress. One of them is especially noteworthy: “to require detention centers to facilitate on-site access for local community providers of support services for sexual assault survivors.” If these recommendations ever translate into policy changes, pastors and laypeople who minister to the victims of sexual abuse would have an open door to connect with these victims and show them the love of Christ.
We pray that the door opens.
:: Read the report and Human Rights Watch’s media release
We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
Jun
16
ISAAC Updates – June 2010
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It has been an exciting six months for the ISAAC Project. In February, I attended a training seminar offered in Washington, D.C. by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. It centered on building capacity and positioning networks such as ISAAC so that they can reach out more efficiently to the immigrant community and to the agencies affiliated with them.
It was at this seminar that I learned about different grants offered by the Federal Government through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. One in particular about integration services for legal permanent residents seemed within the reach of the ISAAC Project. After a few months of hard work, the grant was written and submitted. It would not have been possible without the help, expertise and the many talents of Suzii Paynter, Charlotte Bumbulis, Anne Olson and Julie Valentine.
The grant is in the amount of $100,000, and, if granted, will serve the population of south San Antonio and surrounding areas through ESL classes for eligible legal permanent residents. It will also be used to start a federally recognized and accredited immigration service agency there, which is named Proyecto ELIM and is sponsored and hosted by Baptist University of the Américas. This agency will submit its application for federal recognition and accreditation at the end of June. It will be an affiliate of the ISAAC Project.
One of the goals of the ISAAC Project is to build relationships with interfaith coalitions and other groups outside Texas doing immigration ministry centers. This goal has begun to unfold as Comunidade Evangelica de Miami, an Evangelical church that serves the Brazilian population, recently joined the ISAAC Network. Diana Pinto, a passionate lady with experience as an immigration law clerk at a Miami law firm, will lead the Immigration Service and Christian Aid Center. This is a milestone for the ISAAC Project and the first step in the process of creating a national network.
Another interfaith organization has recently joined the ISAAC Network: the Christian Community Development Ministries for Korean Churches, based in Dallas, Texas, will be requesting federal recognition and accreditation for the Dallas Immigration Services Center. This effort will be led by Pastor Samuel Song.
A recent development for the ISAAC Project has been the creation of an advisory board. Seven people committed to Kingdom work from all over Texas will contribute their vision and passion for immigration ministry to ISAAC. The first meeting of the board will take place during Convención in San Antonio, on June 28.
Developments in the area of immigration at the national level, such as the recent measures signed into law in Arizona, are cause for concern. But there may be a silver lining: as State governments and municipalities toughen their stance on undocumented immigrants, the issue comes back to the forefront of political dialogue. It is there that it justly belongs. These developments will hopefully make our political leaders get back to the table, dialogue and find the consensus needed to work toward a much needed comprehensive immigration reform.
Our prayers are with them as the ISAAC Project positions itself to better serve communities all across the nation when our broken immigration system is finally repaired, and hopefully, sooner than everyone expects.
We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
May
26
Comprehensive Immigration Reform
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Immigration Change
Our borders are national and therefore immigration law and enforcement is primarily a federal responsibility. Individual states as the closest neighbors along the US border have special interests of their own. Passage of recent Arizona laws have brought attention to a continuing array of unproductive proposed resolutions.
Texas is not likely to copycat Arizona, or any other border state, at least according to Governor Rick Perry who said “ I have concerns with portions of the law passed in Arizona and believe it would not be the right direction for Texas.” This position upholds the state’s long-held tradition of rejecting harsh anti-immigrant policies. “Texas has a rich history with Mexico, our largest trading partner, and we share more than 1,200 miles of border, more than any other state,” Perry said recently. (1)
Border Security a priority for Texas
Governor Perry emphasizes border security as a primary focus of his leadership. Border security efforts have been robust in the past 15 years – fortification of the U.S.-Mexico border aimed at stemming illegal entry has included a 500 percent increase in Border Patrol equipped with improved mobility, communications and technology. Current efforts for the Texas border are already underway to implement the recommendation of the Government Accountability Office that 5,000 new officers are needed, in addition to $5 billion in infrastructure and technology to secure the ports of entry. Voices from the border areas are also recommending improved southbound inspection facilities, increased southbound inspection personnel, and life-saving interoperable communications as essential aspects of security.(2) “As the debate on immigration reform intensifies, the focus must remain on border security and the federal government’s failure to adequately protect our borders. Securing our border is a federal responsibility, but it is a Texas problem, and it must be addressed before comprehensive immigration reform is discussed.”(3)
In related actions this spring, Phase 1 of the Spillover Violence Contingency Plan was initiated. At the governor’s direction, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), in coordination with local and federal law enforcement along the Texas-Mexico border, has implemented critical elements of the state’s spillover violence contingency plan. These steps include increased surveillance of border activity by state and local law enforcement, the Texas Border Security Operations Center, and the Joint Operational and Intelligence Centers to ensure the timely sharing of intelligence information; increased ground, air and maritime patrol presence; and increased intensity of day and night DPS helicopter patrol operations along the Rio Grande River, as well as National Guard helicopters to support aviation missions. Additional resources ready for rapid deployment have been placed on standby, including DPS SWAT Teams and Trooper Strike Teams, as well as Ranger Recon Teams prepared to reposition based on threat.(4)
Time for Immigration Reform
This is not a time for security efforts alone. We have to speak about all the issues that impact security and reform. There are two overwhelming consensus ideas regarding immigration – 1. the current U.S. immigration system is broken and 2. the jurisdiction for cultural, economic and law enforcement interests are shared formally and informally between the state and federal authorities.
What is meant by “broken”?
- Our immigration system cannot adequately tell us who is here, for how long and why.
- Processes for allowing temporary workers to come and go in and out of the US are inadequate and insecure.
- Families, even those with the best of intentions, bear undue hardship because of inconsistencies in law and policy.
- The system has no dependable set of incentives. Good behavior and dutiful attention are not necessarily rewarded. Deception and noncompliance are not necessarily punished.
- Even the legal process for applying for entry, entering the US and obtaining citizenship is burdensome, expensive, risky and convoluted. People seeking to navigate the system in good faith can be easily manipulated by unscrupulous actors.
Unlawful acts are not all equal
Like all other aspects of US law, the application of justice in immigration means that there are levels of distinctions for various infractions of the law. As is commonly invoked – whether talking about traffic violations or community crimes - “ let the punishment fit the crime.” Likewise, a foundation of past US immigration law has been that immigration violations in and of themselves are not necessarily criminal acts. Coming and living (even illegally) in the US historically has not been treated as equal to a crime that damages, property or persons. In matters of migration, like in other areas of the law, multiple distinctions of civil and criminal violations are maintained. Visa overstays for example, are not prosecuted in the same way as smuggling violations. Claiming “one punishment for all” is not as tenable in policy as it is in rhetoric.
Piecemeal solutions for border issues have been proposed, at both federal and state levels, but often they are either only temporary fixes or substantially inadequate. These efforts, sometimes encompassing elements of merit, still are found wanting – shutting off the border, building a fence, training local law enforcement as immigration officers (“287.g”) , military installation, technology have still resulted in inadequate changes to handle immigration for work and security adequately. States, like Texas, that share a border with Mexico have cultural, economic and law enforcement interests that are often expressed in lawful and productive relationships.
The Arizona law is a misdirected attempt at a partial fix. It will require local and state law enforcement officers to question people about their immigration status if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the country illegally, making it a crime for them to lack registration documents. The law also makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally. “I fully recognize and support a state’s right and obligation to protect its citizens, but I have concerns with portions of the law passed in Arizona and believe it would not be the right direction for Texas,” Perry said in a written statement.”For example, some aspects of the law turn law enforcement officers into immigration officials by requiring them to determine immigration status during any lawful contact with a suspected alien, taking them away from their existing law enforcement duties, which are critical to keeping citizens safe.” (5) Progress along the Texas border is attributed to the focus on law enforcement infrastructure, security, articulation of law enforcement jurisdiction , vulnerabilities of southbound and northbound border traffic , and any shift away from these strategic and hard won balances would certainly promote chaos, distrust and cross-agency confusion.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform
It is entirely possible to protect our borders while establishing a viable, humane, and realistic immigration system, one that is consistent with our American values and increases national security while protecting the livelihood of Americans. Given the frustration felt by many state efforts, support comprehensive immigration reform legislation is building. Most discussions include the following elements:
- Border enforcement and protection initiatives that are consistent with humanitarian values while allowing the authorities to enforce the law and implement American immigration policy;
- Reforms in our family-based immigration system that reduce the waiting time for separated families to be safely reunited and maintain the constitutionally guaranteed rights of birthright citizenship and the ability of immigrants to earn naturalization;
- An opportunity for all immigrant workers and their families already in the U.S. to come out of the shadows and pursue the option of an earned path towards permanent legal status and citizenship upon satisfaction of specific criteria;
- A viable guest worker program that creates legal avenues for workers and their families to enter our country and work in a safe, legal, and orderly manner with their rights and due process fully protected and provides an option for workers to gain permanent status independent of an employer sponsor; and
- A framework to examine and ascertain solutions to the root causes of migration, such as economic disparities between sending and receiving nations.
Immigration is a defining feature of America’s history and will continue to be an important issue for America’s future but we need changes to our immigration system to address numerous problems. Many immigrants have applied legitimately for the right to live in this country with their family members, but must wait for many years for final approval due to backlogs in the system. Undocumented children are raised here but are unable to attend college or work legally. Individuals are risking their lives and literally dying to come to the United States. Families face inhumane waits of up to twenty years to lawfully reunify with family members. We have a growing black market characterized by widespread use of false documents, increasingly violent smuggling cartels, and exploitation of undocumented workers.
What needs to be fixed?
A comprehensive approach to immigration reform is required to address the complex and outmoded immigration system that currently exists. There are an inadequate number of visas for employers to hire the foreign workers necessary for jobs that they cannot find native-born Americans to fill. The shortage of legal, documented agricultural and other workers in Texas and the U.S. has become a growing crisis. There is discussion regarding proposed legislation to provide short-term relief for this labor shortage through a one-time earned adjustment of status, or increasing the number of visas allowed from Mexico; and longer-term relief through major reform of the H-2A guest worker program. Although a challenging task, the effective implementation of a 2 stage earned legal status program is a viable adjustment that would create an incentive for employer accountability. With an eye for the national security interest of the U.S, policy makers stress that it is vital to know who is working in food production and to have an effective means of monitoring these essential workers, and this legislation potentially provides that capability.
Current law has created numerous barriers for legitimate refugees abroad and seekers of asylum in the U.S. to receive the protection they deserve. Additionally, approximately eleven million “undocumented” immigrants currently live in the United States,(6) and more than three million U.S. citizen children live in families headed by an undocumented immigrant.(7)
Because many immigrants do not currently have a means by which to receive lawful status in the United States, they go undetected by living in the shadows. If they could apply for current lawful status, they would be much more likely to come forward, and the government could better target the small number of potential criminals and terrorists. There is no need to condone any violations of the law, such as living in the United States illegally, but to recognize that our complex and inadequate immigration system has made it nearly impossible for many of the hard-working people that our country needs, to enter or remain in the country legally and/or reunite with family members.
(1) Texas Gov: Arizona Immigration Law ‘Not Right’ for Texas, Associated Press , April 29, 2010.
(2) Testimony of Monica Weisberg-Stewart Chairman of the Texas Border Coalition Committee on Immigration and Land Ports of Entry Before the Joint Meeting of the Texas House Committee on Border and Intergovernmental Affairs and the Texas House Committee on Public Safety April 29, 2010.
(3) Texas Gov: Arizona Immigration Law ‘Not Right’ for Texas, Associated Press , April 29, 2010.
(4) Gov. Perry Orders Activation of 1st Phase, Spillover Violence Contingency Plan, March 16 2010
(5) Texas Gov: Arizona Immigration Law ‘Not Right’ for Texas, Associated Press, April 29, 2010.
(6) http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/44.pdf, stating that as of March 2005, there were nearly 11 million undocumented individuals in the U.S.
(7) http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/46.pdf
We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
May
25
Basics of Immigration
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Alien
Refers to immigrants (legal and undocumented) in many laws
Undocumented Immigrants or Illegal Aliens – (2 categories)
EWI (Entries Without Inspection) – crossed the border illegally
Overstays – came in legally, but did not leave when their visa expired (25-40% of those undocumented)
Legal Immigrants –
Some are permanent of long term statuses – they can reside in the U.S. indefinitely as long as they do not commit a crime. (AKA – “lawful permanent residents” or “refugees” or “asylees”)
Some are temporary or transitional statuses – they can be indefinite in length (the spouse, child or fiancé of a U.S. citizen) or one getting renewal at set intervals.
Nonimmigrant
An alien legally in the U.S. for some specific purpose for a set period of time (ex: students, tourists, diplomats, guest workers). There are 70 nonimmigrant visa categories.
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services
(Formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Services – INS)
A division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Green Card
Granted to immigrants who have been approved to live in the U.S. permanently (lawful permanent residents)
Who’s eligible for citizenship?
- Persons who have been lawful permanent residents (green card holders) for five years.
- Persons who have been lawful permanent residents for three years, have been married to a U.S. citizen for those three years, and continue to be married to that U.S. citizen.
- Persons who are lawful permanent resident children of U. S. citizen parents.
- Persons who have a qualifying military service.
- Persons under the age of 18 may automatically become citizens when their parents are naturalized.
- Any person born in the U. S. (minus some exceptions regarding diplomats.)
What are the penalties for violating immigration laws?
Section 274 felonies under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, INA 274A(a)(1)(A):
A person (including a group of persons, business, organization, or local government) commits a federal felony when she or he:
- Assists an alien s/he should reasonable know is illegally in the U.S. or who lacks employment authorization, by transporting, sheltering, or assisting him or her to obtain employment, or
- Encourages that alien to remain in the U.S. by referring him or her to an employer or agent for an employer in any way, or knowingly assists illegal aliens due to personal convictions.
Penalties upon conviction include:
- Criminal fines, imprisonment, and forfeiture of vehicles and real property used to commit the crime. Anyone employing or contracting with an illegal alien without verifying his or her work authorization status is guilty of a misdemeanor.
- Aliens and employers violating immigration laws are subject to arrest, detention, and seizure of their vehicles or property.
Showing Hospitality to the Least of These; Leigh Jackson; 2004; Christian Life Commission (BGCT)
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Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
May
25
Responsible Dialogue On Immigration
Filed Under ISAAC Updates | 1 Comment
Few issues have the ability to divide us in such an intense manner as an immigration debate. We have watched as groups have taken to the streets protesting or supporting the recent Arizona Immigration Laws. We have watched as groups have gathered to advocate or oppose Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation. Then we watched as commentators and observers berated either the protestors or the advocates as criminals and the ruin of this great nation.
In our “sound-byte” culture we fall back on slogans attempting to scale down the debate to one of its many, infinitely complex features. The decisions that will be made in our nation in the coming months will have both present and far-reaching consequences economically, politically, and culturally in ways that we cannot possibly understand fully. In light of this it behooves each one of us to gain a more complete understanding of what the issues are and what is being said about them.
There are three major themes that we as Americans use as filters for understanding the immigration debate.
America’s Changing Face – Is there too much difference?
This approach sees immigration as a looming identity crisis. At the present rate of immigration there are too many differences to assimilate. This increasing diversity threatens to break the bonds of unity—the common ideals of language and democracy—that define our political institution. Also, concerns over terrorism and national security concerns create uncertainty about newcomers. Immigration should be slowed to allow time for immigrants to assimilate into American culture.
There are valid cultural concerns here, but there are tradeoffs. Although it is true that many first-generation immigrants cling to their home countries, it is also true that their children (who are US citizens) continue to adopt America’s eclectic culture and keep our country vibrant and adaptable. America of all nations is the world leader in assimilation, especially for second and third generations, who even while expressing cultural identity, are leading proponents and defenders of the American Dream.
A Nation of Immigrants – Remembering America’s Heritage
In this view, virtually open immigration has been the backbone of America’s strength. Combining diverse cultures yields a uniquely strong and rich society and, overall, immigrants offer far more to American society than they take from it. Especially in a new global neighborhood, immigration is essential to a prosperous future and America must continue to welcome newcomers despite the costs and challenges. The American education system gives access to immigrants towards highly successful and productive lives; this will continue to generate innovation and leadership of the global future.
This too has its drawbacks. Without limits, the lifeboat, which is America, could capsize drowning us all. Caring for and educating all of these newcomers costs American taxpayers.
“Just showing up” was all it took in the not so distant American past; this is no longer a viable method of accepting newcomers. Newcomers that enter by a legal method are always preferred, but current limits on certain classes of visas, which allow for valid workers, prohibits many willing workers from entering and working legally and temporarily in the US.(1)
A Matter of Priorities – Putting Economics First
This final paradigm argues that immigrants strain the public purse, compete for jobs, and exceed our carrying capacity. In this view, the nation would benefit economically by sending certain classes of immigrants out of the country, severely restricting the number of newcomers, and by looking more closely at how their arrival affects the well-being of those who are already here. Americans in low-wage jobs suffer and can possibly even lose their jobs to those who would be willing to work for less.
This causes immediate problems, however, in that immigrants begin to get blamed for problems they do not cause, and it does not recognize that immigrants are a critical part of our economy working jobs that many established Americans would refuse to work. What may seem like an economic solution now, however, may carry the seeds of hardship as the aging US workforce is faced with low replacement figures. Younger workers are not replacing the current workforce; as the baby-boomers age out (77 million are expected to retire by 2030), the US needs an infusion of younger workers to sustain our economy.(2)
For most of us, we can identify with all these themes in some way, but not necessarily as a consensus. These ideas about immigration create tension within us not just among us. Biblical and Christian ideas can also create tension when thinking about immigration. When asked about our citizenship today, most of us would answer with great pride, that we are citizens of the United States of America. We also claim that as believers our primary citizenship is that of the Kingdom of God, and as such we are a people set apart. Through the eyes of Christian calling and when we are on mission, we see each other as more than American, Chinese, Indian, or Mexican, for we are all created in the image of God and God sent his Son to reconcile all of us to Himself regardless of what passport we hold.
There is no denying that the Biblical story is filled with migration. Throughout Israel’s history from her slavery in Egypt to her exile in Babylon, God’s chosen people were strangers in a foreign land, much like we are today, for it is not this world to which we belong. In Leviticus 19:33,34 through Moses, God is laying out His laws for holiness and justice, and instructs the people, “Do not mistreat foreigners who are living in your land. Treat them as you would a fellow Israelite, and love them as you love yourselves. Remember that you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the lord your God.”
Attempting to sum up an appropriate Christian response to the issues raised by immigration through a quick reference to scripture may seem yet another extension of ‘sound-byte’ culture, but as believers, our mandate is not ultimately political, economic, or cultural.
Should we view justice merely as an issue of legality? Is justice either fairness or fair process, or is reconciliation its end? Is justice linked to our treatment of the “lesser of these”? These are valid and difficult questions whose answers have practical consequences. If we strive to unite families that have been torn apart due to immigration law we definitely would be fulfilling our call to the “ministry of reconciliation”, but would handing out visas to family members over those who have made good faith attempts to enter the country legally be fair process? Can we say that accommodating people who broke the law for whatever reason is justice, or should our concern lie merely with defending the Biblical call to look after the orphans, widows and aliens in our midst?
These are all questions with which we must wrestle. The debate is complex, vitally important, and has now become urgent.
(1) http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1271.html#1
(2) Welcoming The Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate, Matthew Sorens and Jenny Hwang, pgs. 118-119
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Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.
May
25
The United States is a country of new beginnings. For hundreds of years, America has been defined as a place of refuge for the persecuted, a nation of immigrants. But now, as Americans, we must learn to reconcile the conflicts between our history, our current economic realities, and the need to protect the interests of American citizens.
The History of Immigration in the U.S.
Throughout American history, immigration has spawned much debate. In colonial America, Ben Franklin worried that an influx of German immigrants would squash the predominant British culture. During the mid to late 1800s, some Americans viewed the Irish as drunkard and lazy, and later, believed that Italians, Poles, and Russian Jews would not be able to assimilate to American culture.
By the end of the 19th century, Congress passed the first immigrant exclusion laws, restricting first criminals and prostitutes, and soon after, Japanese, Chinese and other Asian immigrants as well. Regardless of the new laws, however, immigration reached a record high of 1.3 million people in 1907.
In 1965, Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act amendments that ended quotas, and for the first time, initiated the concept of family-sponsored immigration.
In 1987, Congress enacted the Immigration Reform Control Act (IRCA). Among other provisions, the IRCA authorized two programs to identify and legalize illegal or undocumented immigrants who could document both entry into the United States prior to January 1, 1982, and “continued physical presence” in the U.S. since the passage of IRCA. Also included in the IRCA was a prohibition on employers on the hiring of undocumented workers and tough enforcement measures, including sanctions, if they did; however, for the last 20 years, these sanctions have not been fully enforced.(1)
The immigration system of laws set up 20 years ago have not been consistently enforced, the bureaucracy of INS has not functioned efficiently or effectively and the rules of immigration themselves are sometimes capricious and illogical. Along with this level of dysfunction, both entry and status violations are misdemeanors as are the illegal actions of employers resulting in a confusion regarding penalty in breaking these laws.
Current Law
Today, immigrants make up nearly 10% of the population, and the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that nearly 900,000 new immigrants enter the country each year.
Current U.S. law grants immigrant visas for three reasons: family-sponsored immigration, preferential job skills, and humanitarian refuge. Almost three-fourths of immigrants entering the country now arrive as family-sponsored immigrants, and Congress passed federal immigration law in 1990, almost doubling the number of job-related visas. Today, 140,000 especially skilled workers enter the country each year, and many American businesses wish to raise the cap for both skilled and unskilled laborers. Finally, people come to the United States to escape persecution. In 1992, the United States took in almost 120,000 refugees; however, after September 11, 2001, the U.S. decreased the number of refugees allowed in the country. By 2002, only 35,000 refugees legally entered the United States.(2)
(1) National Issues Forums “The New Challenges of American Immigration: What Should We Do?”, 2003
(2) National Immigration Law Center: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Update
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Sep
28
ISAAC Updates – September 2009
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What about the rule of law?
Libby Grammer Garrett has a well written article entitled On immigration: Do Baptists believe the Bible. In the article, she gives the example of Lidiana, an undocumented immigrant, who married a legal resident. Her husband petitioned for her to remain in the country legally:
But in the meantime, her marriage became abusive, and Lidiana was forced to leave her husband. He withdrew the papers he had filed for her, making her ineligible to obtain legal status. Her only option to regularize her status was using novel legal arguments from a skilled attorney, but she still faced the possibility that the petition could be rejected. If rejected, she would be put in deportation proceedings, leaving her children with no mother and no income to support them in the only home they have ever known.
Ms. Garrett then argues that Baptists must respond more Biblically and choose to either “view them [illegal aliens] through the lens of our Kingdom citizenship — or our national xenophobia.” This provoked a comment from “Robber”:
So where exactly does the rule of law fit in with your thesis?… I don’t want them here because they entered the country illegally; and if they don’t have respect for our laws then what else might they do when they’re here? What you present is a sad story. If I were her neighbor, I would do what I could to help her. Make sure she was clothed, and fed. But it wouldn’t change the fact that she was here illegally; and she should return to Mexico. I’m having trouble making ends meet right now, but that doesn’t give me a right to break into my rich neighbor’s house and take money or food — no matter how desperately I might need it. It’s a matter of law (emphasis added)…
I would make this reply to Robber. It fits in perfectly. The fact scenario states that Lidiana did enter illegally but then attempted to adjust her status to that of a legal resident. She was trying to follow the law and the law allowed her to apply for an adjustment. Immigration law is not written on a postage stamp. The law, to which Robber so sacredly upholds, has many variables and alternative courses of actions for illegal aliens depending on the circumstances. That was what Lidiana was doing. So if Robber is upset that Lidiana had the option to apply for a chance to stay legally, then Robber’s quarrel is with the law and not Lidiana.
Please keep separating the wheat from the chaff!
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May
26
ISAAC Updates – May 2009
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The Email That Would Not Die.
Like a zombie from a late-night horror movie, misinformation about the state of U.S. immigration seems to have a life of its own. Back in July 2008, the ISAAC Newsletter debunked an email called, “14 reasons”. Ostensibly the email asserted “facts” about the costs of immigration and immigrants to the economy. The problem with the email is that many of the assertions were false, had half-truths or were just made up. The other day, I received an “updated version” of the email. After careful review, the only things updated were some introductory paragraphs. Alas, this email does not seem to die, so this month, we are reprinted our analysis of this email on the ISAAC Blog’s May 11, 2009 posting. Please remember to keep separating the wheat from the chaff!
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