For immigrants across the U.S., the spring of 2006 has been nothing less than historic. All around the country, undocumented immigrants and their supporters have taken to the streets in protests that have attracted worldwide media attention and generated a national debate over immigration policy.
The demonstrations began in response to the December 2005 passage of H.R. 4437, a bill that would have – among other measures – criminalized undocumented immigrants, increased prison penalties for immigrants convicted of improper entry, and provided for the construction of new fences and barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The rallies, which began in earnest in March and have gained momentum since then, have been attended and organized largely by Latinos. However, immigrants of many other nationalities have joined in as well. In Chicago, Poles and Irish marched alongside Mexicans; in New York, a large contingent from Chinatown joined the Latino crowd; and Ethiopians mingled with Central Americans in Washington, D.C. Many of the marches attracted hundreds of thousands of people; a March 25 rally in Los Angeles that drew an estimated half million attendees was said to be the biggest in the city’s history.
The large number of marchers helped attract numerous high-profile attendees. Speakers at the marches have included political figures such as Senator Ted Kennedy (in D.C.), Spanish-language radio personalities such as the popular DJ El Piolin (in Los Angeles), and Catholic Church leaders such as Archbishop George Niederauer (in San Francisco).
Many of those addressing the crowds have called for expanded immigrants’ rights and emphasized their value to the nation. “You are what this debate is about,” said Senator Kennedy at the April 10 rally in Washington. “It is about good people who come to America to work, to raise their families, to contribute to their communities, and to reach for the American dream.”
Likewise, the protesters’ placards reflected that mix of patriotism and a call for justice: “We Are America;” “Our Government Was Founded by Immigrants;” “Immigrant Rights are Human Rights:” and “Full Rights for All Immigrants!” were just a few of the messages that could be seen at rallies across the country.
Meanwhile, the marches have also drawn counter-protests. While these have not been nearly as heavily attended, they have also garnered mounting media attention. The most notable have been those led by the Minuteman Project, an organization with nationwide chapters whose members are adamantly opposed to illegal immigration and who lead voluntary border patrol operations on the Mexico-U.S. border.
Despite the increasingly intense debate over immigration and the unprecedented visibility of undocumented immigrants, it can be difficult for onlookers to understand what, exactly, the marchers are marching for. As Washington Post columnist Marcela Sanchez wrote in an April 21 article, “So far the nascent movement has been defined by the punitive measures it stands against” such as H.R. 4437. And even activists and lawmakers who aim to stop undocumented immigration disagree on how to go about doing so.
But there is one thing that everyone does agree on: undocumented immigration is a national problem, and the nation’s immigration policy needs to be reformed. As President George W. Bush put it in his May 15 address to the nation, “for decades, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders. As a result, many who want to work in our economy have been able to sneak across our border, and millions have stayed.”
Just how many undocumented immigrants are there in the United States? While it’s impossible to know the exact number, the Pew Hispanic Center estimates it to be around 12 million. A 2006 report, “The Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S.,” notes that a staggering proportion of that population comes from Latin America: 70 percent from Mexico, 2 percent from the Caribbean, and 12 percent from other Latin American countries.
Although undocumented immigrants comprise up to five percent of the entire civilian workforce in the United States, the same report concludes, they are disproportionately represented in manual labor positions or service work: they make up 25 percent of the workforce in agriculture, 17 percent in cleaning jobs, 14 percent in construction, and 12 percent in food preparation.
The number of illegal immigrants and their employment in low-wage jobs have led many policymakers to question the cost of illegal immigrants to the U.S. economy. “Prominent in the popular imagination is the notion that immigrants in general, and undocumented immigrants in particular, consume more in public services than they contribute in taxes, thus burdening U.S.-citizen taxpayers,” writes Douglas S. Massey in an Immigration Policy Center report called “Five Myths About Immigration: Common Misconceptions Underlying U.S. Border-Enforcement Policy.”
In fact, Massey argues, undocumented immigrants are less likely than natives to use public services such as food stamps or welfare, even though the majority of them pay both Social Security and income taxes. Nevertheless, the social costs of their illegal status are felt both by the migrants themselves and by society as a whole, Massey states: “[Undocumented] migrants are, by virtue of their illegality, marginalized from the rest of American society, economically vulnerable, politically disenfranchised, and fearful of contact with social institutions that deliver health care and education.”
Another point of contention in the debate over immigration is whether illegal immigrants, who tend to work for less money than both legal immigrants and native-born workers, cause wages to be lowered for everyone else.
The influential Harvard economist George J. Borjas has argued that immigration (both legal and illegal) is linked to lower wages, and lawmakers like Congressman Tom Tancredo, one of the most vocal opponents of undocumented immigration in the House of Representatives, are quick to tell their constituents that “Americans suffer depressed wages” because of illegal immigration.
On the other hand, the Pew Hispanic Center’s report on the characteristics of unauthorized immigrants makes the case that illegal immigrants take jobs in industries that have trouble hiring native-born workers. In other words, undocumented workers aren’t competing with the native-born. And, according to The Economist, “immigration, in the long run, has had only a small negative effect on the pay of America’s least skilled and even that is arguable. If Congress wants to reduce wage inequality, building border walls is a bad way of going about it.”
Although the economic and social effects of undocumented immigration remain to be settled, the national security question remains a high priority for lawmakers in a post-9/11 world. Many lawmakers argue that the porousness of the borders – and particularly, the U.S.-Mexico frontier – poses a huge national security risk. In addition, a large population of undocumented, untraceable foreigners certainly presents a logistical problem for the Department of Homeland Security.
Regardless of how much of an economic, social, or security threat the undocumented immigrant population represents, its sheer size means that wholesale deportation would be next to impossible. “It is neither wise, nor realistic to round up millions of people, many with deep roots in the United States, and send them across the border,” President Bush conceded in his March 15 address. This has led lawmakers – including President Bush – to advocate a wide range of potential solutions, from a guest-worker program that would allow immigrants to work legally in the country without being put on a path to citizenship to a multi-staged legalization process.
As this issue of LATINA Style goes to press, the Senate is attempting to overhaul immigration legislation, and the deepest points of contention concern how to control the border and how to cope with the illegal immigrants already in the United States. One bill currently under consideration would establish a temporary guest worker program and would make undocumented immigrants who have lived and worked in the U.S. for several years eligible for permanent resident status; however, it seems uncertain that such measures will hold up in the House.
Furthermore, the electorate is fairly evenly divided over a possible solution: according to a Pew Research Center poll, one-third of Americans is in favor of allowing illegal immigrants to stay permanently; one-third is in favor of a guest-worker program; and one-third is in favor of deporting them entirely.
It is apparent that the Great Immigration Debate of 2006 is far from over; and, based on earlier periods of immigration reform, it could be quite a while before the disagreeing factions work out a compromise. However, there is one aspect of the marches that may lead to long-standing positive change. Prompted by the protests, local immigrants’ rights organizations across the U.S. have formed alliances in order to launch a campaign to raise awareness about voting among immigrants who are U.S. citizens.
Says Catherine Salgado, a spokesperson for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICRR), “We are trying to move forward towards giving voice to the immigrant community. It’s important that people show they care about undocumented immigrants by voting.” For now, it looks like the campaigns are working. At the most recent demonstrations, a new chant could be heard: “Today we march, tomorrow we vote.”