A Moderate View of Immigration
One of the advantages (if it can be called that) of having been raised by ultra-conservative parents is that interactions with my family of origin provide plenty of scope to hone my moderate, centrist views.
My views on immigration were recently challenged by a sibling. This essay is the result.
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It seems to me that fringe ideologies, both far left and far right, are often beholden to fact-deficient and pragmatically imaginative world views. The moderate voice is often lost in the hullabaloo. Here is my moderate response to the erroneous assumptions and impractical positions of the extreme right regarding immigration.
Erroneous assumptions:
1) Undocumented workers utilize state-sponsored social services.
Fact: Undocumented workers are not eligible for SNAP (food stamps). See SNAP Guidance on Non-Citizen Eligibility.
Fact: Undocumented workers are unable to apply for unemployment without a valid social number or green card. Not even in the liberal state of Illinois. See What Every Worker Should Know About Unemployment Insurance
Fact: Undocumented workers are unable to apply for social security, Medicare, and Medicaid without a valid social security number or green card number. See Information You Need To Apply For Retirement Benefits Or Medicare
Fact: To receive wages, undocumented workers either utilize invalid SSNs, or are paid in cash. Neither scenario makes them eligible for SS. Source: personal experience working for an employer who hires undocumented workers. There is high turnover right after the annual issuance of “no-match” letters. What happens is the employer terminates the employee who cannot resolve a “no-match” problem, with the implicit assumption that he/she will be rehired the following week with another invalid SSN. And the employee is safe for another year. Contrary to popular opinion, most invalid SSNs are SHARED (from friends/relatives who no longer need it, due to death, or voluntary/involuntary repatriation), not stolen.
Fact: Payroll taxes are withheld from paychecks issued to invalid SSNs, even though there’s no recourse for the employee to avail themselves of the associated benefits, or claim overpaid w/h taxes. Undocumented property owners pay property taxes. I think a good case could be made for a net positive contribution to social services by undocumented workers.
Fact: the only social services that ARE commonly provided to undocumented individuals is public education (funded largely by property taxes), and in some cases healthcare, I.e. public health programs like free immunizations, free prenatal care.
2) Undocumented individuals pose a serious criminal threat.
Fact: The incidence of crime perpetrated by undocumented individuals is difficult to corroborate. Most credible sources agree there is not much evidence to support high crime rates. See this CBS Investigative News piece.
Impractical solutions:
1) Arrest and prosecute business owners and state/city leaders who illegally hire/harbor undocumented workers. People who advocate for this do not realize how pervasive the practice is. We do not have the capacity in our legal/judiciary system to arrest/prosecute everyone involved in the systemic perpetuation of undocumented immigration. Doing so would have severe unintended consequences, like the complete shutdown of our economy. A much more effective approach would be to identify, understand, and resolve the systemic root causes. There are ECONOMIC reasons that so many undocumented people come here from Mexico. There are ECONOMIC reasons that ALL big cities embrace undocumented workers. We need to deal with those root causes first.
2) Work visas/legal requests for immigration is a viable solution for undocumented workers to get documented.
Immigration and green card requests have always far exceeded US quotas. It currently can take DECADES to get a legal request to immigrate approved. See the most recent Visa Bulletin published by the State Dept.
Some further thoughts to ponder: As a citizen of this country, what is the ethical and moral response to victims of immoral bait and switch tactics? I agree we need to address the underlying tactics, but what do we do with those who have already been injured by such tactics? Is it fair to deport them for no other reason than they came here illegally? What is the ethical and moral response to a vulnerable people group whose fate lies in the hands of a President whose immigration strategy is based on erroneous crime assumptions? Is it moral or ethical to separate children who are legal citizens from their parents who are not? Is it moral or ethical to deport undocumented students for no other reason than their parents brought them here illegally?
I support comprehensive immigration reform which BEGINS with secured borders (although I don’t think a wall is either practical or effective), elimination of sanctuary cities and American business undocumented hiring practices through COMPREHENSIVE efforts to resolve root causes. I support deportation of violent and non-violent undocumented criminals, excluding illegal entry. Obama was already exerting a diligent effort to do that. (Conservatives who think liberal angst with Trump immigration policy is primarily about the criminal element are missing the point. Nobody disagrees we should deport criminals). I support the Biblical injunction to welcome and care for the stranger, which includes those who have been, and are currently being exploited by American businesses (including, I am certain, Trump’s own businesses) and American cities.