�Immigration

�         �The United States is commonly referred to as a nation of immigrants. From the Mayflower and Plymouth R�ock in the 17th century to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty in the 20th, the U.S. has many symbols of its strong immigrant tradition, one closely tied to the promises of the American dream -- justice, freedom, equal opportunity and the pursuit of happiness.

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�         The ideas of diversity, tolerance and multiculturalism have become hallmarks of American society because the United States has systems that admit, process and accommodate forei�gn immigrants. In all likelihood someone in your family tree immigrated to the U.S. within the last hundred years, and some of your friends, neighbors and co-workers may be immigrants. ��

�         But despite this long history and growing diversity, immigration remains a controversial� subject in America. The questions of �who� and �how many� should be allowed into the country can be difficult to reconcile.�

 

�         At the extreme end of the debate stand nativists, who believe that the country should be closed to almost all immigrants. Others believe in a completely open society. But somewhere between these two sides is where most of the debate occurs.

 

Immigration Basics

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�         Th�ere are many terms associated with immigration, and often some of them mean the same thing. First, let�s talk about the difference between immigration and emigration. Immigration refers to people moving into a country while emigration refers to someone leaving a country. For example, if Bruno is leaving Austria to move to the United States (we�ll assume that he has a visa already), then he is emigrating from Austria and immigrating to the U.S.

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�         Now that we�ve made that distinction, let�s consider why people immigrate. The legend of the American dream promises a better life, but more specifically, people often come to the U.S. to

������������� a) pursue employment opportunities,

������������� b) to reunite with friends and family or

������������� c) to escape conflict or oppression in their home country �

����������������� also known as seeking asylum.

Image courtesy U.S. Department of Homeland Security

�         Government Agencies that impact Immigration:

a)      The United States Congress exercises control over immigration by passing legislation that determines immigration law.

b)      The Department of Homeland Security and the agencies under its control, such as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (formerly part of the INS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, manage the immigration process and enforce the laws enacted by Congress.

c)      The president is sometimes a vocal figure when it comes to immigration, but he can only make decisions regarding refugee policy.

�         Often, you�ll hear about �aliens� or �illegal aliens� present in the U.S. These are not beings from outer space. These terms are used to refer to someone who is present in the United States but is not a U.S. citizen.

a)      national.� A national is someone who owes allegiance to the U.S. but is not necessarily a citizen, such as a resident of American Samoa.

b)      resident alien is someone who is not a citizen or national but has the right to live and work in the U.S.

c)      nonresident alien is not a citizen or national and has the right be in the U.S. but only for a limited period of time, such as with a travel visa.

 

 

How People Immigrate

�         �T�he first step in immigration, no matter your age, employment status or country of origin, is to apply for a visa (An official authorization appended to a passport, permitting entry into and travel within a particular country or region)

 

�         �For citizens of some foreign countries, visas are required just to travel to the U.S for vacation. A student visa is another type of nonimmigrant visa. Other visas are granted to people who come to the U.S to work temporarily, and these visas are often easier to get for those who are prominent in certain fields -- athletes, artists, entertainers, professors or business leaders.

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�         If someone wants to move to the U.S., he or she has to first fill out an application for an immigrant visa for permanent residence and submit it to a U.S. Consulate in the country of origin. Once the application has been submitted and any necessary fees paid, the applicant has an interview with a consular officer, who asks questions about the applicant�s background and his or her plans for immigrating to the U.S. This officer then makes the decision whether or not to grant a visa.

 

�         Having a visa doesn�t guarantee entry into the U.S. It allows the holder to travel to a port-of-entry (i.e. an airport or land border) where an immigration inspector decides whether or not to let the visa holder into the country.

 

�         The type of visa available to a potential immigrant depends on a variety of factors, including:

�������������� A) the country of origin

�������������� B)what the person will do after immigrating to the U.S.

�������������� C)whether or not the immigrant has family members �sponsoring� him or her

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Huddled Masses Yearning to Be Free

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�         �In 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed the right of individuals �to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution��Asylum is a form of protection offered to people fleeing from persecution based on the following personal characteristics:

       �A)race

       B)politics

       C)nationality

       D)religion

       E)membership in a social group

 

�         According to the Refugee Act of 1980, anyone may apply for asylum, no matter his or her alien status.

�         Unlike other forms of immigration, asylum has no quotas or limits on number of visas �

the person requesting asylum simply has to demonstrate a �well-founded fear� of

persecution in his or her home country. A person seeking asylum must apply within

one year of arriving in the U.S.� Changed circumstances can also affect asylum

status -- for example, if there has been a regime change in the person�s country

of origin that would make returning to the country more or less safe.

1.      Affirmative Asylum
Affirmative Asylum refers to someone who has arrived in the U.S. or at a port-of-entry and submitted an application for asylum to the USCIS �without delay� (within a year of arrival). After the application is filed, the person will have a non-adversarial interview with an asylum officer, usually within 45 days. In most cases, the asylum seeker isn�t detained and is free to live in the U.S. but not to work while his or her case is being considered.

2.      Defensive Asylum
If someone requests asylum to defend against being deported from the U.S., then he or she is said to be pursuing defensive asylum. Someone can end up in the defensive asylum process if he or she was referred to an immigration judge by an asylum officer who didn�t grant asylum. A person may also be placed in the defensive asylum process if put in removal proceedings because he or she was living undocumented in the U.S., violated his or her immigration status or was caught trying to enter the country without correct documentation but has a �credible fear of persecution or torture�

With defensive asylum, immigration judges hear cases in an adversarial manner (meaning in a courtroom), and the U.S. government is represented by a lawyer. The immigration judge determines if the applicant is eligible for asylum. If the judge rules against asylum, he or she decides if the applicant can avoid removal through any other process or if the applicant must be removed from the U.S.

3.      Expedited Removal
Anyone caught trying to enter the U.S. at a port-of-entry with improper or no documentation may be subject to expedited removal. Immigration officials are required to ask anyone who may be subject to expedited removal the following questions�

�                     --Why did you leave your home country or country of last residence?

�                     --Do you have any fear or concern about being returned to your home country or being removed from the --United States?

�                     --Would you be harmed if you were returned to your home country or country of last residence?

�                     --Do you have any questions, or is there anything else you would like to add?

 

Refugees

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�         �At the end of 2005, there were approximately 8,394,500 refugees in the world, compared with 9,543,500 at the start of the year, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) More than two million of these refugees were from Afghanistan.

�         The term refugee generally refers to someone who is outside his or her country and is fleeing persecution, though the president has the right to grant individuals refugee status. Every year the State Department submits a report to Congress with proposed refugee admissions and then the president works with Congress to determine the number of refugees who will be admitted in the upcoming year. For the 2008 fiscal year, the following numbers of refugees were admitted to the U.S. from these regions:

�������������� Africa - 20,000

����������� East Asia - 13,000

������������� Europe and Central Asia - 9,500

����������� Latin America and the Caribbean - 5,000

������������� Near East and South Asia - 2,500

������������ �Reserve� - 20,000 (These can be used for specific groups in need or may go unused.)

�         Like with asylum, a refugee has to prove that he or she has a �well-founded fear of persecution� and has not participated in the persecution of others. A refugee is not eligible for resettlement in the U.S. if he or she is already resettled in another country or holds dual citizenship. If a refugee is a relative of a U.S. citizen, he or she should apply for an immigrant visa.

�         A refugee may also be eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). During the TPS period, a refugee may stay in the U.S. and apply for work authorization. Temporary Protected Status does not lead to permanent resident status, and when the TPS designation is terminated, the refugee reverts to his or her pre-TPS immigration status.

 

Deportation and Amnesty

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�         �A law passed in 1996 states that anyone who�s not a U.S. citizen and receives a jail sentence of a year or longer can be deported, or forcibly removed, from the U.S. This law was intended to crack down on some types of crime associated with an increase in illegal immigrants, such as gang violence and drug smuggling. However, since it was passed, some people have been deported for crimes they committed many years ago, even though they have served their time and become law-abiding citizens.

�         The Department of Homeland Security has also become more active in tracking down and deporting illegal immigrants since September 11, 2001. In some cases, problems with deportation can occur when the country of origin refuses to accept the person being deported.

�         Amnesty
Over the last two decades, many illegal immigrants have been saved from deportation by amnesty, a pardon for people who have broken immigration laws. Amnesty also allows illegal aliens to obtain permanent residency in the U.S.

�         Prior to 1986, amnesty was granted on a limited basis. The first large-scale amnesty was the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which gave amnesty to about 2.8 million illegal immigrants. Six other amnesties have followed, some targeting specific groups. The 1997 Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act gave amnesty to almost one million illegal aliens from Central America. In 1998, the Haitian refugee Immigration Fairness Act granted amnesty to 125,000 illegal aliens from Haiti, many of whom had suffered from the political turmoil and violence that had consumed their country.

�         Amnesty remains a controversial subject. Some critics believe it encourages people to immigrate illegally to the U.S. in the hopes of another large-scale amnesty. Supporters of amnesty say that, among other benefits, it helps by making illegal immigrants eligible for taxation and integrates them into society.

 

Illegal Immigration

�         �Esti�mates vary significantly as to how many illegal immigrants are living in the U.S. Some experts claim seven million while others say as many as 20 million [ref]. Twelve million is a figure commonly used by news organizations, politicians

�         While the U.S. Border Patrol catches many people trying to sneak across the borders, others are smuggled into the U.S. through shipping containers or in vehicles crossing the border. Some Cubans board homemade rafts and try to navigate the 90 miles of water to south Florida. Other migrants risk dehydration, bad weather, difficult terrain and wild animals by trying to cross the long border between the U.S. and Mexico.

�         All of these methods are very dangerous, and every year people die trying to enter the U.S. Since a fence was erected in 1994 covering parts of the California-Mexico border, around 3,000 people have died trying to cross into southern Arizona. We are now considering erecting another fence further along that same souther border.

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Once in the U.S., many illegal immigrants meet up with friends or family, some of whom may be in the country legally. Although it is against the law to hire illegal immigrants, many employers do so anyway because illegal immigrants will often perform menial, low paying jobs that others don�t want to do, such as picking crops or janitorial work.

�         Although illegal immigrants often fill jobs that Americans don�t want, some people complain that illegal immigrants don�t pay taxes and frequently send their wages to friends and family in their home countries, rather than contributing to the local economy.

�         One potential solution that has been proposed is a �guest worker� program that would allow employers to hire a foreigner if no American could be found for a job. The foreigner would be allowed to work at the job for a set period -- perhaps three years -- and would be tracked through a federal system. The worker would likely have to pay some taxes while in the U.S., and certain incentives would be provided for the worker to return home after his or her guest worker pass expires. Possible incentives include offering retirement benefits that can only be obtained in the worker�s home country.

�         The Border
The United States� borders are policed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The CBP mainly guards against illegal immigration, smuggling of people, weapons and drugs, and insects or other pests that could damage agriculture. The Border Patrol guards more than 6,000 miles of land borders and 2,000 miles of coastal water, utilizing check points, aerial and ground vehicles and high tech surveillance equipment. The Border Patrol also allows an average of 1.2 million people to legally enter the United States every day and is responsible for collecting customs.

�         If the Border Patrol has thousands of employees and such sophisticated equipment, then why are we always hearing about �broken borders�? Well, first of all, they have a lot of area to cover. The U.S. has extremely long borders, and having a person there to cover every inch of the border is almost impossible. And, though they catch many people trying to sneak across the borders, thousands of people do manage to enter the United States illegally every year (500,000 by some estimates), which raises many concerns, including terrorism.

 

Pros and Cons of Illegal Immigration

Pros On Illegal Immigration:

�         Immigrants help to keep the economy of a country going by ensuring that the lower paid jobs are filled� This benefits the very wealthy. 

�         Immigration creates a new pool of consumers for a great number of goods and services.. 

�         Contributions to social security are often not claimed by illegal immigrants even though they pay in to this and just like everyone else immigrants pay sales taxes

�         Immigrants who end up owning property pay real estate taxes just like citizens

�         Farmers use services of immigrants to be able to plant and harvest crops less expensively

�         Many illegal immigrants open bank accounts that give interest and dividends to banks

�         Most illegal immigrants end up renting properties in depressed areas where otherwise it would be hard to find renters

�         As immigrants buy properties, commission is generated for real estate agents and brokers

 

Cons On Illegal Immigration

�         Immigrants end up costing tax payers billions of dollars

�         It is difficult to prosecute illegal immigrants if they flee the country

�         There is a disparity and a sense of unfairness between legal and illegal immigrants

�         Illegal immigrants who succeed in the entering the country are constantly inspiring others to do the same

�         Immigrants propagate the demand for cheap labor and low wages

�         Immigrants usually do not have health insurance and end up receiving medical care at the cost of others.

 

 

The Fence

�        The southern border of the United States is shared with Mexico and spans almost 2,000 miles. Fences are being built along one-third, or approximately 670 miles, of the border to secure the border and cut down on illegal immigration. The price tag currently sits at $1.2 billion dollars with lifetime maintenance costs estimated close to $50 billion.

�        Recent polls show that Americans are split on the border fence issue. While most people are in favor of increasing the security of the borders, others are concerned that the negative impacts do not outweigh the benefits. In any case, the U.S. government views the Mexican border as an important part of its overall homeland security initiative.

Background

�        In 1924, Congress created the U.S. Border Patrol. Illegal immigration grew in the late 1970s but new strategies weren't implemented until the 1990s. This is when drug trafficking and illegal immigration began to rise, and concerns about the nation's security became an important issue. Border Control agents along with the military succeeded in reducing the number of smugglers and illegal crossings for a period of time, but once the military left, activity again increased.

�        After the 9/11 attacks, homeland security was again thrust into the spotlight. Many ideas were tossed around during the next few years on what could be done to permanently secure the border.

�        In 2006, the Secure Fence Act was passed to build 700 miles of double-reinforced security fencing in areas along the border prone to drug trafficking and illegal immigration. President Bush also deployed 6,000 National Guardsmen to the Mexico border to assist with border control.

�        Testing of "virtual" fences soon followed, but full deployment has been pushed back until the technology can be improved.

�        The fence is still standing, but the project is taking a beating.

�        Budgets are beginning to skyrocket. Taxpayers for Common Sense, a non-partisan budget watchdog group, estimates that the costs of building and maintaining the fence could prove astronomical, ranging "from $300 million to $1.7 billion per mile, depending on materials."

�        Problems with technology cannot be helping the budget. In February, new surveillance equipment being tested in Arizona was heralded as the high-tech solution to apprehend illegal border crossers. A week later, the $20 million prototype was scrapped because it didn't adequately alert Border Control officers to illegal crossings.

�        The troubles continue in Arizona. With the approval of Congress, the Homeland Security Secretary recently waived environmental regulations to allow the construction of the border fence along the Arizona border. A move that environmentalists say will destroy the central part of Arizona's southern desert.

Pros:� We Need the Fence

�        Policing borders has been integral to the preservation of nations around the globe for centuries. The construction of a fence to safeguard American citizens from illegal activities is in the best interest of the nation.

�        Illegal immigration is estimated to cost the United States millions of dollars in lost income tax revenue. It also drains government spending by overburdening social welfare, health and education programs.

�        The use of physical barriers and high-tech surveillance equipment increases the probability of apprehension. The fences that are currently in place have shown success.

�        Arizona has been the epicenter for crossings by illegal immigrants for several years. Last year, authorities apprehended 8,600 people trying to enter the U.S. illegally in the Barry M. Goldwater Range.

�        The number of people caught crossing San Diego's border illegally has also dropped dramatically. In the early '90s, about 600,000 people attempted to cross the border illegally. After the construction of a fence and increased border patrols, that number dropped to just 153,000 in 2007.

Cons:� The Fence Isn't the Answer

�        Many Americans feel that we should be sending a message of freedom and hope to those seeking a better way of life, instead of hanging a KEEP OUT sign on our borders' fences. They argue that the answer doesn't lie in barriers; it lies in comprehensive immigration reform. Until the foundation of our immigration issues are fixed, building fences is like putting a bandage on a gaping wound.

�        Environmentalists are particularly unhappy about the border fence. Physical barriers hinder migrating wildlife, and plans show the fence will fragment wildlife refuges and private sanctuaries. Conservation groups are appalled that the Department of Homeland Security is bypassing dozens of environmental and land-management laws in order to build the border fence. Among the 30-some laws being waived are the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

�        There is also the human aspect to consider. Fences increase the risk and costs of crossing. When risk increases, the people smugglers, called "coyotes," start to charge more for safe passage. When smuggling costs rise, it becomes less cost-effective for individuals to travel back and forth for seasonal work, so they must remain in the U.S. Now the whole family must make the trip to keep everyone together. Children, infants and the elderly will attempt to cross. The conditions are extreme, and people will go for days without food or water. According to U.S. Border Control, almost 2,000 people died crossing the border between 1998 and 2004.

�        Barriers won't stop people from wanting a better life. And in some cases, they're willing to pay the highest price for the opportunity.

 

 

 

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