Border enforcement

Secure Fence Act of 2006

hmoroz — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:57:19 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Opposes

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percentage of undocumented immigrants who enter through U.S. legal ports of entry and remain past the expiration dates of their visas: 40

Number of immigrants who die crossing the border from Mexico to the United States each year: 400

Amount of growth in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement budget between 2003 and 2006: $3.6 billion

Annual spending on border security in 1993: $480 million

Annual spending on border security in 2005: $1.4 billion

Estimated percentage increase in the number of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. during that time period: 300

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Opposes. The American middle class relies on the economic contributions of immigrants. Unfortunately, the Secure Fence Act fails to recognize undocumented immigrants’ contributions, ignoring the complexities of economic integration between the United States and Mexico in favor of a wall between the two countries. While border security must ultimately be a part of any comprehensive immigration policy, history suggests that ramped up enforcement in the absence of sufficient opportunities for immigrants to enter the country legally is a waste of resources. Between 1993 and 2005, annual spending on border security tripled, from $480 million to $1.4 billion. Yet the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. also nearly tripled during the same period. Would-be migrants simply adopt more remote and dangerous routes of entry into the country, leading to a much higher taxpayer cost per apprehension, or they enter the country legally and overstay their visas. As long as the nation’s immigration laws are fundamentally mismatched with our economic reality, efforts to enforce them are doomed to be costly failures, enacted at the expense of middle-class taxpayers.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Border Security: Barriers Along the U.S. International Border,” from the Congressional Research Service

“Fencing in Failure: Effective Border Control Is Not Achieved by Building More Fences,” by Jason Ackleson at Immigration Policy Center

“Secure Border Fence Construction Costs,” from the Government Accountability Office

Amendment to Remove Legalization Provisions from the Immigration Bill of 2007

atraub — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:03:52 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Opposes

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percentage of Americans who support the earned legalization provisions of the immigration bill, which this amendment would eliminate: 67

Amount undocumented immigrants are estimated to have contributed in federal taxes between 1996 and 2003: nearly $50 billion

Percentage of workers in one study whose employers found out their immigration papers were falsified yet who were not fired until they complained about workplace conditions: 25

Percentage who were not fired until they tried to organize a union: 21

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Opposes. The American middle class relies on the economic contributions of immigrants. While the overall immigration bill this amendment is attached to recognizes these contributions and would allow them to continue under the Z visa program, this amendment eliminates that pathway to legalization. Instead, by taking out the bill’s only means for otherwise law-abiding undocumented immigrants to remain in the country legally, the amendment effectively endorses a policy of imprisoning and deporting the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants currently helping to support the economy as workers, entrepreneurs, taxpayers and consumers. This mass deportation is the explicit aim of many of the bill’s supporters. But imprisonment and deportation is not only a bad policy for the middle class but also a tremendously expensive and ultimately unworkable one. Many undocumented immigrants would still evade deportation, while others would continue to enter the country illegally. Attempting to enforce such an unworkable policy would further drain scarce enforcement resources.

Equally important is the way this legislation would exacerbate the threat that undocumented workers pose to the wages and workplace conditions of aspiring middle-class Americans. Because unscrupulous employers can threaten to have their undocumented employees deported at any time, these immigrants are particularly vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace. This underground workforce competing in the labor market with American citizens perpetuates a "race to the bottom" in which employers, especially those in industries requiring unskilled labor, are driven to reduce wages and benefits and degrade employee working conditions in an effort to compete with companies that employ undocumented workers under substandard conditions. While this legislation seeks to drive undocumented immigrants out of the workplace completely, the more likely effect would be that they remain in the country but are driven further underground, increasing their vulnerability and further undermining middle-class wages and working conditions.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Immigration and the Middle Class Toolkit” from the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy

Comprehensive Immigration Reform update page from the National Immigration Law Center

“The Role of Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Market,” from the Congressional Budget Office

Border Protection, Antiterrorism, And Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005

atraub — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 10:13:45 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Opposes

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percentage of the U.S. civilian labor force that is undocumented, according to the Pew Hispanic Center: 4.9

Approximate proportion of U.S. farming workers who are undocumented: 1 in 4

Amount more the average immigrant and his or her immediate descendents pay in taxes over their lifetimes than they receive in public services, according to the National Academy of Sciences: $80,000

Percentage of workers in one study whose employers found out their immigration papers were falsified who were not fired until they complained about workplace conditions: 25

Percentage who were not fired until they tried to organize a union: 21

Estimated public and private sector cost per year of the workplace enforcement part of this legislation, according to the non-partisan Government Accountability Office: $11.7 billion

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Opposes: The American middle class relies on the economic contributions of immigrants. Yet this bill does nothing to acknowledge the contribution, instead endorsing a policy of imprisoning and deporting the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants currently helping to support the economy as workers, entrepreneurs, taxpayers, and consumers. Imprisonment and deportation is not only a bad policy for the middle class, but also a tremendously expensive and ultimately unworkable one: the Government Accountability Office reported that just implementing the workplace enforcement part of this legislation would cost the public and private sectors at least $11.7 billion annually. Many undocumented immigrants would still evade deportation while others would continue to enter the country illegally. Attempting to enforce such an unworkable policy would further drain scarce enforcement resources that could be used to strengthen border security.

An additional concern is the way this legislation would exacerbate the threat that undocumented workers pose to the wages and workplace conditions of aspiring middle-class Americans. Because unscrupulous employers can threaten to have their undocumented employees deported at any time, these immigrants are particularly vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace. This underground workforce competing in the labor market with American citizens perpetuates a race to the bottom in which employers, especially those in industries requiring unskilled labor, are driven to restrict wages and benefits and degrade employee working conditions in an effort to compete with companies that employ undocumented workers under substandard conditions. While this legislation seeks to drive undocumented immigrants out of the workplace completely, the more likely effect would be that they remain in the country but are driven further underground, increasing their vulnerability and further undermining middle-class wages and working conditions.

Border enforcement

Secure Fence Act of 2006

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Amendment to Remove Legalization Provisions from the Immigration Bill of 2007

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Border Protection, Antiterrorism, And Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources