Immigration

Civil Rights Act of 2008

hmoroz — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:04:56 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Secure America through Verification and Enforcement Act of 2007

hmoroz — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:06:08 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act of 2007

atraub — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 16:20:17 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Estimated percentage of undocumented high school graduates who currently attend college: 10

Difference between the amount of taxes paid annually by the typical 30-year-old Mexican immigrant woman with a college degree and amount paid by a similar high school drop-out: $5,300

Difference in the amount of expense this college-educated woman will cost the government compared to her high school drop-out counterpart: -$3,900

Number of young people between the ages of 5 and 17 who would have an incentive to complete high school and pursue college or military service as a result of this legislation: 715,000

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports: The DREAM Act would enable students who immigrated to the U.S. as children to further their education, get better jobs, and, as a result, pay more in taxes, contributing more to the economic prosperity necessary to sustain a strong middle class. Fulfilling their potential, they may be the nation’s future innovators and entrepreneurs and will make up part of the educated workforce needed to help the U.S. compete in the global economy. The students who would be impacted by the legislation grew up in this country, attended U.S. schools, speak English, and consider themselves Americans – many cannot remember living anywhere else. An unsatisfactory alternative to the DREAM Act is that these talented young people might never achieve their potential, but will instead be marginalized by their lack of legal status in the country they grew up in, and will continue to live in the shadows, working low-paid jobs off the books and contributing far less to the U.S. and its national prosperity than they might have. America does not benefit when young people eager to offer their skills and talents are punished for the decisions made by their parents.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

The Immigrant Student Adjustment / DREAM Act page from The National Immigration Law Center

“Wasted Talent and Broken Dreams: The Lost Potential of Undocumented Students” by Roberto G. Gonzales for the Immigration Policy Center

Dream Act page from the National Council of La Raza

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.

Immigration

Civil Rights Act of 2008

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

Secure America through Verification and Enforcement Act 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

Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act 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

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