Not like the brazen giant
of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs
astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed,
sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a
torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned
lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her
beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome;
her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that
twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands,
your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your
teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless,
tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the
golden door!"
Emma Lazarus wrote that
poem in 1883, for a campaign to raise money to build the pedestal for the
Statue of Liberty. The statue soon became the quintessential welcoming figure
for the many immigrant ships that passed beneath that outstretched hand and
torch on their way to Ellis Island and to the promise of America.
Since those days more than
a century ago, our country has repeatedly changed its policies on immigration.
Sometimes we welcome immigrants. At other times we impose strict restrictions
on immigration.
The Senate has now passed a
comprehensive bill revising United States laws regarding immigration. In order
for the law to change, though, the House of Representatives also must act.
There are about 320 million individuals living in
America. Of these, perhaps 15 million are Native Americans or the descendants
of Native Americans. This means that about 98% of the people in America came
here from elsewhere or are descendants of those who did. This means, in short,
that we are almost entirely a nation of immigrants.
The present population of America includes nearly
50 million people who were born in another country. Fewer than a third of the
foreign-born are what are known as “illegal immigrants.” The rest are mainly
naturalized citizens or legal permanent resident aliens.
I don’t like the term “illegal immigrants.”. It
suggests that the people themselves are illegal. I prefer the term
“undocumented.”
How many undocumented are their? About eleven
million.
People speak about the undocumented as though they present a huge
problem. In reality, though, they are less than 3.5% of the population.
Who are they and how did they get here?
Most of the undocumented are couples with children. It’s estimated that
40 percent are women. About one third work in service jobs, at places like
restaurants, or as janitors or cleaners. Many are also employed in construction
and food processing. About 10 percent are in professional positions, for
example, working as computer engineers.
The best available estimates say that about half to 60 percent of the
undocumented crossed into the U.S. illegally. The rest came here legally, on
temporary visas, but did not return home when their visas expired.
Are immigrants good or bad for the American economy and the American
worker? On balance, immigrants improve the living standards of Americans. They
are not a net drain on the federal budget. They do integrate into the society.
Between 90% and 95% of their children speak English well or very well. They
start new businesses and file patents at higher rates than U.S.-born citizens.
Immigrants generally do not compete with U.S.-born workers for the same
jobs. Instead, many immigrants complement the work of U.S. employees and
increase their productivity. For example, low-skill immigrant laborers allow
U.S.-born farmers, contractors or craftsmen to expand agricultural production
or to build more homes – thereby expanding employment possibilities and incomes
for U.S. workers. In addition, businesses adjust to the presence of new
immigrants by opening stores, restaurants or production facilities to take
advantage of the added supply of workers. More workers translate into more
business.
Immigrants also lower prices. Immigrant workers enhance the purchasing
power of U.S. workers by lowering the prices of services typically provided by
immigrants, such as child care, elder care, gardening, hotel and restaurant
work and cleaning services. By making these services more affordable and more
widely available, immigrant workers benefit U.S. consumers who purchase these
services.
In light of all this, what should we do in order to treat the stranger
with compassion and fairness? We should support the legislation recently passed
by the Senate. A good summary of the legislation can be found here.
That legislation is widely supported by groups that in the past often
fought each other over immigration. Now those groups have worked together to
advocate an overhaul of our laws with these four main components:
- Create a tough but fair path to citizenship for the undocumented,
a path that is contingent upon first securing our borders and establishing
systems that will track effectively whether legal immigrants have left the
country when their visas have expired;
- Reform our legal immigration system to recognize the importance of
characteristics that will help build the American economy and strengthen
American families;
- Create an effective employment verification system that will
prevent identity theft and end the hiring of future unauthorized workers;
and,
- Establish an improved process for admitting future workers to
serve our nation’s workforce needs, while simultaneously protecting all
workers.
What should we do about immigration reform?
·
Urge our
Representatives in Congress to support immigration reform by supporting the
Senate bill.
·
Ask our
friends and relatives who live in other states similarly to ask their
Representatives to support this effort.
·
Read our
newspapers and pay attention to the broadcast news with special attention to
the topic of immigration reform.
·
Take
responsibility for making up our minds on this issue.
·
Most of
all, care about this issue.
Let’s make the immigration law of these United States a fair and
compassionate law.
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