Alliance of White Anti-Racists Everywhere – Los Angeles
Comprehensive Immigration Reform
New Report Says Legalization Would Result in $1.4 billion in Revenues for Houston, Texas
02 weeks ago
A new report issued this month by the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP), a business advocacy organization, confirms that legalization of unauthorized workers would result in those workers earning higher wages and paying more taxes. Potential Tax Revenues from Unauthorized Workers in Houston’s Economy uses data from the Pew Hispanic Center to estimate the number of unauthorized immigrant workers, by industry, in the Houston area. Then, assuming that legalized workers would earn the prevailing wage in their industry, GHP estimates their projected incomes to which it applies the standard tax rate.
GHP estimates that, if all unauthorized workers in the Houston region were legalized and they and their employers paid Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and federal income taxes, additional tax revenues would exceed $1.4 billion. The report also demonstrates that even with less than 100% legalization, there are still significant potential revenues. For example, if only 25% acquire legal status, an additional $356.1 million in tax revenues would be generated.
This study examines an important question about what legalizing the currently undocumented would do. However, it does have a few problems stemming from some of the assumptions made about the undocumented population.
The report assumes unauthorized workers and their employers are not currently paying any taxes and that only legalization would require them to pay taxes. However, we know that many undocumented workers and their employers already pay Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, and federal income taxes. Once legalized, many would likely get better jobs with higher wages, not the prevailing wage, meaning they would pay even more in taxes than the report estimates.
The report should also include sales and property taxes which are already paid by unauthorized immigrants right now. The gains from these taxes would also likely increase because legalized workers making higher incomes would spend more on consumption and pay more tax.
Despite those concerns, the new GHP report adds to the literature that legalization is an economic plus for our communities.
Hopefully, this report will encourage more people to look at what immigration brings to an economy as opposed to the usual discussion over how much unauthorized immigrants cost—discussions which often cite dubious sources. Conveniently absent from many of those discussions is the fact that these immigrants are workers, taxpayers, and consumers who benefit the economy in significant ways. More importantly, in contrast to spending billions of dollars on mass deportation, legalization would lead to higher tax revenues and higher consumption which boosts the economy.
Photo by arielp.
Restrictive Immigration Law Continues to Threaten Georgia’s Farming Industry
07 months ago
Just days after part of Georgia’s immigration law, HB 87, went into effect, farmers in the Peach State are panicking over how they will find enough workers to harvest their crops—some of which are already starting to spoil. Although a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction enjoining two key provisions of HB 87 last month, the provision requiring employers to verify the immigration status of new hires (E-Verify) went into effect July 1. In an industry where 80% of workers are said to be undocumented—and few American citizens, legal workers or even convicted criminals are willing to step in to do the work—Georgia farmers are now speaking up about how future labor shortages will impact the state’s $1.1 billion industry.
According to the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Association, nearly $300 million worth of crops are at risk if the state’s 11,000 empty agricultural jobs continue to go unfilled. Charles Hall, the Association’s Executive Director, said many farmers have already noticed a dip in migrant workers as of late May, with harvest labor down nearly 30-50%. Come fall, those labor shortages are likely to continue. According to Hall:
If something doesn’t happen soon, Georgia’s crops could suffer even more than they already have. Some fields of less valuable crops were abandoned in the southern region of the state because there wasn’t enough labor to harvest it, leading to concern about the economics of supply and demand.
Local farmer Drew Echols said that HB 87 is already hurting Georgia businesses. According to Echols, there are fewer Georgia-grown products on the shelves of Atlanta’s farmers markets, and the products that are available are slightly more expensive. “Ultimately it all goes back to the consumer,” Echols said. “People are only going to pay so much for a chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-A or a basket of peaches.”
But like many small business owners, Echols’s biggest concern is that the state is making immigration an employer problem. Many argue that undocumented immigration should be handled on the federal level through federal reform legislation, not with mandatory immigration laws that state businesses can’t afford. Jose Gonzalez of the Associated Industries of Florida complained that “mandating the costly and burdensome E-Verify system is tantamount to a new tax on Florida’s employers.”
The fact is, outside of a comprehensive immigration reform bill, E-Verify will hurt farmers in Georgia as well as small business in many states where employers are required to verify employees’ immigration status. Small businesses simply don’t have the resources or infrastructure to run the program and U.S. immigration law provides few legal channels for low-skilled workers. As the president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of commerce said, “Mandatory E-Verify at the state and federal level would stifle job growth by placing a disproportionate regulatory and costly burden on small business.”
Real immigration reform—reform that won’t stunt small businesses or hinder economic growth—needs to come from Congress in the form of a comprehensive bill that accounts for enforcement of our immigration laws in tandem with a program that legalizes our current workforce and fills the needs of our 21st century economy. Otherwise, we’ll have a patchwork of immigration laws that leaves rotting fruit and rotting businesses on the ground.
Photo by Les_Stockton.
The Difference between E-Verify in a Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill and E-Verify Alone
07 months ago
Last month, Rep. Lamar Smith introduced the “Legal Workforce Act of 2011” (H.R. 2164), a bill which would make the E-Verify system mandatory for all employers within three years. While the Smith bill version of mandatory E-Verify has been criticized for snagging U.S. citizens and legal workers, burdening employers with additional costs and not actually catching unauthorized workers, Sen. Robert Menendez’s recent bill, “The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011,” also includes mandatory E-Verify. So why would folks support the Menendez bill when they keep hearing that E-Verify is so bad?
Like all comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) bills since 2005, the Menendez bill allows for a mandatory E-Verify system only in context to other elements of comprehensive immigration reform, like a generous legalization program, reforms to family- and employment-based systems, border and interior enforcement and integration programs. Under Menendez’s bill, current unauthorized workers would have a chance to legalize their status, and future workers could come through newly created legal channels. In other words, rather than try to catch unauthorized workers as part of an enforcement-only strategy, the Menendez bill would create a legal workforce, and then E-Verify would allow employers to ensure they are in compliance with the new laws.
Although some groups will continue to oppose mandatory E-Verify even as part of CIR, others have realized that if E-Verify isn’t going anyway, it had better work well and provide strong protections for workers. And the Menendez bill’s E-Verify is very different than the one in Smith’s bill.
The Menendez bill:
- creates penalties for employers who misuse the system (e.g. they fail to tell an employee about a tentative nonconfirmation (TNC), retaliate or take adverse employment actions against a worker with a TNC, fire a worker with a TNC, etc.);
- creates strong privacy protections;
- creates an administrative review process for workers who want to appeal the result;
- provides compensation for workers who were fired due to an erroneous result;
- creates a judicial review process to appeal administrative decisions;
- creates a private right of action against employers who misuse the system;
- requires annual studies and audits of the system to monitor accuracy rates, employer verification, discrimination, privacy, fraud, impact on employers, etc.
These provisions are not included in the Smith bill. In other words, the Menendez bill provides for an improved version of E-Verify within the context of legalization and immigration reform, while Smith’s bill offers a version of E-Verify bill that is likely to make the problem worse. The truth is that E-Verify alone is not a solution. There are 7-8 million unauthorized workers in the U.S. and no good legal channels for those workers to enter the system. Slapping mandatory E-Verify on top of the already broken system will do more harm than good. Workers will go further underground, employers will hire workers off the books, identity theft will increase, employers simply won’t run workers they know are undocumented through the system.
Photo by JF Sebastian.
Sen. Menendez Introduces Comprehensive Alternative to Enforcement-Only Immigration Legislation
07 months ago
While some in Congress continue attempts to enforce a way out of our immigration problems, others, like Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), are offering balanced solutions that address not just one, but many facets of our broken immigration system. Today, Senator Menendez (D-NJ), along with Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) and John Kerry (D-MA), introduced the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) Act of 2011,” a bill which offers a comprehensive framework for lasting reform.
Unlike stand-alone enforcement bills, Senator Menendez’s proposal includes strategies to address undocumented workers currently living in the U.S., such as the creation of Lawful Prospective Immigration (LPI) status. Applicants for LPI status would be required to submit biometric data, go through security checks and pay a fine. After six to eight years of LPI status, they could then transition to Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) status (obtain a greencard), but only after they pay taxes and additional fines, learn English and U.S. civics and undergo additional background checks. And even then, LPIs would have to wait behind those already in line for LPR status.
In addition to DREAM Act and AgJOBS provisions, Senator Menendez’s bill includes improvements to regulate the future flow of legal immigrants by creating a standing commission which would study labor market and economic conditions to determine the number of employment-based visas needed. The bill also supports programs that better facilitate immigrant integration, such as enhanced policies to help immigrants learn English and grants for states that successfully integrate newcomers.
On the flip side, Sen. Menendez’s bill balances these provisions with enforcement measures, like establishing border enforcement triggers that must be met before unauthorized immigrants can apply for permanent residency, requiring DHS to track the departure of noncitizens to ensure they do not overstay their visa, as well as a mandatory E-verify program, among others.
Clearly there is no one-size fits all solution to our broken immigration system. Rather, we need a collection of smart and balanced fixes—fixes that account for not only the 11 million undocumented workers currently in the U.S., but also the structural failures in our system and gaps in enforcement. Without a balanced solution, we are bound to rehash the same immigration failures over and over again while our economy, society and country suffer. Sen. Menendez’s bill is a good start.
Photo by Sen. Menendez.
Stop Racist Hate in Immigration Debate
01 year ago
We need to stop the racist rhetoric coded in the immigration debate.
Did you see the latest from conservative George Will? In his recent syndicated column, he argues that not all children born on American soil are really citizens. For example, if the parents are undocumented, then their baby born in the U.S.A. shouldn’t be a citizen. Will seems particularly concerned about “illegal immigrant mothers” who are giving birth in public hospitals in Los Angeles.
When I was sitting in history class in school, one thing my teachers kept telling me was how unique our country was. We are a nation of immigrants. Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free!
I don’t remember my teachers telling me that it mattered who the masses’ parents were.
In fact, people coming from Europe often were escaping societies that focused too much on ancestry. In the United States, you can pursue the American Dream, no matter who your parents are.
Of course, we do have laws that regulate immigration, and we are in the middle of a debate about comprehensive immigration reform. But why should we punish the children for the decisions their parents made? If a child was born in this country, why should she have fewer legal rights just because of her ancestry?
That kind of thinking sounds like racism to me.
This argument about who should be citizens connects with many people’s concern that the complexion of America is changing. They seem to be stressed that someday soon, by the year 2050, there will be no clear ethnic/racial majority in our country. They are worried that more and more babies of color are being born and growing up as citizens in the United States.
It reminds me of the crazy talk at the recent Tea Party convention when Rep. Tancredo (R-Colo.) said that the reason Pres. Obama was elected was because of failed policies to regulate who votes. He said that Obama supporters were “people who could not even spell the word ‘vote’ or say it in English.” Then they even raised questions about Pres. Obama’s citizenship. Some extreme groups seem obsessed with the question about whether someone is really a citizen or not.
I find these discussions about citizenship to be coded racism. If you are not white, then your citizenship seems to be in question.
But in the United States, we are better than that.
One of Will’s main arguments is that the writers of the 14th amendment to the Constitution did not consider the problem of illegal immigration “because in 1868 there were and never had been any illegal immigrants because no law ever had restricted immigration.”
How might some American Indians and others respond to this statement?
Consider the Trail of Tears (1838-39) when thousands of Cherokee Indians died as Pres. Jackson moved them from their land. For some, maybe the white settlers (USA citizens) were the original illegal immigrants.
Yes, let’s invite different points of view into the immigration debate, but let’s keep out hate.
It is Time for Humane Immigration Reform
01 year ago
It is time to address the United States’ broken immigration system. Through comprehensive immigration reform many in the United States could benefit. The current immigration system weakens our economy and betrays human values. For many, the American dream remains elusive because our immigration system is broken. But, although reform is needed, pushing for legislative reformisn ’t the only way we can help our local immigrant communities. The most important thing we can do is help change lives, and no change is greater than the opportunity to apply for citizenship.
Comprehensive immigration reform would level the playing field for all workers by providing crackdowns on those who are manipulating our economy. For most, living here without documents places them in danger. Some of these immigrants work long hours in jobs that most of us could not stand to do day after one day – jobs that demand manual labor in harsh working conditions.
Providing 12 million undocumented immigrants a path to legalization would end unfair job competition, lift wages and increase tax revenue, whereas deporting 12 million undocumented immigrants would cost the United States dearly.
These costs are seen when some families of deported parents, who maybe previously never received public assistance from local agencies (that already face large cuts in funding); now have to request it because of the absence of a spouse. If the deported parent would have been allowed to stay in the United States to raise and support that family both financially and emotionally, the family would be liable to have more independent success. Nobody dreams of starting a family to later have that family taken from them.
It is a proven fact that children, our future, do better when they have a strong connection with both parents. A strong bond with one’s parents has long-term community benefits.
With few days left to shape the immigration dialogue across this great country, it is time for all of us to be involved in discussions with our communities and our leaders. Let’s make humane immigration reform possible in this country.
Make Justice Happen in 2010
02 years ago
2010 could be the year that our generation achieves its greatest civil rights victories. As with all things, the possibility of great success comes with the potential for crushing failure. Every activist, social worker, educator, and organizer will have to be at the top of their game to make this year historical and set the pace for years to come. Here are five things to strive for in 2010:
First, pass immigration reform. Pulling millions of residents out of the shadows will do wonders for our nation. It is imperative that we seize on the opportunity to push for reform that legalizes as many immigrants as possible. The societal problems that stem from a broken immigration system will fester and worsen if we don’t leverage everything we got in favor of a path to citizenship. Some say it’s complex, I say it’s just common sense; stop using taxpayer money to hunt, detain, and deport otherwise law-abiding residents. We’ve got better things to do with our hard-earned money than to terrorize our neighbors. Demand reform and advocate for spending resources to help Americans weather the economic storm.
Second, support immigration reform by supporting health care reform. It ain’t pretty, but the two go hand-in-hand. And frankly, this is exactly what we voted for. So all the “I heart Obama” liberals that crawled into the closet on January 21st (you know who you are), you need to pull your butts out of neutral and get back in the game. Your responsibility as a voter didn’t end at the ballot box.
Third, protect the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment defines American liberty by protecting birthright citizenship and upholding equal voting rights. Therefore, it has stood as the cornerstone of equality, and also as a target for those who wish to deny opportunity to all. Those who oppose it are treading on decades of brave civil rights gains. Keeping the 14th amendment intact may be the greatest gift we can provide future generations. With almost 9% of adult African Americans having no way to prove their citizenship, the destruction of the 14th Amendment in an unacceptable blow to Black Americans and native-born children of immigrants alike.
Fourth, confront racism head on. Like deadly bacteria, bigotry grows wherever it goes unchallenged. Hate crimes and organized racism are on the rise just as communities of color are facing some the worst institutional racism and economic challenges in our nation’s history. It is a recipe for disaster. The hateful become more bold as the oppressed become more desperate. It’s scary stuff, but we cannot be afraid to call out racism when we see it. 2009 found racism hiding in the halls of Harvard, the recovery of a great city, and in the hearts of killers. 2010 could be the year that no children die at the hands of hate.
Fifth, promote a person’s right to individual freedom. Over the last few years, America has been all over the map when it comes women’s and LGBTQ rights. Same-sex marriage was banned in California but legalized in Iowa. President Obama reneged on his promises to the gay community, but defied conventional political savvy to appoint a transgender woman to the Commerce Department. A Latina woman, Sonia Sotomayor, was elected to the Supreme Court just as a doctor was gunned down for performing abortions. What the heck is going on? Grown men and women should be able to marry whomever they choose. Women have the right to choose an abortion, and doctors have the right to live to perform them. Period.
After a tragic decade, America is due for a progressive makeover. And now that we’ve established that progress doesn’t magically materialize out of a broken Republican party or a bloated Democratic one, we can get down to the business of real change. Not just change we can believe in, change we can grab onto and ride into the sunset. I’m ready for it, are you?