• Final VOICE Vote Consensus, Mar., 2008
• Sept. 2007 VOICE Meeting Summary
• Articles from Sept.-Oct 2007 VOTER

September VOICE Meeting Summary

The Immigration Study Committee Voice Meeting was held on 9/20/07, at Sun’s Restaurant, fifteen members were in attendance.

The format followed was based upon a discussion of six preview study questions from the National LWV. Each question was read aloud, and background information was shared with the group by the Committee. The respondents were asked to rate each item, High Priority, Low Priority, or Disagree. The first four questions contained several items to be considered.

Question I:
Federal Immigration Laws should take into consideration the Following:
The respondents were asked to consider each item in terms of priority, and then rate the responses in terms of Rank Importance.
Results were as follows, in Rank Order;

1. Rights of all workers to a safe working conditions and a livable wage. Family unification also important.
2. Rights of all individuals in the United States to fair treatment under the law.
3. Economic and Business needs should be considered along with humanitarian causes.

Question II:
Un-authorized Immigrants currently in the U.S. should be treated as follows:
High Priority: All allowed to earn legal adjustment status by doing things such as, paying taxes, learning to speak English, study in civics, etc.
Low Priority: Some deported/ some allowed to stay, earn legal adjustment status based on needs of U.S. Employers.
Disagree: Assess fines before allowed to earn legal adjustment status.

Question III:
Federal Immigration Laws should provide efficient, expeditious, system with minimal delays or no backlog for legal entry into the US for Immigrants who are:
High Priority: Entering the US because of persecution in their country.
Low Priority: Entering US to meet Labor needs.
Disagree: None

Question IV:
In order to deal more effectively with unauthorized immigrants, federal law should include a National Industry Card or Social Security Card.
Disagree: All disagree

Federal Immigration law dealing with unauthorized immigrants should be enforced by including;
High Priority: A program allowing immigrants to go in and out of the US to meet seasonal and sporadic
needs.
Low Priority: More effective tracking of people with nonimmigrant visas until they leave the country.
Disagree: Fences and other barriers would help.

Question V:
Federal Immigration law should address and balance long term financial benefits from immigrants with the cost to federal and state government.
Result: All agree

Question VI:
Federal Immigration law should be coordinated with US foreign policy to pro-actively help improve economic, education, and job opportunities and living conditions in the nations with large emigrating populations.

Summary

• The group agreed that all workers should have a safe work environment and should have equal rights under the law, and that family unification was important, and economic issues should be considered in balance with humanitarian issues.
• The group did not like the idea of a national ID card. The respondents agreed that some legal status could be earned by learning to speak English, paying taxes, etc. Few liked the idea of monetary fines. Seasonal migration as needed was approved; however, fences and other barrier would not be effective.
• There was unanimous agreement that Federal Immigration Law should balance economic contribution that immigrants provide against the cost to federal and state government.
• There was total agreement that Federal Immigration Law should be considered, and coordinated with US foreign policies, and there should be an effort to pro-actively improve the economic conditions in other countries, particularly those countries with large emigrating populations.
• Many diverse aspects of the Immigration issue were discussed, and a lively discussion followed on all the issues raised.

Articles FROM LWV-TSC VOTER, Sept.-Oct. 2007

The League of Women Voters of Topeka-Shawnee County is participating in a 2-year immigration study with other Leagues across the U.S. to develop a position statement on Immigration. The committee, chaired by Lois Scibetta and Mary Kopp, includes Georgia Sandlin, Gwen Elliott, Pat Stinson, Teresa Stambaugh, Nancy Sargent, Bill Gannaway and Becky Holmquist.

The committee has been meeting since May, working to understand the issues and convey that research to the rest of the League. There are great resources available to you on the LWVUS website at:
http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=LWVUSImmigrationStudy

These resources include the eight background articles that are summarized here. The full text of each is available on the website. The articles explore some of the major areas of interest in the immigration debate. A basic understanding of these is required before making any conclusions about determining or changing policy on immigration in the U.S.

Overview:
Federal Immigration Policy and Proposed Reforms – Lois Scibetta

From the origin of the movement at Ellis Island, to the present day, immigration has changed, as our society developed, and as we became a part of the global economy. Our nation is now faced with a problem.

The federal government controls immigration policies, as it has since the late 1800’s. That policy determines (1) who may immigrate to the U.S., (2) how or if they may become citizens, and (3) many aspects of their lives once here. 39% of legal immigrants today are immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (this category is not subject to quota limitations), 22% come for employer needs and employment-based preferences, 19% for other family-sponsored preferences and 13% are refugees or those seeking asylum.

Numeric quotas indicate the importance placed on family unification, employment and diversity; they are implemented with the goal of limiting disruption that would occur with uncontrolled immigration. Although there has been a very visible increase in immigration over the last several decades, the percentage of immigrants today (in terms of current population) is no greater than it was in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Some of the issues that will most likely be addressed in U.S. immigration policy include:

What Motivates Immigration to America? - Pat Stinson

The primary answer to this question is survival. Immigrants need money for food and shelter which they cannot find in their country. Next, thousands come each year hunting their parents or spouses who have come to the United States and they feel they cannot live without them. These motives are extremely strong and the immigrants will go through much to achieve their goal.

Family Reunification – Georgia Sandlin

The Immigration Act of 1965 eliminated the national origin quota system and since then between 50 and 70 percent of U.S. immigrant visas distributed annually have been allotted to close family members of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. Spouses and minor children and parents of adult U.S. citizens are granted visas without regard to numerical quotas but the backlog in the application process for visas for other qualifying family members was estimated to be 3,535,430 in 1997 (the last year for reliable figures). Faced with family separations that range from 5 to 20 or more years immigrants may initially try several legal avenues but, with all the frustrations and delays, inevitably the “pull” of family reunification results in unauthorized immigration.

Economic Aspects of Authorized and Unauthorized Immigration – Becky Holmquist

Cost and benefits from immigrants may vary locally, but over the past decade, immigrants filled more than half of all new jobs across the U.S. and, on average, the additional tax burden per native household is no more than a couple of hundred dollars a year. The burden can be larger when the proportion of immigrants to the total population is high as in California where the mid-1990s tax burden was $1,178 per native-born household.

Costs and benefits are not evenly allocated. Taxes paid to the federal government and added productivity of the macro economy make immigration a net benefit to the country as a whole. But, at the local level, communities face demands for costly services from immigrants, particularly in education and health care, that are not offset by tax income.

Immigration and the Economy – Teresa Stambaugh

The flow of immigration is tied to the strength or weakness of the American economy. A shortfall of unskilled labor is estimated to run to hundreds of thousands of workers a year and is apparent in many sectors of the economy such as construction and the restaurant sectors. A realistic immigration system is one in which the annual legal intake is more or less equal to the flow generated by supply and demand. The United States currently issues 5,000 visas a year to unskilled workers, when 400,000-500,000 additional such workers are needed to keep the economy growing.

Immigrants: Diversity and Inclusion – Gwen Elliott

For all of us, the diversity of our backgrounds is part of who we are and what our country is. There are advantages and perceived disadvantages to having a diverse population. Immigration is generally permanent, and much immigrant assimilation is complete by the third generation.

Effects of Global Interdependence on Migration – Mary Kopp

Globalization stimulates migration, and immigrants move to where there is work in the world. Remittances from the U.S. are a major source of income for millions, and change economies in countries. NAFTA, intended to help, has actually hurt the economy of Mexico and has increased unauthorized immigration in the process. Narrowing the income gap between Mexico, U.S. and Canada may be preferred to investing in a fence to solve the problems of unauthorized immigration. There is world-wide competition for highly educated and high-skilled workers.

Illegal migration is a regional issue. Nearly 80% of unauthorized population in the U.S. comes from Latin America. The goal should be to shift economic integration into a healthier pattern, moving away from mutually reinforcing dependencies on remittances and cheap labor to a system of regulated labor flows and economic interdependence…to mitigate the root causes of migration.

Enforcement Issues – Bill Gannaway

During the past twenty years, the following federal immigration acts have been passed by congress:

1. The Immigration Reform and Control Act (1986) which focused on the employment of persons not authorized to work in the U.S.
2. Immigration Act of 1990 was the beginningof legislation focused on illegal immigrant and enforcement issues.
3. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (1996) which increased the number of full-time active duty Border Patrol agents.
4. The transfer of the Immigration and Naturalization Services to the Department of Homeland Security (2003).
5. The Secure Fence Act (2006)

All of this legislation has had limited success on illegal immigration. Barbara Margerum, LWV of Santa Barbara, CA says that “a serious overhaul of the system is needed.”

Also: Link to Common Myths About Undocumented Immigrants (PDF file, link shared by Tina DeLaRosa, June speaker)