alabama's harsh immigration law backfires

The newest immigration news is being covered in Alabama, where officials are having a very hard time finding workers to maintain the state’s farms after its new, very harsh immigration law ousted its very low-paying illegal workers.

Implemented as a way to free up jobs for American citizens (Alabama’s unemployment rate is particularly high at 9.3%), the new law has proven to be rather problematic. The jobs that the illegal immigrants left open once they were ousted were as agricultural field hands. This type of work requires a lot of physical labor, and the people of Alabama were described as not “physically able or mentally tough enough to perform the work.” For some others, the pay was too low.

This story provides concrete evidence that the argument of immigrants stealing American jobs is simply a myth because, as many have pointed out, most Americans are not willing to take the low-paying, very physically exhausting jobs that immigrants are willing to take.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2011/12/alabama-cant-find-anyone-fill-illegal-immigrants-old-jobs/45829/

injustice in immigrant detention centers

According to the New York Times, the Obama administration in 2009 claimed that it would begin working to improve the harsh conditions and unfair treatment of detainees in immigration detention centers, but not much progress has been made since then.

The fact that many detainees are not being held as criminals and pose no real threat, yet are still forced to live under prison-like conditions in which they are subject to beatings, injuries, and untreated illnesses, seems absurd, especially given our country's basic belief in just treatment and protection of basic rights.

The government's overall failure to provide these detainees with legal protections, especially for those who aren't a threat to society, isn't surprising given its history of inadequate of questionable immigration legislation; it seems time for the government to step in and fix what has been described as a "dangerously broken" system, for the sake of human rights if nothing else.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/opinion/a-broken-dangerous-system.html?_r=1&ref=immigrationandemigration

failing education of mexican immigrants

It was recently measured that the dropout rate of Mexican students in New York City's school system is the highest of all other major immigrant groups. This fact is closely tied to the immigration issue; only 6 percent of all Mexican immigrants aged 19 to 23 are enrolled in college, significantly lower than the enrollment of other immigrant groups and native-born citizens.

Because many of these Mexican immigrants are in the country illegally and are living in poverty, both the need to work and the fear of contact with school officials tend to come before the need to ensure that their children are educated properly.

Perhaps more disheartening is the fact that many of the city's illegal immigrants claim that because they have very little access to college scholarships and employment opportunities, they see little value in staying in school. Many are unaware of the fact that in New York, they are permitted to attend the state's public university and are eligible for in-state tuition.

For children who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents, fear of deportation and mindset that opportunities for them will always be limited are two major factors in the very low educational achievements of Mexican students in New York City and other areas today. If more effort were put into making educational opportunities and assistance, as well as paths to citizenship for this large population of undocumented students, they could begin to contribute to the economy and move away from their status as a "burden" on society.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/nyregion/mexicans-in-new-york-city-lag-in-education.html?pagewanted=2&ref=immigrationandemigration

possibilities for conservatives

A recent article from Fox News discussed how the conservative arguments that immigration is like an “invasion” and how they steal our jobs is actually “contrary to conservative principles” and “deadly to long-run Republican political prospects.”

It explored the idea that if Republicans tried to change people’s view of their party as anti-immigration, they could gain more Hispanic votes. In the past, many Hispanics have felt alienated by Republicans, with 69% siding with Democrats in 2008.

The idea that Republicans could change their stance on immigration is favorable, and if a pro-immigration stance could be achieved that remains in keeping with conservative principles (described in the article as entrepreneurship, the rule of law and national security, upholding American traditions, and policies that are based on reality rather than wishful thinking), the country as a whole might become more unified in the idea that immigration can help the country in a number of ways. Still, this prospect seems difficult given the still very controversial and divisive nature of the immigration issue and the sensitive state of the economy.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/11/07/twenty-five-years-after-reagans-amnesty-bill-conservatives-should-support/

what the dream act could have done

The DREAM Act was created by both Democrats and Republicans as a way to provide undocumented students who have grown up in the U.S. with educational opportunities or a chance to serve in the army.

The White House website lists clearly each of the ways this act could benefit the country. It would aid military recruitment efforts, increase the country’s ability to compete in the global economy by setting students on a path to eventually contribute to our economic growth, cut the deficit by $1.4 billion and increase government revenues by $2.3 billion over the next ten years, add between $1.4 and $3.6 trillion in taxable income, and allow border security to concentrate its efforts in illegal immigrants that threaten national security.

The requirements to qualify under the DREAM Act are not harsh, and are geared to the characteristics of young people who grew up in the U.S. For this reason, it wouldn’t encourage further illegal immigration as many have argued.

It’s clear that the potential benefits of the DREAM Act are extensive and far outweigh any arguments of potentially negative impacts.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/01/get-facts-dream-act