"We Are Here Because you Were There" - Going Deeper on Immigration Reform

Goals of session • Provide an introduction to the immigration issue • Explore root causes of immigration • Explore blind spots, tensions and contradictions in current immigration debate

Ground rules • No human being is “illegal” – please use the term “undocumented”

YP4 Summit Philadelphia, PA June 18, 2011

We are here because you were there • What are the origins of the quote? What does the quote signify?

• Quote originates from western Europe • Quote points to relationship between globalization and migration

Immigration is an American story • “We are a nation of immigrants” – Phrase of contention – But ultimately, immigrants have always been a part of our communities

• America historically has manipulated immigration policy to acquire cheap labor and create capital – Immigrants as laborers to fill in sector gaps (in agriculture, transportation, food services) – Immigrants as scabs to disrupt organized labor

History of Immigration and Labor • Farm workers – Latino, Chinese, Japanese and Filipino labor – Created the United Farm Workers – Fought for better conditions

• Industrial workers – Chinese labor • Bracero Program – 20th century caste system – Throwaway work force that denied guest workers right to move freely from job to job, opportunity to unionize and stay in the country when their visas ended

Immigration System Today

Why Don’t You Wait in Line?

• Literally takes YEARS to be considered • 3 paths towards citizenship – Family relations (depending on relation and country of origin) – Employer (exploitation) – Lottery (approx. 50 K annual slots)

• Virtually no path for “unskilled” immigrants without familial relations in U.S.

Current statistics* • Roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants – 3/5 of undocumented immigrants have been in the United States for more than a decade – Approximately 2.5 million native-born U.S.-citizen children have at least one undocumented parent – 1 in 20 workers are undocumented

• Undocumented immigrants are comprised of people mostly from Latin America and Asia – More than half are from Mexico * Research collected from Pew Hispanic Center and Department of Homeland Security

Story of Enforcement vs. Legalization

Solutions based on enforcement • What do we mean by enforcement?

– State violence – Community violence

• Why enforcement?

• What lies at the root of enforcement?

– Fear resulting from growing economic insecurity – Racism

• “War on Immigrants”

Growing Economic Insecurity • Economy doubles since 1980 but wages have barely increased • All gains went to the super rich (top 1 %) – 40% of nation’s wealth in their hands – With wealth comes political power to lower their own taxes

• Huge budget deficits (safety nets and services slashed) • Middle class is divided – immigrants are scapegoated

Examples of enforcement solutions • Community Violence – Militias (minutemen) – Hate crimes

Examples of enforcement solutions • State-based violence – – – – – – – – –

Raids and deportations (Postville, IA) Border militarization Sensenbrenner Law SB 1070 in AZ Real ID Act Secure Communities E-Verify Repealing birthright citizenship Banning of ethnic studies

Today’s War on Immigrants * • According to the National Conference of Legislatures, an all-time high of 1,538 bills dealing with immigrants and refugees have been introduced in state legislatures this year alone.

• Measures include e-verify, restrictions on public health services and college access for illegal immigrants and more power to local law enforcement to do federal immigration checks • Obama administration holds record for number of deportations of undocumented immigrants * Research by National Conference of Legislatures

Strategies for Legalization • Organizing • Communicating – Fighting back with stories – Changing hearts and minds

• Advocating – Comprehensive immigration reform – DREAM Act – Executive Action

New Methods of Organizing • • • • •

Youth Organizing Cultural Organizing Cell Phone Action Network Civil Disobedience Marches and rallies

Youth Take OVER • Movement Building Trainings • DREAM students – Trail of DREAMers – Sit-ins in Sen. John McCain’s office – Undocumented and unafraid

March for America

Changing Hearts and Minds

Progressive Messaging • Leading with values • Public opinion research * – Broad support for “workable solutions that uphold our nation’s values and move us forward together.”

– Across all three major demographic groups surveyed, “Law and Order” is the top value that likely voters seek embodied in immigration policy

• Drop the “I” word * Research by the Opportunity Agenda

Example of Progressive Messaging

Comprehensive approach • Championed by major advocacy groups and politicians – Reform Immigration for America – Previously, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) – Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)

• Touted as “bipartisan” • Legislative strategy calling for “practical” solutions – Includes both enforcement and legalization

• Introduced in 2006 and 2007

The Arguments for Legalization • Economic Argument – Undocumented immigrants contribute roughly 11.2 billion in state and local taxes * – Subsidizing social security for the rest of us * – Generate more economic opportunity all around *

• Values-based Argument – Immigrants are a part of our community – We should keep families together * Research by Immigration Policy Institute, CATO institute

DREAM Act • What is the DREAM Act? – Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors – Pathway to citizenship for students who meet certain requirements:

• Championed by – DreamActivist.org – United We Dream – Trail of DREAMs - Gaby Pacheco, Juan Rodriguez, Felipe Matos and Carlos Roa

• First introduced in 2001

DREAM Act eligibility • Must have entered the U.S. before the age of 16 • Must have been present in the U.S. for at least five years prior to enactment of the bill • Must have graduated from a U.S. high school, or have obtained a GED, or have been accepted into an institution of higher education (i.e. college/university) • Must be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time of application • Must have good moral character

Arguments for the DREAM Act • Children shouldn’t be punished for what their parents did • Children want to contribute to America

Victories for the DREAM Act • Federal level the DREAM Act failed past fall • However, states like Illinois have moved forward • Harry Reid re-introduced the DREAM Act this past May but Republicans held votes – Considering adding e-verify to pass it through

Executive Action • Campaign for Obama to stop deportations of and protect workers.

Corn Country

Root Tree

Globalization • What is globalization?

• Globalization is essentially 3 parts: – Smaller governments and lowered taxes – Deregulation of business so that they have fewer labor, environmental and pricing limitations – Opening new markets by removing tariffs and other trade barriers

• Globalization’s negative effect on global south • Globalization is INCOMPLETE

Racism • We assume that cultures and national identities are fixed • Immigrants as others – “Good” immigrants just work, “Bad” immigrants broke the law • Mainstream response to 9/11 has been to draw and freeze definition of “true” American • Racial anxiety of whites eventually becoming the minority in the U.S.

Discussion questions • In what ways does current immigration reform strategy address root causes?

• Are there opportunities to insert root causes into the debate?

• What collaborative opportunities does the root cause analysis present us?

Discussion questions • • • • • •

How do we address root causes?

Is any enforcement OK? Comprehensive approach vs. DREAM approach Are we focusing too much on legislation?

How do we get around the word “illegal”?

How do we engage African American communities?

• Which communities are left out of the debate?

• How do we talk to white people?

We need a new immigrant framework • We need to get over Enforcement vs.

Legalization framework and acknowledge reasons WHY people migrate – Challenging globalization’s most egregious effects – International labor and trade standards

• Rethink what citizenship means – Should ultimately be determined by how willing people are to become a part of the social, civic and political fabric of the country they want to live in.

Resources • Books – The Accidental American by Rinku Sen – No One is Illegal by Justin Chacon and Mike Davis

• Advocacy organizations – National Network on Immigrant and Refugee Rights – Reform Immigration FOR America – DreamActivist.org

• Think tanks and Messaging Centers – Immigration Policy Center – Opportunity Agenda

Contact me • Dennis.c.chin@gmail.com • www.facebook.com/dennis.c.chin • www.twitter.com/denniscchin