Immigration: North Carolina's Challenge
"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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
This is what greeted my 10 year-old great-grandfather when he and his family sailed into New York Harbor in 1893. They stepped onto Ellis Island without documents. They were quarantined, processed, and then sent on their way to build our country. After a few years, they filed naturalization papers and became citizens. My ancestors were looking for a sanctuary country and they found it in the United States of America.
In the 1920’s our country slammed shut the golden door. Visas and quotas were instituted, and it became illegal to enter America without proper documentation. This slowed down immigration across the oceans, but did not stop many from crossing our southern border. By1986, most undocumented immigrants were from Latin America, and almost 3 million were granted amnesty and allowed to become citizens.
Since 1986, it has been illegal for employers to knowingly hire undocumented immigrants. But that has not stopped over 12 million more undocumented immigrants from seeking a new life in our country, again, most coming across our southern border. Due to poor enforcement, unscrupulous employers are skirting the law to hire, and often times, exploit these workers.
One thing is very clear to everyone: America has a serious problem with immigration. The real question is: what do we do about it?
I think there are areas of common-ground agreement. First is that the real solution rests with the Federal Government. That does not mean we can’t come up with creative ways to adapt while the US Congress twiddles their thumbs.
We also need to increase the enforcement of existing laws, especially as they apply to employers who attract and profit from undocumented workers. Again, this is at the Federal level for the most part, although we can ensure our state and local enforcement agencies assist wherever possible.
On that note, criminal immigrants in prison should be deported after completion of their sentences, not released back to our streets. This is just common sense.
Improving our border security is an important priority that again falls to the Federal government.
There are some very tricky issues around what state and local services North Carolina should provide or deny undocumented immigrants and their families. Denying driver’s licenses seems smart, except that undocumented immigrants will drive on our roads regardless, and without a drivers license, they will be uninsured and their vehicles will be unregistered. This impacts us all.
How about educating undocumented immigrants and their children? We certainly want all children in public school rather than running the streets, joining gangs, and becoming a large burden to our society. But what about higher education like our university and community colleges? Do we treat them like our many other foreign students, or completely deny them the access to improve and educate themselves?
If we force our state’s undocumented immigrants into the shadows, we are asking for larger problems with crime, gangs, public health, civic involvement, exploitation, and even tax collection. Until Congress acts, North Carolina must step up to the challenge of effectively governing all the people in our state, including our undocumented immigrants.
- Ed Ridpath's blog
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Immigration: Our Issue
I hesitated at first to write on immigration as it wasn't a "Democratic" issue. However, after talking with several voters over the last few weeks and all the press coverage lately, I realized we need to stand up and own this issue. We have to directly address the concerns of voters and citizens, while not losing sight of the great humanitarian and social justice issues associated with undocumented immigrants.
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Ed Ridpath
www.EdRidpath.com
Effects of Illegal Employment
Illegal Employment helps one type of person at the expense of two others, and I really think it holds the key to Democrats winning on this issue.
When there is illegal employment who is hurt? American workers are hurt first of all. The myth that immigrants are given jobs that Americans wont do is nonsense. Its just that American workers participate in this thing called the free market, where they can demand a specific wage for work. Second, immigrants are hurt. We talk about how minimum wage isnt enough for an American family to live on. So why would it be enough for an immigrant? Why would less be enough? If an employer is willing to ignore laws about who they can hire, why do we expect them to follow laws about workplace safety, minimum wage, FICA, etc etc.
Its pretty obvious who is helped.
Now do some simple math on how many people fall into the category of who is hurt, and who is helped, and I think we can see where some common ground could be found. Right now American Workers and Immigrants are being placed on opposite sides, forced to fight. Why should that be the case when both are being screwed?
If we can help people find common ground, that will go a long way. And we wont help people find common ground on the federal level.
"Keep the Faith"
My math is rusty,
but I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that Unscrupulous Employers cash in on the illegal employment trade to the tune of a gazillion dollars a year, Blue.
In the working class and blue collar and construction trades world, an illegally employed worker will take less money to do the same job an American citizen (1st, 2nd or 20th generation) would do for a few quarters or a few dollars an hour more. Offer a few more dollars an hour and those Americans working retail for $6-8 an hour will change jobs for $8-$10 an hour.
A chicken processing plant around here was raided and they had to go out an hire American workers and a young woman who was working retail got a job when they offered a dollar more an hour than they had been offering before.
The thing that's getting attention now is that this issue is bleeding pretty heavily into the middle-class and white collar world. The children of middle and upper-middles are being hit by it -- unable to find a job after graduation. Unscrupulous Employers use H1B visas to hire engineers and coders from other countries who will take $15-20 an hour to do what a newly minted American citizen (1st, 2nd or 20th generation) engineering graduate with 5 years of college loans and a new vehicle loan needs $20-35 (depending on whether they'll have to live in Boston, MA., San Jose, CA., or Concord, NC.) an hour to do.
Highly Skilled Immigrant workers
Having worked for over 20 years in engineering and computer technology industries, I am very familiar with these highly skilled workers. Unlike the questionable argument that American's won't pluck chickens, there has been a real shortage of American's with specialized degrees and experience in the fields of engineering, math, and science.
This "brain drain" of other countries benefits North Carolina, especially here in the Triangle. As the effects of globalizing the work force allows some of these knowledge workers to contribute while staying in their home country, many still need to reside here, for example Health Care and on site engineers.
I also have not heard many complaints from voters about these documented immigrants. In fact, it is companies with strong demand in a tight labor market who make the most noise to expand these quotas. Looking at long term trends of aging and replacement in the labor force, there is little downside to our state or country to increasing this area of immigration.
Of course, this is in the hands of the Federal government too.
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Ed Ridpath
www.EdRidpath.com
I wouldn't argue that highly skilled
engineering, math and science workers are as plentiful as business degreed workers. I would, however, argue that there is abuse in the H-1B visa system. I guess you can put me down as one voter who is complaining about this issue.
When law firms focus their legal skills on helping companies follow the letter of the law but still get around following the spirit of the rules for H-1B visa permits, a big red flag ought to go up in all our minds. See the videos in this link.
Fact is, not many Americans will put up with constant 60 hour work weeks -- coupled with regular weekend and holiday work -- for salaried pay scales from $15-30/hr (i.e., no overtime). I would argue that they shouldn't have to, but that is what help desk, DBAs and systems engineers are regularly asked for in today's bottom-line driven work climate.
I understand that we all come from different experiences and I'm not saying there aren't honest to God real reasons to use H-1B visas. Finding a highly skilled C or Assembly language coder might present an employer some problems.
However, I've been in science labs and the telecom industry throughout my career. When I saw these visa's used, it was almost always not because there were no Americans to interview for a job, but it was to get around paying the going rate for a certain skill in the American economy. One example from ten years ago: If you can find a chemist with decent ICP or HPLC skills who'll take $15/hr to do the job, why bang your HR rep's head against the wall looking for an American with those skills when none of them will take anything less than $22/hr?
Illegal Employers
Calling out Illegal Employers is a great way to put the focus where it belongs. And you are right, disrespect for one law breeds disrespect for other laws, and all workers suffer regardless of status.
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Ed Ridpath
www.EdRidpath.com
Fred Smith
I wonder if anyone has done a raid on Smith's companies to see who's really working there. From my experience with a friend at a concrete plant in Virginia, over about a third of highway construction workers are not in this country legally.
WILL SOMEONE PLEASE RAID FREDCO?
Funny you should mention that.
I'm sure Fred's cleaned house by now. Seems that sometime in the spring of 2006 all the landscaping crews at one of his company's developments changed. Not long after that, Serious Sue Myrick started harping on drivers licenses and illegal immigrants. The timing was impeccable. To my knowledge.
Thanks for the well thought out response, Ed.
You've given this issue the many-layered approach that it requires, and I'm grateful, given the discussions we've had here in the last few days.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi
This may cost the Dems in the gen election....
Probably not in the presidential elections, but in many districts which are on the fence. For me, the issue is not about feeling sympathy for the undocumented, but about how we were taught about all of us needing to be equal under the law. We all had some immigrants in our past, (except the Indian groups) and we all knew the rules, and wouldn't expect some special treatment. And if any of us emigrated to some Latin country, or China, we damn sure better follow the letter of the law. We have done amnesty in the past, like Cuba, Hungary and some others, but that was because of persecutions carried out by evil governments. We recognize these latin countries as having honest elections, but we know the tax systems are set against the poor classes. So do we have to be the relief valve for those countries? Not me! Thanks for posting this issue, which needs to addressed by the Democratic party before the general elections next year.
Tired of ILLEGAL immigration
Tired of ILLEGAL immigration ?
Help turn off the job magnet and add BP agents by supporting the SAVE Act. Join Dems. & Reps. that are co-sponsoring this bill with your support. To date, 112 members of congress, from BOTH parties have co-signed this new bill. It will force employers to verify social security numbers.
Visit NumbersUSA - http://www.numbersusa.com/ for more details and an easy way to send a free fax to your elected reps.
Contact your elected reps. and ask them to so-sign this bill. Thanks.
Tired of ALIPAC?
Speaker at the PDNC meeting,
Marisol Jimenez-McGee, Advocacy Director, El Pueblo,
gave us the big picture on immigration. She pointed out all of the dynamics at play between the US and the rest of the world that draws people in to these situations. Until we understand what got us here, we can't hope to sort it out.