Thread: Immigration hot topic in US mid-terms

by Marijke van der Meer


Immigration hot topic in US mid-termsby Marijke van der Meer

03-11-2006

Immigration reform is one of the main issues preoccupying American voters as they go to the polls in Tuesday's (7 November) mid-term elections. In some voting precincts it is in fact the main issue. Immigrants are entering the United States at the rate of one every 30 seconds, or one million a year, an increase of 16 percent in the past five years. The question is how to regulate the ongoing influx of immigrants, now entering the United States, and what to do about the roughly twelve million illegal immigrants.

Demonstrations
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in demonstrations about immigration in the US in the past year. At one, a pro-immigration rally held at the foot of Capitol Hill in Washington, Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum explained why immigration had become the big issue in the run-up to the elections:

"The numbers of people coming are bigger than ever. The fact that it's in a post 9/11 era where there are legitimate concerns, often exaggerated and directed at Mexican immigrants who want to work, and there are concerns about lack of control, and quite frankly there are big political stakes."

"Republicans think they appeal to conservatives who are upset about illegal immigration, but they may pay a big price by alienating Hispanic voters, the fastest growing group of voters, so for economic, political, demographic reasons, for security, there is a lot at stake and the pot is boiling. The country wants action and unfortunately our political leaders haven't been able to mobilise a concensus in order to resolve it."


Jobs
The vast majority of the immigrants, legal and illegal, now entering the United States in search of jobs, are from Latin America. Critics of unregulated immigration point out that there are as many illegal immigrants in America now as all the English, Irish and Jewish immigrant who ever came to the US over the past 400 years.

They blame immigrants for rising crime and poverty rates, for health problems such as the re-emergence of diseases like leprosy and tuberculosis, and for pressures on social services. Mexican immigrants are even suspected of wanting a Reconquista , or re-annexation of California and the American Southwest.

The statistics show, however, that immigrants are indispensable to the US economy and labour market, especially in the fields of farming, construction and domestic services. According to the New York Times, even illegal immigrants pay more in taxes (sales tax, for example) than they consume in services.

Out of sync
One of the main problems is that the enormous needs and potential of the American labour market are completely out of sync with the small number of visas allocated for legal immigration every year. Steve McSweeney represents the 50,000 undocumented Irish immigrants who are demanding reform so they can travel and go home to visit their families.

"[We want to] contribute, serving in the army and all the Irish want to do is help build this country. Why is it so difficult? Because out of one million visas allocated last year, Irish were granted 160 visas. So immigration reform is a necessity now."


A scion of one of America's most famous immigrant families, Senator Edward Kennedy is the co-author of a bipartisan Senate bill that calls for legalising undocumented immigrants by offering them a path to citizenship. President George W Bush is also calling for the legalisation of immigrants through a guest worker programme. However, while the White House and the Senate want somehow to legalise illegal immigrants, the House of Representatives wants to criminalise them by making it a felony to work in the country without the proper papers.


Ancestors
Senator Kennedy told the rally in Washington that taking immigrants out of the black economy would be good for everyone:

"This is one of the most pressing moral issues of our time. From my office in Boston I can see the steps where my ancestors arrived as immigrants. Immigrants aren't different. They work hard. Immigrants have contributed to America throughout our history. We say Congress must act now and do what is right."


Politicians are at an impasse, but they are all under pressure from voters to comprehensively reform immigration. With elections approaching and eager to appear that it was taking action, the Republican-dominated Congress recently passed the so-called Secure Fence Act, which calls for a 700-mile double-layered fence covering one-third of the 2000 mile border with Mexico. This is also intended to allay fears about the possible threat to national security it is felt unregulated immigration poses in this post 9/11 era.


http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/imm061103

We need to show a pic off that article don't ya think?