Thread: Immigration unease growing

Immigration unease growing
While reforms stall, emotions fester
By Brian Wallheimer • bwallheimer@journalandcourier.com • July 6, 2008


Lisa Macias, a daughter of Mexican immigrants, was born in the United States.

The Lafayette resident says she often hears people talk negatively about her and her Spanish-speaking friends as they shop in grocery stores or elsewhere.

Until she switches to English.

"When I walk in someplace, the first thing they think is, 'Does she speak English or not?'" Macias said.

Macias isn't alone in feeling the sting of discrimination. A survey of Spanish-speaking Lafayette-area residents by a Purdue University professor reveals an increasing number of Hispanics being treated unfairly or unkindly in 2007 compared with 2006.

Such perceptions arise amid increasingly bitter debate about immigration law reform as the population of Hispanic immigrants -- particularly those without legal status -- continues to grow throughout the community, region and state.

The Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group in Washington, D.C., estimates that as of 2006 there were 11.5 million unauthorized migrants in the United States, of which 82 percent hailed from Latin America.

If those estimates are accurate, it means that 21 percent of the country's 44.5 million Hispanic residents -- more than one in five -- are in the country illegally and risk deportation.

Macias' father, Jesus Sanchez, entered the United States as an illegal immigrant nearly 40 years ago, he said. Like most immigrants, he came for a better life for himself and his family. In the 1980s, Sanchez became a legal resident by taking part in an amnesty program. He said the choice to come to America despite the risk of arrest and deportation was clear.

"The U.S., all the time, has more benefits," he said.

Sanchez said he doesn't regret coming without documents because it was too expensive to pay a lawyer and then wait for permission to enter legally.

Ironically, he said, he felt more respected when he was an unauthorized worker than he does now that he has gained legal status.

Macias said immigrants face discrimination in many ways. She cited a recent case when she accompanied her father to rent a trash bin. He was looking for the least expensive container they had, but the business owner kept trying to talk him into a bigger one.

"He said 'he doesn't know what he's talking about. He doesn't speak enough English. Give him the bigger one,' " Macias said. "I said, 'You heard him. He knows what he's talking about. Give him the one he asked for.' "

'Fear factor'

James McCann, professor of political science at Purdue University, utilized Spanish-speaking students to take detailed surveys of Mexicans in north central Indiana in 2006 and 2007.

In the 2006 survey, 20 percent of those interviewed said they felt discriminated against because of their status as immigrants. That number jumped to 40 percent in 2007, the height of the immigration debate.

McCann said more immigrants felt discrimination in places such as grocery stores or in everyday interactions. Fewer felt that way when seeking medical attention or trying to find housing.

"In accessing medical care or obtaining housing, there's a lot of legislation governing those situations. I would suggest their perceptions are a legacy of that," McCann said. "On the day to day, on the street level, there's no regulation on the way you act.

"Americans have always been ambivalent about immigration."

Those attitudes, which at times can be found to varying degrees in the same person, generally fall into three categories.

"On one hand, there's the idea that immigrants are a threat, and you can see that going way back. Call that the fear factor.

"And then there's this sort of market view that we need more workers," McCann said.

"There's (also) the social gospel ethic of being neighborly to immigrants: Open up your country as you would your home, and allow people from abroad, especially the poor and repressed, to settle here peacefully. The words at the Statue of Liberty capture this sentiment."

Coming to terms

In the debate about immigration, even the terminology trips people up. One example is the term used to refer to immigrants who are in the country without legal authority or whose status is up in the air.

One side uses the term "illegal alien." Another prefers "undocumented worker."

The Pew Hispanic Center uses the term "unauthorized migrant." The center defines this as a person who resides in the United States, who is not a citizen, and who lacks the legal authorization to be a resident. Such a person may have crossed the border illegally, or he may have entered the country legally, then overstayed his visa or work permit.

Another stumbling block in the debate over immigration and immigration law reform is getting a handle on the extent of the problem. There are few definitive sources of information on how many people have entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas.

"InContext," a publication of the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, stated in June 2006 that "estimating the number of people here without a green card is tough for the simple reason that people in this country illegally don't generally go around broadcasting that fact by filling out government surveys."

A green card, or Alien Registration Receipt Card, gives its holder legal authority to work and live in the United States without time limits. For temporary visits, a visa is required.

According to the Pew center's latest estimates, Indiana had between 55,000 and 85,000 unauthorized migrants in 2006. "InContext," citing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data, estimated there were 45,000 illegal immigrants in 2000.

Impact debated

Groups on both sides of the immigration debate have difficulty agreeing on the economic impact of unauthorized immigrants.

John Vinson, editor for the Americans for Immigration Control newsletter, said unauthorized immigrants account for a $10 billion fiscal deficit each year.

"They are a fiscal loss because they are not paying in that much," Vinson said. "A lot of them are paid under the table, so they are not paying income taxes."

Linton Joaquin, executive director for the National Immigration Law Center, argues the opposite -- that immigrants actually pay in more than what they use.

The group cites a 1997 study by the National Research Council that showed each immigrant to the United States paid on average $80,000 more in his or her lifetime than used in services.

What both sides can agree on is that federal immigration law is out of date and needs to be overhauled. They disagree on how that should be done.

Those who want the government to take a tough stance on illegal immigration advocate tighter border security, laws making it difficult for unauthorized immigrants to find work, and reducing services they can use such as health clinics, etc.

"If you make it hard for them to find work, if you make it hard for them to get welfare and benefits, if you let them know police will be looking for them, it gives them initiative to go back home," Vinson said.

Vinson and Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, advocate an electronic verification system that employers would be required to use to ensure a job applicant is eligible to work in the United States.

Path to citizenship

On the other side, Douglas Rivlin, spokesman for the National Immigration Forum, supports a Senate bill that, had it gained approval in 2007, would have allowed unauthorized immigrants to apply for permission to stay after paying a fine and agreeing to go to the end of the line to become American citizens.

He said it is unrealistic to think every unauthorized citizen could be rounded up and sent back to their countries of origin.

"Wouldn't it be better if they were working on the books, paying into their own (Social Security) accounts?" Rivlin said. "Citizenship is what we should be pushing for."

J. Jesus M. Salazar, a Fountain County resident who settled in Lafayette in the 1960s, views the debate from a unique perspective. He believes he was one of the area's first legal Mexican immigrants.

He said people who criticize Hispanic immigrants should try imagining what it is like to be jobless, with a family to support, separated from employment and a better life by a sporadically patrolled border thousands of miles long.

If you were unable to find a good job in the United States but could find one in Canada, Salazar said, "You would do the same thing, whether it was legal or not.

"People who do not have anything are homeless. They have to do something to take care of their families."

But Bud Cordes, a Lafayette resident, doesn't buy that argument. He believes immigrants who cross the border illegally simply don't respect U.S. law.

Cordes said he sees a lot of problems with the number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States.

"The law enforcement is stressed. Education is stressed," Cordes said.

"I understand that there's some incentive, but there's 5 billion to 6 billion people in the world. I bet 3 billion of them would like to live in the United States. We can't take all the poor of the world."

http://jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic ... /807060348

But Bud Cordes, a Lafayette resident, doesn't buy that argument. He believes immigrants who cross the border illegally simply don't respect U.S. law.
They also don't respect our flag,our way of life. They expect us to pay for their medical care plus educate them. They wave their Mexican flag in our face and now I just read where in Tuscon they are being taught La Raza studies in school. They are not here to better their lives,they are an invading force that should be delt with.

If you were unable to find a good job in the United States but could find one in Canada, Salazar said, "You would do the same thing, whether it was legal or not.

No, I wouldn't because I love my country and my home.

"He said it is unrealistic to think every unauthorized citizen could be rounded up and sent back to their countries of origin."

Apparently the idiot never heard of enforcing the laws and letting ATTRITION do the job of getting rid of ILLEGALS.

ReggieMay: you are so right, even during the hardest of economic times in the U.S.A...the Depression, the 1940's etc. AMERICANS didn't flee abroad en masse....they did what they could to take care of their families and learned to live without.....Americans still had pride in their country and helped each other out....there was no mass exodus of AMERICANS ...we learned to survive and make things better and time and time again WE HAVE...what we are going through as a nation now is no different...AMERICANS have PRIDE, FAITH and a CAN DO spirit and this time we shall overcome once again.

Macias' father, Jesus Sanchez, entered the United States as an illegal immigrant nearly 40 years ago, he said. Like most immigrants, he came for a better life for himself and his family. In the 1980s, Sanchez became a legal resident by taking part in an amnesty program. He said the choice to come to America despite the risk of arrest and deportation was clear.

"The U.S., all the time, has more benefits," he said.

Sanchez said he doesn't regret coming without documents because it was too expensive to pay a lawyer and then wait for permission to enter legally.

In the words of someone who was an illegal alien, they come for the benefits and don't want to bother following the rules. The 1986 amnesty was the WORST thing we could have done! People like him do not deserve respect.

Oh what a cute little anchor - deport the parents and have them take the little snot with them !

Problem:

The Lafayette resident says she often hears people talk negatively about her and her Spanish-speaking friends as they shop in grocery stores or elsewhere.

Until she switches to English.

Solution: SPEAK ENGLISH WHILE IN PUBLIC!

"The U.S., all the time, has more benefits," he said.

Sanchez said he doesn't regret coming without documents because it was too expensive to pay a lawyer and then wait for permission to enter legally.

I HATE THEIR ATITUDE!

I dont care how long they squat and how many kids they plop out, every single illegal alien should be deported.

NO MORE FREEBIES FOR ILLEGAL ALIEN SQUATTERS!

By the way, YOUR MAMA SHOULD HAVE TAUGHT YOU THAT ITS RUDE TO SPEAK SPANSH IN FRONT OF EVERYONE WHO DOESNT KNOW THE LANGUAGE. WE SPEAK ENGLISH IN AMERICA.

The U.S., all the time, has more benefits," he said.

Sanchez said he doesn't regret coming without documents because it was too expensive to pay a lawyer and then wait for permission to enter legally.

Ironically, he said, he felt more respected when he was an unauthorized worker than he does now that he has gained legal status.

This in a nut shell sums it! It's beyond me how this country could award such people with this mentality with the gift of US citizenship!

I will ALWAYS be of the opinion that such illegal invaders did not "gain" US citizenship, they STOLE it!