Thread: Immigration Reform Is Hijacked by Xenophobia

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Immigration Reform Is Hijacked by Xenophobia
Meghan Maloney
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: Opinion
PrintEmail DoubleClick Any Word Page 1 of 1 Advocates of comprehensive immigration reform began this summer full of optimism. For the first time in years, it seemed likely that our dysfunctional immigration laws would face a major overhaul. A bipartisan bill had been introduced in the Senate and was supported by unlikely allies Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and President George W. Bush. The bill was the result of a grand compromise that aimed to satisfy opposing factions by providing for heightened enforcement of immigration laws, increased border security, and a pathway to legalization for illegal immigrants. Business leaders and union leaders alike lobbied in favor of comprehensive reform. Polls showed that the majority of Americans supported legalization of illegal immigrants, provided they met certain conditions such as paying a fine and learning English. But by the end of June the bill was dead and its supporters had no faith that it would be resurrected until well after the 2008 elections.


How could a bill with such promise have been killed so quickly?


Anti-immigrant politicians and activists immediately responded to the bill's introduction with a knee-jerk reaction against any kind of legalization-or, as they would call it, "amnesty"- for illegal immigrants. They used inflammatory rhetoric to incite an emotional response against the bill: the "illegals" were "invading" our country to take "American jobs." Anti-immigrant groups quickly mobilized to bombard Senators with phone calls and letters in opposition to the bill. As a result, the strident voice of the anti-immigrant minority drowned out the voices of the more pragmatic and tolerant but politically inactive majority. The bill suffered its first blow on June 7 when the Senate voted against moving for a final vote. It was reintroduced in late June to allow for debate on a limited number of amendments, but the Senate again failed to invoke cloture on June 28. The Senate had once again proven itself complacent to accept the status quo.


But not everyone was so complacent. Although the power to control immigration is given to the U.S. Congress by the Constitution, the chronic failure of Congress to achieve comprehensive immigration reform has inspired both the executive branch and state and local governments to usurp some of that power for themselves.


For example, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced that it would require employers to resolve discrepancies between the names and the social security numbers of their employees within 90 days of receipt of a "no-match" letter from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Employers' failure to comply could be punished by fines or criminal prosecution. This new DHS rule goes beyond enforcement of the immigration laws enacted by Congress; it is an attempt to change the laws and expand the statutory powers of the DHS and the SSA. That is not only my opinion, but also that of the federal district court judge in California who issued a temporary restraining order on August 31 prohibiting this policy from taking effect as planned on September 4.
State and local governments have also been busy enacting their own laws affecting immigrants. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 170 bills related to immigrants became law in 41 states during the first half of 2007. That is more than double the number of bills enacted into law in 2006. With respect to local government laws, Hazleton, Pennsylvania, has the dubious honor of enacting one of the harshest anti-immigrant ordinances in the country. The ordinance imposed large fines on landlords who rented to illegal immigrants, denied business permits to companies that employed illegal immigrants, and made English the official language of Hazleton. This summer, a federal district judge in Pennsylvania ruled that the ordinance was unconstitutional because it usurped the federal government's exclusive power to regulate immigration and violated the due process rights of both citizens and non-citizens affected by the law.


Although the decisions of the federal courts in California and Pennsylvania are reassuring, it is going to take more than litigation to stem the tide of anti-immigrant activity sweeping the nation. Those of us who believe that our country should have fair and humane immigration laws need to speak up and contact our representatives. We must not allow the debate to be hijacked by a xenophobic minority of the American public.
I began this summer optimistic that there would be change and I am still optimistic. Pro-immigrant groups have been very active this summer helping immigrants to naturalize and then register to vote, so it is likely that anti-immigrant politicians will suffer during the next election for their opposition to comprehensive immigration reform. However, things will likely get worse before they better. It may take a few years of raids, deportations, and draconian ordinances before most people realize how vital immigrants are to our society and how misguided and inhumane our policies have been thus far. In the mean time, those of us who want change now will have to keep fighting and hope that someday the United States will extend a belated welcome to the millions of immigrants who continue to believe, against all signs to the contrary, that this is a country dedicated to the ideals of freedom, tolerance, and opportunity for all.

Meghan Maloney, 2L, is co-president of the Harvard Immigration Project.

Polls showed that the majority of Americans supported legalization of illegal immigrants, provided they met certain conditions such as paying a fine and learning English.

Lady... you are smoking crack..... this monster was taken down on every single one of it's merits .... The polls you are referring too was all done by liberals and were skewed to give the answer that best met yours and the liberal medias needs.

We do not need immigration reform... we need the laws followed and people that break them prosicuted to the full extent of the law

Meghan Maloney, 2L, is co-president of the Harvard Immigration Project.

I suggest you go to a better school next time. Harvard apparently dammaged your ability to reason without using skewed data

What does the 2L mean?

2 looney?

Maybe it's her ranking in the CFR or Skull and Bones, one thing is for sure, it sounds socialist. To have it follow her name? Hi, I'm Rockfish, 7F!

In the mean time, those of us who want change now will have to keep fighting and hope that someday the United States will extend a belated welcome to the millions of immigrants who continue to believe, against all signs to the contrary, that this is a country dedicated to the ideals of freedom, tolerance, and opportunity for all.

Dream on wench! These people are here to walk all over you and take your country and freedom and prosperity away from you. Your language is propaganda and lies. We used to have your attitude until they came in here and started to abuse what we offered and then they started to demand more. Who in the hell do they think they are when they aren't even supposed to be here?

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

What does the 2L mean?

I dont know ?
good question ...
it has to do with
Harvard Immigration Project (HIP)
Its a level that they are on the project I believe
Like 1L 2L 3L
i could be wrong

I want her job to be 'outsourced' or 'insourced' and... then, we can try this conversation from scratch.

Do we really need to read any more hokum emanating from the ivory tower?

When you have 20+ million citizens of another country squatting within US borders doing whatever they please, where is there any cogent argument for a more "humane" and "tolerant" immigration policy? If the only argument for residing here is a desire for a better life, what defense have we against a billion Chinese joining us?

What is it going to take for these lunatics to admit we're so far beyond the point of needing to take expedited immigration into consideration it should be completely off the table? The bottom line is, from her perspective OUR ACCOMMODATIONS WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH. There will always be more people to embrace, more jobs to give away, and more money to invest in their well-being. All at the expense of Americans, of course. This isn't humanitarianism and tolerance, it's some sort of personal pathology globalized. It's a shame we don't have a medication for this affliction---one that could be court-ordered.

Originally Posted by Saki

Do we really need to read any more hokum emanating from the ivory tower?

When you have 20+ million citizens of another country squatting within US borders doing whatever they please, where is there any cogent argument for a more "humane" and "tolerant" immigration policy? If the only argument for residing here is a desire for a better life, what defense have we against a billion Chinese joining us?

What is it going to take for these lunatics to admit we're so far beyond the point of needing to take expedited immigration into consideration it should be completely off the table? The bottom line is, from her perspective OUR ACCOMMODATIONS WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH. There will always be more people to embrace, more jobs to give away, and more money to invest in their well-being. All at the expense of Americans, of course. This isn't humanitarianism and tolerance, it's some sort of personal pathology globalized. It's a shame we don't have a medication for this affliction---one that could be court-ordered.

I adopt your comments and can only improve upon them by adding a hearty AMEN.

This is the second OBL piece I've seen written by an Irish person. How substantial is the illegal irish population in the US?

I used to know some Irish guys, now I'm not so sure they weren't illegals now. It's funny how some of them despised yanks yet were living in the US.