MISU NDERST OOD REAL IT IES OF U .S . IMMIGRAT ION LAW

MYTHS AND MISPERCEPTIONS:

Angela Remus, B.A. International Relations ’16Thanks to Wally Ruehle and the Legal Aid Society of Rochester;

Raul Ramirez, University of Rochester ’18; and all those individuals who shared their stories with me.

11.4 million undocumented immigrants in the US

~ Department of Homeland Security, Jan. 2012 estimate

750,000 undocumented immigrants in NY, or 6.6% of the undocumented population

~ Pew Research Center, 2012

NY Times, Pew Research Center

“18% of Americans believe all undocumented immigrants should be expelled from the country.”

~ Pew Research Center

OUR GOAL

(1) Identify the myths,(2) Transform the misperceptions with facts, and

(3) Become advocates for the facts

UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS DON’T CARE THAT THEY’RE BREAKING THE LAW.

THEY SHOULD JUST GET PAPERS.

MYTH

“I wish I could get papers. I wish it were that easy… It would help me feel safe.”

~ Alex

“People migrate to the US legally from overseas countries everyday. Why are Mexicans acting like their situation is different from every other countrymen on the planet? Or

that their case should be treated differently?”

~ Christine, in an online forum

OBTAINING LEGAL RESIDENCY IS VERY DIFFICULT

REALITY

THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE: FAMILY-BASED IMMIGRATION

US Dept. of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs

THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE:EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION

THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE:EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION

+111,704 Temporary Agricultural Workers

Dept. of Labor, FY 2013

5,000 visas for unskilled labor / year

Dept. of State

=116,704 opportunities

THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE:EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION

116,704 opportunities

414,397 Customs and Border Protection apprehensions

CBP, Fiscal Year 2013

THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE: DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM

“the lottery”

“Up to 50,000 immigrant visas available annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to individuals who are from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States”

~ United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

IMMIGRANTS ARE AN ECONOMIC DRAIN AND TAKE JOBS

MYTH

IMMIGRANTS CONTRIBUTE TO THE US ECONOMY AND FINANCIAL SYSTEMS

REALITY

JOB STEALING?

“Most economists agree that the wages of low-skill high-school dropouts are suppressed by somewhere between 3 percent and 8

percent because of competition from immigrants, both legal and illegal.”

~ Adam Davidson,

NPR Q&A

LOW-SKILL JOBS

“A 2012 analysis of census data by economist Jack Strauss, now of the University of Denver, found that cities with greater lesser-skilled immigration experience lower unemployment rates, lower poverty rates, and higher wages for lesser-

educated Americans—they are not simply substitutes for one another.”

American Immigration Lawyers Association

JOB STEALING?

“Undocumented workers also create demand that leads to new jobs. They buy food and cars and

cell phones, they get haircuts and go to restaurants. […] On average, there is close to no net impact

on the unemployment rate.”

~ Adam Davidson, NPR Q&A

AGRICULTURE

“A 2001 UCLA study found that the undocumented Mexican population alone, if

excluded from the country, would result in a dramatic $220 billion drop in U.S. economic

output.”

~ American Immigration Lawyers Association

AGRICULTURE

Pew Research Center, 2008

25% undocumented

US Dept. of Agriculture,

2012

50% undocumented

AGRICULTURE

National Farm Work Ministry,

2013

78% immigrant labor

AGRICULTURE

“No [American] ever applies. And if they do, they don’t last more than a week.”

~ Dairy Farmer, Western NY

“We used to do it with local help until we got smart. In 1997 or 1998 we started hiring Hispanic help. […] We hired

Hispanic help and it fixed all our labor problems. If you want to sleep at night, you hire Hispanic help.”

AGRICULTURE

UPSTREAM: Packaging, shipping,

marketing, insurance

FARM WORKERS:

x 3.1 =

AGRICULTURE

UPSTREAM: Packaging, shipping,

marketing, insurance

FARM WORKERS:

x 3.1 =

AGRICULTURE

UPSTREAM JOBS: Packaging, shipping,

marketing, insurance

FARM WORKERS:

x 3.1 =

CONTRIBUTIONS TO U.S. GOVERNMENT

$2.7 billion

$6 bil-lion

Social Security Administration

Earnings Suspense File,

2010

Payroll Taxes Percentage of undocumented immigrants not paying taxes Percentage of undocumented immigrants pay-ing taxes

$10.6 billion

$3.53 billion

SSA

SSA

UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS SHOULD JUST BE DEPORTED

MYTH

UNIVERSAL DEPORTATION IS INFEASIBLE ECONOMICALLY AND LEGALLY

REALITY

ECONOMIC INFEASIBILITY

Democrats

Republicans

Independents

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Deporting all undocumented immigrants is unrealistic

Percent (%)Pew Research Center

ECONOMIC INFEASIBILITY

Pew Research Center

ECONOMIC INFEASIBILITY

Deportation cost 2010:

$23,480 / person

382,000 deportations in

2010x

$8.9 billion

ECONOMIC INFEASIBILITY

Total deportation cost 2010:

$8.9 billion

Center for American Progress

Projected deportation cost, all eligible, 2010:

$200 billion

ECONOMIC INFEASIBILITY

American Immigration Council

LEGAL PROHIBITIONS

CREDIBLE FEAR OF PERSECUTION

“A ‘significant possibility’ that you can establish in a hearing before an Immigration Judge that you have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of your race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion if returned to your country.”

~ United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

LEGAL PROHIBITIONS

SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS

“The purpose of the SIJ program is to help foreign children in the United States who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected.”

~ United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

LEGAL PROHIBITIONS

TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PREVENTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT (TVPRA)and the U visa

“The [U visa] is set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity”

~ United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

LEGAL PROHIBITIONS

Pew Research Center

TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PREVENTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT (TVPRA)and the U visa

LEGAL PROHIBITIONS

TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PREVENTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT (TVPRA)and the T visa

A provision for “those who are or have been victims of human trafficking” and “protects victims of human trafficking and allows victims to remain in the United States to assist in an investigation or prosecution of human trafficking.”

~ United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

WE’VE COMPREHENSIVELY COVERED ALL IMMIGRATION MYTHS

MYTH

WE’VE EXPLORED A FEW MYTHS AND A FEW FACTS TO REBUT THEM

REALITY

IN CONCLUSION

“Families want to live here [and] want to work here.

[…]

We live in this country, we’ve established ourselves in this country, and we want to help this country.”

~ Juan