BY STUDENT
When looking into today’s political climate, a lot of turmoil is happening with the illegal immigration coming to the US. President Obama deported thousands of immigrants during his 8 year term and elected President Trump has talked about building border walls, compiling names and returning jobs to the white Americans that were taken by the illegal immigrants. But, as we have seen, the wall does not stop immigrants, mainly because many of us flew into the country or used our Visa to pass the border1, but also, many of the jobs immigrants have are not going to be taken by the white population. “Twenty-five years ago, a worker made 12,13,14 cents for [picking] a bin of oranges. Today that same bin pays 15 or 16 cents – in spite of 250 percent inflation”2. Immigrants will keep coming into the US and will continue to be hire for those jobs white people are not willing to take, and as a fellow immigrant from Danbury said “We're here, we're staying, no matter what you're saying!”3. So what now? now that we are here illegally, do we have the right to ask for a better living, grants or prime loans? a better wage? Equal access to higher education? Or even health benefits?
For me,
it seems that we should all have the
same access to a decent home, education, health and wage, and it would benefit
everyone. The Center for American Progress reports that with the 2.1 million eligible
dreamers, if given legal status, there would be a gain of $329 billion into the US economy4.
If more people have access to health insurance and pay, the price will drop for everyone. But also, if
immigrants are deported, specially homeowners, the economy in many towns and
cities will decline, a city is not a city without its people. It is
economically smart for everyone to not abuse immigrants, or anyone, to include
them into the system and make sure we all play a role in society.
The idea
of immigrants helping the economy can be persuasive, but, are we all just money
in the eyes of our government and our society? Should we just elect economists
to run the country without any leadership or sensitivity to our own humanity?
It would not be moral nor helpful for those who cannot economically contribute
to this country because of age or disability. It is our responsibility to help
those in need, no matter who they are. But one of the biggest arguments is that
the North American territory has been taken from the hands of the natives in
colonial times and from Mexico in the Mexican American War, it was violence over
rights. When focusing on the south west, where Mexico lost its land, after the
war Mexican home owners were forced to validate their land ownership under the
new government. Many Mexicans lost their lands when they were denied ownership
over insufficient documentation, others were harassed or killed to gain the
land, or tricked by lawyers who made them sign documents under false
explanations. The US gave grants and loans to white citizens and denied it to
Mexicans, later, Mexicans were offered subprime home loans which had higher
interest and became impossible to payoff, more immigrants lost their home and
assets.5
If we look into Franklin Roosevelt, 1944
State of the Union Address and the Oregon Law review 82(2003):433, 442, we can
see that anyone regardless of station, race, or creed has the right to a decent
home, not just a “shelter”, but an adequate, decent and affordable housing, a
place for growth, education and health. These rights should be given not just
because it is economically good, or because some were here before others and
there has been much abuse towards non white, but because it is a basic
universal right.
SOURCES:
1. Murray,
Sara. "Many in U.S. Illegally Overstayed Their Visas." The Wall
Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
2.
Marc Cooper, “Sour Grapes: California
Farm Workers’ Endless Struggle 40 Years Later,” Weekly, August 11, 2003, http://www.laweekly.com/2005-08-11/news/sourgrapes (last
visited 12, 2009) (quoting economist Rick Mines).
3. Bellettieri,
Diana. 2006. "Danbury Rally Protests Against Illegal Workers." The
Journal News, Jan 08.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/442819530?accountid=14166.
4. Mahwish
Khan on October 2, 2012, and Mahwish Khan. "New Report Reveals the
Economic Benefits of Passing the DREAM Act - America's Voice." America's
Voice. 2012. Accessed December 02, 2016.
http://americasvoice.org/blog/new-report-reveals-the-economic-benefits-of-passing-the-dream-act/.
5. Bender,
Steven. Tierra Y Libertad: Land, Liberty, and Latino Housing. New York,
NY: New York University Press, 2010. Pg. 1-56
I completely agree with your blog post! This election in particular has completely changed the political rhetoric being touted by those in power. This issue of 'illegals' in the U.S. has been brought to center stage because of Donald Trump. It still baffles me that Americans can still think this way about other people. I think also the reason why so many academics focus on the economic benefit from giving undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship is because it is the only argument they have that isn't flat-out racism. This myth that gets perpetuated that immigrants are "stealing our jobs" and "getting handouts" is just false. So to argue these points, those in favor of citizenship for undocumented people have to prove the economic benefits. Obviously, the main reason should be because we are all human beings and it's a moral issue, but sadly that isn't the case. We all saw how displacing the Latino population (whether documented or not) in the D.C. suburbs negatively affected Prince William County's economy and housing market. You would think that this example would show other areas how deportation, or even the threat of it, does not work for either American citizens or undocumented citizens. We still have a really long way to go on the issue of immigration, especially now with a Trump presidency.
ReplyDeleteI agree with several points that were made in this blog post. Latino’s in the United States are often regarded to as “hustlers”, people who are willing to work low wages and work in bad conditions just to be able to feed themselves and their family if they have one. I don’t believe getting rid of these immigrants will benefit this country because the country’s economy will be greatly affected. Latino’s should be able to have the same rights as others because one way or the other they are helping the economy grow in the United States. An example that was stated in the blog post was, the Dreamer students. If they were given a legal status in the United States they will contribute to the economy by $329 billion. Latino’s should be treated the same as an American citizen.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your blog post. Latinos that come to the United States illegally are still hard workers. They are willing to do the hard work that others no not care to do. The stigma is that illegal immigrants work on fields ad work for long hours a day. In my opinion they come to this country to get an opportunity that they would not have in their own country. If they want to come and wrk here, we should have easier or cost effective ways to grant citizenship so people can work here without facing a stigma
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this blog post especially for the historical content that links to this future. I find it interesting that many people who are anti-immigration argue that immigrants are taking our jobs but in actuality (1) they are taking the undesirable jobs which is the backbone of this country and (2) they can be a huge economic contribution if given legal status. I thoroughly enjoyed the tid-bit about Franklin Roosevelt because it reflects on how this issue has been ongoing for decades but is now the crux of this election.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, the wall will not stop immigrants from coming in to the United States. I agree with certain portions of your post, but disagree with others. I agree that giving legal status to illegal immigrants would help the economy, but I don't necessarily agree that everyone should be given the privilege of certain things. I strongly believe that those who work hard will receive good things in life. It doesn't matter if you're legal or illegal, if you are a hardworker, you deserve things like a house and an education. Clearly in history, Latinos have been treated poorly. Over time, more Latinos have become more important in many different fields. I believe they will continue to thrive, and laws will change regarding illegal immigrants.
ReplyDeleteI want to comment on your statement that, "many of us flew into the country or used our Visa to pass the border."
ReplyDeleteThe "Mexican crossing the border" stereotype is simply a perpetuation of the idea that all Mexicans are poor, agrarian workers that has no access to an immigration Visa or plane ticket. Building a wall will only stop a percentage of Mexican immigrants from entering the U.S., and is not a sufficient answer to illegal immigration.
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ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with much of your blog post. Although some statement generalize the typical mexican, for majority of illegal immigrants I agree with your opinions. The wall will not stop illegal immigrants from coming in, and perhaps without them I do not think America can survive. No American will want to do the jobs that illegal immigrants do. Even if the wall is built, I feel this will still hurt America because it will instill the mindset of inequality. Although you do mention illegal immigrants being given the privilege of certain things. I feel they do deserve much of what legal immigrants are given but I am not sure about all, I feel they are still illegal and if they want all privileges they should become legal.
ReplyDeleteI agree that building the wall will not prevent the Mexican immigrants from coming to the US. I believe economically it is a waste of money and unrealistic. The fact that the Americans believe the Latinos are taking jobs away from the Americans is not exactly true. Blue collar jobs are jobs many people do not want to do anymore and without the illegal Latino population doing many of these jobs the supply of workers would fall tremendously. With less businesses and competition, more contracting/landscaping companies run by non-Latinos will have the power to raise prices substantially because the higher costs of paying workers and less competition. I believe illegal latinos should receive some sort of benefits. They contribute so much to our economy and build up of the US. We should appreciate the work they do for society.
ReplyDeleteI loved when in the blog it was stated of the Oregon Law review that anyone regardless of station, race, or creed has the right to a decent home, not just a “shelter”, but an adequate, decent and affordable housing, a place for growth, education and health. This was important to emphasize because people do not think about humanity. People are selfish and if they are not experiencing the injustice they turn the other cheek. While its necessary to explain to the United States how immigrants help the economy its also disheartening to think that what it has come down to. While it is not right to make immigrant labor marketable America will still do it to get the idea across to citizens who do not see any benefits. Hopefully it would change individual’s thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what your blog post that even though Latinos come illegally to this country they still work hard, even work jobs that the average white American would think is too low of them to work within. This has been an issue win the U.S. for years, making the issue of illegals ‘stealing’ the potential jobs that American’s could potentially work for, when in fact the jobs that the majority of illegal immigrants require intense labor, jobs American’s would never take into consideration. These jobs don’t always offer a desirable salary but enough to maintain their families. Although it is not seen these jobs are significant in the U.S. economy and can could offer a big contribution to the U.S. economy if immigrants would be given legal status. Getting rid of them would backfire and the economy would suffer from it. Latinos should have the same treatment as any other American citizen and be given access to education, health and wage, as well as a home.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most statements in your blog post. I believe that when you said, "many of us flew into the country or used our visa to pass the border," you are speaking from a biased point of view, so people not of Latino heritage may not relate, or want to relate, to what you're saying. I agree with the fact that building a wall will ultimately negatively impact the country. The wall will only be able to stop a small amount of immigrants, and it will not put an end to the problem. The money wasted on this project can be distributed elsewhere to fix other problems across the nation; education, for example. If even HALF of the money being wasted on the wall was being put towards improving literacy of immigrants and educating them, it would benefit the nation as a whole. If education is known as a tool of social mobility, why not educate immigrants to help integrate them into society and decrease/put an end to segregation?
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post. I do think it will be beneficial to many if immigrants are integrated into the system. Many undocumented immigrants that entered the United States did not enter illegally as you pointed out, thus this notion of "illegal immigrants coming into the country to steal jobs" I believe is not valid. For one, they did not committed any crime entering the country, they might have broken the law by over staying there visas. But that's a whole other situation. The people who have over stayed there visa, are the ones doing the jobs the "American's" do not want to do. Thus these immigrants in my opinion are necessary for society to function.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post, and very much agree with the points made. I like that you said that creating a wall wouldn't stop illegal immigration, although, I personally don't think the U.S. has the funds to follow through with this, it is very ignorant to say because it is true a lot of illegal immigrants, especially in the east coast, flew here. Whether it'd be with a work/student visa at first and then stayed here illegally after it had expired, or doing things such as changing their names, etc.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the economy, I feel as if not having illegal immigrants actually damages the economy. Of course I do not support underpaid labor but does looking from a capitalist society standpoint should take that into consideration before suggesting deporting masses of illegal immigrants that for the most part came to the U.S. researching for a better life than they had in their home country.