IMMIGRATION FINAL
Committee on Postwar Immigration Policy
Committee on Postwar immigration policy • Designed to assess what postwar immigration should look like • Consisted of pro-immigration groups • Movement to more of today's liberal ideals Committee on Postwar Immigration Policy • Fears Congress generally anti-immigration o Fear that competition for jobs from returning servicemen would greatly enhance anti-immigration sentiment o Resolves to from close ties with the Executive branch to attempt to block the legislature from completely closing immigration- President consistently pro-immigration, Republicans and Democrats o Formed committee of leading scholars and experts to examine the positive impacts of immigration
Arizona v. United States
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Future Prospects for Immigration Reform
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Lyndon B. Johnson and Immigration
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Noncommunist Refugees
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Republican Party and Immigration
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1956 Hungarian Refugees
1956 Hungarian Refugees o Protests against communist rule o Hungary tries to initiate multiparty electoral system without Soviet authorization o Ruthlessly suppressed by Soviet invasion of Hungary Creates 200,000 Hungarian refugees National quotas system doesn't allow them in • No request for emergency legislation this time o Eisenhower uses executive authority to admit 30,000 Hungarian refugees o Sets important precedent allowing President to extend asylum to thousands of refugees at a time
9/11 and Immigration
Attacks perpetrated by individuals holding visitor and student visas • Immediate attention drawn to the immigration and border control policies that allowed the attacks to happen • Changes the Bush administrations attitude toward immigration • Major push for dramatic institutional reform • Major focus on increasing the security and public safety of U.S. citizens • Broadened authority to detain and deport immigrants • Organizational changes • Office of Homeland Security • Secure the country from terrorist attacks • Coordinate federal, state, and local law enforcement • INS folded into homeland security office • Disbanded and turned into three new agencies • Expanded law enforcement powers • PATRIOT Act • Uniting and strengthening America by providing appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism • Greater authority to • Collect domestic intelligence • Streamline the process of deporting suspected terrorists • Passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in October of 2001 • PATRIOT Act demands that criminal records be provided to immigration officials during visa screening process • Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 • Foreign student entry and exit tracking systems • 25 countries targeted • Required in person interviews with immigration officers • Reregistration annually
Democrats and Immigration 1950s
Democrats and Immigration • Democratic party realigns itself in late 1950s as the party of immigration o Reaffirms commitment to immigration that it had abandoned during the progressive era o No distinction this time between "new" and "old" immigration Advocates expansion of immigration opportunities to all who want to come to the U.S., regardless of national origin or race Tied into its role in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.
Eisenhower and Immigration
Eisenhower and Pro-Immigration Policies Eisenhower often took independent executive action on matters of immigration • Eisenhower restrictive to Latin.
Mexico / illegal Immigration
Illegal Immigration from Mexico • The 1970s is really when this becomes contentious in American politics • Result of the end of the Bracero program and new quotas for the Western Hemisphere o One million apprehensions of undocumented Mexican each year by the end of the 1970s.
INS and Immigraion 1970s
Immigratino Naturilization Service • • Mexican American Political Association Wants to disband the INS and create an open border • INS comes under public scrutiny • Strong perception that the organization has not made a sincere effort to enforce immigration law • Nixon appoints a former marine corps general as the head of the INS • General Leonard Chapman • Creates a sense of urgency around immigration reform • Requests large increase in budget to man the border • 1975 • Gerald Ford creates the Domestic Council Committee on Illegal Immigration • Investigate the problem • Formulate potential policies • Wants to find a cheaper way to fix the problem and requests the committee to look into employer sanctions • Final report suggests there are very few reliable estimates concerning the actual size of undocumented workers • Employers are exploiting these undocumented workers • Conclusion is that illegal immigration should be exploited
Interest Groups Supporting Immigration Reform
Interests Groups in Support of Immigration Reform • Ethnic/religious associations • Organized labor • Academics • Business • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) • National Association for the Advancement of Colored people (NAACP)
refugee Relief act of 1953
Issuance of 214,000 visas over and above the quota system; included Asian refugees Refugee Relief Act of 1953 • 209,000 visas given to European refugees o Not based on quota system • Eisenhower often took independent executive action on matters of immigration o Both in pro-immigration policy and anti-immigration o Bracero program still going strong through 1950s Intentionally weak attempts to stop illegal immigration Illegal immigration increases dramatically Public outcry
Kennedy and Immigration
John F. Kennedy and Immigration Reform • While campaigning, Kennedy promises to vigorously use executive authority to assert American leadership during the Cold War o Includes immigration policy • 1960 Democratic Platform o Removal of national origins quotas o End the Bracero program(labor still hates Bracero Program, even though expansionisty kind of) While promising to protect Mexican-American's special place in American culture o Specifically linked immigration reform to civil rights
Eisenhower Mexican Deportations
Operation Wetback (1954) • Real name of the program o Racist slur for Mexican laborers • Operation designed to go around congressional support Mexican immigration • Military-style campaign to seize and deport illegal Mexican aliens o Popular in California; Midwestern industrial cities like Chicago o More than one Million Mexicans deported from the U.S. Mexican Deportation • Following the Operation: o Legal bracero admissions were doubled Employers still violate wage, hour, safety , and recruitment regulations
New latino Electoral Activism
Through surveys, Latinos express anger toward welfare cutbacks specifically targeting immigrant groups • Mexican Americans turn out in record numbers in 1996 • 72% vote democrat • Compared to 60% in 1992 • Asian immigrants a small but growing immigrant group in 1996 • 43% vote democrat • Compared to 29% in 1992
Displaced Persons Acts of 1948
US law that had strong antisemitic elements, limiting the number of Jewish displaced persons who could emigrate, Truman reluctantly signed it. Two years later, in June 1950, the antisemitic provisions eliminated. Fellows Bill 1948 • Displaced Persons admission for 202,000 o Future quotas to be reduced o Terms were discriminatory against Jewish individuals o Any individuals who had fled to allied-controlled territory after 1945 were excluded Nativists no longer speak openly of racial inferiority, but it was clear they were specifically targeting Jewish groups for exclusion o Become Displaced Persons act of 1948 Truman signs although he is unhappy with it 10/21/13 Displaced Persons Act of 1950 • Realization that 1945 deadline also excluded many refugees from communist countries o New Displaced persons acts moved deadline back to 1949 o 400000 refugees end up gaining admittance into the U.S.
McCarren Walter Act of 1952
o Affirms national origins quotas o New system emphasizing job skills and family reunification As opposed to racial categories Removal of Asian exclusion • Yet only provides 2,000 visas for Asian immigration New exclusionary targets • Anti-communist • Anti-immigration legislators better connected in Congress o Move effectively through subcommittees Marginalize pro-immigration legislators Witnesses for immigration reform designed to reflect point of view of restrictionists • Veterans' groups; American Federation of Labor o All favor quota system- vocally support racial exclusion • Critics suggest this will cause the U.S. to suffer in its ideological battle with the Soviet Union o Pointed out the Nazis used the U.S. Quota System as proof of U.S. support of racial hierarchies • Most restrictionists stayed away from racial language o Instead buried agenda in language of national security and communists o McCarthy huge at the time • Very friendly toward Mexican laborers o Upsetting to AFL Likes national quotas • Alarm toward Mexican immigration that "depressed wages and destroyed working conditions" • Hundreds of thousands of legal bracero workers • Estimated 1.5 million undocumented Mexican workers o Southern and Western regions depend heavily on Mexican labor Particularly agricultural labor • Truman administration and labor repeatedly try to apply sanctions on illegal smuggling of Mexican laborers o Also on employers knowingly hiring illegal aliens o Try to apply amendments to McCarran- Walter bill Unsuccessful AFL continues to support because it contains the national origins quota system • Gets through Congress • Vetoed by Harry Truman
Welfare Benefits and Citizenship
o Also concern they were consuming welfare benefits intended for American citizens At the same time, burgeoning support for amnesty for undocumented aliens already in residence in the United States • Stricter border enforcement to restrict further entries • Not universal support for employer sanctions across the Democratic party o Mexican American Political Association Wants to disband INS and create open border between the United States and Mexico • Welfare benefits and voting rights for all Mexicans in the United States regardless of legal status o Concern that employer sanctions would discourage hiring of Mexican citizens Employers so wary of being punished that they would not hire anyone who could potentially be undocumented
Center for Immigration Studies
o Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) Generates studies consistently supporting a restrictive immigration policy agenda Believes past research has biased pro-immigration agenda Limited Success • Most studies still supporting notion that expanded immigration opportunities help the nation
Cuban Adjustment act of 1966
o Congress follows with the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 Cubans treated as refugees and can settle in the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans admitted into the United States Quickly admitted Can become legal permanent residents within 1 year
Presidents and Immigration
o One expansive: U.S. needs to win hearts and minds of the rest of the world • Displaced Persons Acts of 1948 and 1950 o One restrictive: Immigrants are vector for communism • Internal Security Act of 1950 President's office in general becomes much more powerful o "leader of the free world" o Refugee relief tied to the Cold War Need to extend relief to political refugees attempting to flee the Soviet Union o Need to solve refugee problem before Europe can economically recover
Internal Security Act of 1950
this was also known as the McCarran Act and the subversive activities control act and this was legislation that provided for the registration of all the communist and totalitarian groups and authorizing the arrest of suspect persons during a national emergency • Internal Security Act of 1950 o Restrictionist tie anti-immigration agenda to anti-communist fears o Reflection of McCarthyism Immigrants will spread communist sympathies Exclusion of anyone previously associated with any communist party Deportation of immigrants in the U.S. belonging to communist parties
SCIRP Findings
• 1) Robust lawful immigration was " a positive force in American life" o It was in the national interest of the U.S. Not simply an act of generosity New arrivals were entrepreneurs, hard-working, and actually less likely to collect welfare benefits "In the aggregate, they contribute to economic growth and productivity" • 2) Illegal immigration was a serious problem o Needed to be controlled before expanding opportunities for legal immigration o Illegal immigration having an adverse impact on the economy Undocumented population has little incentive to: • Report crimes • Seek medical help • Report exploitation by employers o Population doesn't have basic civil rights o Support for employer sanctions and border patrol o Support for national identification card as secure and universal system of employee eligibility • Commission recommended controlling illegal immigration before expanding legal immigration o Explains handling of illegal immigration in 1985 before expanding immigration opportunities in 1990 by Congress • Helps to decouple the issue of legal immigration from illegal immigration • 3) Supported three tracks of policy to handle legal admissions for family reunification, needed job skills, and refugee admissions o Each track was essential to national interests o Visa allotments for each should be expanded • 4) Asian, Latin American, and Caribbean immigrants made valuable contributions to American society o Just as easily assimilated as previous immigrant groups • Immigration policy should not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion • Additionally: • Rejection of guest-worker program o Creates a captive and exploitable labor force • Advocated generous and broad amnesty for undocumented workers residing in the U.S. o Avoid civil rights abuses of past deportation programs • Immigration reforms of 1986 and 1990 largely reflect the recommendations of SCIRP • Highly influential in Congress o Viewed as nonpartisan and reflecting expert opinion • Little impact on larger society o Majority of Americans still supported restrictive immigration policies o "it is the most human thing in the world to fear strangers"
Mariel Harbor
• 1980 • Castro allows anyone who wishes to leave Cuba to do so through Mariel Harbor • So long as they had transportation available to them • Cuban refugees in the U.S. Organized boats to leave from Florida to pick them up • Summer and spring of 1980 • 125000 Cubans arrive to the U.S. • Small minority are criminals released from Cuban prisons • Jimmy Carter's administration struggles to respond • Some granted immediate asylum • Others processed at military camps • Huge administrative difficulties • Same year • More than 200000 refugees resettled from Indochina
Congress and immigration 1980s
• 1983: Reintroduction of legislation based on the recommendations of the SCIRP o Again passes the Senate • Challenge is the House of Representatives o Several Committees claim to have jurisdiction over the measure • Agricultural Committee o Advocated temporary worker program • Education and Labor Committee o Sought increased protections for civil rights and liberties • Energy and Commerce Committee o Advocated broad health-care benefits for aliens potentially granted amnesty • Judiciary Committee o Worked for expansions of amnesty provisions • Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill not willing to put the measure up for vote o Democratic party is deeply divided on the issue o Fear the Reagan white house will veto the measure Effort to curry favor with Hispanic voters • Throughout 1983, public opinion through the media increasingly mounts on the Democratic party to take action on immigration reform Congress and the White House • 1984: Congress passes immigration reform bill o Employer sanctions o Expansive amnesty o 350,000 annual guest farmworker program o New anti-discrimination rights for aliens o Federal reimbursement to states for costs of processing and legalizing undocumented aliens • 1984: Democrats hold tense negotiations with Reagan White House over immigration reform • Reagan agrees to sign the bill if; o Federal reimbursement to states is limited o Additional civil rights to aliens are also limited • Senate and House Committees can't agree on these measures o Immigration reform dies in 1984 • 1985: To pass reform, the bill drops all matters related to legal immigration o Sole focus on illegal immigration o Voluntary employer verification of worker eligibility o Elimination of criminal penalties of repeated employer violations • Earns begrudging acceptance of key business lobbies and ethnic groups o Becoming obvious something is going to be done Want to have role in the process
2000 Presidential Election
• 1996 Presidential election • 6.6 million Hispanic citizens register to vote 2000 presidential election • 7.7 million Hispanic citizens registered to vote • Al Gore receives 62% of the vote • Bush receives 35%
Immigraiton Act of 1990
• 700,000 legal admissions first three years o 675,000 thereafter o Provisions to exceed limit for immediate family members • Family-based visas expanded o Employment-based visas substantially expanded o Permanent diversity grants for Ireland, Hong Kong, Tibet o Sexual preference exclusions rescinded • President Bush signs into law in 1990 • "The Immigration Act of 1990 reflected an insulation of the policymaking process from restrictive-minded publics, one in which the ideological convergence of liberal and conservative politicians and organized interests in favor of expanding immigraiton opportunities framed policy outcomes." Tichenor
War Refugees Relief Truman
• After death of Stratton bill: o Truman goes on offensive Goes to newspapers, magazines, radio, advocacy groups to scold Congress for failing to help displaced persons Much of American civil society becomes persuaded of need to grant refugee relief • Key tool: o Refugee relief tied to the Cold War Need to extend relief to political refugees attempting to flee the Soviet Union o Need to solve refugee problem before Europe can economically recover
1980 Refugeee Act
• Barely passed by congress • Republicans upset by welfare provisions for refugees • Highly expansionist • Despite popular opposition • Institutionally • Separate considerations for legal and illegal refugee admittance • Focus was for refugees living overseas who would then be granted admittance into the U.S. • There were some provisions made for individuals who made it to U.S. territory and asked for asylum • Admittance was to be at the discretion of the attorney general
Personal Repsosibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996
• Bars non citizens from broad set of federal benefits • Temporary assistance for needy families • Medicaid, food stamps • Clinton supports as part of broader desire to reform welfare • Immigration and Welfare Reform laws of 1995 and 1996 • Retrenchment of legal protections and social entitlements for illegal immigrants • Triumph for free market republicans/ liberal democratic supporters for expansive legal immigration
1996 Presidential Election
• Bill Clinton defeats Bob Dole for second term • Dole had heavily allied himself with restrictive policies toward illegal immigrants • Supported denying education benefits to children of undocumented immigrants • Growing realization in 1996 that immigrants are the fastest growing voting bloc in the U.S. • Democrats are the primary beneficiaries of that growth • Republican welfare measures have the effects of encouraging immigrants to naturalize • One million immigrants become naturalized in 1996 • Voter registration among Latinos grows by 1.3 million from 1992 to 1996 • Clinton Administration senses positive electoral complications in 1995 • Encourages the INS to naturalize immigrants as quickly as possible
Comprehensive immigration Reform Act of 2007
• Bush administration wants to return to issue of immigration in 2004 • Revisits guest worker program • Wants to make immigration reform top of legislative agenda • 2004-2005 • Congress looks into immigration reform • Enhanced enforcement • Visa reforms for increased legal inflows • Legalization of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. • Enforcement investments in border enforcement, expedited deportation, and online verification of employee status • Visa Reforms • Variation in proposals • All reject amnesty • Instead favor "earned legalization" • Immigrants offered legal status on the condition they meet a variety of requirements to obtain citizenship • Live in the country at least 5 years, never been arrested, all taxes paid, work steadily for 2 years Secure borders, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 • 2006 Congressional Elections: o Democrats take majorities in both the House and the Senate Appears to bode well for the prospects of CIR • Bush pushes for CIR strongly in 2007 o Works closely with Ted Kennedy(D-MA) and Jon Kyl(R-AZ) to develop legislation o Working toward "grand bargain" for comprehensive immigration reform acceptable to both Democrats and Republicans • Also known as Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 • Bill introduced in the Senate; includes: o Creation of "Z" visa Given to everyone living without a valid visa prior to 2010 Legal right to remain in the United States, given social security number • After 8 years, eligible for a green card after a $2,000 fine; paying back taxes • Five year after receiving green card - can naturalize • End family reunification • Guest worker program • "y" visa o Temporary workers can stary for two years, then return home o 200,000 per year • Border Enforcement o 20,000 additional agents on the U.S. Mexico border o Additional 370 miles of fencing o Employment Eligibility Verification - All employers would have to keep immigrant status of employee up to date in a central national database • Also included the DREAM ACT • Stiff resistance by Democrats and Republicans • Republicans: o Don't like path to citizenship provisions o Rewards illegal immigrants for violating immigrations laws • Democrats: o Don't like provision limited family reunification o Labor unions and human rights organizations don't' like temporary guest worker program Undercuts labor's negotiating position Group of workers with few benefits, low wages Workers would have a strong incentive to overstay the two-year visa • Measure fails to get through senate • Bush expresses deep dissatisfaction with Congress • 9/11 and conservative elements within his own party o Unable to push through his ambition 2001 immigration reform agenda
AFL-CIO
• CIO has a liberalizing effect on the AFL o New President of the AFL also has pro-immigration inclinations o The AFL- CIO subsequently becomes a supporter of expanded immigration opportunities into the United States o Big blow to restrictionists Have lost key ally in maintaining anti-immigration policies • Differences between CIO and AFL fade away by 1950s - two organizations merge
Clinton and Immigration
• Clinton administration endorses the findings of the Jordan Commission o Also takes a much harder line on refugee admittances o Cuban refugees intercepted at sea will no longer be granted admittance into the United States o Backs off three decades of refugee tradition in the United States
Jordan Commission
• Commission on Immigration Reform (CIR) o Created during Immigration Act of 1990 o Headed by Barbara Jordan (former representative from Texas - Democrat) o More cautious conclusions about the benefits of immigraiton Particularly on economic prospects of African American communities • Advocates making employer sanctions more effective o Computerized registry verifying worker eligibility with data from Social Security administration and the INS • Still endorses large-scale admissions o But with modest cuts in annual visa numbers o Elimination of preference for extended family members
Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy (SCIRP)
• Created by the democrats in the late 1970s to try and delay immigration reform effects • Plays an important role in immigration policy during the 1980s • Promise was the commission would offer unbiased and prudent policy recommendations for illegal immigration
Dem;ocrats and Immigraiton late 1970s
• Democratic Party in a bind • Labor is a key constituent • Ethnic groups and civil rights groups are key constituents • Plan is to simply stall any decision making • Once the economic crisis is over, people's minds will change
Consequences of Bracero Termination
• No legal means of processing large number of Mexican immigrants coming to U.S. for agricultural work o Immigration Reform Act of 1965 provides a cap of 120,000 visas for Western Hemisphere Demand for agricultural jobs far exceeds that number Huge incentive for illegal immigration into the United States Still living with the ramification of policy that doesn't fit real-world immigration trends today
Dream Act
• Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act in 2001 • Provides permanent residency to the children of illegal immigrants who were not born in the U.S. • Track for obtaining planet legal residency on condition of completing education or serving in the military • Had to have arrived in the U.S. prior to the age of 16 • Could not currently be older than 21 • Lived continuously in the U.S. for 5 years • Runs into trouble with the Republican Party • "Amnesty" becomes a cautionary word with the republicans • Fear that the DREAM act rewarded illegal immigration • Fear there would be an increase in illegal immigration • First version of the act was defeated in both houses
Domestic Council Committee on Illegal Immigraitno
• Domestic council advocates employer sanctions • Placate elements in government that don't want to expand federal budget for the INS • Massive deportation is inhumane and impractical • No recommendations on how to deal with the illegal aliens already residing in the country
New Latino Interest Groups
• Early 1970s • There are few interest groups favoring Mexican immigration • Cesar Chavez and his organizations • Do not support illegal immigration • Want employer sanctions • League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) • View is that illegal immigration is an obstacle • Want political rights and cultural assimilation • Throughout the 1970s there is a dramatic expansion of ethnic based interest groups • Consequence of the civil rights movement • Rise of 8 national level Latino groups in Washington D.C. • Employer sanctions • Would subject Hispanic Americans to job discrimination • Eventually persuade Chavez and other groups to oppose employer sanctions • Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) • Designed to fight for Mexican American legal protection • Modeled after the NAACP • Takes on important role of lobbying congress on behalf of undocumented workers • The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) • Lobbied on general immigration policy • Lobbied against employer sanctions • Cesar Chavez was persuaded to only oppose strike-breaking immigration in 1975 • Not undocumented immigrants in general • AFL-CIO • Remains opposed to illegal immigration • Early 1970s there is competition against some African American groups • Undocumented aliens are competition for jobs • Supported employer sanctions
Employer Sanctions
• Employer sanctions for hiring undocumented workers very appealing to liberal Democrats and labor o Punish employers who are exploiting labor rather than deporting masses of immigrant laborers Deportation campaign often result in civil rights abuses of Latino citizens and permanent residents Punishing employers would remove incentive for illegal immigration
1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act
• Employers responsible for ensuring that employees are legally entitled to work • Illegal to knowingly hire undocumented workers • All undocumented workers who had entered the U.S. prior to January 1, 1982 were legalized o Amnesty o Qualified for legal permanent residence and citizenship o 3 million undocumented aliens benefit • Anti-discrimination provisions
New Restrictionist Movement
• Environmental and population control groups mobilize against immigration policy • Commission on population growth and the American future • Established by Nixon in 1969 • Concludes that immigration is a growing source of population growth • Belief that population growth will eventually threaten the stability of American life • Increased competition for resources as time goes on • Population control groups become involved • Sierra Club • Zen Population Growth • Becomes a western ideal • 1976 • Congress amends Western Hemisphere quota to limit 20000 immigrants per country • Aimed at Mexico • Congress increasingly advocating for immigration limit • Anti immigration sentiment rises dramatically throughout the decade • Obvious to many Americans that there is a massive inflow of immigrants • The economic recession increases anti immigration sentiment • By the end of the 70s most Americans support restrictions to both legal and illegal immigration
Restrinistionists (1990s)
• Federation for American Immigration Reform ( FAIR) o Small minority of lawmakers try to pass restrictionist immigration reform with support of FAIR and other restrictionists groups o Crackdown on illegal immigration o Reduce admittances to 300,000 annually o Very little support in Congress • Outside of Washington, restrictionist immigration groups set out to build a strong network of interest representation o Particularly in California, Texas, and Florida
Reagan and Refugees
• Growing conflict between Democratic Congress and Republican Reagan Administration over refugees o Asylum granted to refugees from Nicaragua, Cuba, the Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia • Reagan administration much less likely to grant asylum to groups who aren't fleeing communist or anti-American regimes • Reagan administration had a great deal of latitude in determining viable refugees o Tended to shirk away from the expansive definition of the 1980 Refugee Act o Much more focused on refugees from communist countries • Church groups around the U.S. formed a movement to shelter illegal refugees from: o El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Haiti o Fewer than 1% of these groups granted admittance into the United States
Effectiveness of Employer Sanctions
• IRCA introduces I-9 Form o All employees hired after November 6, 1986 must present documentation verifying work eleigibility U.S. Passports Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) Driver's License / Social Security Card ... Many other possibilities • Huge underground industry emerges providing undocumented aliens with fraudulent documents o In both the United States and Mexico • No Clear mandate for the INS o IRCA contains both employer sanctions and amnesty o Wide array of contradictory directives Protections against employer discrimination • Both Reagan and Bush administrations unenthusiastic about enforcing employer sanctions o Believed in limited government, not expanded government o "We got here to get government off the backs of hard-working businessmen not to add to their burdens" o Stressed business education over penalties • Sanctions studied on basis of whether or not they should be repealed in 1980s and 1990s o Unfairly burden small businesses o Potentially discriminate against documented aliens and foreign citizens • AFL-CIO o More concerned about potential employee discrimination than enforcement of employer sanctions • Levels of illegal immigration barely impacted by the IRCA
The Cold War and Immigration
• Ideological battle for the "hearts and minds" of other nations in the world • If the U.S. maintained highly restrictive immigration policies: Cold War context provides powerful rationale for Presidents to support immigration • Has more powerful influence in domestic politics when tied with national security • President's office in general becomes much more powerful o "leader of the free world"
Jimmy Carter and Illegal Immigration
• Jimmy Carter advances plan to combat illegal immigration in 1977 • Fine and criminal prosecution for employers knowingly hiring undocumented workers • Social security card required for employment • Increased patrol of Mexican border • Amnesty for all undocumented residents residing in the U.S. prior to 1970 • Carter's bill opposed by several sectors • Agricultural growers • The new Latino interest groups • Sanctions will lead to discrimination • Amnesty only applies to immigrants prior to 1971 • These interests effectively block Carter's proposal • White House has failed to recognize growing agricultural power and Latino interest groups
Results of 1990s immigraiton Reform
• Large scale legal immigration into the U.S. would continue • Immigrants would enjoy fewer benefits until such time that they formally became citizens • Increasing government attention to popular anti immigration attitudes • Directed at illegal immigration and cutting immigrant welfare rights • Sparks increased and renewed activism by immigrant groups. Particularly Latinos
Obama Administration and Immigration
• Matter decided before the Supreme Court (2012) • Rules in favor of the U.S. • 5-3 • Argues that foreign governments should only have to deal with one governing body rather than all 50 states individually • Strikes done everything except for the "reasonable suspicion" provisions • Arizona law prohibited using national origin or race as a factor • Court ordered that the law could be re challenged if this was not the case in practice
Freedom Flight Program
• Nixon administration also strongly supports Freedom Flight Program • Permits between 40,000 and 60,000 Czechoslavakians to remainin the U.S. after the Soviet Union invades Prague in 1968 • Less support for Jewish Russians facing persecution o Trying to negotiate détente in the Soviet Union
Nixon and Refugees
• Nixon administration criticized by both Republicans and Democrats on Jewish refugees o Conservative anticommunists o Liberal human rights advocates • Successful effort in Congress to make open emigration a condition of granting trade benefits to the Soviet Union and its allies
2012 Presidential Election
• Obama highlighted work against illegal immigration o Doubling of border patrol agents on Mexican border o Additional fencing of border with Mexico o Increased deportation of undocumented immigrants with a criminal record Annual deportation of 400,000 undocumented immigrants o Advocates mandatory use of E-Verify • Supports DREAM Act • Supports path to legalization • June 2012 - Obama administration will not seek deportation of young people o If arrived to U.S. before age 16 and currently less than 30 o Renewable two year work permits o Goes into effect 2015 • Mitt Romney: o Advocated a fence over the entire length of Mexico o Supports E-Verify o Advocated pathway to citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants Preference for doing so through military service o Supported Arizona SB 1070 o Did want to make legal immigration more expansive • Barack Obama received 71% of the Hispanic vote • Mitt Romney received 27% of the Hispanic vote o 77% of Asian Americans voted for Barack Obama • Latinos made up 10% of the overall electorate in 2012 • Republican party attempting to re-orient itself toward Latino voters o Strongly conservative elements an issue o Tea Party now on a concerted effort to figjht immigration reform
Kennedy and the Bracero Program
• Organized labor, religious groups, welfare organizations fight to have the program ended o Wages and working conditions are routinely ignored o Little effort by the government to enforce conditions of the program o AFL-CIO heavily lobbies to terminate the program • Southern and Western agricultural interests have extensive influence in Congress o Compromise to extend Bracero program into 1964 o Kennedy wants to end it immediately, but agrees to extend it two more years o Not renewed after 1964- increasing public opposition Greatly increases illegal immigration after not renewed.
Cesar Chavez
• Organizer of the Farm Workers Association (FWA) o Led a variety of farm workers' strikes during the 1960s and 1970s o Key leader in struggle for Mexican-American civil rights o Emphasis on organizing farm-workers o Chavez himself urges high-ranking Democrats to crackdown on illegal immigrants into the United States who are undermining labor's position
Immigraiton Reform Act of 1965
• Passes across bipartisan lines with large majorities in both the House and Senate o 170,000 visas for immigrants from the Eastern hemisphere No single country can be given more than 20,000 o 120,000 visas for the Western hemisphere With no single-country limitations • 74% of visas reserved for family members of U.S. citizens/ permanent residents o 20% goes to occupational categories o 6% goes to refugees • Has profound impact on immigration into the United States
Arizona SB 1070
• Perception among many states that the government is not doing enough to curb illegal immigration • Arizona takes the lead on creating their own legislation • Arizona legislature passes the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act in 2010 • Goal is to aggressively enforce immigration law • Cause illegals to self deport • Similar legislation is passed around the country • Key provisions revolve around reasonable suspicion, registration work, and probable cause • Key Provisions • Reasonable suspicion "show me your papers" • Officers have an obligation to assess the immigration status of any individual that they are reasonably suspicious is in the country illegally • Includes anyone stopped or contacted by police • Officers have the responsibility to assess the immigration status of an individual who has been arrested • "Registration" • U.S. federal policy requires all immigrants residing within the country for more than 30 days to have a registration card • Must always have this card in their possession • In Arizona, local law officials were to have authority to enforce his provision • "Work" • Immigrants who are not authorized to work in the country may not apply for, solicit, or perform work with in the state of Arizona • It is illegal for anyone to knowingly hire an undocumented worker • "Probable Cause" • Officers can arrest immigrants without a warrant if they believe they have committed a crime they can be deported for • Before the law was enacted: • The federal government blocked its implementation • Argued that Arizona was overstepping its bounds • Arizona statutes violate existing federal legislation on immigration • The U.S. argues SB 1070 • Immigration exclusively a federal responsibility • State officers must have a federal officer with them in order to make immigration arrests • Focuses on individuals with criminal records • Arizona law would create undue burden on criminal justice enthusiasm • Unlawful presence in the U.S. • It is a civil offense • Arizona makes it a criminal offense resulting in a jail sentence • Federal policy specifically chose to punish employers rather than employees
Plyer v. Doe (1982)
• Plyler v. Doe (1982) o Prevents the State of Texas from denying public education to the children of undocumented immigrants o Stinging rebuke of federal government's failure to provide for immigration reform • "Encouraged by some to remain here as source of cheap labor, but nevertheless denied the benefits our society makes available to citizens and lawful residents"
presidential commission on immigration and naturalization
• Presidential Commission on immigration and Naturalization o Intended to debunk the Dillingham Commission once and for all o What is the impact of new immigration on American economic, social, and population trends? Commission hears from natural sciences, economist, sociologist, anthropologists, historians, and political scientists. • Presidential Commission on Immigration and Naturalization o Challenge the findings of the Dillingham commission Drawing on the huge swath of empirical evidence • Suggest there is no difference between new and old immigration • "The basic racist assumption of the national origins system is invalid" • National origins quotas a "hollow mockery of confident world leadership" • Also offered rebuke of domestic racial discrimination in the U.S. against African Americans.
Texas Governer George W. Bush
• Pro immigration record while governor of Texas • Rejected efforts to recreate Prop 187 in Texas • Opposed "English only" proposals • Did not take part in the Republican "bashing" of immigrants during the 1990s
Propostion 187
• Proposition 187 (California) o Designed to deny illegal immigrants welfare, nonemergency healthcare, and public education • Republican California Governor Pete Wilson supports the measure o Claims California spends 4.8 billion on welfare, health, education, and criminal justice costs for legal and illegal immigrants o State Republican party also supports the measure
Reagan and immigration
• Reagan while campaigning in 1980: o Endorsed North American free trade zone with unregulated movement of goods, services, technology, and workers • Reagan from California o Close ties to agricultural interests o Originally believed the U.S. and Mexico should have an open border o Based on free-market principles Saw regulating immigration as economically self-destructive • General desire by the Reagan administration to decrease the role of government in the country o Included immigration o Government should not be dictating who can come and who can't o Believed employer sanctions represented government intrusion in the market Invade privacy; threaten civil liberties • Reagan administration forced to back of laissez-faire approach to immigration reform o Most Americans want immigration restriction • Reagan administration reluctantly offers its own immigration control plan o Watered-down and ineffective employer sanctions o National identity card idea abandoned • Reagan plan demonstrated several important aspects of the administration's attitude toward immigration: • Welcomed immigrants as a source of cheap labor • It was uninterested in expanding civil rights to them o Large temporary farmworker's program o Limited access to amnesty Concerned about masses of immigrants making demands on the welfare state
1994 Congressional Elections
• Republicans gain control of both houses of Congress o First time since 1952 • Emphasis on restrictive immigration reform o Limit legal admissions o Make immigrants ineligible for welfare benefits o Curb illegal immigration • Socially conservative Republicans now populate Congress o Eager to enact these proposals • Republicans consider immigration a critical issue to help mobilize support of traditionally Democratic-voting working class o Particularly in Florida and California • Newt Gingrich Speaker of the House o Creates special task force on immigration reform • Bob Dole readying 1996 Presidential Campaign o Goes on TV suggesting California, Texas, and Florida are paying unfair costs to support immigration policy o Policymakers (Democrats) "not willing to protect our borders"
The Stranger At Our Gate/ A Nation of Immigrants
• Several prominent politicians write books in defense of pro-immigration policy o Hubert Humphrey (D-MN) The stranger at Our Gate • Celebrated diversity of American immigration o JFK A Nation of Immigrants • Celebrated diversity of American immigration and offered a strong rebuke of the quota system • A nation of Immigrants, in particular, was widely read o Helps create pro-immigration sentiment in the U.S.
Illegal Immigraiton Reform and Immigrant Repsonsitbilty Act
• Smith bill largely transformed to target specifically undocumented immigrants, visa violators, and criminal aliens • Provisions restricting legal admissions struck out • New provisions denying public education to children of undocumented workers Moves to conference committee and becomes the IRIRA • Enhances ability of the federal government to guard national borders • Toughens asylum procedures • Limits immigrants access to public benefits • U.S. Financial sponsors required for newcomers • Stringent restrictions on undocumented criminals • Clinton threatens to veto the bill if the provision restricting educational access to children of undocumented immigrants aren't removed • After removal of education provision, Clinton signs the act into law in September of 1995
Tea Party
• Tea Party • Coalition of conservative activists that formally organized in 2009 • Strongly reflect restrictionists points of view • Strongly identifies as republican • Label immigration reform as "amnesty" • Opposes this stringently • Influential in the Republican Party
Indochines Refugess
• The challenges of Vietnam: o U.S. withdraws troops from Vietnam in 1973 o Realization that many in South Vietnam who had actively supported the U.S would be severely punished if (when) the South fell to the North o Saigon falls to North Vietnamese in 1975 Gerald Ford presidential administration admits more than 130,000 refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos Generally praised by Congress • Passes additional assistance(expedited legal residency, resettlement, language and vocational assistance and medical care) Carter and Indochinese Refugee Relief • Large contingent of American civil society supports refugee relief for Indochinese o Ethnic groups o Civil rights and religious groups o Organized labor o Liberal politicians o African American communities Groups all share common commitment to civil rights
Bush Administraiton and Immigration
• Wants to reinitiate guest worker programs • Increased immigration controls • Concentrate forces at the border rather than arresting them in the U.S. • Waiting period prior to citizenship • Praised the family values and work ethic of the Latino population • "Immigration is the sign of a successful nation" • Proposed dividing the INS into 2 agencies • One works to control the border • Deportation of undocumented workers residing within the country • The other agency works to develop a friendlier process for naturalization • Encourages family reunification • Relatives of people seeking naturalization can stay with family in the U.S. while they're papers are being processed • Met with Mexican president Vincente Fox 9 times prior to 9/11 • Bush believes that his relations with Mexico would be his foreign policy legacy • Developed bilateral Working Group on Migration • "Grand Bargain" • Legalize most Mexicans in the U.S. • Larger role for Mexico in patrolling the border • On September 6, 2001 a deal is close at hand
