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Final
thoughts on immigration
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
As part of the ongoing effort to name and counterpoint myths about
immigration, my column this week focuses on a huge misperception. It is
that most immigrants cross the border illegally.
While there are many
undocumented immigrants in the United States today, according to the
Department of Homeland Security most arrive with documentation. About 75
percent of today’s immigrants have legal permanent (immigrant) visas. Of
the 25 percent who are undocumented, 40 percent have overstayed
temporary (non-immigrant) visas. That was a startling revelation to me.
Yet the question of why all don’t get documents that would make their
presence “legal” remains. We are, as the sound bite goes, a nation of
laws and the law is being violated.
Many so-called illegal immigrants would seek documentation except for
the fact that the limitations of immigration law are unrealistic for
them. Current laws permit too few persons to enter to work or to be
united with family members. Low visa limits and the complications
connected with getting appropriate documentation are at the core of the
problem. The legal channels need to be widened to meet the needs of
today’s realities.
Few have focused on the fact that families seeking appropriate
documentation often have long waits, sometimes up to 15 to 20 years, to
be reunited. For persons who desire permanent residence, the time
between application and admittance is unreasonable. Even an individual
married to a U.S. citizen with children must sometimes wait years for
his status to be clarified. If the system is to be fixed, greater
priority must be given to family reunification and the amount of time a
person seeking to do everything according to immigration regulations
must wait for relief.
Most undocumented immigrants come from desperate circumstances. Although
it is difficult for them to leave their home countries and families,
they find themselves compelled to do precisely that. There’s little hope
they can improve the lives of their families or even provide basic human
needs where they are. The appearance of people’s skin and their nation
of origin do not make fathers and mothers any less desperate to care for
their children, their aging parents, their extended family.
At the same time, many businesses in the United States need workers and
are eager to hire those willing to work, yet the numbers are limited by
current immigration law. Even though immigrants often work at
lower-paying jobs, the wages here are far higher than anything they
could earn at home. For the average immigrant, crossing the border is a
matter of life, his own and his family’s. For those who are desperate,
the focus is on getting into the United States and not on immigration
law. This may seem unreasonable to those living a secure life. It isn’t
seen that way by those willing to risk all to bring quality of life to
their family.
Census Bureau data is not necessarily up-to-date. Nevertheless, the
Census Bureau reports that the percentage of the U.S. population that is
foreign-born stands at approximately 11.5 percent. In the early 20th
century, it was almost 15 percent. Similar to accusations about today’s
immigrants, the migrants of 100 years ago initially settled in
mono-ethnic neighborhoods, spoke their native languages, and built up
newspapers and businesses that catered to their fellow immigrants. They
also experienced the same types of discrimination that today’s
immigrants face, and needed time to integrate into American culture.
Unfortunately, every wave of immigration has been met with suspicion and
doubt and yet, ultimately, immigrants have helped build this country
into what it is today.
Insistence that better border enforcement will solve the immigration
problem is a common sound bite. However, history suggests that people
determined to improve life for themselves and their families will find a
way. Moreover, according to the Immigration and Naturalization Service
Web site, border strategies have only channeled migrants to more remote
crossing points, resulting in increased fatalities.
Insufficient legal avenues for immigrants are a huge part of the problem
and likely will remain so as the need for workers increases. If the need
for jobs dries up, people whose compulsion is to find work most likely
will no longer put their lives at risk in search of jobs that no longer
exist. The reality of the situation is, however, as previously mentioned
in this series of articles on immigration, there is an increasing gap
between jobs to be filled and native-born workers entering the job
market. Given the birth control/abortion culture in which we find
ourselves, it is highly unlikely that native-born birth rates will rise
in the United States. If nothing else, this reality cries for measures
that will allow immigrants to come across our borders through regular
channels so it will be known who is here and why they have come, and so
that those who desire permanent residence can, in a reasonable period of
time, be granted that residence, if not full U.S. citizenship.
It is time for myths to be put aside and for realistic immigration law
reform to take place. Contributing to that goal is why the Indiana
Catholic Conference has committed itself to naming the myths that to
date have dominated the debate over immigration.
In their 2006 pastoral letter “I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me:
Meeting Christ in Our Neighbors,” the bishops of Indiana wrote: “We
vigorously support our nation’s right and responsibility to provide
secure borders for the protection of our people and to guard against
those who would do us harm. At the same time, we reject positions or
policies that are anti-immigrant, nativist, ethnocentric or racist. Such
narrow and destructive views are profoundly anti-Catholic and
anti-American … Such divisive and exclusionary attitudes are also
profoundly anti-Catholic because they deny the dignity of human persons
who are made in God’s image. They also contradict the essential unity
and Catholicity to which we are called as members of the one family of
God.”
The rule of law must be respected. The discussion cannot end there,
however. Undocumented immigrants are persons with dignity, a reality
that obliges us to learn about the immigration system, understand the
motives for migration, and consider the needs of individuals and
families. |
