Suman Raghunathan

Back to Basics (and Justice) on Immigration

So today the Senate restarted its negotiations on the controversial immigration reform legislation, (ginormous PDF) deciding by a slim margin (63-45) to keep the bill alive.

Get ready, folks. We’ve got a bumpy ride ahead.

Over the past month, the Senate proposal has had me on a constant yo-yo. It’s alive, it’s dead. Good amendments (that stand up for humane and smart principles for immigration policy and how it affects the middle class), bad amendments (that stonewall immigrant contributions to our economy and society). Check out one of my past ruminations on the specifics of this bill, which in its latest version does little to protect the rights and honor the hard work of immigrants, and does a lot to enshrine an underclass of immigrant workers.

With reports of a deal between the bipartisan group of Senators who crafted this package of legislation (so variegated it resembles Joseph’s coat of many colors - pardon the Broadway show reference) to introduce 22 different amendments this week to the Senate's immigration reform package, it is easy to become lost in the political maneuverings of this debate. So I think it would be helpful to get away from the politics and instead focus on the principles that should be informing the policy, principles that informed not by partisan power plays but by the intention to create a solution that benefits not only immigrants but the vast majority of Americans. I think it's time to revisit our basic principles on immigration.

Here’s our take on those principles:

* Immigrant workers and their families make important contributions to our economy and to our society. Immigration policy needs to allow immigrants to stay in the country to continue enriching our economy, which helps the American middle class. Immigrant workers are 15% of our civilian workforce, and fueled half of American labor force growth in the past 10 years. Immigration policy must respect these immigrants (both undocumented and those who are in the US legally) and what they bring to our economy as entrepreneurs, taxpayers, workers, and consumers. As I’ve said before, immigrants produce goods and services for the American middle class; they contribute more as taxpayers at both the local and national level than they use in public services such as schools and hospitals; and they propel consumer markets with their rapidly-expanding purchasing power and entrepreneurial spirit.

Many immigrants are part of mixed-status families where, for example, an undocumented parent has a child who’s a US citizen and a sister with a green card. Regardless of their status, both of those adults are providing important fuel to our economy, so much so they actually increase the annual earnings of native-born workers - to the tune of $37 billion a year.

As I said last week, we need to move past the myth of immigrant freeloaders to realize just how crucial immigrants are to our economy, our workforce, and ultimately the economic well-being of the American middle class. This well-being will increase exponentially if undocumented immigrants are able to legalize their status: immigrant workers will be able to demand higher wages (simultaneously raising wages of the native-born middle class and those who hope to join it) and unionize, not to mention the ability to build deeper roots in a regulated economy and give back even more as consumers.

Oh - and let’s not forget the $6-$7 billion undocumented immigrants pump into the Social Security system annually - benefits most will never claim due to their immigration status. Let’s remember the American middle class’s retirement depends on Social Security benefits; so immigrant workers paying into the Social Security safety net make a real difference to the future economic security of middle class workers by putting more money into the pot and literally keeping the whole program afloat.

*Immigration policy must bolster and protect the rights of immigrant workers. As DMI has said before, immigrant workers, particularly those who are undocumented, are often forced to accept low wages, substandard working conditions, wage and hour violations, and employer harassment - all because in an informal labor market, unscrupulous employers can hold their immigration status (or lack thereof and the fear of deportation) over their head. A recent Brennan Center for Justice report on the unregulated workforce outlines the nasty nexus of immigration status and worker exploitation well:

“The best inoculation against workplace violations is workers who know their rights, have full status under the law to assert them, have access to sufficient legal resources, and do not fear exposure or retaliation when bringing claims against their employers.”

This is why organized labor came around to support the principles of immigration reform: they understand how the futures of immigrants and their middle-class members (who, depending on the industry, may be one and the same) are inextricably linked.

Immigration status becomes a trump card to discourage undocumented immigrant workers to speak up for their rights as workers and unionize (among other strategies) to demand fair wages and working conditions. Once this two-tiered labor market (one for undocumented immigrants subjected to low wages, workplace violations, and harassment, another for legal immigrants and native-born workers) is leveled, immigrant workers can ask for and benefit from higher wages and improved working conditions. The end result? Wages of both immigrant and native-born workers can rise, benefiting not only immigrant workers but the American middle class.

Protecting immigrants’ rights in the workplace also means a guest worker program is a no-go. The current immigration reform proposal does not create real reform, and is a recipe for disaster – one that assigns guest workers to two-year stints of employer harassment and workplace violations instead of decades of abuse, low wages, and intimidation.

Phew, that makes me feel better.

Does anyone else remember the bracero program of the 1940s, where tens of thousands of Mexican workers were exploited as low-wage temporary workers in the US, then ultimately cheated out of their promised Social Security benefits after they returned to Mexico? (Ok, I may not be old enough to remember the bracero program personally, but you catch my drift.) Check out Amy Traub’s breakdown of the insanity of a guest worker proposal, and just how much it would to do to erode immigrant and native born workers’ rights and doom fair immigration policy: a la David Brooks, it’s all about the huddled masses yearning to maximize earnings during each two-year window…

For those of you who are visual learners, I think this cartoon really outlines just how messed up a guest worker program would be – can’t we get it right, people? We know it didn’t work in the past, why go there again?

In today’s maelstrom of politics, posturing, and panic on immigration, it’s time to go back to basics. It’s the only way the country can come up with a truly progressive immigration policy.

Suman Raghunathan: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 8:31 AM, Jun 27, 2007 in Immigration
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