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Undocumented Immigrants Rights are Immigrants Rights!
by Amee Chew
6/20/06
A historic wave of marches, boycotts, and strikes for immigrant rights, including amnesty and family reunification, has swept the U.S. On May Day, striking workers shut down Los Angeles international airport, and 75,000 Los Angeles middle and high school students were absent from school. The Port of Aztlan in Long Beach, the largest container port of entry in the United States, came to a complete halt. One million people marched in L.A., 700,000 in Chicago, and half a million in NYC.
May Day caused California and other states to suffer multi-million dollar losses. The coordinated protests demonstrated the economic clout of immigrants, including undocumented workers. Spanish-language press especially played an important role in announcing and calling for the demonstrations, but Chinese American workers in California and New York City also participated in large numbers.
These protests were prompted by the now infamous H.R. 4437. This piece of legislation, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, would make even minor violations of immigration laws a felony, resulting in imprisonment and deportation. Babies brought to the U.S. by their parents without a visa, honor roll college students not taking the correct number of courses, or people late in providing change-of-address notices, would all be considered felons. Notoriously, the law also would make anyone who offers assistance to undocumented immigrants a felon including the staff of community organizations like Chinese Progressive Association. As a result of the outcry, the Senate recently passed a less extreme immigration bill. Now the House and Senate must reconcile their two versions. We need to take a critical look at the legislative proposals on the table, and moreover, continue holding the government accountable and pushing for just immigration policies.
A Look at the Immigration Reform Proposals
Although
the Senates legislation has been lauded as more immigrant-friendly, it
actually includes treacherous provisions for all immigrants! The Senate
provides a very limited path for legalization for those undocumented
immigrants who have lived in the U.S. over 5 years and anyone who
has used fraudulent documents, including Social Security numbers, is
disqualified. Additionally, we must be wary of guest worker programs
which allow foreign workers to come to the U.S., but with few protections
or political rights.
The bill sharply increases resources for detention and enforcement rather than putting a focus on citizenship, family reunification, residency, and services. Immigration detainees are already the fastest growing prison population, with companies rushing to build jails so beds can be filled placing all immigrants at risk for harassment and unjust arrest. Furthermore, the Senate voted to make English the national language which may chip away bilingual programs, materials, and ballots.
Bush has proposed to build three-tier fences and station 6,000 National Guard troops on the U.S.-Mexico border. Yet immigration enforcement at the border has cost over $30 billion in the past 12 years, and not decreased the number of undocumented migrants. Such fences have proven ineffective because they do not address the root causes of migration even though they exacerbate conditions for migrants, adding to the 400 yearly desert deaths, not to mention rapes and beatings.
