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THE IIMMIGRATION DILEMMA
Every Member Material - February 2007
Committee Members:
Marcie Dahlen, Harry Ledyard, Barbara Morton, Sylvia Robertson, and Gari Westkott
Undocumented Immigration
Excerpted from the Center for Immigration Studies
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) estimates that in January of 2000 there were seven million illegal aliens living in the United States, a number that is growing by half a million a year. Thus, the illegal-alien population in 2003 stands at least eight million. Included in this estimate are approximately 78,000 illegal aliens from countries who are of ‘Special Concern’ in the war on terror. It is important to note that the 500,000 annual increase is the net growth in the illegal-alien population (new illegal immigration minus deaths, legalizations, and out-migration). In 1999 for example, the INS estimates that 968,000 new illegal aliens settled in the U.S. This number was offset by 210,000 illegal aliens who either died or returned home on their own, 63,000 who were removed by the INS, and 183,000 illegal aliens who were given green cards as part of the normal ‘legal’ immigration process. One of the most important findings of the INS report is the intimate link between legal and illegal immigration. The INS estimates that it gave out 1.5 million green cards to illegal aliens in the 1990s. This was not due to amnesty legislation, but rather reflects how the legal immigration process embraces illegal immigration and encourages it through legal exemptions. According to the INS, only 412,000 illegal aliens were removed during the decade. The Census Bureau has also developed estimates of its own. Their estimate, at the time of removal during the decade, was that the 2000 Census suggests that the illegal immigration population was about eight million. Using this number, it can be concluded that the illegal-alien population grew by almost half a million a year in the 1990s. This conclusion is derived from a draft report given to the House immigration subcommittee by the INS that estimated the illegal population was 3.5 million in 1990. For the illegal population to have reached eight million by 2000, the net increase had to be 400,000 to 500,000 per year during the 1990s.
The two ‘magnets’ which attract illegal aliens are jobs and family connections. The typical Mexican worker earns one-tenth his American counterpart, and numerous American businesses are willing to hire cheap, compliant labor from abroad; such businesses are seldom punished because our country lacks a viable system to verify new hires' work eligibility. In addition, communities of recently arrived legal immigrants help create immigration networks used by illegal aliens and serve as incubators for illegal immigration, providing jobs, housing, and entree to America for their relatives and fellow countrymen.
The standard response to illegal immigration has been to increase border enforcement. And, in fact, such tightening of the border was long overdue. But there has been almost no attention paid to enforcement at worksites within the United States. Nor has there been any recognition that the networks created by high levels of legal immigration contribute to mass illegal immigration.
Key findings on the issue
include:
Excerpted from The Bell
Institute
Demographics
•
In 2004, 35.7 million
foreign-born immigrants lived in the U.S.
• Nationwide, 29 percent or 10.3 million are estimated to be undocumented.
• In 2004, 434,938 foreign-born immigrants lived in Colorado, about 10 percent
of the state population.
• In Colorado, about half of the state's immigrants, between 200,000 and 250,000
are estimated to be undocumented.
Economic Impacts
•
Immigration drives
economic growth in the nation as a whole, adding about $10 billion to the U.S.
economy annually.
• Immigrants come to the U.S. to work. While 83 percent of native-born men work,
the rate is 86 percent for documented immigrant men and 90 percent for
undocumented immigrant men.
• Wages and employment of native-born U.S. workers are affected minimally by
immigration.
State and Federal policy
• Immigration is a federal issue. Current immigration laws and policies need to be revised to better meet the needs of the economy.
• Immigrants pay their way. Under most scenarios, immigrants pay more in taxes than they consume in services.
• However, there tends to be a net surplus at the federal level and a net cost to states and localities
• The costs of implementing proposals to deny government services to undocumented immigrants exceed the saving they generate.
What the furor is all about
Staff writers
Rosa Ramirez and Myung Oak Kim, Source: Rocky Mountain Research, June 30, 2006
Education available to illegal immigrants
• K-12 public education: The 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case, Plyler vs Doe, said that denying K-12 public education to illegal immigrants violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and that educating undocumented children benefits the country in the long run.
• Free and reduced-price school lunches and breakfasts: The 1996 federal welfare law (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act) says this service is available to non-citizen children as long as families show financial need.
Education not available to illegal immigrants
• Student loans for higher education; Illegal immigrants are not eligible for federal and state financial aid, including work-study programs, student loans and need-based aid, such as Pell Grants.
• In-state college tuition: Illegal immigrants must pay higher out-of-state tuition rates in Colorado. States that do offer illegal immigrants in-state tuition include TX, CA. KA. NY, UT, IL and OK.
Medical aid available to illegal immigrants *
• Women, infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program: Agency workers do not ask for a client's status.
• Outpatient medical care: Only at clinics designated as federally qualified health centers—those helping needy communities—where clients receive medical care if they demonstrate financial need.
• Prenatal care: Only at federally qualified health centers.
• Emergency medical care: Paid by Medicaid if patient shows financial need.
• Labor and delivery care in hospitals: Paid by Medicaid if patient shows financial need.
• Immunizations: Health departments and clinics generally do not ask for immigration status. They prefer to vaccinate as many people as possible to prevent disease outbreaks.
Medical not available to illegal immigrants *
• Medicaid, Non-emergency coverage: As of recently, recipients must document citizenship or qualified legal immigration status. A court challenge to that rule has been filed.
Income Assistance available to illegal immigrants
• Business license: The state does not ask for proof of immigration status.
• Workers compensation: State law requires employers to pay for workers comp insurance for employees or to self-insure. Payments do not come from public funds.
Income Assistance not available to illegal immigrants
• Welfare: (now called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). Agency workers check an applicant's Social Security number and match it to his or her name.
• Food stamps: Same procedure as welfare.
• Public housing: Same procedure as welfare.
• Low-income energy assistance: Same procedure as welfare
Other benefits available to illegal immigrants
• Public defender: Required by the U.S. Constitution for those charged with criminal offenses (not available in civil court or immigration court).
• Public garbage pickup
• Public park use
• Police and fire services
Other benefits not available to illegal immigrants
• Voting: Requires a Social Security number and proof of residency such as a utility bill.
• Gun permits: The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which does background checks, will check the applicant's immigration status with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
• Social Security: A person must show proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status to receive benefits.
• Pubic library cards: Anyone can use the library. However, to get a library card, applicants must show a U.S.-issued driver's license, or other identification. A student need only show a school-issued ID.
• Driver's license: Applicants must show proof of immigration status through two forms of ID, such as a birth certificate, out-of-state driver’s license that has expired within the past year or a passport.
* Refer to the booklet: “Health Care in Jefferson County," LWV/Jeffco 1/03, for more data
Western Governors call for reform
Excerpted From
the Denver Post Feb.22, 20
Janet Napolitano is the
Democratic governor of Arizona and chair of the Western Governors’ Association,
Jon Huntsman Jr. is the
Republican Governor of Utah
There is a consensus in this country that our current immigration system is broken and broke. And while we encourage the president and Congress to move forward on immigration reform this year, we also believe the current debate in Washington, D.C. is polarizing and unhealthy. The time for micro-steps and limited action is behind us. Recently, Western governors proposed a comprehensive list of principles to serve as a framework for Congress and the administration to consider as they proceed on immigration reform. As governors, we know that the relationship with Mexico is vital to the United States. For many Western states, Mexico is the top trading partner. And, although illegal immigration is a national issue, western states suffer a disproportionate financial burden on our health care, education, and the environmental and criminal justice systems. In addition, agriculture plays a pivotal role in Western state economies. It is a seasonal industry that has become heavily dependent on a stable and reliable foreign labor pool. But, without a lawful way to provide seasonal employees, current law actually encourages unlawful migration to the United States. Western governors believe that a limited approach to our immigration problems cannot work. Enforcement alone is not the answer; similarly, a guest worker program alone is no panacea. Rather, we recommend a wide attack: reform of our current visa system and reduction of bureaucratic red tape and an emphasis on new technologies. Here are the key elements of our framework:
• Technology-driven border control: The United States needs to restore operational control to our southern border.
• The Sept. 11 commission has done the work of determining adequate funding levels for law enforcement and infrastructure; Congress accepted and enacted those recommendations and should continue to follow that guidance.
• Cutting-edge enforcement technology, including a comprehensive database that interfaces with state, national and international criminal and terrorist databases, while safeguarding privacy, should be Congress' goal.
• We can enhance border security and surveillance through technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles and ground-based sensors and radar. Further, we can achieve better coordination of law enforcement with Mexico by timely sharing of information relevant to the flow of illegal migrants and human and drug trafficking organizations.
• Reform the visa system and widen our legal labor pool: The current visa program is fraught with bureaucracy, delay and inadequacies. The system must be streamlined so that employers are encouraged to use it rather than shun it. That is why the federal government needs to process all employment-based visas in a timely manner in order to eliminate current backlogs and prevent future ones. And, we need sufficient numbers and streamlined processing of H-1B, H-2A and H-2B visas to meet industry demands, particularly in the high tech and biotech industries and seasonal agriculture and hospitality.
• Adopt a guest worker program without amnesty; foreign labor should not be a substitute for U.S. workers. Yet, a national guest worker program should be established to supplement areas where there are documented shortages of U.S. workers. It should require proper background checks and screening including the use of biometric, tamper-resistant identification. Realistic steps, including sanctions, should be taken to address the status of millions of undocumented individuals already here.
• Western governors encourage increased enforcement of current federal employer sanctions. The federal government must adopt a secure, reliable and fast employment verification system.
• Modernize our border infrastructure: Border security and enforcement should not hinder the flow of legitimate travel and commerce between the Western states and Mexico.
• Address root causes by engaging Mexico and Latin America: the federal government must aggressively and more effectively address the root cause of illegal immigration, not just its consequences. The first step is working with Mexican and Latin American governments to generate economic growth, improve the standard of living and promote ownership in those countries.
We call on Congress to enact immigration reform that will restore our respect for the law and our rich immigrant heritage while preparing our economy and workforce for a changing world.
Driver’s License requirements
The
requirements which appear below are current as of March 2006. They will become
obsolete if a provision of the U.S. Patriot Act goes into effect in 2008. Unless
the Patriot Act provision is stricken, all U.S. citizens will be assigned a
"Real ID" card (verifying birth certificate, proof of residency, and social
security number) plus other embedded confidential information. Proponents claim
it is "forgery-proof." It will be required nationwide to apply for a driver's
license.
Overview of Federal and State Driver’s License Requirements
State
driver's license agencies have a twofold task:
• licensing qualified motorists
• ensuring the validity of driver's licenses
Each individual state licensing agency has distinct policies and procedures to
which applicants must adhere before a license will be issued.
Current federal law does not require states to deny DLs to undocumented
immigrants, and very few states contain language explicitly denying DLs to
undocumented immigrants or requiring lawful presence in the U.S. However, some
state DL requirements, such as the requirement to provide Social Security
Numbers (SSNs) have resulted in the inability of undocumented immigrants in some
states to receive DLs, rendering them unable to participate in proper driver's
education courses, to obtain insurance, and to perform daily activities. In some
cases, legal immigrants also have been unable to provide the necessary
documentation to obtain a DL
From NCLR Issue Brief No. 6, May 2002 Safe Roads, Safe Communities: Immigrants
and State Driver's License Requirements, by Michele L. Watson, Ph.D.
Requirements for a Colorado Driver’s License
To Apply for a Colorado Driver’s License you must ...
1. Submit two forms of identification, such as: (Photocopies or notarized copies are not accepted)
• Certified State or County Birth Certificate
• United States Certificate of Birth Abroad
• Previous License or ID Card (expired less than one year)
• Valid Passport
• Valid Military ID Card
• Native American Tribal ID Card
• Resident Alien ID Card
• Naturalization Certificate
• Valid Foreign Passport with Immigration Visa/I-94 (No Border Crossing Cards)
• A Visa Status of Bl, B2, W/T, W/B, C/P or N/C
2. Provide a Social Security Number.
3. Supply a Colorado residence address.
4. Pass all required examinations (physical, vision, written, driving tests).
adapted from the Colorado Driver Handbook, 2005-2006
Numerous ploys exist for skirting the driver's licensing requirement, including:
• Driving without a license: Penalties vary if apprehended. Obviously, a license cannot be taken away from someone who never had one.
• Driving with a borrowed or stolen license: Penalties vary if apprehended.
• Driving with counterfeited document:. Penalty: $50,000.00 fine if apprehended. (See summary of recent Colorado legislation.)
• Colorado will allow a driver to use a foreign license until one establishes residency. Some insurance companies will insure drivers with a foreign license (as of September 2006).
• On March 2, 2006, an item headlined, "DMV clerk charged in driver's license scam. The Denver Post reported: "A federal investigation has resulted in the arrests of two driver's license clerks accused of selling the coveted state documents, the suspension of dozens of driver's licenses, and reforms within the state DMV." A DMV employee who at first denied knowledge of the scam . . . is charged with failure to report a crime and making a false statement and could face up to eight years in federal prison and a fine of $50,000.”
