Open letter to Republican Senators about Immigration Reform

I come to you to make my case for you to contribute to the approval of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

The first point I want to make is regarding President Ronald Reagan. It seems he is an admired president among the Republican community. He signed measures that brought economic prosperity to the country. He was also the president that had the guts to pass an immigration reform.

People say that the amnesty approved with that bill brought an explosion of new immigrants. Well, it could also be said that the economic prosperity that followed opened new jobs and opportunities and there were not enough people here to cover those jobs, and so it was the economic prosperity what brought new immigrants. Recession times have shown a decrease in immigrants. Do we want economic prosperity or do we want recession? Immigrants are a sign of economic health.

11 million illegal immigrants are, as expected, a diverse group of people. 10% work in management positions. I imagine this is comparable to the citizen population. There are many illegal immigrants that hold college education degrees. Some of these higher educated people could be illegal because they overstayed their visas, and some of them live here since they were children and went through the education process in United States. They didn’t have access to scholarships, but they were able to get private loans and are now professionals working in corporate America, but still illegal.

There are several lies distributed by extremist in the Internet and other media to denigrate the immigrants. I imagine you, being intelligent people, base your decisions in real numbers, real facts and not in biased rumors with no support, but nevertheless, so we speak in the same language, here some clarification to 3 or 4 facts.

Some people say that illegal immigrants do not pay taxes. You should know that 80% of Texas revenue comes from sales taxes and property taxes, and illegal immigrants cannot avoid those taxes. They also buy lottery and pay all kinds of fees for transactions such as buying a car, or renewing car stickers. The only tax item in discussion is income tax. Illegal immigrants get their income tax deducted from their paychecks if they work for a company, even when they use a fake id. The small group that receives cash payments may opt to report or not such income, just as much as any citizen would. It is in the best interest of the illegal immigrant to report any income in order to prove his legal behavior once he has an opportunity to legalize his situation, so many do. So, as you see, more than 90% of any government taxes and fees are paid by illegal aliens, just as much as citizens do.

Some people complain that illegal immigrants have lots of babies. That is probably true. At least, as a group, they have higher fertility rates. This could also be a good thing. Here a quote from Time magazine: "Between now and 2030, demographers forecast the E.U. will have lost 13 million -or almost 4%- of people ages 15 to 64. Meanwhile, the number of people over 65 will increase by more than 40%. On a continent where the fertility rate is well below 2, these questions arise: Who will make up the workforce? Who will care for the disproportionate number of elderly citizens?" Shouldn’t we make sure the people that are the future, the people that will take care of us when we are old, are at least legal?

Some people say that illegal immigrants are criminals, or that they overpopulate the prison system. In reality, according to the U.S. department of justice only 94,498 inmates are non-citizens, which make less than 1% of the illegal immigrant population. I imagine that is around the same proportion of criminals in the citizen population. Most people are good people. So we should go after that small part that are real crooks and not after common good people.

Being illegal is being outside the law; we understand that clearly, and that is the main issue in discussion. Different crimes have different punishments according to gravity and how they affect other people. So it is important to reason how grave is for a person to work, pay for his own expenses, contribute to the economy, and pay taxes. Should that person be outside the law at all? Of course, there should be a process to legalize the situation. People should and are willing to pay a fine for their transgression, but if they are otherwise law abiding, hard working people, needed in their jobs, they should be able to get a path to legalization.

Some people say that illegal immigrants take jobs that would otherwise go to legal workers. But undocumented workers also create demand that leads to new jobs. They buy food and cars and cell phones, they get haircuts and use legal services, they watch television and cable, and they generate big business for many companies.

Some people say that illegal immigrants are a burden for Social Security and Medicare funds, but in reality they don’t even receive any services from those areas while they contribute about $7 billion per year into Social Security.

Overall, as demonstrated here, most illegal immigrants contribute to society and function for all purposes as any citizen of US.

You know some measurers make no-sense. Some people suggest sending 11 million people back to their countries of origin, but you know that is not possible. 11 million people are 2 huge cities emptied out. Do you imagine the disruption that such imaginary possibility might bring? Plus the moral burden of such dictatorial exodus? Especially since their only crime has been to respond to a call for workers that the country needed.

Other measures like the wall in the border don’t make sense, since 40% of illegal immigrants entered the country with valid visas. The Arizona law SB 1070 is a desperate attempt supposedly against the violence and drug trafficking situation, but those complex problems need much deeper action than racial profiling.

So we know we have to confront reality as it is and contribute to the dialogue and solution, because we are all part of the same reality.

People came here because they were invited. They were invited directly, with ads placed in Mexican and other countries’ media at different times by different industries, such as meat packers, salmon fisheries, or even the military to attract needed workers. They were invited indirectly when the opportunities were here and they were available and ready to fill those posts. Immigration laws should respond to the needs of the industry. If workers are needed, establish a path so that those workers could legally be part of the building of America.

Contributing to the approval of Comprehensive Immigration Reform could be in your political benefit. A big proportion of Hispanic people voted for Bush. They share with the Republican Party some religious beliefs, the respect for life, the drive for prosperity, but they also share with you a big respect for family. So that is why immigration reform is a big issue for them, because it touches their families and close friends. A big proportion of illegal immigrants that can legalize their situation through comprehensive immigration reform would probably become Republican followers if they see their beliefs and expectations supported by the people in charge.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform will mean to get some extra funds from fines and fees that people will have to pay in their way to legalization. It will also mean that any funds spent so far in this limbo of illegality can be dedicated better to solve real problems, to fight terrorists and drug dealers, instead of wasted in harassing common good people. We will have 11 million less imaginary problems, 11 million more people contributing to America, as they have done so far.

Sources:
10% in management
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration_to_the_United_States#Number_of_illegal_immigrants
40% are overstay
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/jul/12/luis-gutierrez/democratic-rep-gutierrez-says-40-percent-illegal-i/
Illegal immigrants are estimated to pay in about $7 billion per year into Social Security.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_illegal_immigrants_in_the_United_States
Only 94,498 inmates are non-citizens
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/pim09st.pdf

Dialogue with Senator Hutchison - Dialogo con la senadora Hutchinson

I wrote to Senator Hutchison asking for action regarding immigration reform. She wrote me back, now I am commenting her responses. I thought it was pertinent to my blog... so this is the latest message I sent her. I will include her message as a response to this one.

"Some points about you response:

You said:
Texas is a state that benefits from the contributions of legal immigrants, but it is also uniquely vulnerable to the dangers of illegal immigration.

I say:
You also have to recognize the contributions of many illegal immigrants… they have been mowing your lawns, cleaning your houses, taking care of your kids, picking the harvest… those are also contributions and many illegal immigrants make those contributions. The “dangers” that you mention are not “dangers” because of immigration per se, criminals are criminals either coming from outside or if they are US citizens. Criminals are the danger, not immigrants. You have to be careful about criminals, but that is why you need to offer a viable solutions to the illegal immigrants that contribute to the state’s economy. And you know they are a lot of them. We immigrants make a huge part of your state, your constituency... you are to be representing us too.

You talk about:
a merit-based immigration system or “point system… Examples of these characteristics would have included job skills deemed helpful to the U.S. economy, level of educational attainment…

I say:
Who decides what “skills” are helpful? Are lawn mowers or house cleaners not helpful? Saying otherwise is being classist, and considering an non-educated person less than yourself. Why do you close the doors to those most in need? To those that work the hardest for your well being?

You talk about the "Rule of the Law"... that is why I am asking you to take action regarding the law... isn't that your job?

You say:
I believe that an issue as important as immigration should be debated openly and freely and subjected to due consideration and review, with time for senators to hear the concerns of their constituents.

I say:
Let's see how much attention you pay to the concerns of this, one of your constituents."

***

Escribí a la senadora Hutchison pidiendole acción con respecto a la reforma migratoria. Ella me contestó, ahora estoy comentando sus respuestas. Creo que es pertinente a los temas de mi blog… así que éste es el último mensaje que le envié. Incluiré su mensaje como respuesta ésta.

" Algunos puntos sobre su respuesta:
Usted dijo: Tejas es un estado que se beneficia de las contribuciones de inmigrantes legales, pero es también vulnerable a los peligros de la inmigración ilegal.

Yo digo: Usted también tiene que reconocer las contribuciones de muchos inmigrantes ilegales… que han estado segando sus céspedes, limpiando sus casas, cuidando sus ninos, recogiendo la cosecha… ésas son también contribuciones y muchos inmigrantes ilegales ofrecen esas contribuciones. Los “peligros” esos usted menciona no son “peligros” debido a la inmigración por sí misma, los criminales son criminales asi vengan del exterior o si son ciudadanos de los E.E.U.U. Los criminales son el peligro, no los inmigrantes. Usted tiene que defenderse de los criminales, pero por eso es que tambien necesita ofrecer soluciones viables a los inmigrantes ilegales que contribuyen a la economía del estado. Y usted sabe que son mucha ellos. Los inmigrantes hacemos una parte enorme de su estado, su distrito electoral… y usted también debe representarnos.

Usted dice: un sistema migratorio basado en méritos o “sistema de puntos… Algunos ejemplos de estas características incluirian las habilidades de trabajo juzgadas provechosas a la economía de los E.E.U.U., el nivel de logro educativo…

Yo digo: ¿Quién decide cuáles son las “habilidades” provechosas? ¿No son los cortacéspedes o los limpiadores de casas utiles para la economia? Negarlo es ser clasista. y ¿consiera a una persona no-educada menos que usted mismo? ¿Por qué usted cierra las puertas a ésas más en necesidad? ¿A los que trabajan el más duro para su bienestar?

Usted habla del "Estado de Derecho" … del poder de la ley, es por eso que le pido que tome medidas con respecto a la ley… ¿No es ese su trabajo?

Usted dice: Creo que un asunto tan importante como la inmigración se debe discutir abiertamente y libremente y ponerlo a la consideración y a la revisión debidas, dando oportunidad para que los senadores oigan las preocupaciones de sus constituyentes.

Yo le digo: Vamos a ver que atención le presta usted a las preocupaciones de esta, una de sus constituyentes.