Undocumented immigrants and immigration policy

The undocumented among us

There are more than 11 million undocumented immigrants that have been counted and probably millions more who have not been counted. Many of their children are now native-born Americans. Our undocumented immigrants contribute substantially to American society, but their undocumented status means that in most cases they are employed “off the books,” do not pay income taxes, and can’t earn social security credits.
Their undocumented status also means they must live secretly in ghettos reminiscent of Eastern European shtetl which enabled their mostly Jewish inhabitants to survive the pogroms and persecution of Czars and Emperors before World War I.
Their undocumented status means they will never become assimilated into American life and culture the way past generations of immigrants did who passed through Ellis Island before WW II eager to start on the path to become American citizens.

Lessons from the early waves of immigration

The immigrants before World War II quickly learned to speak enough English to work and they soon learned to read the tabloid newspapers by working out the captions under the photos. The photojournalism of Life Magazine became their gateway to the American pop literature of the Saturday Evening Post. The women who could afford to stay at home learned English in the kitchen from their school age children.
When radio entered homes during the 1920s, the assimilation process accelerated. WEVD, “the station that speaks your language,” presented daily shows for the minority populations of New York City—from the Yiddish-speaking Jews on the Lower East Side and the Chinese in “Chinatown” off the Bowery to the African Americans and Hispanics in Harlem and the Bronx; and the Italians, Germans, Poles, and Irish in between—celebrating the diversity of cultures that existed within New York and easing the transition all the immigrants to American English.
While learning to speak English and interacting with the “Americans” who had been here a generation longer than they had, each wave of immigrants enriched American culture with the foods from their homeland—bagels, lox, pastrami, corned beef, pasta, pizza, provolone, mozzarella, lo mein, fried rice, cheeses and cheesecakes of many varieties, schnapps, tacos, burritos, … Expressive words and even vulgar expletives from their native languages were quickly picked up by the rest of Americans and grew the vocabulary of American English.

A catastrophic silence

The silence of undocumented immigrants is the catastrophic silence of people taught by legislative harassment and relentless stereotyping to live mute and afraid.
The fixation on uprooting and expelling undocumented immigrants is negative because it doesn’t work. It’s inflammatory because it tears communities and families apart.
When you turn the local police into la migra, you turn immigrants into the mute prey of criminals. And when you tolerate the poisonous notion that “undocumented” is a stain that can never be erased, with no path to atonement, then you turn the undocumented into a permanent class of presumed criminals who have no rights.
The undocumented do have rights. They have the right to be paid for their labor, to speak freely and to congregate in public places without fear.
There is a way to make the hamlets, villages, towns, and cities of America into “communities” and a better place for all to live.
The Constitution declares that regulating immigration and determining citizenship is an enumerated power of the federal Government under Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution.
Deportation and border control are the responsibility of the federal government. Keeping communities safe and enforcing State and local laws is the function of local law enforcement.
State and local governments must assure the rights of the undocumented, like day laborers, to congregate safely and to be paid for their work, to prevent federal crimes like wage theft and to keep off-the-books businesses from evading taxes, and eroding the pay and creating dangerous working conditions for all workers.
It will take a majority of the United States Congress and the President of the United States together to lead this Country into the peaceful quiet of reconciliation instead of silence based on fear.

Rights and responsibilities

Just what are the rights of undocumented immigrants? Certainly undocumented immigrants have the absolute right to live without fear of mob violence and the right to emergency medical care and treatment no different from that provided for any tourist or visitor to this country. They also have the right to expect that these fundamental rights will be protected by local law enforcement officers and government officials.
A New York Times Editorial on 26 November 2008 asserted, “The undocumented do have rights. They have the right to be paid for their labor, to speak freely, and to congregate in public places without fear.”
Undocumented immigrants have the right to be treated with the personal respect to which all human beings are entitled. They have the right to be free from ruthless exploitation by those who would take advantage of their undocumented statusthe slumlords who provide substandard housing for them and the padrones (to dust off a word from a earlier era of immigration) who profit from their labor by exploiting their lack of fluency in the English language and their need to send money “home” to support their extended families and in some cases entire villages.
But we must not confuse and confound human rights, civil rights, and political rights.
Yes, indeed, undocumented immigrants, “undocumented visitors” if you will, do have rights—all of our fundamental human rights. While they are visiting the United States they also share the civil rights of all American citizens which include, subject to the limits of existing laws that apply to all, the right to speak freely and to congregate in public places without fear.
The question of “rights” for undocumented immigrants becomes more complicated when we consider their children who were either born here or brought to this country without any choice. Do we owe those children a free public education? I think we do, whether for moral reasons or in our own enlightened self-interest.
Do we owe these children and their parents meaningful help with learning to speak and understand the American English language? I believe we do, but the way is through “English as a Second Language” (ESL) programs, not bilingual education and certainly not by providing bilingual government services.
The great “Melting Pot” that was American society during the waves of immigration since the Civil War ended created the American nation state largely through the assimilation of each wave of immigrants within a single generation as they learned to function and communicate in the American English language.
Undocumented immigrants do not have the right to work without complying with the rules and regulations imposed on all Americansthe obligation to pay taxes on wages earned. American citizens are required to obtain a Social Security number and their wages and other earnings are subject to taxation at many levels of government.
The issue is not about undocumented immigrants working and trying to earn a living, it is about their personal contribution to American society as taxpayers. It is also about the obligation of those who would exploit the workforce of undocumented immigrants to meet American standards of occupational health and safety, fair wage payment and reporting, and contributions to social services such as Medicare and Unemployment Insurance.

Decriminalize undocumented immigrant status

At the present time, under the existing laws of most countries, including the United States, an undocumented immigrant is a criminal, not a “presumed” criminal.
An immigrant who is not yet a citizen needs a work permit, a “green card” in order to work for wages. This is the case in every country of the modern industrial world. An American Citizen cannot work for wages in any other country without some kind of government approved and issued work permit.
However, we must respect the contributions many “undocumented” immigrants are making to our Country and our Society. However, the path to political respect—citizenship—must rest on two absolute obligations—pay taxes and learn to communicate in the American English language. The choice offered immigrants who overstay their visas are simple: start down the path to American citizenship or go home.
Crimes like “wage theft” are “federal” crimes. Only the United States Attorneys can prosecute them in the federal courts and they are not.
Local governments, which can only levy sales and use taxes and tax real property values, do not have the power to keep off-the-books businesses from evading employment taxes. eroding pay and conditions for all workers.” That is a job for State governments and to a certain extent the federal government.

A rational, uncomplicated path to citizenship

The basic elements of a rational immigration policy which can quickly assimilate the rapidly growing undocumented immigrant population in the United States can be summarized in the following just and equitable path to citizenship for each of the disparate groups of undocumented immigrants to eventually become American citizens.

For undocumented immigrants already living and working here

• Register and receive a “green” card and proper social security number. Then go back to work on the books and pay your personal income taxes while your employer pays their share of withholding and other employment taxes.
• At the end of two years demonstrate your ability to speak basic English at the Fifth or Sixth grade level and read basic English at the Fourth or Fifth grade level and renew your green card for three more years.
• At the end of five years demonstrate your ability to speak basic English at the Ninth-grade level and that you understand American History and the basic elements of American citizenship at the Twelfth-grade level. If you have no felony or serious misdemeanor convictions on your record and pass an examination, go to the Courthouse and become a “naturalized” American citizen.
• The alternative path is to take your Honorable discharge from the American armed forces after six years of military service or sooner if the discharge is based upon a service connected disability and go directly to the Courthouse to become a naturalized American citizen.

For undocumented minor children of undocumented immigrants

• Register and obtain an education green card for each child as long as they remain in school in good standing.
• After graduation from high school or some higher level of education and upon entry into the work force, obtain a three-year green card. At the end of that period, provided you have no felony or serious misdemeanor convictions on your record, you can become a “naturalized” American citizen.
• Alternatively, an Honorable Discharge following six years of military service unconditionally qualifies you for citizenship.

Native born children of undocumented immigrants will be considered citizens under the existing law in effect at the time of their birth.

For those wishing to enter the United States and apply for citizenship

• There will be no racial, ethnic, or country of origin limitations on applications for entry into the United States for the purpose of becoming American citizens.
• Each applicant for entry with intent to become an American citizen must have a financially responsible sponsor who is an American citizen or NGO who will accept responsibility for providing social services for the immigrant including shelter, maintenance, and health care for at least five years.
• Each immigrant will be considered a “dependent” of their sponsor for tax purposes and health care coverage.
• Applicants will be subject to and must cooperate with a thorough background check prior to entry and monitoring during their period of temporary residency.
• Upon approved entry into the United States, each applicant will enter upon the same path to citizenship as any other undocumented immigrant.
  Violating these conditions or failing to complete the requirements for citizenship in the time allowed can result in revocation of the green card and deportation.

Conclusion

While not satisfying either the open border or closed border extremists, this is a workable solution to a politically intractable problem.
The English language and citizenship education requirements will prevent ethnic Balkanization of the country and assure rapid assimilation of the immigrants.
The plan is simple but not simplistic. It is humane, fair, and reasonable. It offers all those desiring to live in the United States the opportunity to become American citizens by contributing to our Economy and enriching our culture.
The United States of America is big enough for everyone willing to earn their citizenship as contributing members of American Society.