Political Science: Immigration Rights Movement

Immigration Rights Movement

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Immigration Rights Movement

The oppression of undocumented immigrants in the US is a major human rights crisis that has remained unsolved for a very long time. As of 2009, about twelve million immigrants without the relevant documentation were working and living in the US. The immigrants lack basic labor protections, education, mobility, as well as other social services due to their undocumented status. The immigrants are defenseless to labor exploitation as they live in fear of losing their jobs or being deported, this makes them live in the shadows where they receive low wages in low-wage industries such as restaurants, farm labor, janitorial services, and farm labor.  A dynamic social movement came to the defense of the immigrants to protect them from discrimination and various cases of excessively repressive enforcement of immigration legislation and support the implementation of laws that will offer a way towards citizenship of undocumented immigrants. This paper will analyze the various challenges faced by immigrants the milestones that have so far been achieved and solutions that are directed towards protecting the rights of the immigrants living in the US.

Since the 1980s, when the last implementation of immigration legislation reform took place the immigration rights movement has grown and showcased its capability with many demonstrations and nonviolent actions since 2004. The nonviolent actions and numerous protests have captured the attention of the national media. In 2006, the movement activity rose in response to an anti-immigration bill passed by the Republican majority in the US. Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in the streets of various American cities in support of the development of immigrants' rights. Even though the immigrants' rights activists had for a long time been working towards an exhaustive immigration reform, the demonstrations were hastened by several events that had been developing for some time.  Increasing anti-immigrant sentiments exacerbated the demonstrations. 

The anti-immigrant sentiments were mainly notable in Border States and states with a high number of immigrants and Latino populations. The introduction of Act HR 4437 which would have made it an offense for any agencies to assist any undocumented individuals developed adversely strict penalties for employers who offered jobs to undocumented workers and also supported the allocation of resources that would be used in the constriction of the wall along the United States and Mexico border precipitated the protests. If the law were passed through the Senate and implemented as a law it would have reinforced the existing punitive immigration laws, and cut social services and educational chances for all undocumented immigrants. In Los Angeles for instance, as broadcasted by media, about a million individuals marched in the most massive protest ever experienced in the history of the city. Students planned and executed strikes in which thousands of the youth walked out of their schools to register their sentiments for immigrants’ rights. In a wider demonstration effort, millions of individuals took part in one one-day boycott whereby they failed to report work, go to school, and patronize shops.

Under the Obama term in 2009, there was an evident decrease in various forms of unjustly government enforcement of immigration legislation. However, a workplace raid carried out in Bellingham drew the attention of the immigrant rights ambassadors. The act led to the announcement by President Obama of his intention to seek a comprehensive immigration reform in 2010.

For many years significant numbers of immigrants from Latin America fled their home countries due to economic deprivation and wars and entered the United States.  The immigrant’s rights movement consists of much organization that works to support the situation of life in immigrant societies in general and mainly for undocumented immigrants. The organizations offer legal and social services, advocate for improved working conditions for immigrants, and campaign for more compassionate immigration laws on both the national and local levels.

In response to the influx of new immigrants in the past decades, the xenophobic anti-immigration organization including Minutemen who recruits citizens to enforce immigration policies grew and have continued to increase over time (Facchini & Steinhardt, 2011). After September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks the nationalist attitudes contributed to the expansion of anti-Immigrants groups. Republicans joined forces with anti-immigration forces and gathered support within the government in the George W.  Bush regime. This contributed to a rise in immigration customs and enforcement raids on places of work that were thought of employing undocumented immigrants and the push of the US representative to implement enforcement-only immigration legislation that was centered on deporting undocumented immigrants. This pushed the administration to propose an advanced moderate program for immigration reform in 2007. However, it did not pass. Due to the lack of national reform different states and local communities crafted their programs of enforcement of the immigration law. Approximately 200 cities and state governments put into place a harsh measure that targeted undocumented immigrants. Notable cities that enacted the laws include Arizona and Maricopa County.

Several well-publicized actions undertaken as part of national championing for immigrants’ rights include the engagement of many immigrants’ rights organizations to mobilize Latino voters for the coming election in 2008 (Chavez,2013). Several measures including a hunger strike in Los Angeles termed as ‘the fast for the future’ dramatized the essence of voting for the rights of the immigrants. This saw the unanimous voting of Senator Barack Obama for president and played an essential role in the swing states of Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Nevada. Apart from the efforts to pass the immigration reforms various groups had pushed for the formulation of laws that would offer undocumented immigrants an opportunity to go to school (the DREAM Act) and also get driving permits (Martinez, 2014). The groups have fought for increased access to social facilities and legislation to prevent deportation;   they have pushed in opposition to measuring that increases enforcement of immigration laws. Various tactics have been used in the campaigns including protests, marches, petitions, picket lines, and civil boycotts to advance their agenda.

The most recent changes on the immigration issues have shown a difference in the pattern with President Barack Obama taking an executive action that offered young adults who had entered the US illegally a chance to apply for deportation waiver and a work permit in 2012. In 2014, President Obama developed the program known as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and initiated another program to provide similar benefits to some undocumented immigrant parents of US-born children (Patler & Cabrera, 2015).  The programs are however still on hold due to the legal challenge by the 26 states.

Low-skilled immigrant plays an essential role in the economy of the US. With hundreds of thousands of jobs being created every year for low-skilled workers in the various crucial industrial sectors including hospitality, landscaping, food preparation, and agriculture; the number of Americans who can fill such positions has shrunk over time the low-skilled immigrants have helped in filling of the job positions. However, the immigration system has not offered any legal change for peaceful and hardworking immigrants to enter the US legally to fill the vacancies that few Americans are interested in. Research shows that immigrants are less likely to be involved in crime than their native-born counterparts. According to the Department of Justice, just 6% of federal and state inmates are non-citizens which is less than their share of the general population. In general crime rates have been on the decline since the early 1990s when there was an increase in immigration. Even with such conclusions, the welfare reform had made it challenging for immigrants to access vital welfare programs.

The solution to immigration quagmire is not merely spending more time and resources enforcing the existing failed laws but changing them. The immigration reform should include an expanded visa program that allows willing workers from Mexico and other regions to enter the United States in an accepted manner to aid in the building of a more vibrant economy and the reforms must offer an opportunity for the immigrants who are already in the US to legalize their status. The 1986 immigration reform and Control Act failed to fix the challenges as it lacked provision to expand prospective legal immigration. Expanding legal immigration would decrease illegal immigration by offering low-skilled workers a more attractive option.  The expansion of legal immigration has been proven to be effective for instance in the 1950s when Congress dramatically increased the number of visas given to Mexican guest workers, apprehensions at the border were reduced by 95%

The undocumented immigrants in the United States are not bad people as the Americans have been shown to believe. The immigrants have great regard for their work, family as well as faith. Allowing foreigners to enter the US and utilize the skills that Americans do not possess will help in the promotion of a prosperous and secure nation. The implementation of temporary visas for low-skilled immigrants to work in the agriculture, construction, and service sectors just like they are used in sourcing for high-skilled workers will help resolve the immigration issue that has troubled the US for decades.

References

Chavez, L. (2013). The Latino threat: Constructing immigrants, citizens, and the nation. Stanford University Press.

Dick, H. P. (2011). Making immigrants illegal in Small‐Town USA. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 21, E35-E55.

Facchini, G., & Steinhardt, M. F. (2011). What drives US immigration policy? Evidence from congressional roll call votes. Journal of Public Economics, 95(7-8), 734-743.

Martinez, L. M. (2014). Dreams Deferred: The impact of legal reforms on undocumented Latino youth. American Behavioral Scientist, 58(14), 1873-1890.

Patler, C., & Cabrera, J. A. (2015). From Undocumented to DACAmented: Impacts of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program.

The Immigrant Rights Movement: Then and Now. (2015, December 26). Retrieved from https://mobilizingideas.wordpress.com/2015/12/03/the-immigrant-rights-movement-then-and-now/