Immigration Committee Report

League of Women Voters^®
of Schenectady County

Immigration Committee Report

LEAGUE OPPOSES DEPORTATIONS, SUPPORTS EARNED CITIZENSHIP. IMMIGRATION INFORMATION.

LEAGUE OPPOSES DEPORTATIONS, SUPPORTS EARNED CITIZENSHIP

The full immigration policy approved by the national League's Board of Directors in March was studied by the organization's membership for more than eighteen months. In achieving overall policy goals, the League supports a system for unauthorized immigrants already in the country to earn legal status, including citizenship, by paying taxes, learning English, studying civics and meeting other relevant criteria. The League supports:
federal immigration law that provides an efficient, expeditious system for legal entry of immigrants into
the U.S.
federal policies to improve economies, education, job opportunities, and living conditions in nations with large emigrating populations.
federal payments to impacted communities to address the financial costs borne by states and local governments with large immigrant populations.

The League supports the following criteria for legal admission of persons into the United States:
family reunification of spouses or minor children with authorized immigrants or citizens
flight from persecution or response to humanitarian crises in home countries
economic, business and employment needs in the U.S.
education and training needs of the U.S.

The League supports:
due process for all persons, including the right to a fair hearing, right to counsel, right of appeal and right to humane treatment.
improved technology to facilitate employer verification of employee status
verification documents, such as status cards and work permits, with secure identifiers
significant fines and penalties for employers who hire unauthorized workers
improved technology for sharing information among federal agencies
more effective tracking of individuals who enter the United States
increased personnel at borders.

The League also supports programs allowing foreign workers to enter and leave the U.S. to meet seasonal or sporadic labor needs.

IMMIGRATION INFORMATION

Judy Middelkoop, co-chair Immigration Committee
For over a year, we have had meetings, educational programs, and preparation and at last on Wednesday, January the 9th, the League of Women Voters of Schenectady County held its immigration consensus meeting. Although many of the questions were rather general in terms, and sometimes we weren't sure as to the exact meaning of some of the questions, we had a very productive meeting. There was a good turnout, and everyone seemed to be well informed and ready to tackle the difficult issue of immigration. It was a very interesting evening with many different opinions and points of view, but everyone's opinions were respected and considered. After sometimes-heated discussion, we came to consensus on all but three of the questions, and finished on time. That's not bad considering there were a total of 32 questions! Now we will wait for the National League's policy statement on immigration.
The immigration committee thanks everyone who attended and helped to answer the questions. Possibly people came out for the coffee and cookies. Many thanks go out to the immigration committee members: Ellen Blake, Julie Burgess, Joan Elliott, Elaine Klein, Pat MacKinnon, Judy Middelkoop, Inge-Lise Pangburn, Helga Schroeter, Joanne Tobiessen, and Connie Young who worked so hard to prepared for consensus and were at the meeting to help clarify issues when necessary and to make sure the consensus meeting went smoothly. Special thanks go to Pat for preparing the projection of the questions so we could all see the question being discussed. Also special thanks to Nancy Snyder for being a superb moderator and keeping us on track; and to Kate Hull for a wonderful job as recorder. We couldn't have done it without all of you!

BORDER RELATIONS Friendly Lunch on February 26th Reported by Joanne Tobiessen
Another great meeting on a snowy day: Professor Vicki Martinez spoke at Union College about her `mini-term abroad' with 11 students last November-December. Students had the opportunity to learn about border and immigration issues first-hand as they traveled along our southwestern border with Mexico, from Los Angeles/San Diego and Tijuana to El Paso and Juarez.
Tijuana was a laboratory for the students to study all of the issues, from the US built fence (made of old landing strips from the first Iraqi war) to the economics of poverty and trade to the constant daily movement of cross border travel (in 2003, 251,000 people crossed daily just to work). Students experienced the 3-4 hour wait for tourists returning to the US from Mexico, while those workers with laser visas have a 1 ½ hour wait daily.
Indicative of the complexity of our border relations, Mexicali was founded by Chinese, many of whom were hired to work on the large American owned farms in Mexico. Americans have long owned a lot of land in Mexico (perhaps 1/5 of all the arable land in the 19th C.) and are reportedly trying to take over the Mexican agribusiness in corn. A lot of people in Mexico are losing their livelihood due to these conglomerates.
In Arizona the class visited Coronado National Park which straddles both countries. This is where many immigrants come over (300-800/day). Students heard speakers on both sides of the immigration issue; Vicki recommended the documentary "Crossing Arizona" for us to hear both sides.
Crime and drug trafficking are border issues as well. However, an El Paso professor who studies this told students that the drug trafficking that occurred in the Arizona National Park was `small potatoes' compared with his knowledge that the Colombian cartel has `purchased' the state of Chihuahua and transports drugs on big trucks through official checkpoints.
`Safe houses' for immigrants were visited. Immigrants often pay thousands of dollars to `coyotes'to get across the border, yet arrive without food, money or even shoes. El Paso also has safe houses and many undocumented immigrants. An artist from Bisbee, AZ, is opening a safe house in Naco, Texas to provide support for those (often from Guatemala) returned by the border patrol. Other advocacy groups are working on behalf of people living with the toxic waste of border factories, or trying to prevent more border related deaths (No Mas Muertes).
In Mexico there are over 3,500 foreign owned plants (maquiladoras). At one US owned factory, workers earn $5/day producing hospital supplies. These minimal salaries lead to the development of `colonia' (communities) with makeshift housing. One maquiladora worker who earns $7/day, has tiny government housing and says things are better for her.
Vicki also mentioned the border writers who focus on issues of the Mexican family, male control, women's roles, factual events. Those who have written plays about the murder of many women in Juarez cannot get them produced in Juarez.
For Mexicans, the US is a place to work and shop. There are villages in Mexico with no men, as they have left to find work in the US. Most of the border town factory jobs in Mexico go to women. We have major economic connections between our two countries, complicated by historic corruption in Mexico, as well as great wealth and oil resources there. The US has also played positive and negative roles in the economics, politics and social issues of this region. Professor Martinez helped us see more of the complexities of the border issues.

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