User Comments

David Nichols on Nov 14, 2009 at 15:15:27 said:

Britanilusey; your statistic's change every time you post, congratulations?

I think?

David Nichols on Nov 14, 2009 at 15:12:59 said:

The Governator, is Correct!
To the Contrary, this the worst Re-cession in U.S. History matches the start of the E-verify Law and the Adolph Hitler like I.C.E. Deportation Program month for month!

The States that have engaged in this, lets be honest! E-thnic Cleansing of good people that had been allowed to come here for nearly thirty years, legally own homes and have legal Citizen Children, then turn on them for acts of others, are now in TOTAL E-CONOMIC SHAMBLE's!

I guess we really do reap what we sew!

To: Liberty and Prosperity!

immigration on Oct 20, 2009 at 23:03:34 said:

thanks for providing a great resource.I will definitely link to your site from my home page.

Deport Em on Oct 20, 2009 at 13:57:31 said:

These stupid illegals and their advocates can march and rally all they want but its a waste of time. They should know by now that the reason immigration reform failed the last several attempts is because Americans spoke and told the politicians we don't want another amnesty. We did that before and all it did was invite millions more to break our laws. The outcry over illegals getting healthcare should be another wake up call for illegals. Americans are against illegal alien lawbreakers, the anchor they spawn and the benefits they mooch off this country. Time to round them up and deport them. Oshama will start this fight all over again soon. Can\'t wait...should be fun !!!

Brittanicus on Oct 19, 2009 at 20:15:27 said:

Congress is asking citizens and permanent residents, to sign their own death warrant approving AMNESTY to 20 to 30 million illegal immigrants. Our immigration laws are already a laughable facade. The only people to profit from the outrageous hordes pouring across the undermanned border every day is parasite businesses. Learn the truth not lies about the illegal immigration invasion at NUMBERSUSA, JUDICIAL WATCH & CAPSWEB. BOMBARD YOUR SENATOR AND CONGRESSMAN/WOMAN AT 202-224-3121. TELL THEM NO MORE AMNESTIES. SECURE OUR BORDER AND DEPORT EVERY ILLEGAL ALIEN USING E-VERIFY AS AN EJECTION TOOL. THIS IS NOT ABOUT RACISM THIS IS ABOUT AMERICAN WORKERS SURVIVAL?

Brittanicus on Oct 19, 2009 at 20:07:31 said:

Congress is asking citizens and permanent residents, to sign their own death warrant approving AMNESTY to 20 to 30 million illegal immigrants. Our immigration laws are already a laughable facade. The only people to profit from the outrageous hordes pouring across the undermanned border every day is parasite businesses. Learn the truth not lies about the illegal immigration invasion at NUMBERSUSA, JUDICIAL WATCH & CAPSWEB. BOMBARD YOUR SENATOR AND CONGRESSMAN/WOMAN AT 202-224-3121. TELL THEM NO MORE AMNESTIES. SECURE OUR BORDER AND DEPORT EVERY ILLEGAL ALIEN USING E-VERIFY AS AN EJECTION TOOL. THIS IS NOT ABOUT RACISM THIS IS ABOUT AMERICAN WORKERS SURVIVAL?

Norski on Oct 19, 2009 at 09:22:11 said:

Truth - The studies you cite are based on two bogus assumptions. First, it is assumed that that if currently working Illegal Immigrants departed the USA they would take the jobs they are doing with them. But in fact those jobs would still exist and recent history has proven that after job site raids companies fill their open positions with Citizen and Legal Resident workers. Today there are 21 million Citizens and Legal Residents looking for work, most of whom held jobs similar to those currently held by the estimated 7.5 million working Illegal Immigrants. And at our highest employment level back in 2007 there were over 12 million Citizens and Legal Residents looking for work, most of who were looking for work in the portion of our job market where less than 7 million Illegal Immigrants were then working. It does not take a rocket scientist to see how this invalidates the studies.

Second, the studies assume that legal workers automatically mean higher wages. But in fact, every Union Organizer worth their salt will tell you that a lot of workers chasing few jobs is a Union nightmare of plentiful potential Scabs that make Union busting all that much easier. Historically, growers in California are experts at this. Note the failure of the UFW to raise wages even though farm labor makes up only 7% of the cost of food. One wonders if those studies were secretly supported by Management in an effort to preserve the current massive over-supply of labor so as to keep wages in the cellar and make Union busting a real possibility. The Achilles heal of the studies in this area is the assumption that legalized Illegal Immigrants can all be forced to be Union Members after Legalization. Even at its greatest level of power, the Union movement has never been able to accomplish this.

Norski on Oct 19, 2009 at 08:49:32 said:

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Unemployment Report released on October 2, 2009:

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations – Unemployment Rate = 14.3%
Construction and extraction occupations – Unemployment Rate = 17.7%
Production occupations – Unemployment Rate = 14.1%
Transportation, material moving occupations – Unemployment Rate = 12.1%
Service occupations – Unemployment Rate = 9.4%

Total Unemployed Citizens and Legal Residents of the USA = 15,142,000

In addition:

Persons who currently want a job but are not included in the unemployment figures because they have not looked for a job in the last month = 5,922,000

Estimated number of Illegal Immigrants working in the USA = 7,500,000

Meanwhile:

Management, professional, and related occupations – Unemployment Rate = 5.2%

The truth is that Illegal Immigrants compete directly with U.S. Citizens and Legal Residents for jobs. There are no jobs that Americans won’t do because they are doing them. Unless they are one of the 7.5 million Citizens and Legal Residents who could be working but are not at a cost to the Taxpayer of over $100 billion per year thanks to Illegal Immigration. And even when unemployment was at the lowest point of this decade in 2007 the USLS listed following data:

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations – Unemployment Rate = 8.5%
Construction and extraction occupations – Unemployment Rate = 7.6%
Production occupations – Unemployment Rate = 5.7%
Transportation, material moving occupations – Unemployment Rate = 6.0%
Service occupations – Unemployment Rate = 5.9%

Meanwhile:
Management, professional, and related occupations – Unemployment Rate = 2.1%

During 2007 we only reached full employment in the Management, professional, and related occupations, while the occupations that attract Illegal Immigrant workers still suffered significant unemployment. And we saw the number of people earning below poverty line wages raise to above 12%. Proof positive of how badly Illegal Immigration has hurt the low income American Citizen and Legal Resident.

But I guess impoverishing millions of American Citizens does not matter when you have Illegal Immigrants to defend right?

Truth on Oct 19, 2009 at 08:38:31 said:

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has released a wide-ranging review of academic and government data that shows what legalizing undocumented immigrants would mean for the U.S. economy today. Legalizing undocumented workers would improve wages and working conditions for all workers, and increase tax revenues for cash-strapped federal, state, and local governments. (April 13, 2009)

Washington, D.C. – The dollars and cents of immigration reform make a lot of sense for the beleaguered U.S. economy. The net economic gain would be $66 billion in new state and federal revenue, according to a new report.

The review, from the nonpartisan Immigration Policy Center, notes that Florida is one of the states with the most to gain if undocumented workers were provided a pathway to legal status. About 500,000 immigrant workers would be affected.

Economist David Kallick with the Fiscal Policy Institute contributed to the study. Right now, he explains, those billions of dollars are lining the pockets of employers - who hire folks in the underground economy and avoid contributing to payroll and other taxes.

"The cost of the underground economy to taxpayers is pretty substantial. The idea is, bringing undocumented immigrants into the 'above-ground' economy and making sure that they pay taxes just like everyone else."

Critics of reform accuse undocumented workers of "stealing" American jobs; some want to deport everyone who is in the U.S. illegally. Kallick argues that immigrants do not steal good-paying jobs, and more legal workers in the labor pool will help grow the entire economy.

That's also the view of Esther Lopez, director of civil rights and community action for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union International. She says labor groups see that legalization is good for all workers, and she considers it an important step in rebuilding the middle class.

"We need an immigration system that is part of our national economic recovery program. We need immigration reform that punishes employers who 'game' the system to drive down wages and working conditions."


The myth that immigration is bad for U.S. workers has sullied the immigration debate for far too long. A new report by the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (DMI), “Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: 2009 Edition,” sets the record straight. In the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and in anticipation of a new round of legislative debates on comprehensive immigration reform, DMI’s report makes a rational, concise argument for why comprehensive immigration reform is needed to improve the conditions for middle class Americans.

DMI states that “good immigration policy should be good for every American,” and designs a two-part litmus test to evaluate immigration policies: 1) Immigration policy should bolster—not undermine—the critical contributions immigrants make to our economy as workers, entrepreneurs, taxpayers, and consumers; and 2) Immigration policy must strengthen the rights of immigrants in the workplace. Using these two guidelines, Congress can create and implement an immigration policy that is good for middle class Americans.

Bolstering Immigrant Contributions


Fact Sheet: Immigrants’ Economic Contributions
Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: 2009 Edition

The American middle class and low-income workers striving to earn a middle-class standard of living rely on the economic contributions of immigrants, both authorized and undocumented.

* Overall U.S. natives gain an estimated $37 billion a year from immigrants’ participation in the U.S. economy, according to the President’s Council of Economic Advisors.[1]

* Immigrants contribute as workers: Americans rely on the goods and services immigrants’ produce.
o One in every four doctors in the U.S. is foreign born, as well as one in three computer software engineers and more than 42 percent of medical scientists.[2]
o Immigrants helped to invent a quarter of the U.S. patent applicants in 2006.[3]
o Undocumented immigrants contribute significantly to the U.S. workforce construction, agriculture, maintenance and hospitality – they pick and process our food and build and clean our homes and offices.[4]

* Immigrants contribute as consumers: Immigrant consumers create new jobs by increasing demand for the products and services produced by current and aspiring middle-class workers.
o In the Chicago metropolitan area alone, undocumented immigrants spend $2.89 billion on goods and services, creating an additional 31,908 jobs in the local economy.[5]
o Immigration is a significant contributor to the rapid growth of the Hispanic and Asian-American consumer markets, which together accounted for an estimated $1.46 trillion in buying power in 2008.[6]
o Immigrant consumers will be particularly critical in reviving the nation’s devastated housing market, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center on Housing Studies. They reveal that immigration contributed to over 40 percent of net household formations between 2000 and 2005.[7]

* Immigrants contribute as entrepreneurs: Immigrant-owned businesses employ American workers and raise capital from abroad to invest in the U.S. economy.
o More than one in ten self-employed businesspeople in the U.S. is an immigrant.[8]
o Engineering and technology companies headed by immigrants created 450,000 U.S. jobs between 1995 and 2005.[9]
o Latin American immigrants in South Florida have helped to make the area a leader in attracting foreign direct investment, particularly international banking.[10]

* Immigrants contribute as taxpayers: Policies that strengthen and expand the American middle class are funded by the taxes immigrants’ pay.
o Immigrants pay sales, property, and income taxes. The Social Security Administration also estimates that three quarters of undocumented immigrants pay payroll taxes.[11]
o The average immigrant pays $1,800 more in taxes than she receives in public benefits, according to a landmark study by the National Research Council and National Academy of Sciences. Over their lifetimes, the average immigrant and her immediate descendants contribute $80,000 more in taxes than they receive in benefits.[12]
o The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office concurs, stating that “over the past two decades, most efforts to estimate the fiscal impact of immigration in the United States have concluded that, in aggregate and over the long term, tax revenues of all types generated by immigrants—both legal and unauthorized—exceed the costs of the services they use.” However, the federal government does not always share this tax revenue with state and local governments in proportion to the services immigrants use.[13]
o Undocumented immigrants contribute $7 billion a year in Social Security taxes even though they cannot claim benefits from this program.[14] At current immigration levels, new immigrants entering the U.S. will provide an estimated net benefit of $407 billion to the Social Security system over the next 50 years.[15]

_________________

SOURCES:

[1]White House Council of Economic Advisors, “Immigration’s Economic Impact,” (2007).

2]Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix, “College-Educated Immigrant Workers in the United States,” Migration Policy Institute (2008).

[3]Vivek Wadhwa et. al., “Intellectual Property, the Immigration Backlog, and a Reverse Brain-Drain: America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Part III,” Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (2007).

[4]Jeffrey S. Passel and D’Vera Cohen “A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States.,” Pew Hispanic Center, (2009).

[5]Chirag Mehta et. al., “Chicago’s Undocumented Immigrants: An Analysis of Wages, Working Conditions, And Economic Contributions,” Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois at Chicago (2002).

[6]Jeffrey M. Humprheys, “The Multicultural Economy 2008,” Selig Center for Economic Growth, University of Georgia (2008).

[7] Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2009”, (2009) and “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2007”, (2007).

[8]William J. Haller, “Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Comparative Perspective: Rates, Human Capital Profiles, and Implications of Immigrant Self- Employment in Advanced Industrialized Societies,” (2004).
[9] Vivek Wadhwa, et. al., “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Part I,” Duke Science, Technology & Innovation Paper No. 23 (2007).

[10] Saskia Sassen and Alejandro Portes, “Miami: A New Global City?” Contemporary Sociology 22 Issue 4, (1993) p471–477.

[11]Eduardo Porter, “Illegal Immigrants are Bolstering Social Security with Billions,” New York Times, April 5, 2005.

[12]James P. Smith & Barry Edmonston, Editors, The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration. Washington, DC: National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences Press (1997) p 349, p 351.

[13]“The Impact of Unauthorized Immigrants on the Budgets of State and Local Governments,” Congressional Budget Office (2007).

[14] Randolph Capps and Michael E. Fix, “Undocumented Immigrants: Myths and Reality,” The Urban Institute (2005).

[15]Stuart Anderson, “The Contribution of Legal Immigration to the Social Security System,” National Foundation for American Policy, (2005): p8,


DMI refutes the myth that our economy is a closed, zero-sum system. When immigrants are working in the U.S., many assume they simply take jobs away from Americans. The fact is that immigrants contribute to the growth of the economy as workers, taxpayers, and consumers. The middle class relies on the goods and services produced by immigrants, and benefits from the generalized economic growth immigrants stimulate. Immigrants spend money, thereby creating demand and jobs. Immigrants pay taxes, helping to shore up Social Security and other programs middle class workers depend upon.

Enforcement-only policies only undermine the contributions that immigrants make. Rather, immigration reform should harness the positive contributions of immigrants, thus improving the lives of middle class Americans.

Strengthening Rights in the Workplace
Under the current system, undocumented workers are vulnerable and exploitable, living at the mercy of their employers—to the detriment of both the immigrants and middle class Americans. The current recession increases employers’ incentive to cut costs by taking advantage of cheaper undocumented workers.

As long as a cheaper and more compliant pool of immigrant labor is available to employers who are willing to wield the threat of deportation against their workers, those same employers will be less willing to hire U.S.-born workers if they demand better wages and working conditions.

Ensuring that immigrant workers and native workers are on a level playing field—the same enforceable rights, the same ability to complain—makes for better conditions for everyone. If immigrants are empowered to exercise workplace rights, they can improve their own working conditions, making the jobs more desirable, and more jobs can become “middle class jobs.”

DMI concludes that comprehensive immigration reform, including permanent legal status for immigrant workers, is necessary. Perhaps Lou Dobbs, self-appointed champion of the American middle class worker, should read the fact included in DMI’s report and discover he’s got it wrong—immigration reform would be a boost for American workers he claims to speak for.

Norski on Oct 19, 2009 at 08:14:16 said:

John - Nice try at obfuscation. Now here is the reality. From the USCIS website www.uscis.gov:

Deportable Alien
An alien in and admitted to the United States subject to any grounds of removal specified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. This includes any alien illegally in the United States, regardless of whether the alien entered the country by fraud or misrepresentation or entered legally but subsequently violated the terms of his or her nonimmigrant classification or status.

Sec. 275.[8 U.S.C. 1325]

(a) Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.\\\"

Your ignorance of the laws of the USA is startling. Have you convinced yourself of a falsehood so that you can more easily live with supporting admittedly unlawful acts? Here is how the law really works:

1. Illegally crossing a border to enter the United States. This is called \\\"Illegal Entry\\\" and is punishable by up to six months in prison and/or a monetary fine followed by deportation. This is the highest penalty a Misdemeanor PENALTY can achieve before it crosses the line to be called a Criminal PENALTY. This is a violation of Criminal LAW and is prosecuted in Criminal COURT like any other Criminal LAW violation. Notable examples of this kind of law violation include dumping untreated toxic waste wherever you please and shooting endangered species. None are in the same category as what are called \\\"civil violations\\\".

2. Overstaying a Visa results in a violation of the law called \\\"Illegal Presence\\\" in the United States. This is a violation of Civil LAW and is subject the Civil PENALTY of deportation. As such, cases of this type are handled in Administrative Immigration Courts they are not comparable to any other violation of any other body of law with possible exception of Tax Law. Just as in Immigration Law there is a separate court system to handle infractions of the law and violations are termed Civil in nature. It is called Civil Law for no other reason than because the penalties involve no jail time. And the closest comparison to this type of law violation is Tax Cheat.

Anyone who crosses the U.S. Border Illegally is very lucky if they are only charged with Illegal Presence. If the Authorities choose Illegal Presence when the person is in fact engaging in Illegal Entry it is only to save time, money, and jail space.

And finally your claim that Illegal Immigrants are more law abiding than Citizens is based on the Sampson study that claims ALL Immigrants have a lower crime rate than U.S. Citizens. Does no one ever read the methodology of these studies? Legal Immigrants in the U.S. outnumber Illegal Immigrants by about 3.5 to 1. Since the Sampson Study was conducted on ALL Immigrants the statistics for Legal Immigrants wash out the statistics for Illegal Immigrants.

If you bring in data from 2005 (the last year of available data) from the Justice Department, the Census Bureau, and the Department of Homeland Security you find out what the real picture is. At that time an estimated 10.5 million Illegal Immigrants were living in the U.S. The number of prisoners under the jurisdiction of the Federal or State Adult Correctional Authorities at that time was about 2,184,000. Per the New York Times at least 270,000 Illegal Immigrants were incarcerated in 2005 and this was during “catch and release” so the incarcerations were primarily for non immigration related crimes. Our total Citizen and Legal Resident population in the U.S. was 288,280,000 people, of whom 254,037,000 were native born and 34,243,000 were foreign born. That makes an incarceration for Illegal Immigrants of 1 in 39 people. Meanwhile for the Native Born the incarceration rate was about 1 in 133 people. That also means that the incarceration rate for Legal Immigrants was almost zero, just at Sampson said.

Sampson proves only that our current Legal Immigration system works just great at selecting the most law-abiding to be Legal Immigrants. YEAH FOR LEGAL IMMIGRANTS! WE LOVE YOUR LAW ABIDING NATURE! Sampson was very right about LEGAL Immigrants! But very wrong to include ILLEGAL Immigrants in his conclusions as their incarceration rate is 3.4 times higher than for U.S. Citizens.

Cohen on Oct 19, 2009 at 07:41:55 said:

A comprehensive immigration refomr is a matter of when, not if. And it is the just and humane thing to do. Too bad Billy Bob doesn't even know that he has already lost this battle. Racism always loses in America!

Stephen on Oct 18, 2009 at 22:20:57 said:

Our nation is being invaded by millions of foreign nationals, this is an act of war! Our worthless politicians like Gutierrez are traitors and don't give a damn about this nation or its people. Americans are losing their jobs and homes by the millions. Our government imports 1.5 million foreign workers annually. ENOUGH! Americans must demand ZERO tolerance towards ALL illegal immigration. I am all for family unity. Take your illegal alien children with you. The poor and uneducated of the entire world does not have a right to break our laws and immigrate here. ILLEGAL ALIENS GO HOME!

DAD77 on Oct 18, 2009 at 18:33:43 said:

When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. Reagan took the easy way out in 1986; not the right way. He thought giving Amnesty to 1 Million and the problem of illegal aliens would go away. It turned into 3 Million, and the problem grew and grew as more and more saw how the others got away with it. There was a flood of people coming and saying, "Yeah, I was here too." The Reagan amnesty gave lip service to enforcement and punishment. In fact, it only encouraged employers to use illegal labor. The Reagan years abounded with greed and the whole culture embraced it.

I find it disturbing that faith leaders embrace this so called "immigration reform" while totally ignoring the covetness, dishonesty, and law breaking that goes with the "undocumented." Scriptures clearly designate government authorities to make laws and enforce order. Christians are obligated to submit to these authorities not only out of fear but out of conscience. Standards of justice are not fully moral if they are not accompanied by judgment and punishment.

According to a Pew Study, 85% of Mexicans who illegally crossed into the US, quit a job in Mexico to go to the US. People migrating to the US are usually doing so for economic gain. That is, they want to make more money, have more things, better secular education opportunities. Yes, they want their children to have what they did not. If money and material are your priorities, you can convince yourself of a great many laws not to follow, including God's.

Even a desperate man is not at liberty to take matters into his own hands with unlawful acts. Scripture does not leave him free to become a law unto himself. However, millions and millions of poeple have and Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez wants to reward them for it.

ladylibertyliberty on Oct 18, 2009 at 16:52:31 said:

"Every human being is born free and equal in dignity and rights"
I like Obama`s ideea....Pass Immigration Reform!!!
We have to pay attention who, we are here on this land ;) Let think of each of us!!!When we are far away of someone you love or you lose.
We are human being and we need something better for our future and our childrens future.Lets stop fighting all the time and Lets pray together...
God Bless America& God Bless You!
Please listen to this song guys:
Imagine - John lennon

MaryJ on Oct 18, 2009 at 13:30:04 said:

No, you don't have justice or "justicia" on your side; we do. You are just beggars trying to break into a more successful society and steal or beg things from the people who built it. Those of us who are being stolen from, we have a perfect right to put a stop to your theivary. Quit whining and build a decent society in your own countries.

Wanda Berger on Oct 18, 2009 at 10:44:25 said:

We need more immigration. California excess water resources and surplus energy. Our schools need more brilliant young children. Our highways are underused. Our economy lacks workers. Yes, yes, bring them here by the millions and millions so that we too can recreate the Heaven that is Mexico and El Salvador, that is Haiti and the Philippines.

john on Oct 18, 2009 at 07:26:30 said:

Sorry I was IGNORANT And did some research and found out that my knowledge in Immigration and what the Undocumented are was less than ZERO, This is what i found out that,

Ignorance is Bliss: Those who have NO CLUE or QUALIFICATIONS about Immigration are those who show their IGNORANCE :)

There is NO SUCH WORD AS 'ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT" in Blacks Law Dictionary, or In Merriam Websters Dictionary. Get Educated .

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday that the claim by some conservative activists that illegal immigration is to blame for all of the state's fiscal problems is ignorant and bigoted."

Arturo E. Ocampo of Tracy has been a practicing attorney since 1985, In the 20-plus years I have spent studying, lecturing and litigating immigration issues, two things have always amazed me. The first is the amount and intensity of hate spewed against undocumented workers. The second is the amount of misinformation that is published about them.

On this second point, the quote from Mark Twain is illustrative. "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." I suppose this may be true in part because misinformation, like a lie, requires no accuracy, validation or research; all of which are time-consuming practices.

The recent letters alleging that all undocumented workers are "criminals," and specifically Veronica Suarez, whose plight was written about in the Tracy Press recently, is a criminal are factually incorrect.

According to the facts (as stated in Sharon Franceschi’s Sept. 7 commentary) Saurez entered the U.S. on a valid visa, overstayed her visa when it expired, resulting in her unlawful immigration status. None of these acts, as stated by Franceschi, constitute a crime under federal or state law. Overstaying a valid visa under the Immigration and Naturalization Act is a civil violation of the law, not a criminal violation. Being in the U.S. in under undocumented status is not a criminal violation, but a civil violation of the INA.

The facts, as stated by Franceschi, do not indicate that Suarez has committed any crime. To call her a criminal is erroneous at best, and libelous at worst.

Furthermore, it is an Americanism that a person is innocent until proven guilty. So until Suarez (or any other undocumented person) is charged and found guilty of a crime, it would be inappropriate to call them "criminals."

It is important to note that there is a very large difference between civil and criminal violations of law. The distinction is so important that the law makes the erroneous allegation that one has committed a crime of slander or libel, (which means liability is automatic even without proof of damages). One who violates the civil law is no more a criminal than someone who has breached a contract or accidentally damaged another’s property.

It is true that entering the United States without inspection is a misdemeanor under the INA. The misdemeanor is completed once an individual’s entry is complete. Suarez, according to Franceschi, did not enter without inspection; she entered with a valid visa. According to U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services statistics, about 40 percent of undocumented persons enter legally and overstay their visas (which, as stated above, is not a crime). Consequently, at least 40 percent of the undocumented population has committed no crime in regards to their immigration status.

Therefore, one cannot assume that a person has committed a crime simply because they are undocumented.

Franceschi is also in error in her allegation that getting married and having children while being undocumented in the U.S. is a violation of the law. It is not. Franceschi goes on to say that Suarez "apparently bought a house illegally." It is unlikely that Franceschi knows exactly how Suarez purchased her home. Consequently, any allegation of illegality is, at a minimum, irresponsible.

It is also important to note that the Immigration and Citizenship Services doesn’t consider all undocumented persons criminals. When the Immigration and Citizenship Services publishes information about its enforcement activities involving undocumented workers, it are always sure to make a distinction between "criminal" and noncriminal aliens.

Another myth is that the term "illegal aliens" is a term of art or is legal jargon. This term is not found anywhere in the INA or in Blacks Law Dictionary. The INA refers to undocumented persons as either an EWI (entered without inspection) or as someone who has overstayed their visa. "Illegal aliens" is a term invented by anti-immigrant groups designed to put undocumented persons in the worst possible light and to instill fear in Americans. It is intentionally designed to associate undocumented persons with criminality.

This xenophobic view that undocumented persons are "simply criminals" comes from the historical stereotype that the foreign-born, especially undocumented immigrants, are responsible for higher crime rates. This misconception has deep roots in American public opinion and popular myth. This myth, however, is not supported empirically and has repeatedly been refuted by scientific studies. Both contemporary and historical data, (including U.S. governmental studies) have shown that immigration is associated with lower crime rates.

The studies have uniformly shown that recent immigrants (including the undocumented) are less likely to be involved in violent crime, and that when there is an increase in immigration patterns, violent crime decreases. This has been shown to be true in large cities with heavy immigrant populations.

In the most recent of these studies, The Myth of Immigrant Criminality and the Paradox of Assimilation (2007), from the Immigrant Policy Institute, it was found that among men age 18 to 39 (who are the vast majority of inmates in federal and state prisons and local jails), immigrants were five times less likely to be incarcerated than the native-born in 2000.

During the Proposition 187 debate, then-Gov. Pete Wilson published statistics that stated that
12 percent to 15 percent of the state prison population had Immigration and Citizenship Services holds or potential holds. The Department of Corrections analyst who compiled these numbers said Immigration and Citizenship Services holds are placed on inmates who were born outside of the U.S. (therefore 12 percent to 15 percent of the prison population was immigrants). The immigrant population at the time in California hovered at about 25 percent, showing immigrants were much less likely to be incarcerated than the native born in California.

In short, the data shows you are much safer if your neighbor is an immigrant.

Franceschi owes Suarez an apology. I am also surprised that the Tracy Press allowed a commentary to run without checking the facts. Although commentaries are designed to allow for the expression of differing opinions, the First Amendment is not as generous with misstatements of facts — especially when the facts can be libelous.

For the immigration debate to be a healthy one, we should strive for a debate based on facts, not myth or tired stereotypes. We should also not let our position on this topic strip us of one of the great qualities we possess as people — the ability to be compassionate.

Arturo E. Ocampo of Tracy has been a practicing attorney since 1985, with an expertise in immigration rights and class action lawsuits on behalf of immigrants, including the way the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 was implemented, Border Patrol’s raids and Proposition 187. He is director of diversity and equal employment opportunity for the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District.

john on Oct 18, 2009 at 05:55:14 said:

boo hoo. I would like to travel to Washington to tell the president what I want. I want the current laws enforced. I want no more amnesties because that only leads to more illegals coming here. The little girl can be with her father, just not here. Obey the law and get in line. Don't jump the fence and start demanding.

john on Oct 18, 2009 at 05:55:06 said:

boo hoo. I would like to travel to Washington to tell the president what I want. I want the current laws enforced. I want no more amnesties because that only leads to more illegals coming here. The little girl can be with her father, just not here. Obey the law and get in line. Don't jump the fence and start demanding.