Immigration: Facts & Faith

This post was originally published last year. However, in light of the recent White House proposal to revoke LEGAL resident status of LEGAL immigrants who make use of food stamps and other assistance programs they are LEGALLY eligible to receive, it is being rerun.

While we are waiting for Congress and the president to take ownership of DACA and immigration policy, let's consider some facts about the subject.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, (EPI), as of 2012, there were 40 million immigrants living in the US. They accounted for almost 15% of the US' total economic output from 2009-2012, through wages and salary earned.

Within the US economy as a whole, there are almost as many immigrants in white collar jobs (46%) as in all other occupations combined. "The perception that nearly all immigrants work in low-wage jobs is clearly inaccurate."

46% of all immigrants have at least some college education.

Nationally, the income of immigrant families is not much different from non-immigrants. 20% of immigrant families live below the poverty line, compared to 16% of those from native-born households.

In regards to immigrants' effect on unemployment, the EPI states that "the evidence shows that in the long run, immigrants do not reduce native employment rates." In times of a weak economy there is a small, short-term effect.

Similarly, the EPI found that the effect of immigrants on wages among native workers is "extremely modest... including those with low levels of education."

The EPI study points out that if there is anything to fear regarding immigration, "it stems from not providing legal status to unauthorized immigrants... Any situation where workers' individual bargaining power is reduced is going to put downward pressure on their wages and therefore, also, on the wages of workers in similar occupations and industries."

"Unauthorized immigrants contribute more to the system than they take out," the EPI says. Primarily because although they work and contribute payroll taxes, sales tax, property and income taxes, they are not eligible for government programs.

The Social Security Administration estimates that in 2005, unauthorized immigrants paid $7 billion into Social Security via automatic payroll deductions, "but they can never claim social security benefits."

By and large, unauthorized immigrants cannot receive income support via a state or federal program.

The EPI speaks to the issue of unaccompanied migrant children, pointing out that it was projected that by fiscal 2014, there would be some 51,000 such children in the US, primarily from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

The EPI notes that typically most of these children either turn themselves in to the US Border Patrol or they are caught. If they are not from Mexico or Canada, they are turned over to the Department of Health & Human Services. At this point they are placed in shelters while they wait for an immigration trial.

Curiously, the EPI report makes the point that actions to strengthen the border "are likely to have little or no impact on the flow of unaccompanied migrant children or safety near the border."

The problem, says the EPI is not border security, but a lack of funding for services to this population, including a shortage of shelters and immigration judges.

So, a case could be made that the proposal by the current administration for $15-20 billion to fund construction of a new border wall and the millions of dollars needed annually to hire thousands of ICE agents would be better spent on providing additional services to immigrants and their children.

The bottom line is that:
. immigrants are not a drain on the US economy
. immigrants actually contribute more to the US economy than they take from it
. undocumented immigrants, especially, are paying into an economic system that they cannot derive many benefits from (like social security)
. paying billions to strengthen border wall security efforts are not necessary
. attention and funding needs to be given to help unaccompanied immigrant children and other undocumented immigrants.

What should be common sense and logic in regards to caring for the common good, seems to have been thrown out the window. David Brooks, a columnist for the New York Times, recently noted: "These days, partisanship is often totalistic. People often use partisan identity to fill the void left when their other attachments wither away — religious, ethnic, communal and familial."

Brooks goes on to write that: "When politics is used as a cure for spiritual and social loneliness, it’s harder to win people over with policy or philosophical arguments."

From a religious point of view, however, the evangelical movement in the US seems to be turning towards support of immigration reform.

When President Trump announced he was set to reverse the order on DACA in March, 2018, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops called the move "reprehensible." 

According to an opinion piece in Bloomberg News, a group of evangelicals called the Evangelical Table is advocating for immigration reform "consistent with Biblical values."

One hopes that this group, in particular, will recall that when God called Abraham out of his home country, telling him he would make "a great nation," in effect that nation would be made up of immigrants. Centuries later, Jesus and his family were forced to immigrate back to Egypt from Bethlehem to avoid being killed.

Both the Jewish and Christian faiths were founded by leaders who were immigrants. 

The spiritual descendants of the evangelicals (Puritans) were also refugees and then immigrants. And they would not have survived their first winter without help from Native Americans. It all points back to what the prophet Micah (of both Jewish and Christian renown), wrote as God's definition of true religion. "What does the LORD require of you, but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8).

To sum up: God seems to be very pro-immigrant. Shouldn't we follow God's lead?

Photo Credits: New Yorker, fivethirtyeight.com

If You Don't Think Your Vote Matters... Read This

We're less than two months away from the mid-term elections, and it's a great time to focus on getting out the vote!

According to Pew Research Center, less than fifty-six percent of the voting age population in the US voted in the 2016 presidential election. In terms of percentage of people casting votes, the US ranks twenty-sixth out of the thirty-four members of the Organization for Economic Cooperative Development.

This means that barely half of the potential voters in the US cast ballots that resulted in the current president being elected. (Actually the current president lost the general election by about three million votes, but that's another story.)

A month after the general election the Washington Post published an analysis of the voting in the presidential election and concluded that the current president won due to 79,656 votes in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Overall the current president won eighteen states by less than 250,000 votes.

If you're not a fan of the current president, and you didn't vote, and especially if you live in Michigan, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin, your inaction most likely helped put him in the White House.

That should make you mad.

I'm hoping it'll make you mad enough to vote in the November mid-terms.

The New York Times published a smart op-ed video recently that helps make this point. The accompanying article focuses on the ironic but positive aspects of the current presidency. More people are paying attention to politics. More people are becoming engaged.

In fact, the Pew Research Center voter analysis cited in the second paragraph of this post, went on to state the number of votes cast in Democratic House primaries at the end of May was up by eighty-four percent over 2014, The number of votes cast in Republican House primaries were up by twenty-four percent.

And twelve percent of Congress are immigrants or children of immigrants.


Here's more good news.

According to the New York Times, 2018 was a record-setting year, with 256 women winning Congressional primaries. It also was a record-breaking year for the number of women filing to run. And the number of women winning primaries for governor was also record-breaking. 

But the Times cautioned, the majority of female candidates are running in House districts that favor the other party.

So getting out the vote is crucial.

Change for the good is never easy. But it is always possible! 

And it's up to us.

Stay informed. Register. Then Vote!

P.S. Who you vote to be in charge of the White House matters. A lot. For instance, the current administration has cut the number of refugees allowed into the US by half this year - to 45,000. The smallest number allowed in four decades. And if they stay in office, they have plans to cut an additional 15,000 next year.) To the tens of thousands of families and individuals left out, it matters. It matters that the US isn't the example that it used to be.

For extra credit: Here's an interesting article about innovative voting-at-home options, now available in at least four states, which could significantly increase voter participation while lessening the possibility of fraud.

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I'm extremely interested in hearing from you! Comment on if you plan to vote, and why!

Image credits: Top, Cynthia Tucker; middle voice waves; bottom OUTmemphis.

A Closer Look: 3 Eulogies from John McCain's Memorial Service

Last Saturday, during the memorial service for John McCain, three speakers gave heartfelt eulogies. They were, in fact, so touching, that it's worth pointing out a few of the highlights from each.

First, let's look at what former President George W. Bush had to say:

"John was, above all, a man with a code. He lived by a set of public virtues that brought strength and purpose to his life and to his country.

He was courageous -- with a courage that frightened his captors and inspired his countrymen.

He was honest, no matter whom it offended. Presidents were not spared. 

He was honorable -- always recognizing that his opponents were still patriots and human beings.

He loved freedom, with the passion of a man who knew its absence.

He respected the dignity inherent in every life -- a dignity that does not stop at borders and cannot be erased by dictators.

Perhaps above all, John detested the abuse of power. He could not abide bigots and swaggering despots. There was something deep inside him that made him stand up for the little guy -- to speak for forgotten people in forgotten places...

"... At various points throughout his long career, John confronted policies and practices that he believed were unworthy of his country. To the face of those in authority, John McCain would insist: We are better than this. America is better than this.

"... He saw our country not only as a physical place or power, but as the carrier of enduring human aspirations. As an advocate for the oppressed. As a defender of the peace. As a promise, unwavering, undimmed, unequaled...

"If we are ever tempted to forget who we are, to grow weary of our cause, John's voice will always come as a whisper over our shoulder: We are better than this. America is better than this."

And here's what former President Barack Obama had to say:
"John cared about the institutions of self government, our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, rule of law, separation of powers, even the arcane rules and procedures of the Senate.

"He knew that in a nation as big and boisterous and diverse as ours, those institutions, those rules, those norms are what bind us together, give shape and order to our common life. Even when we disagree, especially when we disagree, John believed in honest argument and hearing our views. He understood that if we get in the habit of bending the truth to suit political expediency or party orthodoxy, our democracy will not work. That's why he was willing to buck his own party at times, occasionally work across the aisle on campaign finance reform and immigration reform. That's why he championed a free and independent press as vital to our democratic debate."

"... So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty, trafficking in bombast and insult and phony controversies and manufactured outrage. It's a politics that pretends to be brave and tough, but in fact is born of fear. John called on us to be bigger than that. He called on us to be better than that... What better way to honor John McCain's life of service than as best we can follow his example to this country...

"That's perhaps how we honor him best, by recognizing that there are some things bigger than party or ambition or money or fame or power, that there are some things that are worth risking everything for. Principles that are eternal. Truths that are abiding."

And, saving the best for last, there was McCain's own daughter, Meghan McCain. She spoke with a passion, born of a deep familial bond with her father:

"We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness, the real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportunistic appropriation of those who live lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served. He was a great fire who burned bright...

"...My father was a great man. He was a great warrior. He was a great American. I admired him for all of those things. But I love him because he was a great father..."

"...For the rest of my life, whenever I fall down, I get back up. Whenever I am hurt, I drive on. Whenever I am brought low, I rise. That is not because I am uniquely virtuous or strong or resilient, it is simply because my father, John McCain, was..."

"...Dad, I love you. I always have. All that I am, all that I hope, all that I dream is grounded in what you taught me. You loved me and showed me what love must be."

Taken together, these eulogies served as a refreshing counterpoint to the current state of politics in our country and world. The words and the sentiments behind them, came across as a clarion call to be our best selves. Despite differences we may have in political views or philosophy. 

It was just like John McCain, in planning for his memorial service, to leave us this final gift.
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Photo credits: George W. Bush - Business Insider UK; Barack Obama - The Atlantic; Meghan McCain - Esquire. All video links are from C-Span coverage.