1. Walking with the Stranger:
Your Part in the
Immigration
Debate
Saulo Padilla, Tammy Alexander
cogdogblog/Flikr

2. Biblical mandate to welcome the stranger
“When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. (Leviticus 19:33-34)
I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matthew 25:35)

3. What does this mean? How do we welcome the stranger?
Direct assistance
Advocacy
Education

4. Immigration
Education

5. Educate yourself Resources Back table immigration.mcc.org
washington.mcc.org

6. Educate others
Forums
Small group classes
Sermons

7. Major issues Why do people migrate – root causes The law Economics
Enforcement

8. Why do people migrate?
Root causes

9. International Organization for Migration, 2010, retrieved 2011-06-30Q:
Approximately how many people were in migrant status in 2010?
214 million
World Migration Report The Future of Migration: Building Capacities for Change,
International Organization for Migration, 2010, retrieved

10. Why do people move? Basic needs Safety Opportunities
famine
poverty
Safety
war/violence
political persecution
Opportunities
lack of economic and educational opportunities
Freedom of expression
religious persecution
Exploitation/environment
mining
deforestation
U.S. policies
NAFTA/subsidies -- cheap U.S. food drives Mexican farmers out of business

11. Root causes: economic
Q: What is the per capita income for the United States?
$38,000
Mexico?
$7870
Guatemala?
$2640
Haiti?
$480

13. Root causes: U.S. policies
Free Trade Agreements
NAFTA

14. Root causes: U.S. policies
How much do we subsidize U.S. corn farmers?
$3.5 billion/yr (2010)
$77.1 billion from
(Environmental Working Group)

15. NAFTA: Corn 1994 (NAFTA’s 1st yr): Corn prices dropped 25%
72% of corn farmers in Mexico are small-scale farmers
NAFTA exposed corn grown by Mexican farmers to direct competition with American-grown corn
Farmers couldn’t compete – left farms to look for jobs in the cities and in the U.S.

16. Immigration
The Law

17. The Law Romans 13 Matthew, Leviticus
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities…”
Matthew, Leviticus
Care for those in need
Love the “alien” as yourself

18. What would you do? To feed your child? To care for a sick parent?
Move away to find work?
Cross a desert?
Break the law?
Quality of life choices
Life and death choices

19. A broken immigration system?
What do we mean when we say the immigration system is broken?

20. Q: When were immigration quotas last revised?
1965

21. The immigration process
U.S. Citizens:
Child/spouse/parent: 3-4 years
Adult children: years

22. The immigration process
No Family?
No “skills”?
No green card

23. Immigration
Economic Effects

24. Economic effects Costs Public school Emergency services
Public spaces – use roads, sidewalks, parks, etc.

25. Economic effects Costs
Do immigrants get public benefits such as food stamps and welfare?
Undocumented immigrants are NOT eligible (though, their U.S. citizen children may be)
Documented immigrants must wait until they have been in the U.S. for 5 years

26. Economic effects Contributions Taxes? Sales taxes Gas taxes
Property taxes
through home ownership or rent
Income taxes
majority of undocumented immigrants pay federal, state and local income taxes
also pay Social Security & Medicare
Net gain: $6-7 billion/yr ($520 billion through 2005)
(when is the last time you were asked for proof of citizenship at the grocery store or gas station)

27. Economic effects Contributions vs. costs
National studies (including one from CATO) show large net positive benefit
State studies as well show immigrants pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits
Texas
Iowa
Colorado

28. Immigration
Enforcement

29. Enforcement How much does the U.S. spend on border security each year?
$10 billion
$4 billion since 2007 building almost 700 miles of border fencing and walls
Waived over 30 laws
Endangered Species Act
Safe Drinking Water Act
Native American Graves Repatriation Act

30. Enforcement How many people did the U.S. deport last year (2010)?
Almost 400,000
Families separated
Many of these are parents of U.S. citizen children
4 million U.S. citizen children in mixed-status families

31. Enforcement How many detention beds are available? Over 30,000
Mostly in private facilities run by CCA, GeoGroup
Multi-billion dollar industry
Representatives from private detention companies helped write Arizona’s SB1070 law

32. Enforcement: deaths in the desert
U.S.-Mexico border, 1998-present: 4,000+
Berlin Wall, : 136+

33. Next Steps Learn more Share
Talk with your parents and children about your family’s immigration stories

34. Immigration
Advocacy

35. Advocacy: Federal
Congress
DREAM Act
eVerify
Border security

36. Advocacy: Federal Obama administration Family separation
“Let My People Stay” campaign
Interfaithimmigration.org
DREAM students

37. Immigration
State-level Advocacy

38. State resources: washington.mcc.org
State Advocacy
State resources: washington.mcc.org

39. Alabama
Requires police to check immigration status with “reasonable suspicion”
Public schools must collect data on immigration status of students
Undocumented migrants cannot attend college
Criminalizes transporting or renting property to undocumented migrants

40. Indiana
SB 590

41. Racial profiling, fear

42. States: pro-immigrant
Compacts
Utah guest worker program
Maryland – in-state tuition

43. Immigration
Direct Assistance

44. Mennonite Central Committee
Documentation services in U.S.
South FL NY
California
Development
keep people in their home communities

45. Your church / community
ESL (English as a Second Language) classes
Basic needs
Documentation services / education
MCC immigration training – Sept.

46. FINAL Questions / Thoughts?

47. mcc.org us.mcc.org washington.mcc.org facebook, twitter
Immigration.mcc.org
© 2011 Mennonite Central Committee