THE CHANGE
Adult Education for Social Justice: News, AGENT Issues, and Ideas
Immigration The Current Debate
Learning About Immigration ...... 1-14 What If Immigration’s Not the Problem? Asking Questions About Immigration Immigration Myths & Realities Quiz A World On the Move Global Migration Patterns Where Have Immigrants Come From? Who Do You Believe? Questioning Immigration Proposals Coming to the U.S...... 15-23 To Save My Life Exploring Your Experience: Life Journeys Exploring Others’ Experiences: Reasons for Leaving Home Hanging On To Hope How to Make Money from a Border What is NAFTA? Understanding Push and Pull Factors Living in the U.S...... 24-30 David Bacon Where Do We Belong? A Note to Young Immigrants Immigrants’ Cultural Contributions What if Immigration’s Not Policy Options: Path to Citizenship Where’s the Money? Undocumented Immigration...... 31-37 the Problem? Choosing Our Words Words Paint Pictures by Cara Anaam Viewpoints: Undocumented Immigration Sometimes Breaking the Law Isn’t a Crime The Multitude of Jobs Immigrants Do Why at this point in our history are we, a nation of immigrants, so Undocumented Immigrants: Myths and Reality hyped up about immigration? And what in the heat of the debate is not Immigration Policy and Racism ...... 38-43 being talked about? As with so many issues in this country at the mo- Code Words for Racism ment, the debate seems to have served mostly to create division rather Scales Falling Off Policy is “White-foot, Black-foot” than clarity. Exploitation Without Borders Framing the current controversy as being about “immigration re- Immigrants’ Rights ...... 44-51 form” puts immigrants at the root of the problem. But are they really? Immigrant Workers’ Rights Worker Wins Her Rights But Loses Hope Is This Moral? continued on page 3
Continued on next page Issue 23 www.nelrc.org/changeagent September 2006 The Change Agent is the biannual publication of The New England From the Editors Literacy Resource Center (NELRC). Each issue of the paper helps Immigration—it’s right now, it’s emotional, it’s complex, and it’s teachers incorporate social justice content into their curriculum. The uncertain. While we were working on this issue, public debate about paper is designed for intermediate- immigration grew more and more intense. Immigrants poured into the level ESOL, ABE, GED, and adult diploma classes. Each issue focuses streets all over the nation to state their opposition to the bill passed by on a different topic that is relevant to the U.S. House of Representatives. Talk shows brimmed with opinions learners’ lives. and experts. Some states passed their own laws instead of waiting for In New England, The Change Congress to act. This often charged and always complicated issue burst Agent is available free of charge in limited quantities through NELRC’s open for debate. We still don’t know what Congress will do—whether affiliated state literacy resource centers the laws will change and how. But is it incontrovertible that our country (SABES, ATDN, CALL, Vermont Adult Education Board, Literacy Resources/ is grappling with its identity as an immigrant nation. Rhode Island, New Hampshire This issue offers a broad array of information, lessons, opinions, Department of Education). Contact these centers to learn how to receive and provocative articles aimed at helping readers sort through the your free copies. PDF versions of The current debate. We start with a broad brush: opportunities to learn Change Agent can be downloaded general information about immigration, global migration patterns, and for free from our Web site. where immigrants to the U.S. have come from. We explore some of the Submissions reasons people come to the U.S—the push and pull factors that so Our next issue is about Caring for Our Children. often go hand in hand. We welcome submissions from This issue is also full of material to help people understand and teachers and students in our field as well as activists and thinkers from explore just what is being talked about—and not—by elected officials. outside the field. We also have several sections dedicated to understanding and exposing For submission guidelines visit www.nelrc.org/changeagent or call the subtext of the debate: immigration’s connections to racism, human 617-482-9485. rights, and the insatiable appetite of our capitalist economy.
Subscriptions There are many, many opinions, data, and studies about the pros A one year (2 issues) subscription and cons of immigration. You may also see some data inconsistencies is $10 ($12 Canada). The Change Agent is also available in in this issue. Though we tried to minimize this, it does reflect that most bulk sets (25 copies, twice a year) for numbers—whether they represent how many undocumented immigrants $50. See our Web site for details. live here or how much they pay in taxes—are estimates. Editors: Angela Orlando, Cara Anaam Finally, this issue and the members of our editorial board are Layout: Angela Orlando squarely pro-immigrant. We support and affirm immigrants’ calls for Editorial Board: Elsa Auerbach, Marcia Drew Hohn, Silja Kallenbach, Christine justice, dignity, and the right to be full members of society. Kenny, Ki Kim, Maria Elena Letona, This issue will challenge you—it has certainly challenged us. May it Kathleen McCarthy, Michael Prokosch, Mina Reddy, Priyanks Sharma, also help you clarify what you really believe about immigration—what is JoAnne Steglitz, Kerline Tofuri, at the heart of the issue. Cyhthia Tschampl, Felipe Vaquerano, Christiane Wollaston-Joury —Angela Orlando and Cara Anaam, editors The Change Agent is published by the New England Literacy Resource Center/World Education 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 617-482-9485 Table of Contents continued www.nelrc.org/changeagent We All Have Constitutional Rights Myths and Facts What Should I Do If Immigration Authorities Stop Me? Policy Options: Guest Worker Program What Are Human Rights? Border Security ...... 60-65 Migrant Rights Are Human Rights Behind the “Border Scare” Policy Options: Detention, Deportation, Border Insecurity Access to Courts Policy Options: Border Security Immigrants & the Economy ...... 52-59 Getting Active...... 66-69 Competing for Work? Out of the Shadows, Into the Streets The Jobs Undocumented Workers Do Just Like You! Oi-Kwan “Annie” Lai’s Story Safe Ways to Get Involved Do Immigrants Pay Their Fair Share of Taxes? A Drain on the Public Purse? Resources ...... 70-71 Learning About Immigration
continued from front cover
What indeed is the “problem” that our And if we’re worried about strained public country is facing? Is it that we have too many and social services or the lack of living wage jobs people so we need to reduce immigration? Is it shouldn’t we question the roles played by con- that public ser- tinual budget and tax cuts, corporate outsourcing vices like educa- and downsizing, and a low minimum wage? tion and medical It’s also curious that the debate at this time By trying to identify more care are strained seems to focus primarily on our southern border specifically the problems and even failing? and even more specifically on undocumented im- our country is facing we Is it that there is migrants who often cross this border. It is there a lack of jobs for we see the flow of impoverished brown workers might see root causes all who want to from Mexico and Central America. Most come that point us to very dif- work in the because traditional agricultural labor is no longer ferent solutions. United States? a way to support their families in their native By trying to lands, and they identify more do not have the specifically the education or the ...immigration policy does problems our country is facing we might see root opportunity to causes that point us to very different solutions. seek other work. need some changing, but If, for example, we are worried about the flow of Our existing it’s only one part of a web undocumented immigrants, shouldn’t we exam- policies are not of interconnected eco- ine the national and international policies that working for the nomic and social policies our country has supported in the last several de- prospective im- cades? The North American Free Trade Agree- migrant or for that need reform. ment (NAFTA), the International Monetary Fund our nation. There (IMF), and the are extremely World Bank have long backlogs for visas and green cards meaning demanded many that people can wait for many years before being It’s also curious that the rapid changes in admitted and reunited with their families. It is debate at this time seems the traditional also difficult for employers in some industries to to focus primarily on our economic struc- find the workers they need. Surely our immigra- southern border and tures of develop- tion policy does need some changing, but it’s ing countries. only one part of a web of interconnected eco- even more specifically on What is the nomic and social policies that need reform. undocumented immi- United States’ Identifying the problem correctly is what grants . . . responsibility for will lead us to the best solutions. Blaming immi- the havoc policy grants seems unlikely to get us very far. decisions like NAFTA have Cara Anaam is the assistant editor of The Change Agent. caused? What kind of development assistance should the U.S. provide to Mexican and Central American governments to help them develop jobs at home for their workers?
The Change Agent — September 2006 3 Learning About Immigration
Asking Questions About Immigration Suggestions for Teachers by Elsa Roberts Auerbach
This time of national debate on immigration presents a “teachable moment” for our students. Here are some suggestions for starting classroom conversations about immi- gration. 1. Introduce the topic by asking students to define “immigrant” and “immigration.” 2. Then pass out the student worksheet on the next page. Have students individually complete the sentences on the top part of the page stating their beliefs and ideas. 3. Make a list of the class beliefs about immigration. Discuss the differences noting where beliefs conflict. 4. Have students turn these ideas and beliefs into questions using the sentence starters on the bottom of the worksheet. Discuss as a class. 5. Post sheets of paper around the classroom. Have students post their immigration questions then add information relating to them as they find it. Add new questions as they arise.
Ten Questions Activity 1. Split up the class in small groups. Each group should choose one of the following words and write ten questions about immigration on newsprint starting with that word: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW 2. Post the newsprint around the room. Suggest that students walk around and place checks next to the questions that they think are most interesting or most important, adding their own questions. 3. The class might then choose three questions from each list that have the greatest number of checks and discuss why they are important. 4. Have students build timelines, collages, and murals that answer the questions and use the information they have discovered.
Elsa Roberts Auerbach, Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Boston, has worked to link adult education for English language learners and social justice in workplace, community, and higher education contexts for many years. She is the author of numerous books and articles about participatory approaches to adult ESOL.
4 The Change Agent — September 2006 Learning About Immigration
Asking Questions About Immigration Naming Your Beliefs and Ideas Finish the following sentences individually; then compose a class list of beliefs about immigration. Some of your ideas and beliefs may conflict with each other. Example: I’ve heard that immigrants don’t pay taxes.
1. I think that immigrants .
2. I’m afraid that immigrants .
3. I believe that immigration .
4. I hope that immigration .
5. I’ve heard that immigrants .
6. I worry that immigration .
Sentence Starters Now, turn these beliefs and ideas into questions: Example: Do immigrants pay taxes?
1. Do immigrants ?
2. Do immigrants ?
3. Do immigrants ?
4. Does immigration ?
The Change Agent — September 2006 5 Learning About Immigration
Immigration Myths & Realities Quiz
1. Most immigrants come to the United States from 7. In southern California, the average income where? of an immigrant day labor worker was $8,500 per The Middle East The Middle East and Africa year. On average, what percentage of this income Africa Asia and Latin America did workers send back to their home countries? Asia All of the above 15 percent 31 percent Latin America 26 percent 40 percent
8. Undocumented immigrant workers take jobs away 2. What percentage of the world’s immigrants come from native workers. to the United States? True False More than 35 percent 15 percent 22 percent Less than one percent 9. Recent immigrants tend to speak a language other than English in the home. 3. What is the most common reason people from other countries come to the U.S. to live? True False To join a close family member 10. Which of the following personalities was born in For employment To escape persecution (as a refugee) the United States? All of the above Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State Andrew Grove, founder, Intel Corporation 4. Most immigrants come into the United States Jennifer Lopez, actor, musician illegally. Gene Simmons, rock musician, Kiss Patrick Ewing, basketball player, New York Knicks True False 11. According to the U.S. Census, the total number of 5. Where did the most refugees who were resettled immigrants living in the U.S. in the United States come from in 2002? in 2000 was more than 31 million. By INS esti- Former Soviet Union Sudan mates, how many undocumented immigrants Iran Afghanistan were living in the U.S. that same year? Vietnam Cuba 75.3 million 12.5 million 46.8 million Seven milion 6. Immigrants made up what percentage of the total U.S. population in 2000? 12. In 2000, nearly three quarters of all 6 percent 15 percent immigrants settled in how many states? 11 percent 28 percent 2 6 10 15
The Immigration Myths & Realities Quiz reprinted courtesy of ITVS
6 The Change Agent — September 2006 Learning About Immigration
Answers to Immigration Quiz
1. ANSWER: Asia and Latin America that country.” An immigrant is a person who voluntarily Most immigrants come to the United States from Asia and leaves their place of birth in order to migrate to another Latin America. From 1900 to 2000, the proportion of country. immigrants from Asia and Latin America increased from less then 1.5 percent to 26 percent and 52 percent, 6. ANSWER: 11 percent (11.1 percent to be exact) respectively. In 1910, immigrants made up nearly 15 percent of the U.S. population but in 2000, immigrants made up a little more 2. ANSWER: Less than 1 percent than 11 percent of the population. Immigration was at its Of the 175 million migrants in the world, the U.S. admitted peak during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when 1,063,732 documented immigrants in 2002. Europeans arrived to work in the factories of the Undocumented immigration adds approximately 350,000 industrializing cities and the Western territories. people per year by INS estimates. Census Bureau statistics for 2000 report that out of approximately 281.4 million people living in the U.S., 31.1 3. ANSWER: To join a close family member million were born outside the country U.S. So far, no Most legal immigrants (about 75 percent) come to the single decade has topped 1901-1910 for immigration U.S. to join close family members, although employment admissions. and escaping persecution are two of the other main reasons people come to the U.S. 7. ANSWER: 31 percent On average, each day labor worker sent home $2,600, or 4. ANSWER: False 31 percent of his or her yearly income. Seventy-seven Of the approximately 1.4 million immigrants who entered percent of these workers were from Mexico and 20 the U.S. in 2002, only about 25 percent came illegally. percent from Central America. Although these figures do not account for some homeless immigrants and undocumented migrant workers who 8. ANSWER: False return to their native countries when their seasonal work Studies show that undocumented immigration either has is over, the proportion of illegal immigrants to legal no effect on native workers or actually increases their immigrants is still quite small. labor market opportunities by boosting the industries that create new jobs. Immigrants create more jobs than they 5. ANSWER: Former Soviet Union themselves fill. They do so directly by starting new In 2002, the U.S. resettled nearly 10,000 refugees from the businesses and indirectly through their expenditures on former Soviet Union. While upheaval in Afghanistan has U.S. goods and services. produced an unmanageably large number of refugees Undocumented immigrants often take jobs that others (estimates put the 2002 number between 3.5 and 4.5 in the community refuse to perform. For example, the million), only 1,649 of those were resettled in the U.S. railroads across the West were largely built by Chinese There is a yearly limit of how many refugees the U.S. will immigrants, and large-scale agricultural production still admit. In 2003, that limit was 70,000 although in many relies on Mexican workers, many of whom are seasonal years the actual number of refugees admitted can be workers, not immigrants. much lower than the limit. The U.S. makes a distinction between immigrants 9. ANSWER: True and refugees. According to the 1951 Convention Relating About 83 percent of the immigrants who live in the U.S. do to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who not speak English at home. “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of Continued on page 8
The Change Agent — September 2006 7 Learning About Immigration
A World on the Move
According to the United Nations there were 191 million Professionals - These include employees of transnational migrants in 2005—around three percent of the world’s corporations who are moved around from one country to population. 55 percent of them went to 10 countries: another. They represent only a small number of the total • the United States • Saudi Arabia migrants. • • Russia Canada Unauthorized workers - Sometimes called undocumented • • Germany India or illegal immigrants. There are significant numbers in most • • Ukraine United Kingdom immigration countries. Some have been smuggled in, • • France Spain others are overstaying their visas, or are working on tourist visas. Migrants can be divided into five main categories: settlers, contract workers, professionals, unauthorized workers and Asylum seekers and refugees - Asylum seekers have left asylum seekers and refugees. their homes to escape danger; if their claims for asylum have been accepted they are then classified as ‘refugees’. Settlers - These are people who intend to live permanently In some cases of mass flight, however, when thousands of in their new country. Most head for the main countries of people escape across a border they are accepted as settlement, notably the United States, Canada and Australia. refugees without going through this individual process. The majority are joining close family members.
Contract workers – These migrants typically stay only for Adapted by permission of Peter Stalker. a specific period: the length of their contract. Some are
Immigration Quiz Answers continued from page 7
10. ANSWER: Jennifer Lopez 2000. The total number is derived from a complicated With parents hailing from the U.S. Commonwealth of formula that takes into account not only arriving Puerto Rico, J. Lo was born in the Bronx, New York. All of immigrants, but also those who return to their native the others are first-generation immigrants to the United countries. They estimate that approximately seven million States: Madeleine Albright from Czechoslovakia, Andrew undocumented immigrants were living in the U.S. in 2000. Grove from Hungary, Gene Simmons from Israel and Patrick Ewing from Jamaica. 12. ANSWER: 6 Perhaps a common misperception that there is a high 11. ANSWER: 7 million volume of immigrants entering the U.S. today rests in the The INS revised its estimates of how many fact that nearly three-quarters (68 percent) of all undocumented immigrants enter the United States each immigrants settle in just six states: California, New York, year in 2003. Their new figures show approximately Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Illinois. 350,000 illegal immigrants entering per year from 1990 to
The Immigration Myths & Realities Quiz reprinted courtesy of ITVS
8 The Change Agent — September 2006 Learning About Immigration
Global Migration Patterns
Discussion Questions: Look at the map: 1. What patterns do you notice? 2. Where are people moving from? 3. What countries are they moving to? What countries are they moving from? 4. What do you think might explain this? 5. What questions does this map raise? How could you find the answers?
View the map online Go online and look at the map. It is an interactive map that provides more details about the migration movement represented by each arrow. The site is also rich with information about different kinds of migrants, reasons for migration, and data on migration flows.
Take a look at:
Adapted by permission of Peter Stalker.
The Change Agent — September 2006 9 Learning About Immigration
Where Have Immigrants Come From?
These statistics are based on U.S. Census figures for 1900, 1960, 1980, and 2000. These dates pro- vide a good gauge of demographic change due to changes in immigration policy. Nineteen hundred marks a period where European immigration to the U.S. was at a high point (before the passage of re- strictive immigration legislation in the 1920s). Nineteen sixty provides a good benchmark to compare demographic changes after the passage of the 1965 Immigration Act, which eliminated racial quotas to immigration. Nineteen eighty and 2000 show the growing demographic change within the U.S. Coun- tries are listed in order of the numbers of immigrants sent starting with the hightest.
2.6% 11.4% 1900 Top Ten Sending Countries: Germany Europe Ireland Great Britain Northern America* Canada Sweden other areas Italy Poland 86.0% Russia Norway 1900 Immigrant Population Austria (13.6% of total U.S. population w as born outside the U.S.)
*includes Mexico
1960 5.1% 0.7% Europe Top Ten Sending Countries: 9.4% Italy Northern America* Germany 9.8% Canada Latin America United Kingdom Asia Poland Soviet Union other areas Mexico 75.0% Ireland Austria Hungary 1960 Immigrant Population (6.9% of total U.S. population w as born outside the U.S.)
10 The Change Agent — September 2006 Learning About Immigration
2.1% 6.5% 1980 Europe Top Ten Sending Countries: 19.3% 39.0% Mexico Latin America* Germany Asia Canada Italy Northern America United Kingdom other areas Cuba Philippines 33.1% Poland Soviet Union 1980 Immigrant Population Korea (6.2% of total U.S. population w as born outside the U.S.)
*includes Mexico
5.7% 2.5% 2000 Latin America* Top Ten Sending Countries: 15.3% Mexico Asia Philippines Europe India 51.0% China other areas Cuba Northern America Vietnam El Salvador 25.5% Dominican Republic Haiti Nicaragua 2000 Immigrant Population (10.4% of total U.S. population w as born outside the U.S.)
Discussion Questions and Activities 1. How many (and which) countries appear in each group, how many appear in three groups, how many in two, how many in just one? 2. Using data from each chart, describe the percent change over time of immigrants from Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Make three different bar graphs with data from each region to show these changes. 3. What do you notice about the changes over time? What questions do these charts raise for you?
Adapted with permission from Cho, Eunice Hyunhye, Francisco Argüelles Paz y Puente, Miriam Ching Yoon Louie, and Sasha Khokha, BRIDGE: Building a Race and Immigration Dialogue in the Global Economy A Popular Education Resource for Immigrant and Refugee Community Organizers. Oakland: National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, 2004. To order this resource call 510-465-1984 or go to
The Change Agent — September 2006 11 Learning About Immigration
Who Do You Believe? by Elsa Roberts Auerbach
If you read two articles that provide conflicting • What do you know about the author? What information about a topic, how do you decide difference does it make if the author is a whom to believe? For example, how do you union organizer, a religious leader, an make sense of one report saying immigrants cost academic, or a corporate lawyer? the government money and others that say they • Look up the author and any organizations contribute more in taxes than they will ever use that he or she is affiliated with. What are the in services? Which information is accurate? The political perspectives of that organization? following questions may help you figure out How do you know? your own stance about such complicated • How might the author’s values shape the questions. information he/she chooses to use? Does the author have any interest in one view or Your questions another? Based on what you discover, what Start by asking some basic questions about the can you say about the point of view, beliefs topic. Think about what YOU want to know and values of the author? about the topic. For example, • How much do immigrants pay in taxes? Questions about the purpose of the text • Do all immigrants pay taxes? Different texts have different purposes. Some are • What kinds of services do immigrants use? designed to persuade; others are designed to • What kinds of jobs do immigrants do? Who provide information; others are designed to else does these jobs? inspire. Think about the following: • What are you looking at? Is it an opinion Your experience and values piece? Is it a newspaper article? Is it a Think about what you already know about this scholarly article? topic based on your experience and beliefs. • What is the purpose of the text? Is it Naming your own point of view will help you designed to persuade you of a point of view? figure out your first reactions to the articles. Ask • Does it present one side of an argument or yourself, many sides? • What direct experiences do I have that provide information or insight about the Questions about how the text is written topic? Authors can influence readers by the ways they • Do I have beliefs or values that are relevant set up texts and choose words, as well as what to this discussion? Do I already have a stance they leave out. Ask yourself: about the question? • What do the images, charts, or graphics suggest? Questions about the author • What are the vocabulary choices of the Next look at each article by itself and ask some author? Why does the author choose these questions about the author or source of words? What do the words suggest? information. For example, • Why is the text written this way? How else • Who wrote this piece? could it have been written?
12 The Change Agent — September 2006 Learning About Immigration
This report says immigrants But this help the one says economy. they don’t.
Ann Cleaves
Questions about the message of the text • How else could this text have been written? Only after you have stepped back to look at the • How would you talk back to the author? author, the kind of text, and the way the text is What would you say? written can you think critically about what the author wants readers to get from the text. Then Putting it all together you can ask, After you have addressed these questions for • What is the message in the article? What does both articles or points of view, think about how the author want you to believe? the articles compare to each other and to your • Whose views are heard or represented in the experience and beliefs. text? Whose views are NOT in the text? • Do the articles challenge, confirm, or • What questions does the author answer? contradict your beliefs? Have your ideas What questions does the author NOT changed? Has either author convinced you? answer? • Is there a third way to look at the issue? Is • Whose interests might be served by this text? there a perspective which goes beyond either Who benefits from the text? of the positions represented by the authors? Do you now have new questions? Questions outside the text Sometimes it’s necessary to look outside a text to Elsa Roberts Auerbach, Professor of English at the University get a perspective on the text. of Massachusetts Boston, has worked to link adult education • Is there a source that you trust on another for English language learners and social justice in workplace, community, and higher education contexts for many years. She issue? What do they say about THIS issue? is the author of numerous books and articles about • Whose voice is missing in this text? participatory approaches to adult ESOL.
The Change Agent — September 2006 13 Learning About Immigration
Questioning Immigration Proposals by Angela Orlando
Right now a lot of people are talking about our immigration laws. The President supports “comprehensive immigration reform” and the Senate and the House of Representatives have each passed their own bills. Our elected officials don’t yet agree on which of the proposed policies should become the law. There are many other groups, academics, media personalities, and others who are also airing their opinions. It’s hard to sort out all the differences and decide what will be right for our country. Here are some questions that will help you examine the current debate on immigration and can be applied to any other policy question. You can also use these questions to think about the policy pieces John Trever, The Abluquerque Journal included in this issue on pages 28, 49, 58, and 64. Places to look for more information: Good Questions to Ask: American Friends Service Committee
14 The Change Agent — September 2006 Coming To The U.S.
To Save My Life by Elisa Duraha
To save my life, I had to escape from Congo, my lawyer to get asylum and approval for my family native country in Africa. My mother is Rwandian to come here. The lawyer told me to go to the and my father is Congolese. I lived all my life in Red Cross to communicate with my family. It Congo and married a Congolese man and we had wasn’t easy to find them because the children’s ten children to- names had been changed to protect them. Finally gether. But when I got a letter with my phone number to my hus- One day, some people the internal fight- band through a friend visiting Congo. One day in came to my house and ing between July of 1999 at 5 AM, my husband called me. He Congolese and and my children couldn’t believe I was alive. I said I had to leave right Rwandians began spoke with all my children who were all okay, then because I was part hard in 1997, but no one knew where my mother, brothers, Rwandian and would be things got very and sisters were. bad. There was I was already learning English at the Immi- killed as a traitor if I no food, no grant Learning Center starting in 1999. In 2001, stayed in Congo. money, and when I got out of the hospital after surgery, I people were an- had no place to live. The Learning Center helped gry. One day, me find a homeless shelter but life was difficult some people came to my house and said I had to for me there and I couldn’t get to my church. I leave right then because I was part Rwandian was very depressed. But many people helped me and would be killed as a traitor if I stayed in along the way. A Congo. They said I had to go or I would be social worker at burned to death. It was so terrible to leave. the shelter In June 2002, my life be- I was taken to Catholic Charities a couple of helped me make hours away where I stayed for one year. I was so an application for gan to change. I was able depressed. I could not eat or sleep and cried all permanent hous- to bring four of my chil- the time thinking about my husband and my chil- ing, the doctor dren here. My husband dren. I could not talk to any of them and it was from the hospital so terrible for my children. I didn’t know what gave me a recom- and the others followed was happening with my mother, brothers, and mendation, and in 2004. sisters. Later, I found out that they were also the Housing Au- forced to leave. thority helped Catholic Charities advised me to go to me find an apartment. A therapist helped me America and then work to bring my family there. with my depression. Later, one of the teachers at In December of 1998, they gave me a passport, the Learning Center helped me do a fashion dressed me up as a nun and put me on a plane to show to raise money to bring my children here— Boston. When I arrived, I was taken in by a fam- I had a business making clothes in Congo. ily where the wife’s mother had been helped by In June 2002, my life began to change. I was my husband in Congo. able to bring four of my children here. My hus- I lived with them for two years and they band and the others followed in 2004. Now, life were very good to me. They helped me find a is much better. My nine children who came to the
The Change Agent — September 2006 15 Coming To The U.S.
United States are doing well in school, playing didn’t know me, but they accepted me. I want to soccer and basketball. Three will be in college stay in this land that doesn’t have a problem with this fall. My daughter Geraldine was recently me because of where I was born. Here we can honored by Oprah Winfrey for her essay “Like live in peace. Night and Day,” a story of survival. My children are talking about being nurses, construction engi- Elisa Duraha was born in Congo to a family of 11 children. She neers, doctors, lawyers, and chefs. I am working finished middle school in Congo and took professional training as a home health aide and studying for my GED. as a seamstress. She ran a successful business making I want to go into nursing administration. clothes in addition to being a mother of ten. She was forced to leave Congo and her family in 1998 because her life was in I want to thank Americans because they danger.
Exploring Your Experience Life journeys
Make a class chart about your life journeys. Answer these questions on the chart: 1. When did you leave your country? 2. What was happening in your country when you left? What pushed you to leave your country? 3. Why did you come to North America? What pulled you to North America?
Name Your country Departure Push Pull Victor Liberia 2003 War Peaceful life
Manuel Mexico 1999 Bad work More money to send home; NAFTA better life for kids Olga Russia 1989 Hard time Sister here; better for Jews? for Jews
Reprinted with permission from Auerbach, Elsa and Nina Wallerstein, Problem-Posing At Work: English for Action. Edmonton: Grass Roots Press, 2004.
16 The Change Agent — September 2006 Coming To The U.S.
Exploring Others’ Experiences Reasons for leaving home
Reading Strategy: As you read this, cross out any words you don’t know. Can you still understand what Choi Yung Hee is saying?
1967: Nike began manufacturing in Discussion Questions Japan. 1. What was happening in Korea in the 1970s and 1972: When Japa- 1980s? nese wages began to 2. What kinds of compa- rise, Nike moved to nies were coming to South Korea and Korea? Taiwan. 3. What was work like in those companies? 4. Why do you think 1986: When workers people lost their jobs? in Korea and Taiwan 5. What kind of work is organized for better there now? wages, Nike moved to 6. Where else is this Indonesia, China, and happening? Thailand where workers had fewer rights.
1994: Nike started some production in Vietnam.
Reprinted with permission from Auerbach, Elsa and Nina Wallerstein, Problem-Posing At Work: English for Action. Edmonton: Grass Roots Press, 2004.
The Change Agent — September 2006 17 Coming To The U.S.
In recent years, I have found myself often struggling to keep my emotions in check. One day, I am standing in my classroom listening to a Hmong learner from Laos speak of the murder of a cousin, the starvation of a child, and of the nightmares she experiences to this day about the years her family spent in hiding in the Laotian jungles. The next day, I am sitting in a coffee shop, listening to people who are practically my neighbors ranting about, as they say “all those illegals.” Sometimes, as I reflect on the history of the United States, I find it astounding that many of us still can’t see where we have Hanging come from, and how we have become what we are today. Every time I hear someone argue that undocumented persons are “break- On To ing the law,” I want to remind them that before the Chinese Exclu- sion Act of 1882, anyone could, and often did, land on our shores. Every time I hear claims that restricting immigration in the manner Hope that we do is not discriminatory, I want to remind them of the fer- vent anti-Eastern European and anti-Asian sentiment of the quota by Nathan Thompson systems set up in the 1920s, and to show them how the effects of that system continue to influence our laws today. Furthermore, ev- ery time I hear President Bush and others speak glowingly of a guest worker program that contains nearly no worker rights provi- sions, and offers only a faint path to citizenship, I want to shout out the words Bracero Program, and remind everyone of the slave-like conditions that Mexican laborers experienced during the 20 plus years of that program’s existence. With a history like this, and with the less than immigrant- friendly climate we have today, I sometimes wonder why so many people continue to dream of coming to America. However, I am of- ten quickly reminded by the stories of the learners in my classes. Whenever I begin to feel hatred towards my extremely privileged homeland, I often find myself, hours later, listening to the story of a family losing everything in El Salvador, or of a mother whose two sons died in the civil war in Somalia. Hearing these stories, I feel im- mense gratitude to have been able to grow up relatively free from life-threatening danger. I was able to learn, able to play, able to get enough food to grow into a healthy adult. This isn’t the case for many of the learners in my classes. Even knowing all this, I still struggle with the many wrongs I believe our nation has done, and continues to do, towards its new- comers. I am inspired by the millions of immigrants and native-born allies who are speaking out, who are marching, and who are work- ing to change public policy.
Nathan Thompson is an ESL instructor at FIRE English School and MORE Multicultural School, both in St Paul, MN.
18 The Change Agent — September 2006 Coming To The U.S.
The Bracero Program
From 1942 to 1964, the U.S. government are now organizing to get the money allowed more than four million Mexican owed to them. Since the bracero workers workers to legally enter and reside in the are now aging, it’s unlikely that they will country for a specific period of time to do ever get the money, estimated to be agricultural work. The U.S. Department of around $500 million (including interest). Labor officer in charge of the program, The braceros worked very hard thin- Lee G. Williams, ning sugar described it as a beets, picking system of “legal- cucumbers and ized slavery.” tomatoes, and The bracero weeding and contracts were picking cotton. controlled by in- During the dependent farm- Bracero Pro- ers’ associations gram the short and the Farm handle hoe was Bureau. The con- widely used.
tracts were in Photo courtesy of ww.farmworkers.org The braceros English and the still remember braceros would Bracero card issued to Jesús Campoya in 1951 having to bend in El Paso, Texas. sign them with- all day long as out understanding their full rights and the they thinned the sugar beet fields with conditions of employment. When the con- this tool. The use of the short-handle hoe tracts expired, the braceros were re- is now illegal in most states, although you quired to turn in their permits and return still find farm workers using it especially in to Mexico. The Mexican workers could south Texas and in New Mexico. not become citizens and could not get Despite their enormous contribution better jobs with other companies. to the American economy, the braceros They made on average about $30 suffered harassment and oppression per week through backbreaking labor. from extremist groups and racist authori- The San Francisco Chronicle reported ties. By the 1960s, an excess of agricul- that “10 percent of the braceros’ wages tural workers along with the introduction were deducted from their paychecks by of the mechanical cotton harvester, de- the U.S. government to be deposited in stroyed the practicality and attractiveness savings accounts that the workers could of the Bracero Program. The program claim when they returned to Mexico. Most was ended and the workers were shipped workers never saw that money.” Some home.
The Change Agent — September 2006 19 Coming To The U.S.
How to Make Money from a Border by Mike Prokosch
“Poor Mexico,” goes the saying, “so far from ment repealed the corn subsidies for farmers and God and so close to the United States.” The say- the land policy. The cost of growing Mexican ing is particularly true for Mexican workers, who corn leaped in price while under NAFTA, cheap have been pulled into the United States when U.S. corn flooded Mexico’s markets. Some re- employers needed more labor and pushed out searchers think NAFTA forced two million Mexi- when they didn’t. cans off their farms. Many crossed the border, California agriculture expanded in the 1920s, including most of the 500,000 undocumented and growers put Mexican migrants to work in workers who enter the U.S. every year. their fields. In the 1930s, when the Depression NAFTA also opened up Mexico to U.S. com- created massive unemployment, Mexican panies. Small and medium Mexican-owned busi- farmworkers (and U.S. citizens of Mexican de- nesses, which employed many people, closed as scent) were rounded up and deported. American U.S. corporations moved in. Wal-Mart is now people forced to abandon their own farms in the Mexico’s biggest retailer. For every job Wal-Mart Dust Bowl picked the grapes and lettuce instead. creates there, about one and a half jobs are lost. Come the 1940s, World War II created a labor And, according to the Mexico Solidarity Move- shortage in the fields, and Mexicans were ment, Wal-Mart sends most its profits to the U.S., brought back. Their employment status was for- malized in the Bracero Program of the 1950s. Even after the program ended in 1964, Mexican Dust Bowl workers kept coming, legally or illegally, because back home, their farming villages were getting In the mid to late 1930s, a series of dust poorer and poorer. storms scoured the southern plains in For U.S. growers, Mexicans conveniently portions of Colorado, Kansas, New extended the U.S. economy. When U.S. workers Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. These couldn’t do the work at the price growers storms were caused by great droughts wanted, they’d call a Mexican. When they didn’t and decades of unwise agricultural need him, they shipped him back. Now, the practices such as the removal of grass North American Free Trade Agreement during plowing. (NAFTA), signed in 1994, is causing more Mexi- During these storms, the simple cans to leave their homes in search of work. One acts of everyday life were no longer important reason is corn. For a half century be- simple. Children had to wear dustmasks fore NAFTA, Mexican farm policies had kept mil- to school, housewives had to hang wet lions of people on the land. Corn is the center of sheets over windows to try and keep out Mexico’s diet and traditional culture. The Mexi- the dust, and farmers were unable to can government’s corn-growing subsidies helped plant or grow their crops. Dust drifted small farmers survive and provided cheap corn like snow and completely covered some for working people in the cities. Mexico’s Consti- farms. Many people abandoned their tution banned the sale of community-owned farms and migrated to other parts of the farmland, so families stayed in their villages. country to look for jobs. But to qualify for NAFTA, Mexico’s govern-
20 The Change Agent — September 2006 Coming To The U.S.
leaving Mexico with less money to create jobs. hospitals, and cleaning and security companies. National Public Radio reported that alto- This treatment of Mexican workers is nothing gether, U.S. companies now employ 40% of new. Policies, old and new, continue a cycle that workers in Mexico. Just before NAFTA, Mexican exploits and disrespects workers—as if they were workers earned 15 percent of US workers’ disposable—while padding the pockets of CEOs wages. By 2002 they’d fallen to 12 percent, and and giving us cheap foods and consumer goods. Mexico’s poverty rate had risen from 45.6 percent Is this all just part of capitalism—an inconvenient in 1994 to 50.3 percent in 2000 according to Jeff truth that keeps our economy growing? Faux, author of The Global Class War. We must decide what we want: a country NAFTA opened the U.S.–Mexican border where some people and companies take such un- but just for money and goods. Not for people. just advantage of workers or a nation that de- Many companies want cheap workers— mands that employers uphold the human rights without U.S. citizenship, subject to discrimination of all workers—and we must decide what we are and racism, unaware of U.S. labor law, some- willing to trade for it. times undocumented. Mexicans have long been that kind of worker, first for our fields and now Mike Prokosch leads workshops on globalization, immigration, for hotels, restaurants, builders, landscapers, and the U.S. economy for unions and community organizations. He works at the Labor Extension Program at UMass Lowell. Monte Wolverton, Cagle Cartoons
The Change Agent — September 2006 21 Coming To The U.S.
What is NAFTA?
In the early 1990s, the U.S. government decided that it wanted to make trade between Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. easier. It proposed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA is a trade agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. that went into effect in 1994.
What are the reasons for NAFTA? The purpose of NAFTA is to make trade between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada easier by getting rid of restrictions. Theses countries can trade freely without paying tariffs or taxes on imports and exports.
NAFTA also protects the interests of global corporations so they can set up companies in Mexico and Canada. Within the free trade areas, corporations, not governments, make rules about labor and environment.
What was NAFTA supposed to do? What did NAFTA supporters promise? The supporters of NAFTA promised that it would be good for the people of all three countries: • It would mean more jobs in the U.S. and Canada. • It would mean more exports from the U.S. to Mexico and Canada. • It would be good for the economy of Mexico. • It would be good for the workers of Mexico. It would mean more jobs. • It would support environmental projects. • Displaced workers would get retraining and benefits so they could go back to work.
What was the effect of NAFTA in Canada and the U.S.? None of the promises came true. • The trade balance between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico got worse, not better. • The U.S. imported more than it exported and U.S. workers lost jobs. • Many companies left the U.S. and Canada for Mexico where there were cheaper wages, fewer protections for workers, and weaker environmental laws. • Government subsidies for farmers were cut. Family farmers lost their farms while giant agricultural corporations exporting corn and grain to Mexico made big profits. • Whole communities in the U.S. have been destroyed by factories closing. • Retraining and benefits did not result in family-sustaining jobs for tens of thousands of displaced workers.
Based on the article, How To Make Money from a Border on pages 19-20, what do you think the effects have been in Mexico?
Adapted with permission from Auerbach, Elsa and Nina Wallerstein, Problem-Posing At Work: English for Action. Edmonton: Grass Roots Press, 2004.
22 The Change Agent — September 2006 Coming To The U.S.
Understanding Push and Pull Factors
Class chart. Make a chart that shows how jobs have changed in your countries in the past 10 years. Who were the employers before? Who are the employers now? What kinds of jobs were common 10 years ago? Five years ago? Today? What has caused these changes? Why have these changes happened?
Country Jobs 10 years ago Jobs 5 years ago Jobs today
1. What do you think immigrants or refugees mean when they say, “We’re here because you’re there”?
2. Write a letter to North Americans explaining why many immigrants and refugees come here. What are the conditions that push people to leave their countries and the conditions that pull them to Canada or the United States? Then send your letter to your local newspaper.
Adapted with permission from Auerbach, Elsa and Nina Wallerstein, Problem-Posing At Work: English for Action. Edmonton: Grass Roots Press, 2004.
The Change Agent — September 2006 23 Living in the U.S.
Where Do We Belong? by María Teresa Ortiz
I grew up in Mexico with the knowledge that I was Mexican. Now here in the U.S., I question where I belong and where my children are going to belong. When I go back to my country, I am treated differently by the people. They don’t see me as a Mexican; I feel they just see somebody that has some money and comes to their country to spend it. My children are met with many nicknames, which I don’t like to hear used for them. This treatment is not only from strangers; it’s also from old friends and some relatives. This makes me feel sad. Here in the U.S., there are many things that make me feel excluded and I see the obstacles for Latinos to have a better life, even though we have some opportuni- ties that many times we don’t take advantage of. Being excluded by some people here doesn’t hurt me so much; we don’t have the same culture, the language, and other reasons. But being excluded by your own people hurts a lot. Having the feel- ing of being excluded in both countries makes me feel that my children and I are on the yellow line in the middle of the road. I know that I have to work hard and learn the language to become part of this country. I will apply to become a U.S. citizen. In that way, I can have a better life for me and my family and I can help the family I left behind in Mexico. I have learned to love this country, too. Yet, in my roots I’m Mexican; I am not American. My children’s roots are not Mexican; they were born here and are Americans. We are not accepted completely in either country, but I know there are people who love us, no matter where we belong or where we are from. They just show their love for us. Thanks to these people.
María Teresa Ortiz has lived in the United States for the last 10 years. She has three children. M/F Myth: Immigrants don’t want to learn English or become Americans. Fact: Within ten years of arrival, more than 75% of immigrants speak English well; moreover, demand for English classes at the adult level far exceeds supply. Greater than 33% of immigrants are naturalized citizens; given increased immigration in the 1990s, this figure will rise as more legal permanent residents become eligible for naturalization in the coming years. The number of immigrants naturalizing spiked sharply after two events: enactment of immigration and welfare reform laws in 1996, and the terrorist attacks in 2001. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services)
Reprinted with permission from the National Immigration Forum
24 The Change Agent — September 2006 Living in the U.S.
A Note to Young Immigrants The bittersweet aspects of immigration by Mitali Perkins
Be ready: You lose a lot once you’re tossed into but your heart will remain insatiable. the mainstream. You lose a place that feels like You lose the advantage of parents who can home, a community where the basics are under- interpret the secrets of society. Your friends learn stood, where conversations can begin at a deeper the art of conversation, the habits of mealtimes, level. No easy havens await you, no places to slip the nuances of relationships, even the basics of into with a sigh of relief, saying, “At last, a place bathroom behavior, from their parents. Your where everybody is like me.” In the neighbor- own parents’ social etiquette sometimes leads to hood, you’re like a pinch of chili tossed into a confusion or embarrassment in the outside creamy pot. You world. You begin to take on the responsibility of lose the sharp- buffering your parents from a culture that is even Be ready: You lose a lot ness of your eth- more foreign to them. You translate this new once you’re tossed into nic flavor quickly world’s secrets for them. but find that you You lose the stabilizing power of traditions. the mainstream. You lose can never fully The year is not punctuated by rituals your grand- a place that feels like dissolve. mother and great-grandmother celebrated. Holi- home, a community You lose the days in this new place lack the power to evoke where the basics are un- ability to forget nostalgia and renew childlike wonder. Your par- about race. ents’ feasts of derstood... You’re aware of celebration fall it everywhere in on days when You lose the stabilizing town, like a you have to go to power of traditions. The woman aware of her gender in a roomful of men. school. You dodge stereotypes at school by You lose the year is not punctuated by underperforming or overachieving. You wonder chance to disap- rituals your grandmother if you’re invisible to the opposite sex because pear into the ma- and great-grandmother you’re foreign or because you’re unattractive. jority anywhere celebrated. You lose a language. You still speak your in your new parents’ language, but it will soon begin to feel world. In the foreign to lips, pen, and mind. Your heart won’t new neighbor- forget as quickly; it will reserve a space for this hood, you draw reactions common to minori- mother tongue, your instructor of emotion, whis- ties—outright racism, patronizing tokenism, en- pered in love and hurled in anger. Your heart thusiasm from curious culture-seekers. If you language will speak words that tremble through travel across the seas to neighborhoods where tears; it will join you with others in the camara- your parents grew up, you’re greeted with curi- derie of uncontrollable laughter. In your new lan- ous, appraising stares. You’re too tall or too guage, English, you enjoy the lyrical cadence of short; you move your arms and hips differently poetry and glimpse the depth of ancient epics, when you walk; you smile too often or not often
The Change Agent — September 2006 25 Living in the U.S.
enough; you employ the confusing nonverbal sity to glimpse the common and universal. You gestures from another world. recognize the ache that makes us all feel like But don’t get discouraged. In fact, you strangers, even in the middle of comfortable ho- should feel quite the opposite. There is good mogeneity. You understand the soul’s craving for news about life in the melting pot. There are a real home because yours is never sated with a gains to offset the losses, if you manage not to counterfeit version. melt away altogether. You’re boiled down, re- So take time to mourn your losses, but re- fined to your own distinctiveness. You realize member to revel in the gains. Learn to embrace a early that virtues litany of genuine labels—words like stranger, pil- are not the prop- grim, sojourner, wayfarer. Stride past the lure of There is good news erty of one heri- false destinations, intent on traveling to a place about life in the melting tage; you dis- where, at last, everyone can feel at home. pot. There are gains to cover a self pow- erful enough to offset the losses . . . . Reprinted by permission from Teaching Tolerance. Mitali balance the best Perkins was born in India and immigrated to the United States You discover a self pow- of many worlds. with her family when she was 6 years old. She is the author of A part of two novels, as well as many short stories and essays about life erful enough to balance between cultures. the best of many worlds. you rises above the steamy con- fusion of diver-
Discussion Questions 1. Where do you find yourself in this essay? What hits home for you? 2. Imagine writing a short welcome note to an immigrant coming to the U.S. from another country. What would you say? How would you welcome that person? 3. In her essay, Perkins writes of immigrant students’ parents, “You translate this new world’s secrets for them.” What does she mean by “secrets”? What “se- crets” are difficult for newcomers to learn? 4. Perkins refers to this nation as a melting pot, comparing flavors and spices to different cultural heritages. Others have described this nation as a mosaic, a collection of small tiles combining to form a larger image. What are the differ- ences between a melting pot and a mosaic? Which do you think is a better de- scription? What are other ways you could describe a multicultural society?
26 The Change Agent — September 2006 Living in the U.S.
Immigrants’ Cultural Contributions by Kathleen McCarthy
My job is to prepare immigrant students for em- It was the first time I saw my students excited in ployment; to help them make an economic contri- this class. They each seemed so proud of their bution to our society. But I realized that I made a own words in that moment. They also listened mistake by not also including in my lessons a fo- intently to each others’ descriptions of what they cus on the importance of cultural contributions to missed most from their home countries. society. In a recent ESOL job readiness class, I I thought a lot about what happened in that encouraged my students to develop a habit of class when I went home, and realized I needed to creative expression so they might improve their give my students a sense of being more than just quality of life now, while they work toward their a cog in the wheel. I want to remind them of longer term goals of finding a job and improving their uniqueness; that they are not immigrant sta- their English. Was this a justifiable topic in a job tistics but unique readiness class for low-level ESOL students? Fo- individuals. cusing on the contributions of immigrant artists, Since then, I Get Kathleen’s lesson writers, and architects in my classroom has have made room on immigrant artists at: proven to be a powerful tool for students in ex- in each class for
The Change Agent — September 2006 27 Living in the U.S.
Policy Options: Path to Citizenship
A path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants would allow some already in the United States to legalize their status and eventually become eligible for citizenship. Some of the proposals before Congress don’t provide any path to citizenship at all. Other proposals would allow some people to apply depending on how long they’ve been here, what kind of work they’ve done, and whether they’ve been convicted of a serious crime. Some other proposals, however, would permanently disqualify immigrants who make a mistake on a form or commit a less serious crime. Not everyone would be eligible and even if they were, they might have to: ♦ pay $4,000 in fines and fees plus any back taxes, ♦ pass an English and civics test, ♦ Do we want an underground society of wait up to eight years for a green 11 million people who are living in the card, and possibly shadows? I don’t think so, and let’s be many additional years for citizenship. realistic; we’re not going to deport 11 million people. So, what I’m saying is let’s deal with them, let’s give them a path to legalization. So, people say, Discussion Questions: “Oh, you mean it’s amnesty?” No, it’s not amnesty. What we want is to make 1. If people don’t have a chance to be here sure that these people are not criminals legally, what do you think they’ll do? If . . . that they have long-term jobs, they they can legalize their status, what do are paying taxes, they read and speak English. That’s what we want. you think will happen? Senator Harry Reid 2. Do you feel like there are unfair divisions (D-NV) in American society? Where do immigrants with green cards fit in, where do undocumented immigrants fit in, where do other groups fit in? 3. How would these proposed policy changes affect you or people that you know?
For additional questions that help you think through different opinions, see Questioning Immigration Proposals on page 14. Illustrations by Ann Cleaves
28 The Change Agent — September 2006 Living in the U.S.
In my view, the first step on the road to citizenship should not be to break the laws of the United States by entering our country illegally. . . . It is illogical to reward illegal immigrants by making them citizens. It is also a slap in the face to all of those legal immigrants who play by the rules.
Theodore Fuller, Professor of sociology at Virginia Tech
We shouldn’t have two groups of immigrants: the privileged and the underprivileged. Almost all of the illegal immigrants come to work and pay taxes and become productive members of society. If the United States doesn’t legalize immigrants, it would make two classes of society: those who are citizens or can be citizens and those who cannot. This would make an unfair division in American society.
Kelly Reyes, Adult Education Student
Legalization is an important worker protection. History shows that legalizing [undocumented immigrants] benefits all workers. . . . Without a legalization program, the economic incentive to hire and exploit the undocumented will remain . . . because all workers will see their working conditions plummet.
From a statement by the ALF-CIO Executive Council
The Change Agent — September 2006 29 Living in the U.S.
Where’s the Money? by Christiane Wollaston-Joury
One provision in the recently proposed immigration reform package was that all immigrants should learn English. Many are already! Just because various government forms, publications, advertise- ments and information are offered in other languages, primarily for Spanish speakers, doesn’t mean that immigrants don’t want to learn English. Plenty of them ARE learning, while many more who would like to study find there are long waiting lists at most adult education centers. While there are numerous publicly and privately funded programs that offer English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes, the funding for these programs is not nearly adequate to meet the demand. Most states spend less than one percent of their public education dollars on ESOL and Adult Basic Education. Yet, states and local governments contribute $3 for every $1 the federal gov- ernment provides. In his address to the nation on Monday, May 15th, 2006, President Bush stated that “English is also the key to unlocking the opportunity of America. English allows newcomers to go from picking crops to opening a grocery, from cleaning offices to running offices, from a life of low-paying jobs to a diploma, a career, and a home of their own.” He’s absolutely right. Now let him put the money where his mouth is!
Christiane teaches English to adult immigrants for the city of Cambridge and hopes her efforts empower students.
English Only?
• Do you think English should be the official language of the United States? Why or why not? • Would anything change in your life if English were the official lan- guage? What about in the lives of other people you know? • Sometimes language can be a symbol for other things. What else could speaking English “mean” in this debate?
Auth © 2006 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Reprinted with permission of Universal Press Syndicate. All rights reserved.
30 The Change Agent — September 2006 Undocumented Immigration
Choosing Our Words
At our initial editorial board meeting to plan this issue, one of our first discussions was about the language being used in the current immigration debate. Words can exalt, encourage, and include. Words can also humiliate, debase, and dehumanize. When we use a negative word to refer to someone, that person can seem less than human, unworthy of attention, or unable to make a significant contribution. Collectively, for this issue, we have chosen to use the term “undocumented immigrant” rather than the more demeaning terms “illegal immigrant,” “illegal” or “illegal alien” to describe those who enter or stay in the United States without permission. We have done this for several reasons. First and foremost, we believe it is inappropriate to reduce a person’s humanity to an act: no human being is illegal. We do not call people who break other kinds of law “illegals.” We do not call employers who hire workers without documents “illegals” or someone who gets tickets for speeding an “illegal.” We also believe that using derogatory words to describe people can make it easier to exploit, oppress, and abuse them—to deny their humanity. We see all immigrants, documented or not, as human beings first, with rights, dignity, courage, dreams, and hopes. As you read through these pages you will see other terms used to describe immigrants without documents in articles or quotes we have reprinted from other sources. We cannot change others’ words and retain this publication’s integrity, but we can choose our own. All publications make what are called “style” decisions—many of which have to do with language use. Editors don’t usually explain these decisions. We felt an explanation of our decision makes an important contribution to the debate about immigration and creates an opportunity for critical reflection on the power of language.
Members of the Editorial Board for Issue 23: Immigration, The Current Debate
The Change Agent — September 2006 31 Undocumented Immigration
Words Paint Pictures by Elsa Roberts Auerbach
Different words that describe the same person Nelson Mandela tell different stories about that person. was a leader of the freedom movement fighting fighter terrorist against the apartheid system of government in South Africa. Under apartheid, whites (who made up only 13% of the population) controlled the government of South Africa and people of different racial backgrounds were segregated in every aspect of their lives. By law, Blacks had no rights: they were not allowed to vote, to live in the cities without special permission, or to marry someone of another race. Nelson Mandela was part of a movement to bring democracy and rights for all races to South Africa. Because of his activity, he was imprisoned for 18 years. He was elected President of South Africa in its first democratic election in 1994 after apartheid ended.
The language that is used to describe people who were born in one country but live in another coun- try also paints pictures of those people.What comes to mind when you hear the word alien? Brain- storm all the words you think of: Now do the same for the following words: strange not human illegal, immigrant, international visitor, for- eigner, native, newcomer, refugee, undocu- creature mented worker, citizen
What words have been used to describe you? alien Add them to this list. outer space 1. Which of these words have positive meanings? 2. Which have negative meanings? 3. Which do you like better? Why? Which are most commonly used? By whom? Where? Why?
Elsa Roberts Auerbach, Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Boston, has worked to link adult education for English language learners and social justice in workplace, community, and higher education contexts for many years. She is the author of numerous books and articles about participatory approaches to adult ESOL.
32 The Change Agent — September 2006 Undocumented Immigration
Viewpoints: Undocumented Immigration
Editor’s note: The term “illegal” as it refers to those who cross the border without documents is widely used in the current public debate. The editorial board for this issue opposes using this term to refer to human beings and feel it is important to question its widely accepted use. Please see the article on page 31 about word choices. Terms used in the following excerpts reflect the authors’ original word choice.
The views below are from student submissions we received for this issue. As you probably already know, there are lots of different opinions on what to do about the immigrants who cross the border without documents and those who already live here. As you read the viewpoints below, pay atten- tion to the reactions you have. How do you feel as you read each opinion? What is each person say- ing? Can you think of reasons why they hold this opinion? Viewpoint One Viewpoint Three My own view, as a legal immigrant from Brazil, I think the government should consider a law is that illegal immigration should not be accepted that permits legality to those who can prove their at all. The government should create an action honesty and desire to help this country. I am sure plan to select the immigrants who have worked that illegal immigrants are aware that they have in the United States for at least five years, paid broken the law coming and working here with- taxes, paid gas and light bills, and do not have out authorization. Legally or not, all these people criminal backgrounds and legalize their situa- are already here and now they are asking for tions. The ones who do not meet these criteria more rights, better payment for their jobs and must be deported. In spite of the fact that the legal residence to stay here. Instead of spending children of some illegal immigrants were born in money and effort to send immigrants back to the United States, they should also be considered their countries, which would be almost impos- illegal. sible, I think the government should increase its efforts to stop people coming here illegally and Viewpoint Two risking their lives. Most undocumented people are hard workers; they do hard jobs and get little money. They are Looking at the Viewpoints people who work hard to support their families. I 1. Read each of the viewpoints and decide agree when the law prosecutes people who are which parts of them you agree with. Explain real criminals such as people who kill other to others in your class your reasons. people, people who abuse children or old people, 2. Find something you don’t agree with and try or people who want to destroy this country. But, to argue from that perspective. why call someone a criminal who wakes up at 3. What views are left out? five o’clock in the morning and gets ready to go 4. Think about your own ideas: What led you to to work and sometimes works more than eight believe this? What information is it based on? hours a day? Many immigrants work 12-14 hours What personal values support your ideas? and then after work come back home to be with their families. Based on an activity design by the Study Circles Resource Center (SCRC)
The Change Agent — September 2006 33 Undocumented Immigration
Sometimes Breaking the Law Isn’t a Crime by Mike Prokosch and Angela Orlando
“They crossed the border illegally,” we hear. laws. We are urging people to reflect on the wis- “They have no right to be here. They’re crimi- dom and morality of our current immigration nals. Round them up and ship them back. And laws. while we’re at it, let’s punish anyone who helps Looking at laws that determine who gets them too.” into the U.S. are a good place to start. Today’s This way of talking makes the immigration immigration policies make it very hard to get dilemma harder to solve. Undocumented immi- into this country legally. Lots of people say that grants and U.S. natives share many values and all immigrants should “wait in line” like every- interests: we want to work, raise our families, one else. “Everyone would stand in line if there and improve our lives. With such common was a line, if there was a system,” says Kelly ground we should be able to find common solu- Finchan, President, Irish Lobby for Immigration tions that work for everyone. But we can’t get Reform. If you’re poor and low skilled or if you there if we label undocumented immigrants law- don’t have a relative who is a legal resident or a breakers. Either you’re for the law or you’re for U.S. citizen, your chances of coming here legally the law-breakers. are very slim. And even if you do, you may have Yes, laws must be upheld and respected. to wait 10 or more years to get a visa. But, laws are not perfect. They come out of a par- Assuming you don’t have a relative here, ticular society at a particular time. When times your other option is to get a work visa. Accord- change, people change the law. ing to a 2005 report by the Immigration Policy Not so long ago, it was legal to torture Center, there are five kinds of work visas that people to death to see whether they were lead to permanent residency. Of those five, only witches or not. We don’t do that anymore. It was one type of visa is for workers in “occupations also legal to enslave people from Africa, split up that require less than two years of higher educa- their families, sell mothers here and children tion, training or experience.” Only 5,000 of those there. Slaves and their allies the Abolitionists visas are given out per year. Standing in this kind spoke, wrote, marched, and broke the law by es- of line could take a lifetime. There are 16 types of caping or hiding slaves. It took almost a century temporary immigrant visas—allowing people to but the country finally abolished slavery. come work in the U.S. but not to get residency. But black people still weren’t free. New Only two types of these are available for workers laws excluded them from the rights and jobs that with little or no formal training. The reality for white people had. Rosa Parks is a heroine now, Mexican workers, and many others from poor but in 1955 she was a law-breaker when she re- nations, is that very few visas are available—the fused to give up her seat on a bus. Again, it took “proper channels” just don’t exist for them. many years and thousands of people—speaking, On the one hand, we want their labor. Our marching, and breaking the law—to create laws economy has a demand for low-skilled labor that that were just. can’t be met with current immigration policy. On Not all laws deserve our respect and obedi- the other hand, we don’t want to give poor, un- ence. Laws must be challenged when they violate skilled immigrants the chance for permanent resi- the basic rights and dignity of every human be- dency. Undocumented immigrants—fleeing un- ing. We are not advocating that people break all imaginable poverty, risking their lives, and often
34 The Change Agent — September 2006 Undocumented Immigration
leaving their families behind—walk across the border because they don’t have other options. Just what kind of crime is it to find employment so you can feed your family? Immigrants’ rights supporters are not advocating that anyone who wants to come to the U.S. should have the right to enter. They are advocating that all human beings be treated fairly and with- out discrimination—no matter what their income, skill, or education level. Right now that’s just not the case. We must stand up to laws that keep the privilege of immigration in the hands of few.
Angela Orlando is the editor of The Change Agent.
Mike Prokosch leads workshops on globalization, immigration, and the U.S. economy for unions and community organizations. He works at the Labor Extension Program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
What the Law Says
Living in the United States without government permission is a violation of U.S. civil laws, not criminal laws. A civil offense is generally not considered as serious as a criminal offense and the consequences are different. A criminal offense is something that results in a punishment such as being sent to jail because of what you did. The offense of living in the U.S. without permission is similar to not filing income taxes or speeding because it is a civil law violation. For example, if you speed you may pay a fine, but typically you don’t go to a criminal court, you are not tried by a jury, you don’t get sentenced to jail, you don’t have a record, and you are not considered a danger to society. Undocumented immigrants who got to the U.S. by crossing the border without detection or by overstaying their visa can be put in detention as part of the deportation process, but this is not a punishment for a crime the way a jail sentence is–it is only to Jonathan McIntosh make sure they attend their Immigrants marching in March 2006 deportation hearing. Sneaking across the border is currently a criminal misdemeanor that can result in six months in prison. Some elected officials would like to make it a felony to live in the United States without authorization. What is the difference? A misdemeanor as opposed to a felony is typically a lesser crime like negligent driving (hitting a building, for example). A felony is typically more serious, for example burglary or murder. Often a felony has to be punished by at least one year in jail.
The Change Agent — September 2006 35 Undocumented Immigration
The Multitude of Jobs Immigrants Do by Richard Rodriguez
In the noisy argument over what to do with illegal immigrants, the common assumption is that America has done a great deal for them already. The question now is what more should we give them? Should we give them a green card? Grant them amnesty? Or stop all this generosity and send them packing? No one speaks of what illegal immigrants have done for us. It occurs to me I’ve not heard two relevant words spoken. If you will allow me, I will speak them. R.J. Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch Thank you. Thank you for turning on the sprinklers. Thank Thank you for all the young men on rooftops in you for cleaning the swimming pool and scrambling the sun. Thank you for cleaning the toilets and the the eggs and doing the dishes. Thank you for making showers, and the restaurant kitchens, and the the bed. Thank you for getting the children up and schools, and the office buildings, and the airports and ready for school. Thank you for picking them up after the malls. Thank you for washing the car. Thank you school. Thank you for caring for our dying parents. for washing all the cars. Thank you for plucking dead chickens. Thank Thank you for your parents, who died young you for bending your bodies over our fields. Thank and had nothing to bequeath to their children but the you for breathing chemicals and absorbing chemicals memory of work. Thank you for giving us your youth. into your bodies. Thank you for the lettuce, and the Thank you for the commemorative altars. Thank you spinach, and the artichokes, and the asparagus, and for the food, the beer, the tragic polka. the cauliflower, the broccoli, the beans, the tomatoes Gracias. and the garlic. Thank you for the apricots, and the peaches, and the apples, and the melons, and the Richard Rodriguez is an editor for New California Media, the plums, the almonds and the grapes. consortium of ethnic news organizations. He’s also the author Thank you for the willow trees, and the roses of the book Brown: The Last Discovery of America. and the winter lawn. Thank you for scraping, and painting, and roofing and cleaning out the asbestos Copyright © 2006 National Public Radio, Inc. Reprinted by and the mold. Thank you for your stoicism and your permission. eager hands.
36 The Change Agent — September 2006 Undocumented Immigration
Undocumented Immigrants: Myths and Reality by Randy Capps and Michael Fix
Myth #1: Undocumented immigrants come to Myth #5: A large share of schoolchildren is the United States to get welfare. Undocumented undocumented. In 2000, only 1.5 percent of all men come to the United States almost exclusively elementary schoolchildren (enrolled in to work. In 2003, over 90 percent of kindergarten through 5th grade) and 3 percent undocumented men worked—a rate higher than of secondary children (grades 6–12) were that for U.S. citizens or legal immigrants (Passel, undocumented. Slightly higher shares—5 percent Capps, and Fix 2004). Undocumented men are in elementary and four percent in secondary younger, less likely to be in school, and less schools—had undocumented parents. likely to be retired than other men (Capps et al. 2003). Moreover, undocumented immigrants are Myth #6: Undocumented immigrants do not pay ineligible for welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, taxes. Undocumented immigrants pay the same and most other public benefits (Fix, real estate taxes—whether they own homes or Zimmermann, and Passel 2001). taxes are passed on through to rents—and the same sales and other consumption taxes as every- Myth #2: Undocumented immigrants all crossed one else. The majority of state and local costs of the Mexican border. Between 60 and 75 percent schooling and other services are funded by these of the more than 10 million undocumented taxes. Additionally, the U.S. Social Security Ad- immigrants entered illegally and without ministration has estimated that three quarters of inspection—mostly across the Mexican border. undocumented immigrants pay payroll taxes, and The other 25 to 40 percent entered legally and that they contribute $6–7 billion in Social Security subsequently overstayed visas or otherwise funds that they will be unable to claim (Porter violated the terms of their admission (Passel 2005). 2005). References Myth #3: Undocumented immigrants are all Capps, Randy, Michael Fix, Jeffrey S. Passel, Jason Ost, and Dan Perez-Lopez, A Profile of the Low-Wage Immigrant Workforce. single men. Over 40 percent of undocumented Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2003. adults are women, and the majority (54 percent) Fix, Michael, Wendy Zimmermann, and Jeffrey S. Passel, The of undocumented men lives in married couples Integration of Immigrant Families in the United States. or other families (Passel 2005). Fewer than half Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2001. of undocumented men are single and Passel, Jeffrey S., Unauthorized Migrants: Numbers and unattached. Characteristics. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center, 2005. . Passel, Jeffrey S., Randy Capps, and Michael Fix, Myth #4: Most children of the undocumented Undocumented Immigrants: Facts and Figures. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2004. are unauthorized. In fact, two-thirds of all children with undocumented parents (about Porter, Eduardo, Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security with Billions. New York Times, April 5, 2005. three million) are U.S.-born citizens who live in mixed status families.
Reprinted by permission of The Urban Institute.
The Change Agent — September 2006 37 Immigration Policy and Racism
Code Words for Racism
People talk about immigration as if race doesn’t matter, saying “No, I don’t have anything against immigrants or Mexicans, it’s just the illegal part of it I don’t like.” But these are code words. We experience race in this coun- try through issues like welfare policy, anti-poverty programs and now immigration.
Sociologist Gonzalo Santos of California State University at Bakersfield
Discussion Questions 1. What is a code word? 2. What do you think Santos means when he says we experience race through policy and programs? 3. What connections do you see between immigration and racism? 4. Do you agree with Professor Santos? Why or why not?
38 The Change Agent — September 2006 Immigration Policy and Racism
Scales Falling Off by Cynthia Tschampl
I grew up in Iowa—white, German, Christian. cans and work at low “coolie wages.” My mother’s family members, of German decent, have been farmers in Iowa for several genera- 1917–The U.S. banned all Asian Indians because tions. My father was born in Gottschee, part of their racial status was unclear. modern-day Slovenia. My father’s family got caught in the nightmare of World War II, suffer- 1924–The Immigration Act barred entry of ing from multiple displacements, disenfranchise- “aliens ineligible to citizenship.” Since Japanese ment, malnutrition, concentration camps, and fi- and other Asians were barred by the 1790 natu- nally life as refugees. He immigrated to the USA, ralization law stipulating that “whites only” received his green card the day he landed, and could be naturalized, the 1924 act totally ex- then continued to his final destination of Sioux cluded them from immigration. City, Iowa. I always knew that my father’s pre-immigration Now in 2006 I’ve heard the ugly voice of racism story was incredible, but, after working with during the current debate on immigration re- today’s immigrants, I realized that his immigra- form, with people on radio, on the TV, in the tion story is even more amazing. I have met so streets, and even in the State House saying ugly many people, predominantly from Central and hateful things about people who only want America, who have been filling out forms, paying to do what is best for their families. fees, working, paying taxes, and getting their fin- It scares me, and it saddens me. I want to gerprints and photos taken for 15 years, and they tell them that our standard of living is higher still do not have a green card. This glaring dis- thanks to the contribution of immigrants. I want parity between my father’s experience and that to tell them that five of my seven siblings of my new friends made me ask, “Why?” served/are serving in the military along with Today’s immigrants have paid more fees, suf- over 60,000 non-citizen immigrants, including fered years of anxiety, and have filed more pa- 10% of those fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. I perwork than my father—with seemingly no want to ask them what they think of Lance Cpl. chance for a green card. What is the difference? Jose Gutierrez who was the first U.S. solider to The only one I can see is that they are people of die in Iraq but who also entered the U.S. without color, and my father is white.As I learn more documents. I want to ask why they feel so of- about our country’s immigration laws, the racism fended by people who live in this country with- percolates down through our history. Just a few out permission; why is that infraction so much examples will give you the idea: worse than speeding, jay walking, or any other non-violent civil violation? I want to encourage 1790–The federal government passed a two-year them to a higher duty, a better patriotism. I want residency requirement on immigrants wanting to to urge them to leave no place for hate. become U.S. citizens, but black slaves were not eligible. Cynthia Tschampl is a senior legislative organizer with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition in 1882–U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Boston, MA. She encourages international understanding and Act, claiming they take jobs from white Ameri- peace networking wherever possible.
The Change Agent — September 2006 39 Immigration Policy and Racism
Policy is “White-foot, Black-foot” by Carl Hiaasen
. . . Under current rules, [called the “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy] Cubans who make land- fall in the United States usually are allowed to stay, while those intercepted before they reach shore are typically sent home. . . . Like those before it, the Bush administration doesn’t care whether the feet of arriv- ing Haitians are wet or dry. They’re going back, one way or another. . . . No nationality has been more consistently singled out for exclusion [by U.S. immigration policy] than the Haitians. A prime example is the Department of Homeland Security’s continuing refusal to grant temporary protected status (TPS) to Haitian migrants awaiting deportation hear- ings. The TPS program was designed to provide an interim safe haven for undocumented immigrants who would otherwise be sent home to dangerous conditions caused by armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary circumstances. Haiti is a textbook case for TPS. Lashed by hurricanes, the desperately impoverished nation is again being ravaged by political violence, daily kidnappings and marauding street gangs. The situation is so perilous that U.S. travelers have been warned to stay away. American Embassy workers are forbidden from going out at night, and their children un- der age 21 are supposed to return to the United States. . . . Incredibly, Bush officials insist that migrants from Haiti don’t need protected status. The place is too deadly for tourists and diplomats—but not for the Haitians we’re send- ing home. . . . The disparity is painfully glaring here in South Florida, where immigration policy plays out as ‘’white-foot, black-foot.’’ Boatloads of [lighter-skinned] Cuban migrants are joyously welcomed if they reach shore, but [darker-skinned] Haitians are quietly pro- cessed and shipped back. Officially the U.S. government has explained the double standard by saying that the Cubans are political refugees while the Haitians are fleeing here purely for economic rea- sons. The two issues are patently inseparable, so the distinction is a sham. Almost every- one who sneaks into this country is seeking the opportunity to make a decent living. Of- ten that requires escaping from inept, crooked or oppressive governments. . . . Tragically, there isn’t much common sense or decency to be found in the history of how Haitian boat people have been treated. It doesn’t matter whether they land at a bridge or a beach or the steps of the Statue of Liberty. They still can’t get in.
Excerpted from the Miami Herald Online by Carl Hiaasen. Copyright 2006 by Miami Herald. Reproduced with permission of Miami Herald via Copyright Clearance Center.
40 The Change Agent — September 2006 Immigration Policy and Racism
A Short History of U.S.–Haiti Relations
It is hard to understand U.S. immigration policy • The Haitian Revolution and its survival were toward Haiti without looking at history—especially terrifying for American slave-owners. Haiti’s the history of slavery. In 1492, Christopher example inspired rebellions throughout the Columbus arrived in what we now call Haiti, an Americas including many in the slave states. island in the Caribbean, and claimed the island for Slave owners tried everything they could to Spain. The native peoples of Haiti were enslaved. stop these rebellions. They formed militias, They died in large numbers because of harsh patrols, guards, and encouraged slave treatment and disease. African slaves were catchers who used the most brutal forms of imported into Haiti to continue the mining of gold torture. for the Spanish. French came to the island in 1625, and by 1697 they controlled it. Their rule was • The United States did not recognize Haiti brutal and soon slaves rose up against their until the Civil War destroyed our own slave masters. In 1804, the leader of the slave armies system. Then, in 1915, the U.S. invaded declared Haiti a free republic. How did this affect Haiti, installed its own government, the U.S? eliminated the press, and killed more than 15,000 Haitians who resisted. The • The U.S. and French governments did occupation ended in 1934, but the U.S. everything they could to punish the Haitians continues to interfere in the country’s for winning and to keep the new nation from development by backing dictators, helping flourishing. France forced Haiti to pay 150 to overthrow governments, and influencing million francs to “buy” its independence—an Haiti’s economy. amount that all but crushed the economy. President Thomas Jefferson imposed Those who built their fortunes and power sanctions on Haiti in 1804 that lasted until through the slave trade remain in power in the 1862. Haiti’s economy suffered greatly. But U.S. today. Their rage at the Haitian revolution Haiti survived. continues in the sanctions, military interventions, and deportations of Haitians today.
Discussion Questions 1. What do you think of the title: “Policy is “White-foot, Black-foot”? What is your first reaction to this article? 2. Think of words and/or write at least two short sentences that describe U.S. immigration policy towards Haitians and Cubans. 3. How would you describe the difference between the treatment of Cubans and Haitians? 4. Read A Short History of U.S.–Haiti Relations. a) List two facts that you knew about Haiti prior to reading this article. b) List two facts that you did not know about Haiti prior to reading this article. 5. Does the experiences of Haitian immigrants relate to your own experience as an immigrant?
The Change Agent — September 2006 41 Immigration Policy and Racism
Exploitation Without Borders by Eisha Mason
I am waiting to board the train in San Diego migrant rights movement builds momentum na- when I notice the Border Patrol agent making his tionwide, African Americans debate about where way down our line. He stops by each person who we should stand on immigration issues - shoul- looks “Latino” and asks them to present their le- der to shoulder with immigrants, in direct oppo- gal documents. As the people standing next to sition or on the sidelines. I believe that if we look me rummage for their identity papers, I stand by, just under the surface, we can see that our Black angry, embarrassed, and ashamed. In that mo- and Brown fates are deeply intertwined. . . . ment, I don’t know what to say or do to protest. As the Black-Brown debate continues, I see My mind suddenly travels back in time. I that we have both been sources of cheap labor. “remember” what it must have been like during First, Africans were the slaves required to per- slavery for petuate the globalized economics of the 1700s Black people known as the Triangle Trade (slaves, sugar and As the people standing next who made it rum). Today, Latinos are the cheap labor re- to the North. quired for maquiladoras south of the border, in- to me rummage for their If they had no ternational agribusiness, and jobs at the lowest identity papers, I stand by, papers, they rungs of the U.S. economy. Proposals for guest angry, embarrassed, and were doomed worker programs only perpetuate this model of to live each workers without rights or protection. Black and ashamed. In that moment, I day in fear. If Brown people have far more in common than we don’t know what to say or they were “le- often realize. . . . do to protest. galized” by Both Black free papers, and Brown share they still al- common dreams Because issues of labor, ways needed these documents, no matter who of work with immigration, and race are they were or how old they were or how long dignity, a better deeply enmeshed, we they had lived in their community. These papers life for our fami- were all that stood between them and being “de- lies and our chil- should be working to- ported” and returned to their slave status. dren. Isn’t that gether toward solutions My mind travels across the ocean to South why slaves es- that include all of us. Africa, to a time not so long ago when the lives caped to the of African people in South Africa were controlled North . . . ? Isn’t by the dreaded Pass Laws that made it compul- that why people sory to carry papers at all times. Without a pass, from other countries risk their lives to reach the they would be considered “illegal” and could be U.S. today? We all desire the opportunity to put in detention. Much like proposed guest build a life and to be respected and accepted worker programs for immigrants, South African members of the communities and country where Pass Laws Act specified where, when, and for we live. . . . how long an African could remain anywhere in Because issues of labor, immigration, and his country. race are deeply enmeshed, we should be working My mind returns to the present. As the im- together toward solutions that include all of us.
42 The Change Agent — September 2006 Immigration Policy and Racism
We must (1) protect the rights and dignity of in- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “We are caught in an dividuals who have come to the U.S. to work, (2) escapable network of mutuality, tied in a single raise the labor standards and wages on both garment of destiny.” Black faces . . . brown faces sides of the Border through reform of interna- . . . human faces. My heart feels what my mind tional trade already knows. The people from across the bor- policy, (3) protect der are not the problem. A system of economic My heart feels what my local economies exploitation and racism is the problem. Rather mind already knows. The everywhere, than believing our interests are in conflict, Black rather than allow and Brown people must stand in unity and work people from across the them to be over- together to transform this system. There is ulti- border are not the prob- whelmed by mately one movement—the movement for human lem. trade agreements dignity and opportunity—and I am a part of it. favoring interna- tional corpora- Eisha Mason is the associate regional director for the Pacific tions, (4) guarantee that every U.S. worker has Southwest Region of the American Friends Service Committee the right and the protection to organize, and (5) and co-founder of Soulforce Trainings. we must organize! Originally published in The Black Commentator, May 11, 2006. The border patrol officer is gone. Boarding Excerpted by permission of the author. the train in San Diego, I remember the words of
Ann Cleaves
The Change Agent — September 2006 43 Immigrants’ Rights
Immigrant Workers’ Rights by Ki Kim
Right to unionize. According to the National Labor Relations Board, all workers, regardless of immigration status, have the right to engage in collective bargaining and to unionize for better working conditions.
Right to be free from workplace discrimination. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Equal Pay Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, reaffirmed that undocumented workers
Ann Cleaves remain covered by these federal employment discrimination laws. Although only documented immigrants can le- gally work in the U.S., the reality is that the U.S. Right to minimum wage and economy continues to employ undocumented overtime pay. All workers, regardless of workers. According to 2000 Census figures, the immigration status, continue to be U.S. workforce includes six million undocu- protected by the federal Fair Labor mented workers, who represent about five per- Standards Act and state wage and hour cent of all workers. laws for “work already performed.” Of undocumented men, 96% are working. This rate is higher than the rates for both native- Right to a healthy and safe working born and documented men. In light of their pres- environment. The federal Department of ence and continued participation in the Labor has reaffirmed that all workers, workforce, courts and agencies at the federal and regardless of immigration status, continue state levels have recognized the importance of to be protected by the Occupational Safety protecting the rights of undocumented workers. and Health Act (OSHA), and the Mine Failure to do so would create a subclass of work- Safety and Health Act. ers especially vulnerable to exploitation. It would also undermine the entire system of laws set up to protect all workers’ right to unionize, right to Ki Kim is the communications/development director for the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild. safe and healthy workplaces, and right to receive Most recently, he worked for World Education’s NCSALL fair pay for their work. The box to the right lists project, as its director of dissemination. the rights of workers that have been reaffirmed This article is based in large part on copyrighted materials by for all immigrants, including undocumented the National Immigration Law Center (NILC). For more information workers. about the rights of immigrant workers, visit NILC’s Web site at
44 The Change Agent — September 2006 Immigrants’ Rights
Worker Wins Her Rights But Loses Hope
Editor’s note: The term “illegal” as it refers to those in San Francisco. “There’s protection against re- who cross the border without documents is often used taliation, but people get very frightened about in the current public debate. The editorial board for this asserting their rights.” issue opposes using this term to refer to human beings Cradling her four-month-old son on and feels it is important to question its widely accepted Wednesday, Cano said she filed a complaint with use. Please see the article on page 31 about word the city’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement choices. Terms in the following excerpt reflect the in June after she learned that her employer, Si authors original word choice. Señor Taqueria, wasn’t paying the city’s mini- mum wage. Days later, the Financial District res- Sonia Cano was happy to win thousands of dol- taurant fired her, she said. lars from the San Francisco taqueria that for two The city investigated her claim and con- years had paid her less than the city’s minimum cluded that Si Señor owed Cano and 13 other em- wage. But she may have lost far more when ployees more than $22,000 in back wages, said someone anonymously reported her and her hus- Donna Levitt, who heads the labor enforcement band to immigration authorities. office. She said Si Señor has paid the workers Cano and her husband, Carlos Barrancos, what they were owed. . . . illegal immigrants from Mexico, were reported to Then, early one morning in December, im- federal authorities in November. Cano was eight migration agents knocked on the couple’s apart- months pregnant at the time and gave birth to ment door and arrested Barrancos. . . . their baby in San Francisco alone, while Barran- Barrancos . . . has since been released from cos was in an Arizona immigration jail. . . . detention and will be allowed to leave the Most illegal immigrants like Cano don’t con- United States voluntarily rather than being forc- test unfair working conditions because they fear ibly deported, said [Immigration and Customs retaliation. But that encourages unscrupulous em- Enforcement spokeswoman, Virginia] Kice. ployers to continue hiring illegal immigrants, Cano has reached a confidential settlement some labor and immigration experts say. with Si Señor over her termination. She said, “There’s very well-established law that however, that she fears that she, too, will be re- workers, documented or not, are protected by quired to leave the country. . . . state and federal wage and hour laws, discrimi- nation laws and by the right to organize a ©2006 San Francisco Chronicle. Reproduced with permission of union,” said Marci Seville, Cano’s lawyer and a San Francisco Chronicle via Copyright Clearance Center. professor at Golden Gate University Law School
For very practical suggestions about how to protect yourself when filing a complaint against an employer, you can download a great publication from the National Immigration Law Center:
The Change Agent — September 2006 45 Immigrants’ Rights
Is This Moral? by Felipe Vaquerano
Even when we’re in the U.S. legally, immigrants he was asked if he had temporary protection. have a strained relationship with authorities. When he affirmed that he did, the officer told When I hear stories about an official coming to him that he could go back home. The officer told somebody’s house to take people away, I imme- him that immigration could not deport him. diately wonder if those people are indeed immi- Three days went by from the time they took him gration officers or simply fugitive recovery away until he came back. He was tired, had a agents or bounty hunters. backache, but was happy to be back with his fam- On a chilly evening in December 2002, about ily. six men dressed in dark blue uniforms, accompa- My nephew was lucky. He was not de- nied by a local police officer, showed up at the ported because he had been granted temporary apartment where my nephew lived. They said protection. Otherwise, he would have been sent that they were there looking for him and that back to El Salvador. I am happy that the system they would not leave without him. My nephew, finally worked for him, yet, I am still angry. Is who was not at home at the time, called me and what these bounty hunters do moral? Whose ac- told me that he was scared. I offered to go and tion is worse, those of the bounty hunter who find out what was going on. At his house, I uses force, intimidation, and manipulation to turn found myself held hostage until my nephew people into immigration custody for money or showed up. I was threatened with deportation those of an immigrant who is to looking for an even though I was in the U.S. legally. opportunity to offer a better future to his family? I explained that my nephew was not a fugi- tive, that he had been granted temporary pro- tected status and that he had the right docu- Felipe Vaquerano is from El Salvador. He came to the United States in 1988 fleeing from a civil war. He works as an ESOL ments to work in the United States. When the counselor and instructor at the Community Learning Center in men heard that, they told me to convince my Cambridge, MA. nephew to sign some papers and they’d leave him alone. I fell into their trap and called my nephew telling him to come to the house. Instead Definitions: of going free, my nephew was handcuffed and bounty hunter - A bounty hunter is an taken to San Antonio, Texas where he had failed individual who, in return for money, seeks out to show up at an immigration court to sign some people who do not show up in court as papers. The papers instructing him to do this had required by the conditions of their release. been in English, which he didn’t understand at Most are employed by a bail bondsman. the time. I was shocked. I could not believe that temporary protected status - is a temporary this was happening in the U.S. immigration status granted to eligible nationals One part of me said that he was going to be of designated countries who are temporarily okay. The other part thought that he was going unable to safely return to their home country to be deported. He was driven by the bounty because of ongoing armed conflict, the hunters from Massachusetts to San Antonio and temporary effects of an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary was taken into the immigration department conditions. there. As soon as he saw the immigration officer,
46 The Change Agent — September 2006 Immigrants’ Rights
We All Have Constitutional Rights
Did you know that whether or not you are a citizen, you have rights under the United States Constitution? ♦ The Fifth Amendment gives every person the right to remain silent: not to answer questions asked by a police officer. ♦ The Fourth Amendment restricts the government’s power to enter and search your home or workplace, although there are many exceptions and new laws have expanded the government’s power to conduct surveillance. ♦ The First Amendment protects your right to speak freely and to advocate for social change. However, if you are a non-citizen and are deportable, the Department of Homeland Security can target you based on your political activities. Constitutional rights cannot be suspended—even during wartime.
Reprinted under fair use laws from Know Your Rights. © 2004 American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.
What should I do if immigration authorities stop me? You do not have to talk to the police, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, or any other investigator. Both documented and undocumented people in the U.S. have the right to remain silent until they have spoken to a lawyer. You also do not have to let authorities search you or your home unless they have a warrant (written permission from a judge allowing them to search your home).
Make a copy of this card. If authorities question you, show this card:
To Whom It May Concern:
Before answering any questions, I want to speak to an attorney at . I will not speak to anyone, answer any questions about my immigration status, respond to any accusations, waive any of my legal rights, or consent to any search of my person, papers, or property until I have first obtained the advice of an attorney.
Lawyer or organization’s name Address
Telephone
Adapted with permission from Auerbach, Elsa and Nina Wallerstein, Problem-Posing At Work: English for Action. Edmonton: Grass Roots Press, 2004.
The Change Agent — September 2006 47 Immigrants’ Rights
What Are Human Rights?
Human rights are those rights considered vital for all people. Human rights are universal: every human being has the same human rights. Human rights are inalienable: human rights can never be taken away from you. Human rights are indivisible: no person’s human rights are more important than another’s. Human rights are interconnected: all human rights are equally important.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations in 1948 to create a basic international standard for human rights. It was the first comprehensive agreement among nations about the specific rights and freedoms of all human beings. The Declaration has 30 articles that specify the fundamental rights to which all human beings should be entitled. The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights was signed by all members of the general assembly, including the USA, in 1948.
Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1. Right to equality 16. Right to marriage and a family 2. Freedom from discrimination 17. Right to own property 3. Right to life, liberty, and personal security 18. Freedom of belief and religion 4. Freedom from slavery 19. Freedom of opinion and information 5. Freedom from torture and degrading treatment 20. Right of peaceful assembly and association 6. Right to recognition as a person before the law 21. Right to participate in government and in free 7. Right to equality before the law elections 8. Right to remedy by competent tribunal 22. Right to social security 9. Freedom from arbitrary arrest and exile 23. Right to desirable work and to join trade unions 10. Right to fair public hearing 24. Right to rest and leisure 11. Right to be considered innocent until proven 25. Right to adequate living standard guilty 26. Right to education 12. Freedom from interference with privacy, family, 27. Right to participate in the cultural life of a home and correspondence community 13. Right to free movement in and out of the country 28. Right to a social order that articulates this 14. Right to asylum in other countries from document persecution 29. Community duties essential to free and full 15. Right to a nationality and the freedom to change development nationality 30. Freedom from state or personal interference in the above rights
Adapted with permission from Cho, Eunice Hyunhye, Francisco Argüelles Paz y Puente, Miriam Ching Yoon Louie, and Sasha Khokha, BRIDGE: Building a Race and Immigration Dialogue in the Global Economy A Popular Education Resource for Immigrant and Refugee Community Organizers. Oakland: National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, 2004. To order this resource call 510-465-1984 or go to
48 The Change Agent — September 2006 Immigrants’ Rights
Immigrant Rights are Human Rights by Angela Orlando
Many human rights and immigrant rights groups A woman and her two sons were returning are very concerned about the treatment of to El Paso after spending some time in migrants and immigrants in border towns and Ciudad Juarez. The woman was stopped by other U.S. communities. They are worried that an agent at the Port of Entry and taken to an people living in border communities are office where she was asked to take off her becoming less safe because there are so many clothing for an inspection. Though the armed people in their communities patrolling the woman asked for a reason and expressed border (including Border Patrol agents, U.S. that she did not want to do it, eventually, military and National Guard troops, and militia after a few more orders from the agents, she groups). There have been several reported removed her clothing and was subjected to a incidents of shooting deaths of both migrants body cavity search. Finding nothing, she and U.S. citizens on the border and in border was simply told that she fit the description communities. There has also been a rise in of a drug runner and was told to leave. border-crossing deaths due to increased border security measures. There are also reports of use of excessive force, wrongful detention, racial A man was walking to El Pasito Market on profiling, harassment, house raids, and work Desert Meadow Road with his cousin from raids that terrorize immigrant communities. his home . . . when the sheriff stopped them, The two stories to the right are from a asked them for their papers, and asked report by the Border Network for Human where they were going. They responded Rights. These are true stories that have been that they were headed to the store. The documented by Human Rights Promoters sheriff told them to get into the car. The (people trained to identify and write down sheriff then took the two young men human rights abuses). Read the stories below directly to the Rojas Immigration Detention and the list of human rights from the Universal Center. On the drive he insulted them, Declaration of Human Rights. See if you can saying that Mexicans only came here (to the identify some of the human rights that are being U.S.) to have their children and maintain violated. them with government money. Both men were deported. Discussion Questions: 1. Read the list of Human Rights on page 48. Do you think we have all of these rights in this country? If not, which do we not have? 2. Do you think that all people should have these human rights (that they are universal)? Explain. 3. Do you think these rights are inalienable—that people have them no matter where they are, who they are, or what they’ve done? Explain your views. 4. If the human rights of all people were respected, how would the people in the examples above be treated? 5. How can you both protect human rights and enforce the immigration laws of a country?
Angela Orlando is the editor of The Change Agent.
The Change Agent — September 2006 49 Immigrants’ Rights
Policy Options: Detention, Deportation, Access to Courts
Some of the policy proposals in Congress could greatly reduce immigrants’ access to justice. For example, more people could be deported without being able to bring their case before a judge. Others who can’t be returned home, either because their country won’t accept them or because they are “stateless,” could face indefinite detention. They could be kept in a jail even though they haven’t committed any crime. New policies might also make it easier for people with green cards to get deported or to be permanently barred from ever getting a green card—for example, if you forget to file a change of address form with immigration authorities, or get three convictions for driving under the influence (DUI). Congress is also proposing to add 10,000-20,000 new detention beds to keep more immigrants in jails. Halliburton, the company that Vice President Dick Cheney used to head, has already received a $385 million contract to build new detention centers in the United States.
Discussion Questions: 1. Do you think it’s okay if some people in this country are denied due process? How does limiting the rights of one group of residents affect everyone? 2. What are the conditions of the detention centers? Should immigrants be treated in ways similar to the ways we treat convicted criminals? Why or why not? 3. Can you think of alternative solutions to locking people up?
Due process protects people from unfair treatment by the government when their life, liberty or property could be taken away from them. In order to safeguard these rights, certain procedures have to be followed, like the requirement that when a person is placed under arrest he/she is informed of the right to remain silent and to have a lawyer present before any questioning by law enforcement authorities, and to be given adequate notice in advance of a trial or hearing, given the opportunity to be heard before a judge, and the right to defend oneself.
For additional questions that help you think through different opinions, see Questioning Immigration Proposals on page 14.
50 The Change Agent — September 2006 Immigrants’ Rights
More than 85 percent of the illegal immigrants we catch crossing the southern border are Mexicans, and most are sent back home within 24 hours. . . . It is not as easy to send [immigrants from other countries] home. For many years the government did not have enough space in our detention facilities to hold them while the legal process unfolded. So most were released back into our society and asked to return for a court date. When the date arrived, the vast majority did not show up. This practice, called “catch and release,” is unacceptable, and we will end it. President Bush
Hypothetically, mom and dad will be deported. Now mom and dad have a decision to make: we’re either going to take you back with us, children, to poverty to chaos and anarchy — let’s take you back to poverty and hell — or let’s leave you here with aunts and uncles and friends because we want you to have a better day. The majority of these parents would choose to go back alone . . . . To us it became a family issue.
Reverend Samuel Rodriguez Jr., When people are detained, president of the National Hispanic they are incarcerated. They Christian Leadership Conference are prisoners. They’re stripped of their clothing. They’re given inmate uniforms. It’s not that they’re treated like prisoners, they are prisoners . . . . This is administrative, quote- unquote, “detention,” it has nothing to do with serving time for a sentence. These people are jailed as prisoners, and they are in jails, they are in prisons, and sometimes in what are called detention centers or processing centers, but as a warden once told me, these are all the same thing.
Mark Dow, author of American Gulag: Inside U.S. Immigration Prisons
Illustrations by Ann Cleaves
The Change Agent — September 2006 51 Immigrants & the Economy
Competing for Work? by Michael Prokosch
Are immigrants competing with native-born choice that immigrant and native workers face is workers for jobs and driving down their wages? the choice they always face. Workers can com- Economists disagree. A recent study by pete with each other and let employers drive economist David Card, at the University of Cali- their wages down or they can unite to face em- fornia Berkeley, comparing heavily immigrant ployers together and take their wages out of cities like Los Angeles to other cities with few competition. The starting point for workers has immigrants, has found little job or wage competi- to be unity, and that is the approach that some tion. But a recent study by economists Borjas and labor unions and community organizations like Katz says that actually, Mexican immigrants did Mothers on the Move in the South Bronx are fol- pull down the wages of native-born high school lowing. dropouts by eight percent between 1980 and But if unity is the best road for blacks and 2000. immigrants, the first couple of miles will have to It’s not clear who is right. Still, it’s hard to be spent learning each others’ histories. Immi- imagine that you can add 12 million mostly grants need to learn about racism in the U.S. working immigrants to a labor market and not economy. They need to see how employers make affect some people’s wages or jobs. Among Afri- people of different races compete and drive can-Americans, in particular, there’s a debate down everyone’s wages. Most important, they over job competition with immigrants. need to know that waves of immigrants have And what to do about it? Rev. Hurmon passed blacks by, giving employers new people Hamilton of Boston’s Black Ministerial Alliance they can hire instead of blacks. and the Ten Point Coalition captures the chal- Writing about South L.A, Los Angeles Times lenges well: columnist Erin Aubrey Kaplan says, “Many “ . . . how do we prevent ourselves from be- blacks also feel as if they’ve been pushed out of ing pitted against one another for the limited un- jobs that then go to Latino immigrants. But skilled jobs in a service economy? what’s too often overlooked is that the immi- “ . . . how do we [African-Americans and grants didn’t do the pushing, the employers did. immigrant communities] avoid becoming pawns ”For many employers, illegal immigration is of economic or corporate interests that would a double winner. They get to hire cheap labor, welcome substandard wages, for both native and and they don’t have to hire blacks, whom they foreign-born workers? . . . were loath to hire in the first place. . . . “ . . . how do we ensure that our immigrant ”None of this negates the real things black status or ex-offender status is neither a barrier to and brown folks have in common, or the need employment nor an invitation to exploitation? for unity. (In fact, it makes that need much And how do we make sure that all of our chil- clearer.) But before coming together, we have to dren have access to the educational resources and look unflinchingly at the forces keeping us opportunities that they need? These challenges apart.” underscore all the more why we must work closely with one another as opposed to turning Mike Prokosch leads workshops on globalization, immigration, on another in our time of need.” and the U.S. economy for unions and community organizations. Rev. Hamilton makes a crucial point: the He works at the Labor Extension Program at UMass Lowell.
52 The Change Agent — September 2006 Immigrants & the Economy
The Jobs Undocumented Workers Do
Unauthorized workers are employed in a variety of jobs throughout the labor force, but they work more commonly in certain jobs rather than others. They are underrepresented in white-collar jobs (“management, business and professional” jobs and “sales and administrative support” jobs). On the other hand, unauthorized migrants are much more likely to be in jobs that require little education or don’t have licensing requirements. One way to look at the employment of unauthorized worker is by measuring how much of a job category is filled by them. In a few job categories, unauthorized migrants make up a large share of all workers employed in that field. For example, only 4% of migrants were employed in farming, but they make up 24% of all workers employed in those occupations. Unauathorized workers were 17% of the workforce in cleaning jobs, 14% in construction, 12% in food preparation, 9% in production, 7% in transport, and 2% in all other occupations. Most Concentrated Occupations
30%
25% 24%
20%
17%
15% 14%
12%
10% 9%
7%
5%
2% Construction Cleaning Farming Production Transport Food Prep. 0% Farming, fishing Building cleaning & Construction and Food prep. & Production Transport & All other occs. and forestry maintenance extractive serving materials
Note: Estimates based on the March 2005 Current Population Survey, a joint project between the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census.
Adapted from Passel, Jeffrey S, The Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S. Washington, D.C.: Pew Hispanic Center, 2006.
The Change Agent — September 2006 53 Immigrants & the Economy
Oi-Kwan “Annie” Lai’s Story
Read Oi Kwan “Annie” Lai’s story. If you don’t know a word, guess what it means or skip it. Underline sentences that you have a strong reaction to (for example, something you strongly agree or disagree with, or that makes you angry, or surprises you).
I started sewing when I was 17 or 18. I worked in the garment industry in Hong Kong until I immigrated to Canada in 1979. Then I sewed for a French company in Montreal. At that time it was easy to come to the U.S. and apply for a green card. So that’s how I ended up over here. I started working in Chinatown garment factories right away. . . . When I first came to Chinatown, I really didn’t like it. In Canada the boss was already giving me seven dollars an hour [Canadian]. He paid by the piece, but if you didn’t sew fast enough, he would give you seven dollars anyway as the minimum. But I exceeded that so I could usually make about eight dollars an hour. Every year in the summer we got off two weeks vacation and also two at Christmas. Canada also has a five-day workweek. After com- ing over here, I thought about how life had been before in Canada. Oh, I really didn’t like it here! . . . I feel like these last few years have been the worst, the hardest. Because all these undocumented . . . people are coming, and they will just work day and night because they have to pay back the money they owe for their fares. The bosses especially exploit them. When we go to work at nine and leave at seven the boss is not all that happy that we’re working a short number of hours. I see so many [undocumented] people working until nine or ten o’clock at night. They still don’t want to leave. So, the boss likes those undocumented workers more and doesn’t like us because he knows they’re so vulnerable. They’re very young—some have left their children behind in China—and now we’re older. We can’t work those kind of long hours. We have families here. Even getting off at seven, by the time you get home it’s eight-something.
Discussion Questions • What does Annie say about undocumented • Where is Annie from? What kind of work does workers? Why do they work hard? she do? • Why do bosses like them? • What was her work like in Canada? • Do you know any workplaces where something • Where does she work in the U.S.? similar happens? • What happened in the last few years in • Read aloud a sentence you underlined and Chinatown? discuss it with others in class.
Story from Sweatshop Warriors by Miriam Ching Yoon Louie, available at
54 The Change Agent — September 2006 Immigrants & the Economy
Do Immigrants Pay Their Fair Share of Taxes?
There is a popular misconception that immigrants do not pay their fair share of taxes. Some believe that immigrants do not pay taxes at all, and some believe that immigrants use many more social services then they pay for in taxes. Adult immigrants studying English at the Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) here in Malden, Massachusetts, decided that they needed to conduct a survey to find the realities among ILC stu- dents. They asked students with jobs to name their current jobs and bring in their pay stubs to show how much they pay per week in income taxes toward Medicare, Social Security, Federal and State taxes. Many ILC students had held professional level jobs in their native countries. These professions ranged from professors, engineers, dentists, teachers and programmers. Others had held skilled oc- cupations such as welder, carpenter, mechanic, hairdresser, and tailors as well as office and factory worker. They came to America to be with families and to seek a better life for themselves and their children. Some came to flee political persecution and find safety from war and violence. However, until their English language skills improve, most have to take jobs that are not equal to their education and professional levels. Current jobs include fast food worker, cashier, home health care assistant, newspaper delivery person and gas attendant. Nevertheless, they are paying significant taxes! They work from 4 to 71 hours per week. Their hourly pay rate ranges from $6.75 to $17 per hour. The average rate is $10.04. Their tax contributions are as follows:
Federal Total contributions are $1,406 per week and $73,112 per year Social Security Total contributions are $1,373 per week and $71,396 per year Massachusetts Total contributions are $ 906 per week and $47,112 per year Medicare Total contributions are $ 346 per week and $17,992 per year
So, just in one small, community-based organization that averages 400 immigrant students at any given time, adult immigrants are paying taxes amounting to $4,031 per week and $209,609 per year!
Reprinted with permission from the Immigrant Learning Center in Malden, MA. M/F Myth: Immigrants don’t pay taxes. Fact: All immigrants pay taxes, whether income, property, sales, or other. As far as income tax payments go, sources vary in their accounts, but a range of studies find that immigrants pay between $90 and $140 billion a year in federal, state, and local taxes. Even undocumented immigrants pay income taxes, as evidenced by the Social Security Administration’s “suspense file” (taxes that cannot be matched to workers’ names and social security numbers), which grew $20 billion between 1990 and 1998. Sources: National Academy of Sciences, Cato Institute, Urban Institute, Social Security Administration
Reprinted with permission from the National Immigration Forum
The Change Agent — September 2006 55 Immigrants & the Economy
A Drain on the Public Purse? by Mike Prokosch
Do immigrants pay more in taxes than they use in Immigrants are part of this picture because public services? Or are immigrants—especially many of the payroll and Social Security taxes they undocumented ones—a drain on the public pay go to the federal government. However, purse? most of the services they and others use come Immigrants and taxes became a hot issue in from cities and states. 1994, when a majority of California voters ap- Half of the federal budget pays for war; proved Proposition 187. This referendum barred little of the rest goes into direct services like edu- undocumented immigrants from receiving health cation and health care. It’s the city and state gov- care, public education, and other social services. ernments that pay for most of the services we Courts overturned it, but several economic stud- use. Schools, police, fire, snowplowing, parks, ies then claimed that immigrants actually pay a and youth jobs come out of your city budget. lot more in taxes than the services they use. Ac- Housing, environment, and medical care are cording to these economists, undocumented im- heavily funded by the state. migrant workers pay billions of dollars in Social The federal government is making more Security taxes that they will never claim because money from immigration than it is paying. Local they use fake Social Security numbers (see Saving governments are losing out. And so the move- Social Security? at
56 The Change Agent — September 2006 Immigrants & the Economy
M/F
Myth: Immigrants come here to take welfare.* Fact: Immigrants come to work and reunite with family members. Immigrant labor force participation is consistently higher than native-born, and immigrant workers make up a larger share of the U.S. labor force (12.4%) than they do the U.S. population (11.5%). Moreover, the ratio between immigrant use of public benefits and the amount of taxes they pay is consistently favorable to the U.S., unless the “study” was undertaken by an anti-immigrant group. In one estimate, immigrants earn about $240 billion a year, pay about $90 billion a year in taxes, and use about $5 billion in public benefits. In another cut of the data, immigrant tax payments total $20 to $30 billion more than the amount of government services they use. Sources: American Immigration Lawyers Association, Urban Institute *Due to welfare reform, legal immigrants are severely restricted from accessing public benefits, and undocumented immigrants are even further precluded from anything other than emergency services. Anti-immigrant groups skew these figures by including programs used by U.S. citizen children of immigrants in their definition of immigrant welfare use, among other tactics.
Myth: Immigrants send all their money back to their home countries. Fact: In addition to the consumer spending of immigrant households, immigrants and their businesses contribute $162 billion in tax revenue to U.S. federal, state, and local governments. While it is true that immigrants remit billions of dollars a year to their home countries, this is one of the most targeted and effective forms of direct foreign investment. Sources: Cato Institute, Inter-American Development Bank
Myth: Immigrants are a drain on the U.S. economy. Fact: During the 1990s, half of all new workers were foreign-born, filling gaps left by native-born workers in both the high- and low-skill ends of the spectrum. Immigrants fill jobs in key sectors, start their own businesses, and contribute to a thriving economy. The net benefit of immigration to the U.S. is nearly $10 billion annually. As Alan Greenspan points out, 70% of immigrants arrive in prime working age. That means we haven’t spent a penny on their education, yet they are transplanted into our workforce and will contribute $500 billion toward our social security system over the next 20 years. Sources: National Academy of Sciences, Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, Federal Reserve Bank.
Reprinted with permission from the National Immigration Forum
Discussion Questions Some people think that the federal government should distribute the extra money in the Social Security Trust Fund to local governments so they have more money for public services. Others think that undocumented immigrants shouldn’t be able to use any education or health services at all. 1. What kind of solution does the author of this article suggest? 2. What kind of solution do you think would work? 3. Which solution do you think is the fairest? 4. Who will benefit?
The Change Agent — September 2006 57 Immigrants & the Economy
Policy Options: Guest Worker Program A guest worker program allows a certain number of people to work in some industries in the United States, pay income and payroll taxes, and, after a fixed period of time, go back to their country of origin. Some proposals in Congress don’t include a guest worker program, but others do. There are many variations of guest worker proposals, but most would have to pay workers the “prevailing” wage (the going pay rate for the type of work to be done), would provide some worker protection under national, state, and local labor laws, allow workers to bring along their spouses and children under 21, and would allow people to change jobs. Most proposals don’t guarantee health care coverage, and many people worry that it would create an unlimited “disposable” workforce, undermining protection and rights for all workers. The vast majority of guest workers would not be eligible for citizenship.
Discussion Questions: If you’re going to come to do a job that an American won’t do, you ought 1. Do you think immigrants are taking to be given a foolproof card that says jobs that Americans don’t want? Which you can come for a limited period of jobs? Which ones would Americans time and do work in a job an American won’t do . . . The idea of having do? Under what conditions? [tougher border controls] causes people to get stuffed in the back of 18- 2. What do employers get out of hiring wheelers to risk their lives to people without documents? How sneak into America to do would legalizing the status of more work that some people won’t do is just not American, in immigrants change the situation of my judgment. other workers? President Bush 3. Why do policies focus mainly on immigrants as workers? What other aspects of their lives are not being considered? 4. How might a program like this affect you or people that you know?
For additional questions that help you think through different opinions, see Questioning Immigration Proposals on page 14.
58 The Change Agent — September 2006 Immigrants & the Economy
I think a guest worker program is good. What a lot of immigrants want is just to come and work for the season or temporarily, then go back to their countries with their families. Immigrants deserve benefits and worker protections because they work very hard. Because of the hard work they do we have fruit, vegetables, and a lot more things. They should at least be paid minimum wage or as much as the other workers.
Maria Escobedo, Adult Education Student
Immigrants must have the same rights that the citizens have while they are working. They should have equal pay, pay equal taxes, and have the same safe working conditions. After a period of time, if they are good people and if they want to, immigrants should have the right to become citizens.
Melida Carillo, Adult Education Student
I hear the media and politicians say that the illegal immigrants that are coming here are doing jobs that Americans don’t want to do. This is not true. We would do the jobs if they were available and the pay was a living wage, with safe working conditions. Try listing [these jobs] in the paper instead of hiring through the back door.
Roy Jones, Adult Education Student
Illustrations by Ann Cleaves
The Change Agent — September 2006 59 Border Security
Behind the “Border Scare” by Zona Ascensio
“Illegal” immigration is currently a hot topic in current events. Many believe that the best way to remedy this supposed “threat to national security” is by criminalizing undocumented immigration. The U.S. could force undocu- mented immigrants out of the country, but the govern- ment and citizens alike tend to forget one thing: these are people. One has to wonder about the real motive behind the “border scare.” After all, Mexicans have never been the terrorists, nor is there any real proof of a terrorist plot to invade via the Mexican border. This seems to be an ex- ample of government-supported racism. Do you think this would be an issue if Mexico were a Caucasian English- speaking nation like Canada? Using September 11th as a reason to remove poor people who are simply trying to make a living for them- selves and for their families, regardless of their citizenship status, is more than just wrong—it is against the principles that provide the foundation for this nation. Every person has a right to life, liberty, and happiness. Although few dare to question that statement, people are willing to label those attempting to attain these rights as felons, criminals,
and, worst of all, potential terrorists. Though allowing Christine Kenny anyone and everyone to enter the U.S. without authoriza- Immigrants at a 2006 march in Chicago. tion would also be the wrong path to take, we cannot ig- nore the inalienable rights of undocumented immigrants. By implementing stricter laws on immigration, several problems can arise. First and most obvi- ous would be the fact that several businesses would lose workers and may be unable to find people willing to take the jobs vacated by immigrants. Another problem would be that the families of un- documented immigrants who had worked in the United States would suffer financial loss and remain in a state of almost unimaginable poverty. One of the less obvious but equally negative outcomes would have to be the lessons our future generations will learn from this. What will our children think when they look back and see that our nation decided to remove individuals because they were un- wanted at this point in time? They will likely feel the same way we do now when thinking about seg- regation before the civil right movement: How could clear-thinking people allow such reasonless in- equity? These are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, sons, and daughters. They want what we all want—a chance at a better future.
Zona Ascensio is a GED student in Martin, TN.
60 The Change Agent — September 2006 Border Security Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant
M/F Myth: Weak U.S. border enforcement has led to high undocumented immigration. Fact: From 1986 to 1998, the Border Patrol’s budget increased sixfold and the number of agents stationed on our southwest border doubled to 8,500. The Border Patrol also toughened its enforcement strategy, heavily fortifying typical urban entry points and pushing migrants into dangerous desert areas, in hopes of deterring crossings. Instead, the undocumented immigrant population doubled in that timeframe, to 8 million— despite the legalization of nearly 3 million immigrants after the enactment of the Immigra- tion Reform and Control Act in 1986. Insufficient legal avenues for immigrants to enter the U.S., compared with the number of jobs available to them, have created this current conundrum. Source: Cato Institute
Myth: The war on terrorism can be won through immigration restrictions. Fact: No security expert since September 11th, 2001 has said that restrictive immigration measures would have prevented the terrorist attacks—instead, they key is good use of good intelligence. Most of the 9/11 hijackers were here on legal visas. Since 9/11, the myriad of measures targeting immigrants in the name of national security have netted no terrorism prosecutions. In fact, several of these measures could have the opposite effect and actually make us less safe, as targeted communities of immigrants are afraid to come forward with information. Sources: Newspaper articles, various security experts, and think tanks
Reprinted with permission from the National Immigration Forum
The Change Agent — September 2006 61 Border Security
Border Insecurity by Silja Kallenbach
At 1,933 miles, the U.S.–Mexico border is one of week to rent additional morgue space to house the busiest, longest, and most policed borders in the bodies of people who died trying to cross the world. Soon it will also be the most expensive over to the United States. border in the world. The United States plans to Maybe it’s the jobs the undocumented barricade itself behind a triple layer wall whose workers do that we get back for all our money. construction and monitoring will cost $2–$12 mil- Any takers to pick lettuce, grapes, or tomatoes in lion per mile. That’s a lot of money for a country sweltering heat or to pack meat in refrigerated that has a debt of $8.3 trillion, and a war that is rooms? Maybe it’s the housekeeping job you’ve costing $80 billion a year. Over the past 12 years, always wanted that Mexicans are taking from the United States government has already spent you? Between 22 and 36 percent of our country’s $25 billion to control its borders, with most of insulation, construction, agricultural and meat the money being spent on the Mexican border. processing workers, and dishwashers and maids The Congress has allocated $115 million for are undocumented workers. If fewer workers next year alone to put these border security mea- can get in you have to wonder who would be sures into place according to the New York willing to do this country’s least desirable jobs. Times. Concerned tax payers are right to ask: The tightening of border security has also what do we get in return? Fewer immigrants? been touted as a way to reduce crime, but there Actually, instead of keeping people out, in- is already evidence that it has actually increased creased border militarization will keep unautho- crime. When border crossing becomes more dan- rized migrant workers inside the United States. gerous and risky, it makes good business for About half of those crossing the border are Mexi- people smugglers. More immigrants are using can men who come to the U.S. to work, leaving their meager resources to pay organized crime to their families behind. They go back and forth ev- smuggle them into the country. The Immigration ery year or so, but with a tighter border, they Policy Center reports that the number of undocu- have to stay in the U.S. Since they can’t get back mented immigrants caught along the southern to see their families, these men will spend money border who were smuggled into the United and risk lives to smuggle their wives and chil- States rose from 5.5% in 1992 to 22.2% in 2004. dren into the U.S. Some people justify the expensive tightening Maybe the increased border security will of the border on account of stemming the flow of deter some people from coming to the United terrorists into the U.S. It might do just the oppo- States, but many others are just too desperate. site. More sophisticated smuggling networks For them, risking deportation and death from could actually make it easier for potential foreign dangerous crossings is still a lesser risk than the terrorists to enter the U.S. If the U.S. focused its miserable conditions they have in their home efforts on changing the immigration system to let countries. We are certain, though, to get more in the jobseekers, there would be fewer smug- dead people. The Border Network for Human gling networks and Border Patrol agents could Rights reported that about 2,300 people have focus on finding terrorists, not workers. died in the past five years crossing the U.S.– So far, none of the people who have been Mexican border. The deaths are increasing: the apprehended on the Mexican border have been city of Tucson, in Arizona, now spends $1,000 a considered terrorists. The men responsible for
62 The Change Agent — September 2006 Border Security
the 9/11 attacks were in the United State legally Pentagon to support the war in Iraq. The lucky on visas. More people become undocumented be- winner will build a fence and along with it high cause they overstay their visas, not because they tech devices that will monitor movement on the crossed the Mexican border. And what about the border. Canadian border? Here’s a crazy thought, what if we spent the On balance, it appears that the average same amount of money promoting development American will not benefit greatly from the bil- in less wealthy countries? Most immigrants lions of taxpayer’s money that will be spent on would like to stay in their homelands if only they the Mexican border. But there are people who had some way of making a living. will. The Department of Homeland Security will award one mult-ibillion dollar, multi-year con- Silja Kallenbach is the director of the New England Literacy tract to a company like Raytheon or Lockheed Resource Center at World Education in Boston, MA. Martin. Both of these companies already thrive thanks to the hefty contracts they have with the
Is This Security Worth Paying For?
In addition to walls and more border patrol agents, the government is using technology along the southern border to keep undocumented immigrants from crossing over. Looks like we’re not getting much for our money.
“The government’s track record in the last decade in trying to buy cutting-edge technology to monitor the border — devices like video cameras, censors, and other tools that came at a cost of at least $425 million — is dismal. Because of poor contract oversight, nearly half of video cameras ordered in the late 1990s did not work or were not installed. The ground sensors installed along the border frequently sounded alarms. But in 92 percent of the cases, they were sending out agents to respond to what turned out to be a passing wild animal, a train or other nuisances, according to a report late last year by the homeland security inspector general. A more recent test with an unmanned aerial vehicle bought by the department got off to a similarly troubling start. The $6.8 million device, which has been used in the last year to patrol a 300-mile stretch of the Arizona border at night, crashed last month.”
Excerpted under fair use laws from The New York Times, May 18, 2006. Bush Turns to Big Military Contractors for Border Control, by Eric Lipton.
The Change Agent — September 2006 63 Border Security
Policy Options: Border Security
Proposals to tighten border security include: ♦ building 300-700 miles of “triple fence” along the U.S.–Mexican border, ♦ sending National Guard troops to help patrol it, ♦ hiring more Border Patrol agents, and ♦ using technology like unmanned vehicles and sensors to identify border crossers returning all those caught at the border to their home country without giving them a chance to have a judge hear their case.
Discussion Questions: 1. What does a “secure” border The [increased border] security has done more to mean to you? keep people from going back to Mexico than it has to keep them from coming in. 2. Who do you think will be secure because of increased Jeffrey Passel, Senior Research Associate border security? Who might at Pew Hispanic Center be less secure? 3. Do you think that walls will stop people from coming to the U.S.? Why or why not? 4. Who benefits from a wall being built on the U.S.– Mexican border? 5. Why do you think there are no proposals to build a wall on the Canadian border?
For additional questions that help you think through different opinions, see Questioning Immigration Proposals on page 14.
Editor’s note: The term “illegal” as it refers to those who cross the border without documents is widely used in the current public debate. The editorial board for this issue opposes using this term to refer to human beings and feels it is important to question its widely accepted use. Please see the article on page 31 about word choices. Terms used in the following excerpts reflect the authors’ original word choice.
64 The Change Agent — September 2006 Border Security
Construction of more and more fences—all it is going to achieve is shifting traffic from one place to another and pushing people into ever more remote and dangerous places—not just the desert, but the most remote parts of the desert where the possibility of being rescued is virtually nil.
Claudia Smith, Migrant Workers’ Advocate
Our country needs security at our borders in order to slow the flow of illegal immigration and make America safer from foreign criminals and terrorists. Senator Bill Frist, Migrants say as long as desperation (R-TN) and poverty exist in Mexico and Central America, no amount of fences will stem the human tide of illegal immigration.
Jeffrey Kaye, News Correspondent
Illustrations by Ann Cleaves
The Change Agent — September 2006 65 Getting Active
Out of the Shadows, Into the Streets by Christine Kenny
I first heard about La Marcha from a Mexican friend of mine who is a cook at a busy downtown Chi- cago restaurant. He told me that in order to attend the march none of the kitchen staff or busboys were going to work that Friday—and that his manager had ex- cused them all for the day! Later, as I went to Centro Romero, where I teach an ESOL class, I asked my friends in the office about the march and was ex- citedly handed a flyer by our community organizer, Evelyn. She was one of more than 50 organizers of La Marcha that would take place at Union Park on March 10th. She enthusiasti- cally told me that “the city is planning for 5,000-10,000 Christine Kenny people, but we are expecting Immigrants’ Rights March, Chicago, March 10th, 2006 50,000.” I made copies of the flyer for my students. Chicago, La Villita, was closed for the day. Res- But as I passed them out, their only question taurants and factories closed in solidarity with was, “How do you transfer from the red line to their immigrant employees. Over 400 buses ar- the green line to get to Union Park?” They ALL rived at Union Park from the suburbs, and from knew about the march, and most planned on at- as far away as Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and tending—with their bosses’ permission. Iowa. This was amazing! How did all of my Latino As my friend and I waited to transfer to the friends know about La Marcha, and no one else green line five trains passed us by, too full to had heard a peep? The Spanish radio stations had even open their doors. When we finally arrived not only been promoting La Marcha, but had or- at Union Park the march had already started. ganized people to approach their employers to Peaceful demonstrators filled the streets. Moth- explain what was happening and to ask for the ers pushed babies in strollers. Fathers marched day off. The second busiest shopping district in with toddlers perched on their shoulders. Orga-
66 The Change Agent — September 2006 Getting Active
nizations carried banners, and thousands of oth- ers full of excitement and hope made their pres- The Bill That Passed the House: ence known. Throughout the two mile route HR 4437 people hung out of office buildings waving signs and cheering on the crowd. Outside a church a On December 16, 2005, the House of sound system blared Los Tigres del Norte and Representatives quietly passed an the crowd erupted in a verse of “De America, Yo immigration bill, which, if enacted, would Soy!” drastically change the face of our After four hours of marching at a snail’s country. Passage of this bill into law pace the crowd was backed up blocks around would classify the estimated 12 million Federal Plaza, where the rally took place. It was people living here without proper not until we turned on the news that evening documentation as felons. that we learned that our law makers all stood in Anyone who “knowingly assisted” front of this enormous crowd and promised to an undocumented immigrant would also support the immigrant community and to fight be committing a felony. HR 4437 could Sensenbrenner’s bill, HR 4437. criminalize church leaders, doctors, A community was politicized that day. nurses, teachers, social services Community activists from all parts of the country personnel—even the kind neighbor who contacted the Chicago organizers to learn from offers a friend a ride to the market—as their successful tactics. Since March 10th, when a she would be considered a human crowd estimated to be as large as 300,000 took to trafficker. the streets of Chicago, hundreds of thousands, if The passage of this bill, as not millions more, have proudly stepped out of approved by the House of the shadows and into the streets with their mes- Representatives, prompted hundreds of sage: “We are here and we are needed!” Their thousands of people to step out of the voice is also reaching politicians in a language shadows, peacefully shouting NO! they understand: “Today we march! Tomorrow we vote!”
Discussion Questions 1. Why was there such a huge turnout for La Marcha? 2. What would make you “come out of the shadows and into the streets”? 3. How did the nation-wide marches help the immigrants in our country? What do you think the general American public thinks about them? 4. Have you ever participated in a political action such as a march? Did it make a difference? 5. What do you think are other ways to make your voice heard? 6. Do you think that people who are now undocumented immigrants should one day have the right to vote?
Christine Kenny is the executive director of Literacy Works in Chicago, IL. She has 13 years of experience as a teacher of English as a Second Language. She teaches for the City Colleges of Chicago at Centro Romero.
The Change Agent — September 2006 67 Getting Active
Just Like You! by Joanne Blanco
Being born of two permanent residents, I experi- enced how the status of being an immigrant fam- ily brings with it racism and discrimination. Even though I was born in the U.S., Even though I was born I learned the in the U.S., I learned the words “spic,” words “spic”’ and “wet- and “wetback,” very early in my back,” very early in my childhood. DCPS childhood. (District of Co- lumbia Public schools) assumed that because my first language was foreign I needed “special” education, when in fact I was always in the top ten of most of my classes. I remember when my father, mother, and uncles told me stories of how they came to the United States, and all the suffering they went
through. They even endured being cooped-up in Christine Kenny hiding places with little air by people they paid Immigrants’ Rights March, Chicago, March 10th, 2006 to get them across the border alive. It’s very hard for me to picture my parents in those condi- clean your toilets or cook your food, or are put tions, but they did it for my brothers and me. If I on the front lines to fight your wars. We are hu- were in their situation, I would have done the mans just like ev- same thing to give my child the opportunities she erybody else in has now. this country and You see, this fight is not Long ago I learned from my mother, who we deserve to be for just some legal pa- was from El Salvador, that the fight for what you given a chance to pers; it’s also for the deserve should be done with integrity and pride. succeed. We are That’s why I know I am doing the right thing just like you; I am right to stay with our when I participate in the Immigration March and just like you. I’m families . . . . let my voice be heard. You see, this fight is not not “just an immi- for just some legal papers; it’s also for the right grant,” as some to stay with our families and get a great educa- Americans call me. I am a person, a citizen. I am tion, and to work hard together for generations Joanne Blanco. to come. I will continue to support my people and Joanne Blanco attends the Academy of Hope in Washington, fight beside them. We’re not just people who DC. She is currently working towards her GED.
68 The Change Agent — September 2006 Getting Active
Safe Ways to Get Involved by Cynthia Tschampl
1. Join a group that organizes advocacy 7. Register people to vote. Perhaps you are not activities. Actions have more impact when they eligible to vote yet, but you can help empower are focused, plus there is often safety in numbers. those who are. Learn about which candidates are Your group may also be able to help you find friendly towards immigrants and educate others, legal assistance if something goes wrong. For a walk with them to the voting station, help list of possible organizations that either provide translate for voters, etc. legal services or organize in their communities, please visit
The Change Agent — September 2006 69 Resources
BRIDGE is a popular education resource of exercise and tools for immigrant and refugee community organizations, and other allies of immigrants and refugees. It features eight workshop modules that include activities, discussion questions, fact sheets, and other resources to help build dialogue, engagement, and shared action within and between communities. Order by email: [email protected] or by phone: 510-465-1984 x 303 $30 plus shipping
The Line Between Us explores the history of U.S.–Mexican relations and the roots of Mexican immigration, all in the context of the global economy. Using role plays, stories, poetry, improvisations, simulations, and video, veteran teacher Bill Bigelow demonstrates how to combine lively teaching with critical analysis. The Line Between Us is a book for teachers, adult educators, community organizers, and anyone who hopes to teach and learn about these important issues. Order by phone: 800-669-4192, fax: 802-864-7626, or online
The New Challenges of American Immigration: What Should We Do? This guide by the National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) will help stimulate serious discussion on the issue of immigration. The guide identifies three perspectives on the issue, pros and cons for each, and includes a series of discussion questions. Download for free in English or Spanish
Current Issues of Immigration, 2006 by the Constitutional Rights Foundation consist of six lesson modules designed to put the current controversies about illegal immigration into historical and political context. The modules consist of readings, guided discussion questions, and interactive learning activities designed to help students explore and deepen their understanding of the issues presented. In addition, the curriculum package includes a resource for conducting structured discussions with students. The lessons are carefully balanced to present all sides of controversial issues. Download for free
70 The Change Agent — September 2006 Resources
Announcing a New Resource for Social Justice Education! Are you looking for ways to explore social justice themes while building skills and addressing immediate student goals? Here’s a resource that will help you bring popular education and social analysis into the contemporary adult education classroom.
THROUGH THE LENS OF SOCIAL JUSTICE: Using The Change Agent in Adult Education
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The Change Agent — September 2006 71 The New England Literacy Resource Center gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Nelllie Mae Education Foundation for this issue.
ABOUT THE NELLIE MAE EDUCATION FOUNDATION
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is the largest philanthropy in New England that focuses exclusively on promoting access, quality, and effectiveness of education. Based in Quincy, Massachusetts, the Foundation provides grants and other support to education programs in New England that strive to improve underserved students’ academic achievement and access to higher education. The Foundation also funds research that examines contemporary educational opportunity issues that affect New Englanders, convenes educators, policy makers, and community members to influence public policy in education. Since it was established in 1998, the Foundation has awarded more than $63 million in grants and support.
For more information on the Foundation, please visit
Note that the views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.
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