STRENGTHENING ALL COMMUNITIES FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE: Full Inclusion of Our Immigrant Population Would Lead to a More Prosperous New Mexico By Javier Rojo, MPA, and Cirila Estela Vasquez Guzman, PhD February 2021 Strengthening All Communities for a Brighter Future 1 STRENGTHENING ALL COMMUNITIES FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE: Full Inclusion of Our Immigrant Population Would Lead to a More Prosperous New Mexico By Javier Rojo, MPA, and Cirila Estela Vasquez Guzman, PhD February 2021 INTRODUCTION New Mexico is strongest and our future is brightest when everyone is able to make their unique contributions to our communities and the state. We all lose out when someone is hindered from contributing because of where they were born or how they arrived here. But that is the fate for too many New Mexicans who have come here wanting nothing more than to work hard and seek a better life. At no time has this been so clear as during the COIVD-19 pandemic, when federal relief enacted in 2020 was denied to many families with immigrant members. In New Mexico, more than $55 million in assistance was held back from more than 30,000 adults and 38,000 children. This loss of federal funding harms more than the families themselves. Relief funding during a recession is critical for supporting the small businesses where that money is spent, helping state and local economies. Immigrants bring many assets to New Mexico including cultural and economic vibrancy, and entrepreneurship, and they expand the workforce needed by some of the state’s most critical industries. Regardless of their documentation status, immigrants are making vital contributions. New Mexico immigrants are business owners, construction workers, caretakers, students, and investors. 2 Strengthening All Communities for a Brighter Future The contributions of This report examines the can strengthen all families and immigrants have been particularly multiple ways in which our state communities through progressive important during the pandemic. While and nation are stronger because and equitable immigrant-friendly COVID-19 has disrupted our lives of our diverse and hardworking policies that give all residents the and economy, immigrants across immigrant population – including their opportunities needed to thrive. our nation are among those at the contributions to the state’s economy Treating our immigrant neighbors, frontlines every single day, putting and tax system – and provides workers, and colleagues equitably their lives at risk to ensure that grocery policies our lawmakers can enact so is essential to creating a strong stores have fruits and vegetables, immigrant New Mexicans continue to economy and a brighter future for that restaurants can make and deliver strengthen our state. our nation and our state. We all win food, that roads and highways are Immigrants are an inextricable when we can all fully participate in our constructed and repaired, and that part of our state’s and our nation’s society. hospitals remain clean. histories and culture. New Mexico Strengthening All Communities for a Brighter Future 3 IMMIGRATION OVERVIEW The United States has long been exploitive history of immigration In addition to his inflammatory, perceived as a land of opportunity, has shaped contemporary race xenophobic rhetoric, former a place where prospective citizens relations.3 Our immigration system President Trump instituted numerous can achieve prosperity and upward is overly complex and broken, policies that largely echo this country’s mobility. Despite this, many but Congress has failed to enact historically racist immigration laws. Americans voice concerns about comprehensive immigration reform The rhetoric and policies focusing on the overall impact immigrants despite numerous attempts over the deportation, family separation, and have on this country. These fears, last three decades.4 Aspiring citizens border militarization, have created misconceptions, and anti-immigrant who are people of color continue a climate of fear for immigrants. perspectives are echoed throughout to face the most difficult path to Moreover, this type of fear tends to public discourse. However, a acceptance and eventual integration, spread to the broader community, continuously growing body of as they have for much of the country’s inhibiting group cohesion and research consistently reports that history.5 In fact, restrictive policies limiting the community’s ability immigrants have a net positive and discrimination have been part to thrive. Given their trepidation, impact on the American economy, of the history of immigration in uncertainty, and the hate directed society, and culture.1 Exacerbated the United States and include the specifically at immigrants, their by a former president who embraced Chinese exclusion acts of 1875 and possibilities for societal inclusion xenophobic and anti-immigrant 1882 and the Texas Proviso of 1952. and meaningful community rhetoric and federal policies, the Historical racism and contemporary participation are constricted. disconnect between perception and patterns of racial and ethnic bias and Meanwhile psychological distress reality on immigration is particularly discrimination impact immigrants’ and poor health outcomes among stark, but it’s hardly unprecedented. income, consumption patterns, immigrant individuals, families, Immigrants in our nation have property values, ability to build and communities have increased.7 been scapegoated, exploited for financial assets, and access to other When we prohibit immigrants’ full cheap labor, and treated as second- vital resources.6 The U.S. continues participation in our society, we harm class citizens for hundreds of years.2 to welcome immigrants’ labor, but the future of our nation. This country’s xenophobic and not immigrants themselves. 4 Strengthening All Communities for a Brighter Future A TIMELINE OF SELECTED RACE-RELATED U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICIES New Country · Naturalization Act of 1790: establishes citizenship of immigrants by naturalization and restricts it to free, land-owning, white males. · Naturalization Act of 1795: repeals the Act of 1790 and extends by 3 years the residency requirement, which is extended by another 9 years in 1798. Post Civil War · Page Act of 1875: first restrictive immigration law, effectively barring entry of Chinese women. · 1878: In the In re Ah Yup case, U.S. Supreme Court rules individuals of Asian descent ineligible for citizenship. · Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882: prohibits immigration of Chinese laborers; is renewed in 1892, made permanent in 1903, and finally repealed in 1943. · Immigration Act of 1917: imposes a literacy requirement making it the first act to restrict immigration from Europe; establishes an Asiatic Barred Zone, which bars immigration from the Asia-Pacific area. · Immigration Act of 1924: imposes quotas (based on the National Origins Formula) on immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere and extends the Asiatic Barred Zone to Japan. · 1942: President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, leading to the internment of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, the majority of whom were U.S. citizens. Post WWII · Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952: abolishes racial restrictions found in statutes going back to 1790; retains a quota system for nationalities and regions; allows for the admission of refugees on a parole basis. · Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965: eliminates national origin, race, and ancestry as basis for immigration while maintaining per-country limits; establishes a seven-category preference system. End of 20th Century · Refugee Act of 1980: creates the Federal Refugee Settlement Program. · Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986: criminalizes the employment of undocumented workers; establishes one-year amnesty for undocumented workers living in the U.S. since 1982. · Immigration Act of 1990: provides family-based immigration visa, creates five employment-based visas, and creates a lottery diversity visa program to admit immigrants from countries whose citizenry are underrepresented in the U.S. · Illegal Immigration Reform & Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996: expands which crimes make an immigrant eligible for deportation; makes it more difficult for unauthorized immigrants to gain legal status. Post September 11 · Patriot Act of 2001: gives the federal government the power to detain suspected “terrorists” for an unlimited time period without access to legal representation. · 2012: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): executive order by President Obama provides a work authorization permit to those who arrived in the U.S. when they were younger than 16 and before the year 2012, have remained in this country since then, have no criminal history, and are enrolled in school or have graduated. · 2017: Attempts to rescind DACA: President Trump attempts to terminate DACA via an executive order; however, the initiative has thus far been thwarted by numerous challenges in federal court, including the Supreme Court decision, Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California. · 2020: Public Charge Rule Change: executive order restricts poorer immigrants, specifically those who use federal assistance programs like Medicaid or SNAP, from obtaining permanent residency status; it was still working its way through the court system at the time this report was released. Strengthening All Communities for a Brighter Future 5 NEW MEXICO’S IMMIGRANT POPULATION New Mexico has a population New Mexico’s Immigration and Race Demographics are Diverse