07/20/2006   English German
  Edition # 62  
San Francisco, 07-20-2006

Immigration Debate
Figure [1]: Immigrant children demonstrate on May 1st.

Angelika The myth that anyone who wants to live and work in America is immediately handed a green card upon arrival is indestructible. But that's false, America has not kept its doors wide open for everyone for a long time. If you want a work permit, you not only have to navigate the thicket of bureaucracy but also win the race against the quota, as typically only a certain number of work visas or green cards are issued in various categories each year.

These hurdles have led to many people becoming tired of waiting and risking being in the country illegally. It is estimated that there are now 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants living in the USA, with almost 80 percent of them coming from Mexico or other Latin American countries. This problem is not exactly new. Back in the late 1980s, then-President Ronald Reagan tried to curb the influx of illegal immigrants through legislation: any employer who knowingly hired someone without a work permit would be committing a crime. However, no reliable system was implemented to verify this. At the same time, Reagan granted amnesty to illegal immigrants who had already been in the country for several years.

Bush Jr. promised during his first election campaign to solve the problem of illegal immigrants. However, other issues like September 11th and the Iraq War caused the topic to disappear from the spotlight. But now it has resurfaced for quite some time. Hardly a day goes by without the press addressing the issue of immigration. Since a large portion of Americans can trace their own immigration history (even if it often dates back generations), the topic is emotionally charged here like no other.

It began in December 2005 when the American House of Representatives (known as "Congress") passed a draconian bill that not only proposed to seal the border with Mexico using a high-tech fence stretching over 700 miles but also aimed to elevate illegal residence in the USA to a criminal offense ("felony").

Until now, this has been a civil matter that violates existing immigration law. There was an uproar mainly because the draft law criminalizes helpers (such as family members, priests, social workers) who assist illegal immigrants, which so enraged the Catholic Cardinal of Los Angeles that he called on his priests to engage in civil disobedience.

Figure [2]: Angelika's kindergarten supported the boycott on May 1st.

Overall, none of the politicians really expected the protest from the Latinos (as Latin Americans are called), because everyone quietly assumed that illegal immigrants would not dare to take to the streets. However, in the spring of this year, there were large demonstrations in many American cities. In Los Angeles, half a million people protested for more liberal immigration laws. The illegal immigrants find broad support primarily among their compatriots, who often now possess an American passport but arrived in the USA in similarly adventurous ways. Since Latinos are the fastest-growing population group in many states (including California), politicians must be concerned about the votes of the immigrants legally living in the country.

On May 1st, there was another protest action to demonstrate that without illegal immigrants, many economic sectors would collapse and that immigrants in general contribute to the economic well-being of Americans. Immigrants (both legal and illegal) were called upon not to go to work. In San Francisco, many businesses in the Mission district, which has a high percentage of Latin Americans, were closed as a result. The action was also supported at the Tenderloin Childcare Center, where I work, because most of our children come from foreign countries.

Since a bill in the USA goes through several instances, the Senate transformed the draft described above into a more moderate version in May. The Senate's bill also mentions better securing the border with Mexico, but at the same time allows illegal immigrants who have been in the country for longer to obtain legal status after paying a fine and back taxes. A guest worker program is also planned, which is particularly important to President Bush. Furthermore, among other things, the number of H-1B visas issued annually is to be increased (Rundbrief 05/2000).

Figure [3]: A Mexican store was closed on May 1st due to the immigrant demonstration.

Now the whole thing goes back to Congress, and both bills need to be reconciled with each other. And that's where opinions differ. Currently, nothing is moving forward at all. To make matters worse, Congress will be re-elected here in November, and everyone wants to exploit the immigration debate for their political purposes.

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