Many people hold complex, and sometimes contradictory, feelings and ideas about immigration. Recent public opinion polling bears this out. America’s Voice recently found that most Americans support both Arizona’s controversial anti-immigration law at the same time they also support proposed federal comprehensive immigration reform legislation with a path to eventual citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
Overall then, opinion research shows that rather than a newfound wave of anti-immigrant sentiment, most Americans support Arizona’s law as well as support for national comprehensive immigration reform is driven by a desire for action by Washington on a problem that has been left unattended for too long.
For years now, Americans of all political persuasions have agreed that the current immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. We need effective border security, accountability for employers and rationality in the process to immigrating to the U.S. Reform Immigration FOR America is a national campaign that launched a year ago to work with grassroots organizations, faith communities, labor unions, small business owners and community leaders to advance just and humane comprehensive immigration reform. The campaign supports the following principles:
• Immigration reform must promote economic opportunity. We must renew our commitment to helping all low-income Americans improve their job prospects and move up the economic ladder towards the American Dream.
• Immigration reform must be comprehensive. Unless we tackle the broken immigration system as a whole, we will fail to solve the problem at hand.
• Long-term reform requires long term solutions. The factors shaping immigration are not just domestic; the issue transcends our borders. As such, how we as a country approach our relationships with other nations matters. We must deal with the domestic aspect of this issue and work in partnership with other countries over time to develop long-term strategies.
Here in Cincinnati, nearly 500 people participated in a march through downtown on Saturday, June 5. They gathered to express their outrage over the legislation signed into law in Arizona that effectively requires police officers to racially profile people.
Fr. Jorge Ochoa, a Catholic priest with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Office of Hispanic Ministry, rallied the crowd, telling them it’s time for Senator Voinovich, Senator Brown and President Obama to….well…..lead and take action to fix the broken immigration system. Civil rights attorney Al Gerhardstein recently won a $100,000 settlement from Butler County in the wake of actions by Sheriff Richard Jones’ staff during a workplace raid. At the march, Mr. Gerhardstein outlined the risks to the counties and the state, as well as the costs, of pursuing a path similar to Arizona’s.
The march wound through downtown, passing the federal building, Senator Brown’s office, Fountain Square and concluded at Senator Voinovich’s office. There, a high school student spoke of his dream to become an engineer but facing stiff challenges because he came to the US with his parents when he was just a toddler. Now, despite going to church, working hard in school, speaking perfect English and getting good grades, college is almost a pipe dream for him. And for his 14 year old cousin who wants to go to college as well.
Just and humane immigration reform will address safe and effective border security. Common sense reform will ensure that greedy, bad-actor employers can’t continue to drive wages down and pit workers against one another while corrupting the system against their competitors. Rational reform will lay out an earned path to citizenship for immigrants in the country without proper status, requiring them to register with the government, get in the back of the line, pass a background check and pay back taxes. Comprehensive reform will also take a realistic look at workforce needs and develop a way to a workable process to meet the needs of employers for workers.
The current system is broken. We need federal elected officials to take action on a rational reform that reflects or national values of fairness and moves us all forward together.
****Stephanie Beck Borden, district director for Reform Immigration FOR America.****
In 1912, when my father was 7, he came with his parents from his native Italy to visit his grandparents in Rhode Island. He stayed--It was easy in those days. He grew up to be a decorated career (U.S.) military man and, with his daughter-of-immigrants wife, to raise three successful daughters. Like so many other immigrants before him--and since--he left behind withered prospects, embraced opportunity here, and this country is better for it.
ReplyDeleteThe United States, at its core, is a country of immigrants and immigrants' children embracing the opportunity available and making this country great (albeit imperfect). In that sense, it is no different now than a hundred, two hundred, or three hundred years ago. What is different now is that with the world shrinking as fast as it is, the U.S. can only be great by embracing immigrants more quickly and more fully.